You've been featured # 6

Thanks for all your emails for the 'You've been featured' post.

I started writing it last night, but fell asleep... I was so tired after my 12 hour shift.

Beth made this beautiful handbag..... I love it!

I did a remake project recently.  A friend game me a skirt from a high end store.  It was brand new, but too wild and small for me.  It just looked like it would make the perfect preppy purse.  I've included before and after pics for you to see.  I did have fun making the accessories.  Thought you might like to see it.
Beth

New York

 Beth also made these matching accessories...

 Remember the Bandana dress tutorial?

Letia used the idea to make these beautiful dresses for Miss L and Miss E.

These dresses were completely inspired by your Bandana Dress design.  I didn’t have any bandanas but I did manage to get some scrap material from Spotlight in the throwout bin for $1.80 – BARGAIN!  I followed your instructions and added a couple of covered buttons and bows with the left over ribbon and wallah!  We used them at Easter time for Miss L and Miss E.  They looked adorable and the dresses were amazingly simple to make.  I am sure I will make many more in summer.  I also made some of your famous hair clips with the left over fabric.

Thanks again for your inspiring blog – before reading it I can honestly say I had NEVER considered making clothes for my kids and now I see even old throwout clothes in a whole new light.

Letia

Gold Coast

 Renate made this little car carry case...

From left over scraps and bit and pieces, I made this car caddy for one of Jesse's little friends. The wee cars sit in the pockets, and they can drive on the road with a round-about on the end. The whole caddy folds up and does up with some snaps. 

Renate

Whangarei, NZ

 

I love this idea!  I've seen them made for crayons and books etc... but cars and a road.... love it!

  I have a few nephews who would love one of these ;)

 Janine made this to organise her daughter's hair accessories...

 and her earrings....

Finally, I got a email from Kristyn,

Hi Nikki,

I've pasted the link of my first ever sewing project! I'm still trying to get the courage to try and upcycle some of my clothes given I have no background in sewing. I'm just taking ideas from your site :) Let me know what you think.

Kristyn

To see Kristyn's post go here scrap buster pillows.

Kristyn, this is amazing!  Can't wait to see some more of your projects.

Thanks girls for sharing your projects. 

If you'd like to be featured please email me at mummysdress@hotmail.com.

Love Nikki xx

Gloria's dresses for Africa....

Hi there, Our Internet is being stupid and I dropped my phone in the sea on Monday... so I've had a week without facebook, phone and Internet... just about killed me!  How did we survive without these things?

Anyway, I wanted to share a email and photos I received recently from a reader in America....

Hi Nikki,

I've attached a photo of the 22 dresses I made for little girls in Africa. There is an organization called "Little Dresses for Little Girls" that arranges to get the donated dresses to the girls in Africa. I found it on the Internet.

I made headbands like your flower clips to go with the dresses.  Thanks for the inspiration.

Gloria in Cottonwood Heights, Utah

Here's the website..... Little dresses for Africa

To date they have received dresses and donations from all 50 states across the USA and received well over 175,000 little dresses that have been distributed in 24 countries of Africa!  

None from Australia?  Who's keen for a little sewing project?

I'm going to send some dresses in July and thought I'd see if anyone else wants to sew a few to send with mine.  I'd like to send around 50 dresses in total.

I'll put together a tutorial of simple dresses to make... like the pillow case dress. 

If you'd like to join me making a few dresses for Africa please email me at mummysdress@hotmail.com.

Thanks for sharing the link Gloria.

Gloria also made some flowers to go with the dresses for Africa.

 I'll finish with this photo of Gloria's Easter tree.

The other you've been featured post will be next Monday... sorry for the delay.

Love Nikki xx

You've been featured #4... Hair clips....

Cherie's been making these beautiful hair accessories...

Leah and Sarah have been making these beautiful clips.....

Janine made Miss H this beautiful clip...

http://nays-place.blogspot.com/2011/04/sewing-hair-clips.html

Thanks everyone who emailed me photos.

I've also had a few emails about the towels and hair towels. 

I didn't end up making the towels for Easter... I just ran out of time.

I have four days off this weekend, so I'll put together a tutorial over the weekend.

Love Nikki xx

'You've been featured'..... #3

Today, I'm featuring Karima from Karimas crafts. 

Karima loves to craft and is very talented.... stop by her blog and say hi :) 

After seeing some of Karima's repurposed outfits I offered to do a feature post.  Karima wrote....

Thank you for offering to show one of my posts, you are the first to ask, so I am quite excited!  I would like it if you could show the post about the orange dress I made for my daughter. This is the link: http://www.karimascrafts.com/2011/03/girls-dress-made-from-ladies-top.html 

I really do love your blog, I love altering clothes and it is nice to see someone else do it. I believe my family think I am a bit crazy doing it!

 Here's how Karima turned a ladies strapless top into a girls summer dress....

Step 1: I measured my daughter's chest, then took in the side hem of the top accordingly, to make it slimmer. (I kept the scraps to make the bracelet).

Step 2: I cut of part of the long bottom frill. (I just cut this by freehand to make it unique.)

Step 3: Using half of the cut of bottom frill I then made two long straps.

Step 4: I added elastic into the long straps, to make them look ruffled and sewed them to the top of the top (now making it a dress!).

Step 5: I added some belt hoops with some of the spare material. (I sewed these into the side hems, by unpicking a small gap, placing them inside, and then sewing over the gap and the belt hoops)

Step 6: With the remaining half of the frill, I managed to make a belt for the dress.

Step 7: With part of the top frill (which I had removed to make the dress slimmer) I made a stretchy arm bracelet.

Well done Karima... looks beautiful!
If you would like to be featured please email mummysdress@hotmail.com.

After three big days at work, I'm looking forward to having the day off tomorrow.
Hopefully it's a beautiful sunny day, so I can go for a walk here...

 Here's a few more photos from Sunday....

Love Nikki xx

Outfit's by Julie-Ann.....

Last week I received an email from Julie-Ann, she attached some photos of Miss H wearing her repurposed outfits, I just had to share them with you....

Hi Nikki,

Just finished a couple of other up cycled designs thought you might be interested in seeing. The first was a pink ruffled top of mine.

This was a simple change, I just took in the side seams and shoulder seams and turned it into a dress for Miss H. I then added some black leggings, black belt, black flower headband and voila!

Second design was a blue and white summer dress (with a large ugly bow at the front). This was an impulse buy that I thought I could wear (after removing the bow). In the end I decided to totally change it for Miss H.

Before....

After.....

I first cut off the straps, re sewed the top of the dress, took in the side seams, re-hemmed the dress, adjusted and sewed the straps back on and then using some of the blue fabric from the bow sewed it back on around the waist of the dress minus the bow section. This was quite a bit more involved but I was happy with the outcome of it. Matched it with a large white flower clip I made and here is the end result (refer to photo's). I have still quite a bit of fabric left over from the lower section of the original dress so I'm going to try and see what top I can make for Miss H with it too.

I'm loving your upcycles of your daughters old pumpkin patch clothes. I'm a huge fan of pumpkin patch too, and now I'm seeing what I can re-create of Miss H's pumpkin patch wardrobe so we can get a bit more value for money on the clothes.

Enjoy your day
Julz

Thanks for sharing Julie-Ann, they look great!

If you would like to be featured email me

mummysdress@hotmail.com

Love Nikki xx

'You've been featured'..... #1

I've had a few emails from people sending me photos of their upcycled childrens clothing.

For the first 'I've been featured' post, I've choosen one of my friends Julie-Ann.

Julie-Ann's first outfit is a blue flower skirt.  Julie-Ann was given the skirt but never wore it because she couldn't find anything she liked to go with it.

 Julie-Ann down sized it to fit Miss H.  

 Julie-Ann also made a little bag to match as well as making a felt blue and white flower clip.

Before....

After...

 Miss H looks beautiful!

Matching handbag.... I love matching handbags!

Julie-Ann's second outfit is a wrap skirt she bought a couple of years ago at a market.

Julie-Ann wrote....

Unfortunately cause it was a wrap skirt (and the fact with wrap skirts you seem to wrap and wrap and wrap around your body but it still never sits tightly enough) it drove me crazy the one time I wore it, that it then stayed in my cupboard until now. I couldn't bring myself to throw it out cause I loved the fabric piece on the front, so I decided to recycle this one too. I unpicked all the panels and basically re-created a normal skirt using the pink fabric & the black pin strip denim. I then sewed on the pink circle fabric on the front. Cause of it's thick material it would work really well in winter with knee high boots (you will have to excuse the no stockings in the photo's I took of Holli in it, it was a warm day this arvo and I couldn't be bothered putting her in stockings to take a few photo's. I also made a matching headband going by the designs that you use in your girls clips (which I also love).

Miss H before....

 Miss H after.  I love this outfit!

Well done Julie-Ann... keep them coming!

If you've upcycled any clothes lately... send me a few photos.

mummysdress@hotmail.com

Tomorrow morning, I'm flying to New Zealand... I can't wait!

Will post a few photos...

Love Nikki xx