Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

DIY: add sleeves and alter an Anthropologie Honeycomb Dress

~ SEWING

When I was 3 months pregnant last year, I saw this Honeycomb lace dress from Anthropologie and fell in love with it.  I loved it so much that I didn’t want to wait until I had the baby and lost the weight, I wanted to wear it right then!  So I got the dress in several sizes larger and wore it during my pregnancy, and planned to alter it later on after I had the baby, and add on the sleeves.

Before: 
After:
I’m kicking myself for not taking a picture of how the dress looked after I lost the pregnancy weight.  But just imagine it baggy and sleeveless.

I altered the sides and with the extra fabric from cutting the sides, I made the sleeves.  The sleeve tutorial can be found here, and how to alter the sides can be found here.
What you’ll need:
  • An oversized dress
  • Matching thread
  • Scissors
  • Sewing machine or needle

Directions:

Sleeve tutorial: here
Altering the sides tutorial here
Estimated time: 1 hour
Budget: almost nothing
Skill level: beginner

DIY: Anthropologie marjorelle necklace

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

Remember the necklace I made inspired by the marjorelle necklace from Anthropologie?  I love that necklace and wear it all the time, so I made another version.

Inspiration: Marjorelle Necklace by Anthropologie

Anthropologie Majorelle necklace DIY
:
Anthropologie Majorelle necklace DIY
Anthropologie Majorelle necklace DIY
Anthropologie Majorelle necklace DIY
How to make your own Anthropologie majorelle necklace DIY
What you’ll need:
  • Gold twisted cord(I purchased mine at Wal Mart for under $2)
  • Stretch cocktail rings/brooches/vintage pins that will go well together(I found mine at Forever 21, here are some beautiful picks here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
  • Hook and closure, gold loops, end caps
  • Epoxy glue
  • Scissors



Directions:

1. Cut off the ring/pin part of the jewels if necessary.
2. Measure the length of the gold cord and put a tiny strip of clear tape around where you want to cut it.  The tape makes sure that it doesn’t fray when you cut it off.
3. Dab a small amount of epoxy glue on the ends of the gold cord.  Then squeeze it inside the end caps.  
4. Hook on the gold loops, and the hook and closure.
5. Dab a good amount of epoxy glue on the back of the jewels and press onto the middle of the gold cord.  The jewels might tilt back or forward so put something below and above the jewels to keep from tilting while it’s drying.  Or check every 10 minutes the first half an hour to make sure it’s not tilting and straighten it if necessary.
6. Let it dry 24 hours.
Estimated time: prep time: 20 mins | drying time: 24 hrs.
Budget: $30
Skill level: EASY/beginner
Lace dress: Sheinside (similar 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
 Necklace: DIY 
Bracelets: H&M 
Nude heels: Korea (also love 1, 2, 3)

DIY: waypoint ponte dress by Anthropologie.

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

Inspiration: waypoint ponte dress by Anthropologie $168.
My version:
Before:

and with the extra fabric from the sleeves and the bottom I cut out, I made the bow.  It’s detachable so I can wear it with or without the bow. 
After:
{Dress: Purchased in Korea, Shoes: Oasap}
Project cost: FREE(since I already had the dress)
Skill level: a confident beginner
Estimated time: 40 mins.
I saved over $170!
Photos by the talented Jessica Peterson.

Anthropologie Tangerine Flicker Dress DIY

~ Refashion Revision, SEWING

 

Hello new and old friends, I am so excited to have you here! I love taking old, outdated clothes and transforming them into new and giving it a new life! I want to inspire people to learn to sew, even the basics so that they can alter their own clothes to make it fit perfectly to the body they have now, and having the clothes conform to their body instead of them trying to conform to that certain clothing size or that certain size pants. I hope you stick around for awhile! You can also find me at @sarahtyau on Instagram where I am the most active.

 

Inspiration: Tangerine Flicker Dress from Anthropologie $358.
I was so close to buying this dress when it was on sale.  Then when they had the extra 50% off of sales during the holiday season, I tried to find one but it was completely sold out.  So I was determined to make it and was about to buy some fabric when I found this dress online.
Very similar right?  You can still purchase the dress here.
*update: it’s now sold out, sorry!
I bought this lace from JoAnn’s. Regular price is $7.99/yard but I used a 50% off coupon. I found the same lace on Etsy, but JoAnn’s is cheaper, even without the coupon(since you pay for shipping on Etsy.)

 

After:
Photos by Jessica Peterson

 

(please disregard my no make-up face, will ya?  I’m trying to get used to this whole getting my DIY pictures done by a professional photographer thing… I feel a bit narcissistic, if you ask me.  I wish there was a way to blot my face out because I just want people to see the DIY project, not me.  So if you get sick of looking at my face(which I sure am), now and in the future, then please just bear with me. 🙂

v

What you’ll need:
– Dress
– Approximately 4-5 yards of lace(buy it here or here-online only shows black but in stores they have beige)
– Sewing machine
– Scissors
– Matching thread to the lace
– Liquid stitch
Directions:
Pin the lace along the dress: on the skirt, the sleeves, and the chest.  Sew the bottom half part of the lace onto the dress and the top curvy, wavy part, use liquid stitch to secure it onto the dress.
Estimated Time: 1.5 hours
Skill Level: a confident beginner
Price: $65
I saved over $300! 😉
You want to see more of my sewing DIY’s? Click here to see more!

anthropologie honeyed peplum skirt tutorial.

~ SEWING

here is the tutorial you’ve requested for!

inspiration: honeyed peplum skirt by anthropologie $258.

savers was having a 50% off sale on MLK day so i got this navy blue pencil skirt for $2.50.  i knew i could do something with the extra length so i bought it and the honeyed peplum skirt came to mind.
before
after

the back

let’s make it!
what you’ll need:
a mid-calf or longer skirt
4 buttons
scissors
matching thread
sewing machine
hand needle
estimated time: 45 mins.
skill level: a confident beginner or intermediate
budget: very low.  
1. try the skirt on and see how much you want to cut the bottom and cut.

2. cut off the lining(if it has one).

3. cut the strip in half.

4. cut a rounded shape on one side of the strip.  
repeat with the other strip to mirror the shape.

5. sew the bottom edges secure.

6.   
7. make two pleats in the front and two in the back.  repeat with the other strip.
(see the pictures to know how much to space out in between the pleats)

8. 
9. *pin the strip around the skirt first to make sure it goes all the way to the zipper.
adjust the pleats accordingly so it goes around the skirt.
10. flip the pleated peplum part down and iron.
you’re done!

two things i did differently than the anthropologie version is that instead of the ruffles going all the way around in the back, it cuts off in the middle back.(which i had to do due to the zipper back), and then the more obvious, the buttons!  i attached the sailor-inspired buttons which i think gives it a more personality. 🙂

skirt($2.50) + buttons($6) = $.8.50.  i saved over $250!