Pumpkin Vampire Tutorial

I was totally bitten, I mean smitten, by a vampire pumpkin I saw at the craft store but he was $69.99.  That's batty!  For less than $20 I made my own.  Here's how you can make one too...

 

 

Take two fake pumpkins, one bigger than the other.  Starting with the smaller of the two pumpkins, paint half of it purple and the back half black.

 

 

Paint the tip of a small gourd purple.

 

 

Once the gourd is dry, slice off the tip.

 

 

Stick a toothpick into the small pumpkin as an anchor for the gourd nose.

 

 

Glue the gourd to the face.

 

 

Glue on googly eyes.

 

 

Paint the bigger pumpkin white on one side (painting five buttons down the front to look like a tuxedo shirt) and black on the back side.

 

 

Hollow out a small hole at the bottom of the head (small pumpkin).  Add a generous glob of glue to the stem of the big pumpkin and place the head atop the body.

 

 

To make the cape, cut a rectangular piece of red satin, 1 1/2 times the circumference of the big pumpkin.  Sew a small hem along one of the long sides (this will be the collar).  On the inside of the satin, about 4" down from your hem, stitch in a piece of single bias tape, all along the long side.  Thread a piece of elastic through the bias tape, pull it taught (this creates the ruffle) and stitch in place.  Add a piece of ribbon on each side of the cape where you sewed the elastic.

 

 

Tie the cape onto the pumpkin and cut triangles out of the bottom of it to finish off the cape.

 

 

I had so much fun making this little guy!

 

 

This shot shows his widow's peak.

 

 

 

Love at first bite!

Men's Shirt Refashion Tutorial {Dress Sewn for $6}

I made this dress in a couple of hours for just $6.

 

Talk about a lucky score!  I found a stash of enormous men's dress shirts at the Salvation Army for $2 a piece.  I grabbed four of them in this pretty, robin's egg blue color, and another four in a soft, buttery yellow.

I normally repurpose men's shirts into aprons like these (click here for details in a prior blog post):

 

 

...But decided to give dress-making a go this time.

I started by taking one shirt and narrowed the sleeves and bodice:

I picked the pocket off of a second shirt...

...Then cut it in half, just below the arms:

I baste stitched along the cut line then pulled the threads to gather it:

Then stitched closed the button placket:

I pinned the gathered shirt to the first shirt and sewed them together.

 

I topped stitched the waist, where the bodice meets the skirt:

 

 

The dress was complete.  Until I tried it on and realized it was way too short (at 5' 10" this is a very common problem for me!).  So, I took a third shirt and cut several inches off the bottom...

...And pinned it underneath the hem of the dress.  Following the hemline of the dress, I top stitched the pieces together and stitched down the button placket of the third shirt.

Dog walking on a sunny spring day was the perfect excuse for donning my new dress.  Notice Twyla's collar corsage?  Click here for the blog post on how I made it.

 

Oh, and why wear just one pearl necklace when you can pile on 7?!

 

I love it when I can elicit a big eye roll from Captain Project!

What a Year!

Today I'm in a bit of a reflective mood, thinking about these past 12 months.  What a year!  A few of the bigger highlights in my world...

 

*Captain Project got a nice promotion and we moved up from Florida to Northern Virginia

*Our son made it home safely from Afghanistan

*Retro Revival continues to do well

*I have the most amazing blog followers and customers

 

In between sewing over 600 aprons, shower caps, sleep bonnets, sleep masks, swim wraps, doily table runners, etc. I made some time for a few special projects.  My favorites:

 

Click on these links and you'll be redirected to my previous blog posts for the project details:

1. RX for a Rainy Day {Upcycled apron}
2. My Vintage Doily Christmas tree skirt was published in GreenCraft Magazine
3. Whip up an easy deep conditioning hair potion like a Kitchen beautician
4. I finally Organized my lace
5. Upcyled vintage Christmas planters
6. Easy pillow tutorial from a plastic bag
7. Create a gallery wall in 4 easy steps
8. Aprons made from mens' shirts
9. Retro Revival Swim Wraps {New product launch}
10. Decorate a chocolate box for Valentine's Day
11. Aprons from vintage bath towels
12. Make a tutu Christmas tree skirt
13. Upcycling vintage tablecloths into aprons
14. Easy lined drapes tutorial
15. We painted our barn!
16. Vitnage planters upcycled into pincushions

I'm so looking forward to the new year, reading your blog posts and following all of your creativity.  It's going to be a great year!

 

Wishing you all nothing but the best in 2014.  Always!

Sew a Tutu Christmas Tree Skirt

 

My daughter recently asked me to make her a Christmas tree skirt.  Not just any tree skirt, but one that looks like snow.

 

Challenge accepted!  I decided to use a luxurious organza tulle fabric with a little sparkle and got to work.  This was such a fun project!  Here's how, if you want to give it a go...

 

SUPPLIES:

20 yards tulle

1 yard white cotton

Tape measure

Scissors

String

Pen or pencil

Push pin

Pad of paper (or something similar to cushion push pin)

Sewing machine & thread

 

 

 On a big, clean, flat surface (I used the floor), lay down your pad of paper and then drape your cotton on top so that the paper is in the middle, underneath the cotton.  Tie a string (mine was about 22" long) to the push pen and then to the end of your pen and poke the push pin through the cotton into your pad of paper:

 

 

 Gently stretch out the string and draw a circle all around your fabric:

 

 

Remove your push pin and cut out the circle you've drawn.  Next, grab something round that you can use to draw a circle in the middle of your cotton circle ~ this will be for the trunk of your Christmas tree (I used a 9" dinner plate):

 

 

Fold your cotton circle in half and cut out the trunk circle you've drawn:

 

Cut along one side of your fold, up to where your trunk circle is ~ this is the opening to your tree skirt:

 

 

Your cotton circle should now look like this:

 

 

Finish the edges of your trunk circle, the opening, and all around the outer edge of your circle with bias tape:

 

 

Now you're ready for the fun part!  Take your tulle and fold it several times.  Measure about 3" and cut through your folds...

...So that you have long strips of tulle:

Beginning at the inner edge of your circle, use your fingers to pinch five or so ruffles at a time and sew them onto your cotton (stitch right down the middle of your ruffles).  You'll want to continue pinching your tulle into ruffles ever inch or two, and sewing your strips down until you've completely covered all of the cotton circle.

 

The more ruffles you pinch, and the closer you sew them together, the tighter and fluffier your skirt will be.  This is very easy to do, it just takes a lot of time, and a lot of tulle!

 

But it's totally worth it!  After about three hours this is what you'll have!

 

 

A fluffy, frothy tree skirt so pretty that you'll want to slip it on yourself just for fun!  Oh, and grab your sparkly high heels to pose for the picture.

 

I'm seriously in love with this confection!  (I stitched two long pieces of silver cording to the inner circle for closing/securing the skirt around the tree.)

It really does look like snow!

 

If you're not a DIY type, I've listed these Retro Revival Tutu Christmas tree skirts in my Etsy shop.  This ethereal organza tulle is available in just about every color ~ gold, aqua, baby pink, bright pink, etc.

 

Hope you all have a great day!