Easy Peasy Peplum

The interwebs has gone peplum crazy. I first noticed it on Tina Fey at the Oscars, but now I can't browse without stumbling across it repeatedly. 

Start with a shirt that's too big for you. You want the shirt to be long and swing freely around the bottom edge. (My shirt was about two sizes too big. I found this beauty at the thrift store for $4. The beautiful polka dot fabric was in such good condition that I couldn't pass it up!) 

A Clutch from Vintage Linens

I've been wanting to make a clutch for a while, but couldn't decide on what fabrics to use. I've also been trying to repurpose my collection of vintage linens. So of course I was inspired to kill two birds with one stone....

This is the piece I started with. I'm not sure what it was originally. It's too small to be a placemat, and the asymmetrical embroidery doesn't look like a centerpiece. I'll have to ask my grandmother (it belonged to either her mother or grandmother). This clutch could be recreated with two handkerchiefs sewn together, or a resized tea towel. My original piece measured 17" x 10". (The tricky part of designing my clutch was to keep the pretty frilly edges of the vintage piece. If your vintage piece doesn't have nice edges, save yourself some trouble and sew right sides together, flip inside out, etc...)

It's that time of year....

As summer draws to close, teachers must start to prepare. (Ok, so we actually prep all summer...but now there's a looming deadline!) My plan was to establish the blog this summer and then ease off during the school year. I did plenty of crafty/sewing projects last school year, but my free time was sporadic. Creativity is also a fickle muse. I often have five ideas at once and then nothing for weeks. I hope to post several times a month, but we'll see....

ModCloth Inspired // The Butterfly Collar

I love to cruise around ModCloth looking for pretty knockoff ideas. I instantly fell in love with their Retro Bike Ride Top. I mean, just look at that collar! 

A Skirt from Two Shirts

Somehow I managed to find two identical shirts at the thrift store on two separate trips that were months apart. I had worn the first shirt until it was starting to stretch out and so I snagged its twin as a backup. Only, it wasn't quite identical....it was actually a size smaller than my original and slightly tighter than I liked. But the color and fabric was so pretty, I decided that someday they would come in handy and put them away for a rainy day. 

Well this week I finally decided that the rainy day had come. 

Practically Perfect Pencil Case

I've had my eye on a bow clutch for some time now, but just couldn't get up the nerve to attempt one. I was really afraid of botching it and then being left with a "bleh" purse. I realized yesterday that I could try it on a smaller scale - I could make a pencil case instead!

A pencil/pen case is a must have for a teacher. I often get fed up digging around in my bag for a pen, and this year I won't have a homeroom with a handy pencil cup at my elbow. This project took me about an hour to make, and I already owned the fabric. Winning!