Becca's NDAD Creation

This is a 2-for-1 day thanks to Becca!  Here's her piece...

A friend of mine sent me this with a bunch of other pieces to work on and I just had to redo it.  The print was fun, but that collar...ooph!  I don't really wear pink (redheads and bright pink don't mix terribly well), so...

...I decided to make this for my sister. 

Lucky sister!  Let's see Becca's transition!!

I went ahead and took the dress apart at the waist however this resulted in far too short of a top!  Instead I cut off the top of the skirt and used that piece to extend the top and make it a bit longer.  I cut out the neckline and most of the sleeves, turning it into a boat-neck with fun cap sleeves. It needed a little extra flair...

...so I covered some buttons with the extra fabric. 

I couldn't waste all the extra fabric from the skirt, so I threw in an elastic waistband and gave it to my youngest sister.

Hello two new pieces from one not-so-hot piece!  Becca, way to go - what lucky sisters you have to reap the benefits of your craftiness!!  PS, I love their sassy poses too!!  What a fantastic transformation, B!  Looking forward to the next one!

Keri's NDAD Creation

Today's piece from Keri was so fabulous that it made me wish I had it to use during all my current travels!!  Check it out!

Hi, Marisa!  Your site has inspired me (I'm still happily going through your archives) and while I have tried a few of your ideas on some back-of-the-closet things I found, this by far was my fave project!  I had a super cute round vintage suitcase…

…but it was very boring.

OK, I need something like this in my life!  On the prowl for vintage suitcases stat!  Just wait to see what she does!!

I bought two colors of spray paint (the kind for plastics) and a can of lacquer spray paint.  I used masking tape to protect the labels and large buckle, then gave it two coats of the mint green paint.  Next, I used more masking tape and newspapers to create the stripes with the dark brown paint and let it sit overnight.

I used clear lacquer over the entire thing and TA-DA my suitcase is ready for public travel! 

Thanks for all you do :o)

I will say that you must be the chic-est traveler hitting the TSA line at the airport!!  I'm coveting this piece and can't wait to make one of my own!  Thanks so much for sharing K!!

(PS, see you Phoenix locals at Changing Hands Bookstore today at 4pm!)

Upcycled Grandpa Cardigan

In my recent thrifting, I came across a few really jazzy, vintage, grandpa-style cardigans.  This one was one of my favorites just because of the shade of blue it was!  (I'm liking the new red hair/light blue color combo!)  The only thing was that there were some gross markings on the sleeve.

See?  Gross, right?

The beauty of this piece is that it CAN be salvaged!!  And it was salvaged while I was flying back to LA, plane-style!

The necessary ingredients to make this sweater work??

Suede patches and matching thread!  We're going to hide the markings to make the piece look vintage-chic!

I took each patch and pinned it in place on the arms, hiding the markings.

Once they were pinned, I began to hand stitch them in place...

...going under then over, and under and over, until I made my way around the entire patch!  I snagged these patches, holes already in them, in the garment district for just a few bucks.

Post stitching, my sweater was looking a little like this!

I love the blue/tan combo, and I love how comfortable it is!!  Ooh, and the markings have vanished!  What up, David Blaine.  Take that for an illusion.

I'm going to be wearing this EVERYWHERE, ps.  I'm not even joking.

It's one of those pieces that can be tossed on a vintage blouse (like above) or with a cute blouse and skinny jeans!  Please be advised that you will definitely be seeing this again...

PS, getting ready for a little stop over at Sonoran Living tomorrow morning at 9am, for all my AZ readers.  You just might see this piece live and in action!