0 T-Shirt Up-cycle

I needed a new gym shirt but I didn't want to go to the store. Honestly, I hate shopping. Don't get me wrong I like getting new clothes as much as the next girl, I just seriously detest the process of shopping, the trying things on and what-not. Nothing ever looks like you expect it to off the rack, or at least not like I expect it to. So, when I decided I needed a new gym shirt I also took note of the abundance of oversize T-shirts I keep as pajamas. This is what I ended up with:

And here is how it started (this is a large men's t-shirt):

All you need are a pair of scissors and a bobby pin, no sewing skills required. 

Start by cutting off the bottom seam

Stretch it out so the edges roll up a little

Cut off the sleeves

And the neck..

Flip it over and on the back cut it like you're making a V-neck

Cut the back like you see here... ^^^

Remember cutting the bottom seam? Cut the stitching off of it. 

Like this..

Take the piece withOUT stitching and stretch it out

Gather the back of the shirt in your hand

Separate the two straps in your fingers like this

Tuck one end of the non stitched, stretched portion of the seam under your thumb, and start wrapping from the bottom up towards your hand. 

When you get to the place where the straps separate, start wrapping in a herringbone pattern

Like this..

 

Once you have gone up as far as you'd like (a couple inches are plenty), get a bobby pin

Slip the bobby pin onto the tail end of the stringy piece (you can cut some of the excess, there will be plenty, just make sure you leave yourself 5in or so)

Stick the bobby pin under the wrapped part

Pull it through and cut off the extra, you can put it through all the way to the bottom if it makes you feel better but this is far enough, I promise. 

And there you have it, a brand new gym shirt without going to the store. I regularly wear a size small in t-shirts, this shirt was a large, I also did this to a medium shirt, that worked out a little better. If you have the option, choose a shirt one size larger than your actual shirt size. 

Again here's the back.. 

Happy Crafting =]

Enjoy =]

0 Leaf Flowers

Yesterday I made flowers out of leaves =] I had a really good day at work and when I got home I just sat in the yard and played. Does it get any better? Nope. Here they are:

Pretty right? So if you live someplace that has seasons like I do, your yard probably looks something like this:

Or, you know:

Either way, my suggestion is that you plop yourself down amid the leaves on the ground with these:

Grandma's old sewing kit and some scissors.. unless your sewing kit contains scissors..

Thanks for the sewing kit Gradma! =]

Find you a good leaf to start with, you'll want to make a pile next to you of leaves that are freshly fallen, you don't want the brittle/dry ones

Fold down the center point

Then one side

Then the other side..

Start rolling it up from one side to the other

When it looks like this set it aside, you can set your scissors on top of it to keep it from unraveling

Pick up another leaf, be sure not to use the dry ones

Fold down the center

And the side..

And the other side..

Put the first leaf on the second leaf like this..

Bring one side over..

Then the other.. =]

Keep adding more leaves just like that and it ill start to come together pretty quick

When you get to the desired size, get out some thread

Wrap the thread several times around the base of your "rose" then tie it off

Yay! Aren't they pretty? I like them.

I made three.

Tear the label off of an old Ale-8-one bottle and there you have it =]

Photo Bomb! Haha! Hank just had to get in one of these pictures, gotta love him =] Other people have done this as well, I got the idea from >HERE< though I think they may have done it a little differently. They look a little sickly in these last couple pictures, I again apologize for that, my camera doesn't like taking pictures inside, it puts a weird orange-y yellow tint on things. 

Happy Crafting!

Enjoy! =]

0 Sandwich Container

I've never been one to bring my lunch along with me to school or work or whatever.. I like hot meals, there's nothing wrong with that. Until you wake up one day and wonder why your pockets are always empty. Its clearly much more economical to pack along a sandwich. So I've joined the lunch bringers, but now that that decision has been made, how do you get your lunch from A to B? For some its simple, dig out the old lunch box you used back in school.. I don't have one. So I bought a lunchbox at the grocery store a few weeks ago on sale for like $3 which is totally cool but I can't just throw my sandwich in it.. Some people go with baggies which is fine but significantly wasteful. So, I need a sandwich container. Some of you may be familiar with the ziplock sandwich box things >HERE< I think glad makes them too and probably a handful of other companies as well. I don't like them. Not at all, not for anything. A little extreme? Maybe. Here is my alternative solution:

Cute right? Eco-chic too.. Yeah, that's right ECO-chic, that thing used to be a milk jug. I stumbled across >THIS< the other day and had to make my own. So to start with you'll need a milk jug..

This is our local gas-station brand milk, I had a jug all rinsed out and ready to go then someone threw it out on me, but fortunately/unfortunately we go through about a gallon of milk a day at my house so I finished this one off in my cereal this morning and here we are. 

So I rinsed it out and removed the label, which comes off best if you pull up a corner then use cold water to loosen the rest as you peel it. It came off pretty clean.

Draw your lines on as a guide

Scissor time! Cut along your lines, I started way up there to make sure I could get the scissors into the jug without destroying anything. 

Make sure the indent part isn't on your tall side.. unless you want a big circle in the middle of your container.. which could be cool.. I should've thought of that before.. use it as a label type area.. put a circular sticker in the center of it.. Oh well. 

It's all coming together =] Clean up the edges if they need it and fold it up.

Yes, like that..

So you can see it's a little bigger than your average sandwich, you could as the link I posted in the beginning says, throw in some grapes or carrot sticks but I really just pack a sandwich and a drink usually.

But how will we keep it closed? Well after searching unsuccessfully for a big rubber band to put around it I dug out my great-big-craft-bag-of-everything and found some string. There was also some shoe laces and ribbon and whatnot that could've also worked but I went this route. 

See how much you'll need, then cut off a piece..

BAM! Eco-chic sandwich container =] 

Cute and environmentally friendly, what more could you want? I'm really happy with this project and I'd love for others to take part in this one so make your own, then comment and let me know what you think of it =]

Happy Crafting!

Enjoy! =]