Angie & Amy's NDAD Creation

I just sorted through my closet yet again and pulled out a bunch more t-shirts to get rid of!  They would have totally come in handy for this mother/daughter duo project!  Here's Amy and Angie's story...

My daugher Amy, e-mailed me with the subject of...project!  She sure knows how to get her Momma's attention...and in the e-mail was a link to Gypsyrags, a site that takes large t-shirts and recreates them to fit the female figure.  They do some amazing things with tees, but Amy is a full-time nursing student on a really limited clothing budget.  Her ‘boy’ was taking her to the Nickelback concert the upcoming weekend and she wanted to know if I could help her alter a t-shirt to wear to the concert.  I've never done anything like that before, but I'm always up for a good challenge and with you in mind - I’ve been following you for I dunno how long - I figured I’d give it a try.

So Amy went off in search for some cute tees for us to alter.

She scored some real bargains at Plato's Closet, I think getting each shirt about $4 bucks a pop.  We grabbed a couple of coordinating fat quarters from Joann Fabrics with a 25% off total purchase coupon and got to work.

Let's see what these gals came up with!

We took in the sides of the size Large tee first...

...marked the neckline...

...and the back, where we wanted the shirt to fall as we were making it into a halter. 

Post-trim, Amy put it on to see if the snips were in a good place...

...and then we added straps and top stitching in a lime green thread to match the logo.

Here's the final pic of Amy and her 'Boy' at the concert!

The average price at Gypsyrags is $35-$45 a shirt, so for less than $6 we were able to recreate this piece.  Thanks for the inspiration!  We were on a roll after this one! 

For more on Angie (and more tees), check her out HERE!

Friday Remake: Plaid City USA

This dress blew my mind when I first saw it.  My gal KC gave it to me to play with and I really just couldn't get over the theatricality of it.  It had to have been used on a stage, right?

I loved the colors, but I mean...

Can this be salvaged from the wardrobe department of Show Boat?  Just you wait!!

I began with the lace trim first.  I used a seam ripper and went all the way around the bottom of the skirt removing all of the trim.

Look at the amazing remnants I was left with...

I went to the sleeves and removed those guys next.

With the sleeves gone, I pinned the area right at the armpit and then cut along both sides of the shoulders.  I'm making this strapless!

I pinned the rest of the front and back of the dress...

...found a few areas that were ripped on the seams and pinned those in place...

...and then grabbed some thread to begin stitching!

I stitched a new seam on the top of the dress, another hem at the bottom to secure the edges where the lace was removed from, and all the little holes that were scattered all around.

Before it was completely ready to wear, I created a little pinch and cinch action at the bust with a trusty safety pin!

From long sleeved and lacy, to sleeveless and summery!

I really couldn't love this dress any more.

I paired it with some Calvin Klein slingbacks and a vintage straw clutch with flowers that match the plaid striping.  How sweet and feminine, right?

As a redhead, this dress is complete with all the colors that I'm obsessed with wearing now, all in one spot!

It became my "tacos and margaritas" dress as I wore it out to hang with some of my fave friends over delish Mexican eats at Marix.

But before tacos and margies, I took a few more pics to document my new garment.  One shot included my version of mannequin hands...

...that I tried to recreate from the sketches on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  I think I did pretty well.

And I don't even think I need discuss this last shot, other than I really should have tried out for basketball in high school.

Have the most fantastic weekend, friends!!  xo

31 Days of Thrift: Day 10

It's Day 10, however there will not be any lords-a-leaping on today's post. I'm kind of in love with this one because I used the huge floral print scarf, #5 below...

...and paired it with #6, the H&M buttoned front jeans...

...to complete my look.  Check out how I made this scarf into a totally wearable top!

I started out by wrapping the scarf around me and taking the top two edges and tying them into a double knot.

With the top tied, I grabbed my two edges at the bottom...

...and created another double knot.

There's a whole lotta space in the center, so I took off the scarf and added a few safety pins to keep it closed.

Final product:

I tossed on a strapless bra underneath and voila!

This could be really cute with a sash/ribbon around the neck to make it a halter, which is something I can try for, for the next round.  I didn't stitch this up just so I could rewear the scarf in other ways down the road...

Top/Scarf: Vintage // Jeans: H&M // Heels: Max Studio // Tote: H&M // Sunglasses: Melrose Trading Co Flea Market // Bangles: Assorted flea market/Forever 21/Cost Plus

I lathered myself in sunscreen before I went outside in this one.  I'd look like an ice cream sandwich, once the scarf top comes off, if I didn't :)

More outfits to come...