dreaming of a restful christmas.....

i am so sorry

i have not been a very good blogger lately....hopefully santa won't hold it against me.

to be honest, i had no idea how much car accidents hurt. my husband, myself, and a friend hit a tree head on last week so....yea. it still hurts. hahaha with that said, can i give you all some holiday links i have found useful during my restful holiday season? maybe you can use them too!

a basic stocking because who doesn't want to personalize their stocking?!

gift tags that make you look oh so classy

glitter ornaments and the glitter is on the inside so you don't look like a craft store attacked you

an envelope ornament, a great way to present a gift card at christmas along with a lil' love note

a village of white felt houses because everything is better in miniature

felt mistletoe (kiss kiss kiss!)

a ruffly, felt wreath that matches any decor

a simple and chic tree skirt for us last minute decorators

classy pearl ornaments to fancy up any tree

and with that.....i hope you enjoy this wonderful week and have a fabulous monday!

and hopefully this links can help!

on wednesday, i will be posting ten last minute diy gifts for those family members you didn't forget...you just...have a very full brain. hahaha

how halloweeny

i know what you're thinking....halloween is like two weeks away?! why so early?! welll i want you to have enough time to find a too-big-for-you orange shirt somewhere. and i'm not gonna lie, orange is kind of a hard color to find....


this used to be my mother's shirt, i simply made it smaller by taking the sides and sleeves in. i could have ended it there, but i was feelin' daring so i tried to think of something fun

at first, i was excited to have a new top. then i looked at my pile of scraps and the debate

keep the scraps?

throw away the scraps?

make something out of the scraps?

ideas flew across my head: bows, flowers, necklace, pom poms, and the list went on. sometimes i can't really control what's going on in there....

i finally decided on ruffles. yes. i made the neck ruffle with the side scraps.

with non-matching thread, i

took the scraps and sewed them together to create a long rectangle

then, i folded my large scrap in half lengthwise to create a tube. then i did a loose, wide stitch to create the ruffle

next, i pinned the ruffle to the neckline. there is no need to turn the tube inside out because the knit won't ravel, and the ruffle hides the unfinished edge pretty well. it doesn't even look unfinished :)

i actually did all of this by hand, because i was scared of my sewing machine. hahaha this was a project i actually did months ago, so i didn't know how to make a ruffle on the sewing machine. everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?

if you could find an orange shirt, this is perrrrfect for halloween! it reminds me of pumpkin spice...i feel like a little piece of fall walking around

do any of you dress halloween-y or christmas-y for the entire month before?

i do :)

ruffles. then more ruffles.

i looooove ruffles. not as much as i love bows, but i do love them. it takes anything from okay to uber feminine in a snap. and that is why i feel in love with this top from GAP, because it has TWO ruffles. around the neck.

so so cute.

so i made this instead.

 so fierce.

i added some sleeves because...i wanted to. hahaha and i made it navy because i love navy. who doesn't?

so let's make it guys! let's cheat GAP out of thirty dollars! hahaha

* i somehow managed to delete a few photos on how to make this shirt...sorry! we will have to use our imaginations :)*

1. you will need a shirt to base this off of. fold the shirt in half and fold the sleeve underneath and cut out the outline of the shirt (remember to leave a seam allowance). also, make sure to make two pieces. don't cut the necklines the same; one should be lower than the other.

it will look something like this.

2. make a model for your sleeves off of your shirt's sleeves. this is what mine looked like. it was a little on the big side, but hey bigger is always better. remember to make two!

3. sew the sides and sleeves of the shirt pieces

4. sew the sleeves together

5. sew the sleeves onto the shirt

and it will look like this! oh my gosh, you just made a shirt. good job :) that is a big accomplishment

and here is where i deleted all of the pictures. also, sorry for all of the math!

alllrighty onto the ruffles :)

this will be like all of the ruffles we have previously made, so don't worry :)

6. measure your neckline. times it by two. add 6 inches. so my measurements were

23 (neckline) x 2 + 6 = 52 inches

it seems like a lot, but we are ruffling!

the fabric should also be 4 inches wide.

7. for the second ruffle, and another two inches. so for me

52 + 2 =54 inches

this fabric should also be 4 inches wide

8. after cutting both of those pieces, set your sewing machine to the lowest tension and stitch length. or, do it my hand by making a long, loose whipstitch. remember reverse stitch only one side because we will need to pull those strings

9. start ruffling. ruffle by pulling one string out and gently pulling excess fabric down the strip. make your first ruffle one inch longer than your neckline measurement. make your second ruffle three inches longer than your neck measurement. my measurements were 24 inches and 26 inches.

10. pin the longer ruffle about an inch and a half to two inches lower than the neckline with the unfinished edge, pin it on, and sew! fold over extra ruffle-age at the end to hide the raw edges

11. take the smaller ruffle and pin it directly into your neckline. then sew it on! 

don't worry about the raw edges, we are about to take care of them

12. cut a 1.5 inch wide piece of fabric that is your neckline measurement plus 3 inches. my neckline measurement was 23 inches, so my piece was 1.5 inches x 26 inches

13. fold over each side .5 inches and carefully pin to the neckline and sew it on!

14. you are DONE!

i started taking my pictures with a tripod because my husband photographer was busy...let's just say that i am clumsy with a tripod. hahaha

i feel like this is a party shirt. like, oh hey i am all snazzy at a party. no big deal.

ruffles!!!!

now, go have a fantastic weekend and don't forget to sign up for the giveaway!