Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

i love you because…

~ Etc.

i made this cute love frame at a church activity and thought it was such a great idea for a valentine’s gift!  you print it out on any printed paper, put it in a frame(the frame pictured is from walmart for $3), and you can write whatever you please with a dry erase marker(i wrote the cheesiest possible line, can you tell?).  i made two of them for both of my girls and plan on writing something on it at least weekly for as long as they live in my house!  now, i need to go make one for my husband too. 
i found one, two, three cute free printables if you’d like to make one too just in time for valentine’s day!

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!

8 second skirt with a bow DIY

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

Would you like to know how you can make a skirt in 8 seconds? 
From this?
just follow the picture instructions:
in summary:
and there you have an 8 second skirt!
you can also pull out the bottom part of the bow all the way out to make a bigger bow.
This project was totally unexpected but i love the result.  I was folding my laundry one day and got to this striped top and thought about how this pattern would make a cute skirt.  So i wondered if i had enough fabric to make it into a skirt so i slipped it on to see and then thought, hey, this doesn’t look that bad just slipped on!  And since the sleeves looked awkward, I tried tying them into a bow and it was even cuter!
So there you have it, this is what i truly call killing two birds with one stone. 
What you’ll need:
-a very stretchy, knit shirt with long sleeves
Instructions:
1. Hold up the shirt in front of you, so you see the back of the shirt.
2. Put your legs into the neck hole and slide the shirt up to your waist.
3. Tie the sleeves into a bow.
Estimated time: 8 whole seconds.
Budget: $0.00
Skill level: anyone who knows how to tie a bow?