Project Refashion 52 - Week 4 (better or for worse)

Oh my.

It happened.  I knew it would, honestly.  No one has a Top 10 hit every time.

I had my first fail.

This refashion started out as a stretched out green T-shirt

I will mention, for those of you a little slow on the uptake, that I am not a size 2.  Stop laughing, y'all.  I'm not.  When I see the refashions done by most of the geniuses out there, I am reminded of the cold, hard fact that their waist is roughly half the size of my chest.  (It's true.)  Therefore, most of those easy refashions -- not limited to, but including fashioning a dress out of a man's button up shirt, and apparently the one I'm about to show you -- are not appropriate for me.

Case in point:

Wobisobi has adorable refashions.  Many are no sew options to refashion t-shirts.  Since many of my t-shirts are either stretched beyond recognition or just plain ol' too big, I figured I'd give another one a try.  I found this adorable little ditty and in a few easy cuts with my nice fabric scissors, I was left with...

A cut up green t-shirt.

Ugh.  I had originally decided to wear this to church, as I had committed this refashion crime on a Saturday evening and was singing at church the next morning.  My bestie, Nicole, couldn't understand why I wouldn't wear a green t-shirt vest.  Clearly she hadn't had the opportunity to see it yet.  Later in the week, I stopped by Nicole's house to hang out with her boys for a little while.  Nicole's husband was putting on his running shoes, looked up and said, "I'm trying to figure out what exactly it is that you're wearing there."

Defiant, crooked eyebrow, rolled eyes and sucked in cheeks.  Envision it.

I retorted that it was a failed craft project that Nicole had to witness.  I didn't immediately remove the hideous fail that was my "vest," though I probably should have.  Later, when Mr. Bestie returned from his jog, he said, "No, really.  What ARE you wearing?"

Shut up, Nicole.  I know you're laughing reading this.

"No, really.  What ARE you wearing?"

Where did the vest go?
It's that little strip of green above my waist.

Dear readers, friends, and whomever decides to stop by in the blogosphere, let me sum up refashioning in a nutshell:  If you are not a size 2, do not expect every refashion to fit your body (or dress form) the way theirs does.  You couldn't squeeze your tush in a pair of their undies without some creativity, and there's a good chance that a refashion based on their DIY instructions may require either serious creativity or 5 extra yards of fabric.

Also, if you have back fat, a refashion with an open back is not likely to be flattering.

Just sayin'.

Project Refashion 52 - Week 3

I really REALLY need to make my dress form. After an exhausting attempt at pinning on myself (ridiculous) and an equally exhausting attempt at putting my vision into words for my husband to pin for me, I opted for another no sew. It's an easy way out, but what's wrong with easy?!

So I donned my refashion garment and went into the living room for my before picture. Hubby helpfully said, "you want a picture in your jammies?" Yes, yes I do.

Before

I was going over to Nicole's to hang with a few Weight Watch Us gals to talk and kind of avoid Weight Watchers and accountability. Nicole has been, with most anything I try to do, very supportive of my refashions, so I wanted to wear this week's to her house. Before heading over there, I simply took off my pajama pants. Yup. We're that close. ;)

Actually, that oversized boat neck got pulled right down to my waist, and the sleeves tied like a sash of sorts. The result is a sweet little skirt to wear at a super casual get together.

The only change I'd make before doing it again would be to wear a slip. Apparently my striped underpants were not that little something extra this refashion needed. ;)

Week 3 AFTER!

Project Refashion 52 - Week 2

Okay, so I just posted Week 1 yesterday, but these projects WERE done on 2 separate weeks.  The creation I did this past week I actually wore to church on Sunday morning, and I got really nice compliments on it (even from a tres chic teenager, which is always nice when you're an old fart like me).

This dress originally was purchased when I first got to the Cape, so just over 2 years ago.  The hubby had been away with the Coast Guard and I wanted to surprise him with a fancy frock (and cleavage, let's face it) when he got home.  I don't know why I bought it when it was clearly too long, and I'm pretty sure it didn't fit that well, because I was much more unhealthy then and had at least 30 more pounds on my frame than I do now.  Regardless, I wore it, he loved it (cleavage, I'm tellin' ya), and it became part of my toss it pile in recent days, as I was weeding out things I didn't wear anymore.

I needed another no-sew change, and at first I considered that I could just make the dress a little shorter.  I could have, but the pleating right under the bustline would have made a knee skimming dress potentially unflattering, especially since my tummy is my problem area.  Also, I wanted to wear it to sing with the worship team, and my headphones make it hard to wear a dress.  (It's complicated, but I have a connector for my headphone jack that is very heavy, so it's most convenient if I put it in a pocket, so I generally wear jeans, or I wear a jacket or cardigan with pockets if I'm wearing a dress.  Now those of you that come to church are going to pay close attention to what I'm wearing on the Sundays I sing.  LOL.)

I opted to make the dress into a top.  The fabric did not fray, so I was able to leave a raw edge and not fight with hemming it.  I did wear a white tank underneath and an orange cardigan on top to be more modest for church, but I am so excited about my new top!  All I did to fashion this one was to spread the dress out on the table and use a tee shirt as a guide for the fitting.  I wanted it a little longer than the tee shirt, so I added on a couple of inches.

I am very happy with this refashion, and I have no idea what I am going to do for Week 3.  I should probably utilize the sewing machine, but I am looking forward to some assistance from a couple of girls I know in making a custom dress form.  I think it will help me greatly in the future.

Project Refashion 52 - Week 1

As I mentioned, I am inspired by the Refashionista.  I decided to refashion one ill-fitting or outdated garment each week to wear.  Week one coincided with the Fourth of July.  Two summers ago on July fourth, I wore this shirt.  It is now too large for me (yaay!) but it is quite festive for the 4th.  Okay, whatever... it was the first no-sew refashion I thought of when I was digging through my tub of clothes that don't fit properly.












I found a great pin (that now I can't locate with a good link - grrr) that showed how to make a tee shirt into a halter top.  It just involved a few snips here and there, and it was done.  I also made a tee shirt into a fringed scarf, using this tutorial.  

This is early in my crafty process, so don't be frustrated with my lack of step-by-step pictures.  Here's a picture of the piece I cut out of the back of my tee shirt to make it a halter, though.  I know, I fail.  :-/



I DIDN'T fail at the finished product, though!  The scarf and top worked great, and I wore a tank top underneath for modesty's sake - we were going to a cookout with friends from church, and I didn't want to be displaying too much skin.

I'm late posting this blog, so I'll be posting Week 2's project in the next couple days that I wore to church this morning.  I am so excited to be actually reusing clothes that I thought were gone for good!  

Passion for Refashion!

In all my time sitting on the sofa or in bed, attempting to heal but accomplishing more moping than anything, I have spent a good hunk of time on Pinterest.  Face it, Pinterest lets us all feel like we CAN accomplish those things, regardless of whether we've actually ever tied a bow, owned a paintbrush, baked a cake, etc.

Since I'm not much for recipes, I like dreaming about the craftier side of things.  One problem i have with crafts is that a lot of them are just plain expensive.  I cannot afford to go start from scratch and decide to get a bunch of scrapbooking stuff.  (And small pieces make my skin crawl, hence why the hubby helps the kids with Legos, not me.)

Then I saw her.  It was like one of those moments in the movies with two people running through the meadow to embrace one another in a slow motion, dizzying, awkward hug spin thing.  You know, the sun was peeking through the clouds, an "ah-ha!" moment was had, all that stuff.  I mean, how could you NOT want to follow the fashion advice and expertise of someone looking THIS HOT?!

Before you think I've lost my marbles, that's the before pic.  She refashioned a garment each day from cast away seconds from stores, $1/lb finds at her local Goodwill (or G.W. as my family has called it for well over 15 years), and sometimes pillowcases and other randomness.  Many a shoulder pad has been sacrificed in her Refashionista project.

She inspired me.  The thing is, I have lots of clothes here that are too big, or I've held onto for too long and they're really not current anymore.  I'm a pro at swimming through racks at the Salvation Army and finding fabulous things - but to be able to go and find AWFUL things and make them fabulous?  That's downright empowering, folks.

I'm not crazy enough to jump into a 365 project just yet.  I am, however, going to try to do one garment/outfit a week for 52 weeks.  I did a really cute something for July 4 that I can't wait to share.

This will hopefully feed my shopping habit that I'm not able to do anymore since I'm not working, as well as utilize a sewing machine I haven't used in ages, and give me a project to work on to have some "me" time.

Oh, and in case you're wondering what on EARTH she did with that housedress, here's her finished project from day 365:

Buzzing about Ball Park patties!

Sad reality - I started this blog over a month ago.  Good grief!

I am a BzzAgent - I know I've mentioned it in previous posts.  I get to try new things to see how they taste/work/etc, usually for free, and I just have to report my findings.  This Bzz Campaign already closed, but it's still worth sharing the blog.  

I got the BzzKit for the BallPark Beef Patties near Memorial Day.  Yeah, like 2 holidays ago.  I was excited because I got to get enough hamburger patties for my family to eat for just the cost of buns and chips.  At first, we couldn't find a local store that carried them, as they were a brand new item, but we finally found 'em, right next to the Bubba Burgers.  

The nice thing about these is that they are fully cooked, so if you don't want to heat up the grill, you can pop them in the microwave for about a minute, and baddabing, you're set.  The not so great thing about doing them in the microwave is that they are a little greasy.  Okay, a lot greasy.  In a Foreman Grill or on the grill out back, that grease would be able to drip off, but on a plate, you don't have that luxury.  I did put my patty on a paper towel to absorb the grease before I fixed my burger.

And what a burger it was!  The size of the patty was generous and thick, and it tasted edible.  Not fantastic, but not like those "hamburgers" we used to have in elementary school that tasted like pink slime cardboard mystery meat.  My boys all liked them.  

At 6 Pt+/patty, it's not quite worth the convenience for me to eat them while I'm doing WW.  I didn't expect my husband to like them at all, but we've since purchased more of the patties.  

I guess it's true what they say - Men: Easier fed than understood.  ;)

Begin again - Weigh In Tuesday!

And this is where I am today.  I hit the restart button.

My weigh in today is 185.5.  I have gained from where I was around my birthday, but that's okay.  My body has not been well, my mind even less so, and my spirit growing (and growing pains are tough!).

I am still down a considerable amount - more than 30 lbs gone since I moved here.  I am still comfortable in my size 10 pants.  I only gained about 8 lbs, which in the grand scheme of things is NOT the end of the world.

Onward!  I have 20.5 lbs to lose to meet my goal.  Totally doable before the end of the summer.