Shoe Re-do

On a recent trip to a local second hand store, I found a like-new pair of shoes in my daughter's size. Problem was, they were boy's shoes. But at a dollar, I couldn't pass them up; I knew we'd figure it out. When we got home, sure enough she refused to wear them. When asked what was wrong, she made it clear that if they weren't pink, she wasn't interested. So mom had to get a little creative. A permanent marker and some steam-a-seam did the trick. I covered the orange and black stripes on the tongue and one of the velcro straps with fabric, and colored the toe, second strap and heel piece in bright pink ink. Now she loves wearing her new shoes. This post is linked up at House of Hepworths!

Upcycled Hoodie

This week I made my third hoodie from the Lil Blue Boo pattern, a size 5 for my seven year old. I think this is my best one yet, I'm feeling more confident with this pattern. This hoodie was made from thrifted items and inspired by a hoodie I saw at a trendy kid's boutique online.
This was the first time I lined the hood, and I like it a lot better that way. I left the bottom edge raw with just a couple parallel lines of stitching. The hood binding and the flannel pocket both have "rag" edging detail. The plaid shirt I used had an interesting label on the inside, so I utilized that as a patch embellishment on one sleeve. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with it and my boy loves it so I call this one a complete success!

This Month's Most Useful Tutes

My little ones think I can do anything, (my two year old proudly proclaims to anyone who will listen, "Mommy did it!!") but I often rely on the creativity of others to inspire and instruct me. I am constantly finding tutorials online that help me get the job done. Most used lately:

Make toddler pants out of t-shirts
These "t-pants" are so easy - you can literally make a pair in fifteen minutes or less - and the result is so soft and comfy it makes me want a pair of my own.

How to Spatchcock a Chicken

With all the grilling summer brings, this is a simple way to make cooking a whole chicken more reliable and more impressive without really trying!

Easy Trick to making a Pillowcase
Ok, this one is kind of a cheat because I actually learned this from my great-aunt while we were on our vacation (an expert quilter, she let me sew on her $2K machine - whoo!) but it's such a good tip with such professional looking results, I found a good photo tutorial so you can do it too. Save a ton of money on Christmas presents this year with this one!