T-shirt makeover

It's getting to the end of summer, and here's an idea to try on one of those t-shirts you put in the "give away" pile! (hurry, there might be time to find a few more garage sales to "stock up" on t-shirts galore!!!) And with the cooler weather coming, this might be fun to try on a 3/4 length top as well!
 Let me start by saying one day this sweet lady appeared in my drive with a big surprise! It was a brand new sewing machine for me to use to my heart's content! That lady....MY MOM! ♥ The first day I got the sewing machine--I completed a project that I started but couldn't finish with the other sewing machine I was using--due to some "issues" I was having with that machine!


So, back to this project! I just KNEW I had seen something about making a shrug out of an old shirt, but WHERE....what blog.....??? I finally did find the instructions. Very simple and easy to follow. Go here to see: http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/tshirt_shrug  This will really help you to see how it's done.


Basically here is how to do this....


1. cut shirt up the middle
(They also cut all the way around the neck, but I didn't. I can see now where that might be a little better way to do it in the long run so you don't have a bit of extra bunched up fabric)


2. fold over and pin the sides and all the way around the neck (make sure it's folded "in"!)


3. sew from bottom--up all the way around the neck--and back around the other side to the bottom


4. insert a piece of ribbon tied to a pencil and push it through from one opening to the other


5. pull ribbon until you get the "bunched" look and tie


(One side note. I used a shirt one size up. I kind of like it a little "loose" rather than a fitted one. I might try it again with one in my size and compare.)


Oooo--la---laaaa! You are SO creative!!! And you have a new shrug! Wear it around the house and you'll feel like a new woman! ☺

Before....just a regular old shirt

And my finished project!
(photo courtesy of Paige Revak Photography ☺)

 A close up with the ribbon

Don't throw away that CEREAL box!

I saw this idea in a magazine and gave it a try. All you need is an old cereal box, tape, paper of choice (wrapping, scrap booking, old comics...etc), a pen and scissors. I'll mention that I am one of those people that I HAVE to see my finished project as soon as possible....which means I don't like to take a whole lot of time to do a perfect job. ☺

I made these for the girls. Here is how I did it....

Cut the box at an angle on both sides....then lay the box on the paper and mark the size--and be sure to cut it out a little bigger so you can overlap. Now, I just used scotch tape because I wasn't too worried about seeing it. If you are wanting it to look pretty and hide the tape, you can use a tape runner or even glue I guess.

(you can see the sides are done and are
overlapping onto the front & back)

First do the sides...then the front and back. That way the paper overlaps and looks much neater. (I learned this after doing it wrong on the first box!)

You can add stickers, ribbons, labels--whatever your heart desires!♥

A couple things here I want to mention. Cereal boxes are ALL different sizes. So, if you are using this to hold magazines, be sure your box is big enough.

Also, they are pretty flimsy. I know that it's only a matter of time before these get ripped or torn. They are fun, but kids are kids and I don't expect these to last forever. If you have older kids--you might get more mileage!

If you try this...I want to see too. Please send me pics! ☺

By the way, you can google uses for the plastic bag inside the cereal box too! Wow...such frugal ideas!