Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

J.Crew lace stripe tissue tee

~ SEWING

to read my 3 reasons to start sewing, read here.
i’m a part the knock-off series over at kojodesigns for this tutorial for today. 
inspiration: J.Crew lace stripe tissue tee $58
in my closet I found this shirt from my last DIY
you’ll need: matching thread, 1.5-2 yards of lace(jo ann’s), pins or liquid stitch
1. lay the lace on the shirt to know the width and cut the lace in four pieces.
2. try the shirt on.  it always looks different when it’s worn than lying flat on a flat surface.
(for ex.: you sew the stripes on straight across only to try it on and find out it’s not due to your body stretching certain parts) 
then using pins or liquid stitch, put the lace in 4 horizontal stripes.
3. take the shirt off and sew it across.
after:
i saved over $55!

J.Crew girls’ petal necklace tee DIY

~ SEWING

my blog was ranked in the top 150 creative/DIY/inspiration/design blog list!
it was created based on visitors/pageviews/google ranking/blog subscribers
and i’m so surprised mine made it on the list.  thank you so much!

Inspiration: J.Crew girls’ petal necklace tee 32.50
bought this shirt on sale for $1
and using a grey silk top that i made this and this with,
i still had left over fabric to cut out 16 petals.
then i made the neckline of the shirt wider and then hand-sewed the petals
along the neckline.  i also added a white and grey rosette flowers on the side.
the after:
this project only cost me one dollar(well, + plus tax to be exact ;).
  I saved over $30!

p.s: this shirt is for my daughter, not for me.  I showed this to one of my
 friends who asked me if it was for me.  haha i’m not that small, a size 4T!

What you’ll need:
  • A plain top
  • Matching thread
  • Scissors
  • silk fabric 
  • tulle
Estimated time: 1 hour
Budget: $1
Skill level: beginner

J.Crew sequin rows silk tee DIY

~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

inspiration: J.Crew sequin rows silk tee in 2 colors $118
project time: 45 mins. per top
skill level: a confident beginner
project budget: $6-7 per top
you’ll need:
3/4 yard of silk/satin fabric (hobby lobby $2.99 per yard)
2 spools of sequin trim for the brown top (1.99 each)
1 spool of sequin trim for the cream top (4.99)
scissors
matching thread
liquid stitch
fray check
(you can’t even tell i photoshopped this photo huh? man, i impress myself with my mad photoshop skills!)
directions:
1. cut the fabric.  i didn’t use a pattern, i just traced it while looking at my inspiration.
*you’ll need to keep in mind that the fabric doesn’t stretch. at all.  so make sure it’s wide enough.
2.
3.

4. use fray check on the seam of the sleeves.  when it’s dry, cut a tiny bit of the fabric around the whole sleeves so it gives a clean, finished edge.

5. put liquid stitch on the shirt horizontally.  then put the sequin trim on top of it and press.  cut off the excess trim.
6. keep continuing.  for the cream top i used 6 rows of sequins and for the brown, 8 rows of sequin trim.
viola! and you’re done my dear!

after:

i saved over $110!

J.Crew sequin stripe boatneck tee DIY

~ SEWING

 
 
 

my inspiration: J.Crew sequin stripe boatneck tee $78
right when i saw this shirt, i was like “wait! i have a shirt EXACTLY like that!”
so starts my DIY.  in my closet:
what you’ll need:
striped top
2 sequin decorative trims (hobby lobby $1.99 each)
scissors
liquid stitch
best part of this is NO SEWING needed! yipee, woohoo, Lord have mercy!

 

after:
you can’t really tell in certain lighting like this picture below
but with the right angle/lighting you can see a subtle glamour to a casual tee.
i didn’t like the j.crew version at first because the stripes wern’t as prominent since the sequins were on top of it.  but now that i did the black sequin on black stripe and how the sequins are not that noticeable, i think i like the j.crew version a lot too.  i have another shirt exactly like this tee in red so i might do the clear sequins on that.  which do you prefer?
and LAST DAY to get FREE SHIPPING on all the headbands at S.T Collection!
instructions:
1. squeeze liquid stitch from one side to the other.
2. lay the sequin trim on top and press.  cut the remaining trim.
3. lay the shirt on a hard surface with the sequin part touching the surface and
put something like a book or something heavy on top of the shirt.
4. let it air dry overnight.
project budget: very low priced
estimated time: 25 mins.
level: beginner

giveaway winner+design contest+J.Crew DIY project

~ SEWING

in case you missed my saturday’s post

my dress made it to the top 15 for the dress design contest!!!  i can’t believe the old skirt i found in my mom’s closets even made it to the top 15 because the 14 other designs are really great.  but of course i’m so happy and grateful!!!  so if you’d like, you can vote for my dress #9 by voting here.  voting ends monday, nov.15th.

thank you for all your support, you guys are awesome!

onto my DIY project for this week:

my inspiration.
J.Crew ruffled flower top. (from the girls’ section)

in my closet I found:

a long baggy top

and a gray silk tank top, leftover from this top I made. 

1. Cut five of 2″ thick strips from the tank top. 2. mark where you want the flower to be. 3. sew the strips in stitch length 5. 4. it should look like this. 5. pull just one of the two strings while pulling the fabric the opposite way. 6. it should ruffle like this. 7. place the ruffle on top of the shirt and pin it. then sew it on regular stitch length 2.5. 7. repeat again by placing the ruffle strip, pinning it, then sewing. 8. continue until the top part is covered. the middle part, you sew it in a little circle for the flower effect. 9. sew the ends by the neckline so it’s a clean seam. the left side isn’t finished, the right side is. 10. the inside of the shirt should look like this. 11. iron on medium setting with another fabric over it to protect the silk fabric from burning. *12. I also tailored the top into a plain long gray top. You are now DONE!!!

After:

Now go try it yourself! Best luck!

*i was a guest blogger for this project at sew dang cute and living with punks.
it’s an honor to be be featured on your awesome blogs, thank you!