Yep, it is Boys week over at project run and play! WOHOOO!!!
So here is my submission:
100% upcycled outfits for twin boys -
I was inspired to create these shirts by a men's fashion image I found. I'm not a huge fan of pockets on t's so I nixed that and just went with the button detail and a long sleeve style.
Both shirts are made from old Men's T's.
The Khakis are both out of one pair of my husbands old khakis(that he shrank out of during my pregnancies - how unfair is that ;op). One pair has cuffs and patch pockets and the other pair have a hand sewn blind hem, welt pockets in the back, and small slash pockets in the front.
More pictures of the outfits at play:
And the Jacket:
Also 100% upcycled.
-The outer hood is an old sweater
- The outer shell of the jacket is an old pair of my capris
- The lining is a men's dress shirt
-The collar, cuffs, and hood lining are made from my wedding aisle runner (yep I made an aisle runner out of brown knit fabric so that it would match all the other decor.)
the jacket has two front pockets, one has a tab and the other has a zipper
It was raining during our little shoot - so within minutes they were damp and dirty. But that is the point, right - they are little boys and these are their REAL clothes. They will play in the dirt, run in the rain, and sometimes pick a pretty flower for mama.
Ok - so I know my deadline was officially October 1st, and that was yesterday. But since I made the rules, I can change them. Project Run and Play is doing 'Boy Week', so I am allowing myself to finish up a few projects this week to still be included in Project $0. And I mean really - I should have just given myself 2 full months from the start!
This Friday I 'should' have some great pictures posted of my favorite two looks I've made over the last two months. And then next week I will have a round up of everything I've accomplished. So keep an eye out!!!
Yes the one blazer is as close to TWO suits as I got, but I knew that was a stretch from the beginning. I do have the material to make a second blazer for B, so that will get done at some point. A will get a coordinating look to B's Andre 3000 look. And I am sure I will be making more bow ties and hats through the cooler months.
As of now it looks like this will be my final list of accomplishments - not bad for my first fore into challenging myself to do a whole season's collection. 6 shirts 4 pairs of pants 2 hoodies 1 sweater 1 hat 1 bow tie 1 blazer
1 hooded fall jacket
There is still time to enter your own creations in the flikr group - I would love to have one or two bloggers who participated do a guest post about their own adventures in upcycling here on my blog!
Thanks for joining me and encouraging me along the way!!!
It is Magic Monday Again - but this one has a little twist, showing the struggle and how we've adapted. I've been smacked upside the head a great deal recently with two concepts: The first is enjoying the little things - finding joy, happiness & excitement in the mundane everyday. The second is the thought that my truest joy isn't on this earth - and to try to find the ultimate fulfillment just through experiences would be a colossal waste of my time. These two elements may seem counter intuitive, but really can fit together in the crazy existence that I call LIFE.
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There are times I feel like there are so many things that I am giving up or missing out on. It is hard to look through old pictures of my overseas travels and not wish I could go back, or go somewhere new. I miss date nights with my hubby and wish that we could somehow get to NY and see Wicked (something I've been dreaming of since it won its Tonys in 2004). I can no longer hang out with friends at the drop of a hat or volunteer for things that take day light time commitments.
In less than two years, my life has drasticaly transformed.
Here's the thing though, there may be things I miss or that I pass on today, but with a slight shift in perspective I recognize that what I have is more than enough.
I wont be using my passport any day soon, but I did get to go to the Outer Banks with the amazing Winter clan in September. I get to show my boys a variety of wonders in our own back yard on a daily basis. And soon the kids will be old enough that we will get to go on mini day adventures to places like the Pittsburgh Zoo or the Baltimore Aquarium. Sooner than I can imagine, these baby days will be past and perchance that passport will emerge to whisk me away to an overseas photography conference, or a girls getaway, or a romantic re-connection with dear hubs. My border hopping days are not over, just on hold for a short time.
Date nights are few and far between - I realize that alone time between a couple is essential to the health of the marriage and family, but beyond the logistical COST of a date night plus babysitters the sheer exhaustion that envelopes my life after 7pm is ridiculous! So, we have started family date nights. We use the rewards points from our credit card to get gift cards to restaurants. We go as a family which is wonderful for three reasons: 1 - I don't have to cook or plan a meal, 2 - the boys learn how to behave while out to eat, and 3 - it is just fun to be somewhere new and watch the boys study and enjoy their new surroundings. Do we have in depth conversations, no. Are their fancy outfits and come hither high heels, no. But, we laugh, we eat, and we leave a mess for someone else to clean up ;o) Once the boys are in bed, Hubs and I watch a movie and cuddle baby girl. All in all a great date night!
Although I can no longer on a general basis hang out with friends (without pre-planning) - it doesn't stop them from occasionally kidnapping me after 7pm for a yogurt date or showing up at my house - frozen coffee in hand - for a work meeting. We have also simply redefined 'hang out' time into the guise of playdates or a quick lunch out with the kids (where we try to scare whatever restaurant we walk into with the fact that the children outnumber the adults ;op).
Habitat for Humanity and big missions endeavors may be out for right now, but I've gotten hubs to agree to serve with me in the church nursery once a month. And soon I'll be watching our little ones offer to rake the neighbors' leaves - just as three little guys showed up on our lawn Sunday afternoon.
Life is DRASTICALLY different, and then not all that different at all. I have to give up my desire to control each situation and shift how I define an experience... but in the end, All I have is more than enough.
(This is a link to the song: Enough, by Chris Tomlin)
So for Project Run and Play's week 3 challenge: the White Sheet, I was of course focusing on my boys. But then I took a look at my twin sheet and realized that not only was there enough material for two sports coats (yep, I have enough grey for B's jacket and a section I dyed blue - just couldn't get it pulled together for the competition), but there was a section left over that would be just enough for a skirt for baby girl!!!
While I knew with the suit coats that I wanted to disguise the fact that this was ever ever ever a white sheet, I thought that for baby girl's skirt I could use the white to my advantage.
By using the top of the sheet, I scored a pre-finished 4 inch hem - love having some of the work done for me!!! Then I started thinking about what I wanted to make. The idea hit me out of the blue - a hand embroidered skirt with stick figure kids all holding hands and OBVIOUSLY playing Red Rover. I know kids in lots of areas aren't allowed to play this great game anymore, but it was one of my favorites growing up. I love red - so red embroidery seemed the perfect fit. I used a skirt of baby girls that I love as a general guideline, but made this a bit longer and bigger so that it can fit her through the winter and hopefully into next spring (the back has elastic).
Without my mom, this would have remained only and idea. For starters, I have NEVER done any hand embroidery work. For another thing, I didn't have any way of transferring my design tot he cloth, and I knew I couldn't free hand it and have it come out right. In steps super-mom. She has a cool pen that stays until you
wet the fabric. I handed over my design and fabric for her to draw on the design so that I could then sew on top of the lines. We decided that to get the embroidery done in time we would each do a half of the skirt. Next thing I know she shows up with the fabric all DONE!!! Well so much for me learning hand embroidery ;o)
The shirt has two layers, the stitching is only on the top of the four inch hem - so it can't snag from underneath, and a little ribbon on the front.
Hopefully I'll get better pics on baby girl down the road, but I finished it last night and today is dark and rainy. Oh well, I made the deadline (with a lot of help from the world's best mom).
