Guest posting at Someday Crafts today

I'm not here today... Because I'm guest posting at ... Yes that's right, filling big shoes today while Michelle is enjoying her bloggy maternity leave.

I'm so excited that Michelle liked my latest denim project So please go check it out 
It involves a lot of these 

Not here today

I'm not here today. But I'm still in blogland
Wanna see what I'm up to ? Tune in to  504 Main: home of Holly's inspirational decors projects and the "Tickled Pink" party.

Hope to see you there and that you will time to look around and check Holly's creations.

Not here today

With a cute tute to make these

Not here today

Today I'm guest posting at

    

with a little tutorial on how to turn this disaster

into this

 http://choosetothrive.blogspot.com/

What I've been up to - Weeks 5,6 & 7 and a Valentine roundup

As you know I took a little blog break to regroup after my FIL's diagnostic and his lengthy stay in the hospital. There was too much worry and stress to really think about something crafty. Thankfully, he is now resting home and recovering strength before starting a series of treatments.

During this time, 3 wonderful bloggers stepped up to keep my little blog alive. I call them my White Knights as they came to the rescue and also because White Knights are a gorgeous variety of orchid. 

Holly - 504 Main
Spring Chicks

Beverly - Flamingo Toes
Valentine's Shirt

Nike - Choose to Thrive
Captain Underpants and the Twirl Skirt

Thank you again ladies for holding the fort!

During these 3 weeks, only 2 finishes:  

The Tiger Lily Necklace 

And this Anthro knock off handbag

And just because Valentine's day is tomorrow,  here is a round up of my Valentine's crafts for the year

Valentine Berry Wreath

Love Declaration

The Sweetheart Necklace

Hearts and Blooms Wreath

Have a great Valentine's day !!!

White Knights' week - Captain Underpants and the twirl skirt with Nike

My third white knight and champion of repurposing is Nike. I'm always looking forward to Nike's next creation on her zero dollar budget. That's creativity! Her motto: "Rock what you got". Yes she does all this with no budget, a houseful of little bandits children she calls The Dirty Half Dozen and you guessed already a solid sense of humor.

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Happy Saturday and hello to everyone at Atelier Caroline! I’m Nike (Neeka) from Choose To Thrive and I’m happy to be spending the weekend with all you!

In my latest super-human attempt to finish all those someday projects that I bought stuff for eons ago, I dug out this cute Valentine’s Day fabric just in time for my daughters to have skirts to wear … for one day.

Bravo on the timing Super Mom, bravo.

I found a simple skirt pattern perfect for a rookie sewer like me: sew sides, hem, add elastic. And everything was going along just swimmingly until I came to the adding elastic part. Because as it turns out, I was fresh out of elastic.

So I used my Super Mom powers and did the only thing I could think of …

Grab a pair of undies, some scissors and Rock What Ya Got!

And the result?

A quick, cute, finished skirt with no-cost notions to boot.

Want to make one for your little ones?

I used the Lazy Days skirt pattern which is free to download for personal use from oliver + s.

I followed the pattern directions for materials, using fabric from my stash. For the waistband, I cut away the elastic band from a worn and ready-to-toss pair of skivvies …

… and trimmed it to the length I needed for the skirt with lightening speed.

You can remove left-over fabric  from the elastic with a seem ripper for a cleaner look, but was in a hurry and skipped that step. No biggie either way.

And since these Valentine’s skirts were made out of  elastic from a pair of super hero undies, they may just be the first skirts with super powers:

Captain Underpants to the rescue!

Add a make-shift cape from a fabric scrap, eye wear of choice, and you’ve got yourself a super fun afternoon.

So, next time you have clothes that are ready to toss,

S  T  O  P

… and cut out that waistband!

I keep mine in a large ziplock bag until I’m ready to break them down. 

Then whenever I have some time to kill during a TV show, movie, long car ride, or break from fighting the forces of evil, I whip out my seem ripper and get to work.

So there you have it …

… free sewing notions and a finished project without a single trip to the store!

And that’s pretty super.

for more of my projects and tips to live and craft without spending a dime.

See you soon!

   

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The skirt and the superhero are adorable. Captain Underpants did save the day!

Check out Nike's blog and learn how to create "fabulous" with a zero budget.

White knights' week -Valentine shirt with Bev

Valentine's day is Monday. Declare your flame all over again. Beverly , my second White Knight shares a tutorial to make a statement (and a declaration) out of a plain white shirt. How could "He" not love this too? 

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Hello Atelier Caroline Readers!
I'm excited to meet you!

My name is Beverly and I blog over at Flamingo Toes.

I love crafting, sewing, cooking - and I'm willing to try just about anything. 

I love making things that are fun and whimsical - and this tutorial is just that!

I wanted to make a shirt for Valentine's Day. Something sweet and

"Valentine-y" but not something that I was limited to wear only for a few

days once a year. (I don't have any problem with that - I just don't have

the closet space to store clothes for every holiday.) I wanted something

subtly Valentine-y. Yes. I just said that.

Here's what I came up with!





My sweet friend Emily, from Frilly Details had sent me a tutorial idea on the request page back before Christmas - which I loved but I just didn't have time to do. It was for this cute Christmas shirt at Target.



It was a plain white t-shirt with a white ribbon or chiffon ruffled and
stitched on for the words. Nice and simple but oh so cute!

I switched it up a bit and went with the whole "He Loves Me, He loves me
not, he loves me" idea with a flower for Valentine's Day - only I shortened
it. Because I don't have to guess, I know he loves me. :)

Ready for a tutorial?

You'll need:

. T-shirt
. Assorted Ribbon. I used about 7 yards for the white (definitely an
estimate) and maybe 2 yards for the cream on the flower
. Freezer paper



This is a pretty similar process to my Ribbon
Flower T-shirt. You probably haven't seen that though because I think
maybe 11 people were reading my blog then. :) Maybe less.

Start by ironing on a piece of Freezer paper to the wrong side of the front
of your t-shirt. Place the shiny side of the freezer paper down on the
fabric and iron it - it will stick to the fabric.
This is to stabilize our shirt. If we didn't do this, when we sewed the
ribbon on the t-shirt would stretch out and look funky.



PS - this was my last piece of freezer paper and I am now out. That is on
par with running out of milk in this house. Must. Buy. More.

Turn your shirt right side out. Draw out what you would like to write. I
wrote "he loves me" and drew a flower. But it would also be cute to write
out "love" in different languages, or whatever you want really!



For a marking pen - I used a Marvy Disappearing Ink marker that I picked up
at a quilt shop. The marker says that the ink disappears within 2 - 14 days.
Um. Not in my case. More like 2 - 14 minutes. Not really - but it starts
disappearing within an hour or two. I like that it disappears so completely
- but if I am not going to finish my project on the day I've started - I
don't use it. I switch to the blue Mark-B-Gone that I get at Joann's. That
one stays longer but is also harder to get out and sometimes it returns. So
neither are ideal. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Ok - onto sewing. I started with a 10 yard roll of white 3/8" ribbon. I used
about 3/4 of it I think.

Run a gathering stitch down the center of the ribbon. Put your sewing
machine on the longest stitch length and sew down the center, leaving long
ends at the beginning and end of the thread.
I stopped and started my stitch a few times since the ribbon piece was so
long. I didn't want my gathering thread to break in the middle. Hold the
ribbon and pull gently on one of the ends of the thread (either the top or
the bottom, it doesn't matter which). This will gather up the ribbon. You
don't want the gathers too tight for this.



Start with the end of the ribbon and your first letter. Turn the ribbon
under just a bit so the cut end is covered by the ribbon. Begin sewing your
ribbon on, following your marked lines.
Fold the ribbon under at the end of the word, like you did at the beginning.



Continue sewing your ribbon onto your other words. Your shirt will become
pretty wrinkled because of the freezer paper. Just make sure it doesn't
pucker under the ribbon. Also make sure you are pulling the rest of the
shirt out of the way and you don't sew over it accidentally. Ahem.



See? Wrinkly. :)

I wanted the petals of the flower to be just a bit different than the
writing. I used a sheer ivory 3/8" wide ribbon.

Follow the marked lines for this as well, but at the curves, turn the ribbon
at angles to follow the lines.





For the center of the flower, switch back to the ruffled white. Sew that in
the center of the flower in a spiral, so that your spiral gets smaller and
smaller and covers the center of the flower.



Turn your shirt wrong side out - it's time to remove all the freezer paper.

Start by tearing off the big pieces around the edges. Work closer and closer
to your stitching. When you get to the stitching, pull gently - if you pull
too hard you can pull out or distort your threads. It helps to place your
finger on the seam and pull gently with your other hand. This will help hold
the stitching in place.



Once you have all the freezer paper off, turn it right side out and press
out all your wrinkles.







Now you have a cute shirt for Valentine's Day that you can wear year round!







What do you think? Subtly Valentine-y? ;)

I'd love for you to stop by Flamingo Toes and say 'Hi!" ;)
You can check out my projects here - there are tutorials for
home decor, jewelry, holiday things - and lots more!

Thank you so much for having me over Caroline!

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A great idea and a versatile technique that can be adapted to many other projects.
 Very Valentine, and very chic shirt. 
Many thanks Beverly