Creative projects when I'm not photographing.

  So I decided to put my sewing skills to work this past December while the wedding season was lagging. I should give thanks for my free time to the great state of Michigan. My mom taught me the basics growing up and I guess some of them stuck!  I decided to start with dye. What a bad idea! First off, the blouse is 100% polyester and doesn't hold the Rit dye at all which I didn't know until 4 hours later! It was supposed to be dark green and ended up this nasty shade. So back into the pot it went with color remover and then into Navy blue dye hoping to recover this awful awful mess. After all that work it turned out grey and spotty. Excellent.

   So this is project #2! This beauty was found at the Salvation Army for half price! $7 is not bad for a Valentine's outfit! I shortened both the length (of 3 layers, ew) and the amazing bow sash. I updated the waist line and reattached the lace trim! Dinner with the hubby at Mangia Mangia with bananas foster to end the night!

    Sewing project #3! I love this print! It was another $1 purchase at the Salvation Army. I especially love the pilgrim collar... which was the first part to go. Took off the sleeves, took off the hideous plastic pearl buttons and up goes the length! Dessert at Lily's in Royal Oak with the sister was the perfect place to showcase the new floral frock!

   Sewing Project #4! I had to enlist the help of my own personal seamstress, mom, on this one! It was so big that we had to take it completely apart! Removed the sleeves, took in the sides, and made the giant collar a little smaller! Jon took me to Rojo in Rochester. They had my favorite beer on tap (Dragonmead Final Absolution, it is delicious!!!!)  All in all it was a fabulous birthday!

  Sewing project #5! (This has to be prefaced with the fact that Jon laughed when I put it on before the alterations). My sister hosted a birthday dinner for me and so of course I had to make an outfit. Another dollar find! Shortened, taken in, capped sleeved, and belted.

   Sewing project #6!! I loved the print on this and the fact that it had pockets and a matching belt was a win-win. Only when removing the shoulder pads did I realize that they were MASSIVE. I'm not sure who wore this previously but I'm sure they rocked it. Did the ushe, remove sleeves and shoulder pads then shortened the length. Pared these digs with a sweater from target, $10 DSW boots and cute vintage timepiece necklace from Urban Outfitters! Dinner out to Shehrzad's in Rochester with my good friend M! The warm pitas were amazing!

  Sewing project #7.  Let's turn our attention to this little beaut that I discovered at the local Salv. I took a picture of the tag so you know it's legit, I didn't go pick this up at Target yesterday. The print really stood out and since I would probably pay full price if I saw it at Urban Outfitters I decided to snag this $2.99 treat. I discovered through Google that this little piece made it's way from JCP probably from the nineties! Mom, I know you are proud. I removed the shoulder pads and took it in on each of the sides about an inch. All in all this took me about 20 minutes, just in time for soup, salad, and bread sticks at you know where.