Striped Shorts....Made from Polo Shirts!

These shorts started out as thrift store polo shirts. They were in great shape (men's size XL) and only $2 each. They are the perfect size to turn into size 6 or 7 boys' Coastal Craze Baggies. (affiliate link)

I had purchased the polo shirts last year with the intention of making more PJ shorts (I made a bunch last summer, see here, here, here, here, and even made them into pants here). 

I completed these several months ago, but hadn't gotten a photo. I made the waist a little larger since using the pre-existing seams on the shirt eliminates the seam allowance. I used the existing hems on the polo shirts which left cute little vents at the leg openings. It also made them a little longer for my long-legged boys. 

Only one pair has pockets. It was simple to eliminate the pockets from the pattern. I recommend this pattern if you are looking for a fun and easy pattern for kids' shorts. I also highly recommend using existing knit t-shirts or polo shirts as a fabric source! They are less expensive and available in so many fun colors.

DIY Couch Pillows & Covers [the frugal way]

I’ve been wanting new couch pillows for awhile now. I’ve scoured Ikea. (I didn’t like the prints. I didn't like the way all the pillows looked deflated.) I’ve priced new pillows at Target. (Too expensive. Too common.)

Colorful Scrappy Pouches (Old Guest Post)

I originally guest posted back in November on the So You Think You're Crafty blog. I wanted to bring my guest post home. I loved the colors of these pouches.
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Hi SYTYC friends! I’m Jennifer and I blog over at Monkey See, Monkey Do! I hope you’ll come visit sometime. Check out my project gallery for crafty and sewing ideas and tutorials I have shared. I wanted to share this tutorial for making a colorful pencil case.

I like zippered pouches. [See evidence here, here and here.]

Handmade Tags and Some New Fabric.

I started making crocheted hats and some custom (sewn) bibs for a local store, Perpetual Childhood. Read more about that in this post.

But anyway, the owner wanted me to have tags for my items. She suggested a print shop in town could do them for me. I checked them out, but at this point, they’re a little out of my price range. 

Upcycled Chevron Purse

I made this little bag using the Buttercup Bag Tutorial at Made By Rae.
I haven’t purchased any of her patterns yet, but I know if I had a serger I would have to try the Washi Dress.

 

Refashioning a Too-Large Skirt with Bias Tape.

I'm still working through the host of clothing that I've been given or acquired to upcycle. A few posts from the last few weeks: Tunic Refashion for me, knit shirt for a little guy, Bike Shirt for me.

Continuing with that theme, here's a skirt someone gave me. It's a bit big. And long.
Here’s the before. (Please excuse the mess. Must sew, you know!)

Recycled Robot Craft for Kids

I save garbage. Like scraps of paper, scraps of yarn, boxes from food or tea…you get the idea. I have the intention of making crafts with my three year-old. Maybe you remember the owls we made back in the fall.

Let’s just say my three-year-old doesn’t make a lot of for doing crafts. Until I told him we could make robots. (I made him a robot shirt a few months ago. He likes robots.)

One problem: He thought we were making REAL robots. That would have working buttons. And talk.

T-Shirt Update: Bicycle

I am on an upcycling kick.

What I actually mean: the clothes I have stored in our linen closet with the intent to upcycle tumble out on me every time I open the closet. So I have to get started on these projects!

If you are also interested in repurposing clothing, upcycling the worn out shirts, jeans, etc you have been saving, or just making things without spending money, you’re going to love the next few weeks of posts here on Monkey See, Monkey Do! You've already seen the tunic refashion I shared last week. 

Upcycled Corbel Shelf

I wanted a shelf for school supplies in our study room. If you recall, I painted a chalkboard-topped desk a few months ago for this same room. 

I wanted a shelf to keep certain items out of the little hands of two little boys. I was able to upcycle the corbels I used for this shelf from the old farmhouse that used to sit on our property. Quick explanation of the old farmhouse can be found here. 

Hot Chocolate Mix (Holiday Gift Idea)

I made these cute little jars of hot chocolate mix for my MOPS friends. I wanted to get my three-year old involved in the mixing and filling of the jars, but he declined. However, these would be a great project if young child was willing to participate. As an added bonus, it uses upcycled baby food jars. You've probably got a ton in your basement, right?

A Wreath Made of … What?!

Wood Shavings. And a coat hanger.
 
My dad uses a plane to smooth wood in his shop. And the plane makes these curly wood shavings which he felt were rather decorative. And he was trying to think of a way to use them. Because he (like me) can’t bear to throw away scraps of anything.

So he challenged me to use them.

And maybe by itself, it isn’t that great of a wreath. But behind some glass jars, it looks decent and adds some texture to my shelf.
 
I think I’ll keep it there for now.

Would you like to make one?

Organizing with Crates

I love wood crates. I’ve pinned lots of ideas for using them. I just finished two for my home.

Gifts for Men: Bottle Top Magnets

Desk Chair Reupholstery: Before & After

This project is one I began a few months ago (in November!?!) We garbage-picked this desk chair way back when we lived in Ohio. (See my prior post on garbage-picking.) We lived in a neighborhood where people would often put items out on their lawn that they no longer wanted but were in good shape. But I still call it garbage-picking because it seems funny.

There wasn’t really anything wrong with the chair before I recovered it…but I wanted it to be something special and add some interest to our kitchen.

I did use quilting-weight cotton. I ironed some fusible fleece to the back of the fabric to make it [hopefully] more durable.

To get started, I detached the back and seat from the chair using a drill. Then I removed the plastic pieces covering the staples securing the fabric. After that, I removed the staples and the fabric to get to the chair’s foam padding.

This project would’ve been super simple if I hadn’t cracked the plastic seat bottom and seat back when I was taking the original black fabric off of the chair. The plastic was what hid the staples securing the fabric to the chair. To do the top of the seat and front of the back rest, I just stapled the fabric to each wood piece (similar to what I did for the first steps of this rocking chair).

However, as you can see, I had to cover the back of the chair with fabric and blue trim/piping. This required getting out my ply-grip and doing the same process I used for the rocking chair reupholstery. However, I have a better stapler this time (it is just a manual stapler) but I didn’t have to use upholstery tacks this time like I did for prior projects!

I also used the ply-grip for the bottom. I won the fabric from Sew, Mama, Sew about 2 years ago! I am so glad to finally have used [some] of it. My wonderful husband and dad made this desk. Our house has a little alcove in the kitchen and so they just built in this super cute desk. [They would want me to note that it still needs some trim around the edges. But I’m using and enjoying it as is!]

I am so glad the chair is done. It took me forever, but turned out well! Looking back, using a quilting-weight light colored cotton print wasn’t the smartest choice for the kitchen!

I did use two coats of Scotch Guard in an attempt to protect my hard work.

Old Picture Frame into Cork Board

There were some old picture frames in our barn. I took one of them that had no glass and [partially] spray painted it and then cut a cork board to fit in the empty space.

For some reason, the paint didn't stick to all of the wood the first time. (I didn't bother priming it, so that's probably why it looked this way.)

Instead of recoating, I decided I liked the 'weathered' look it yielded.

I hung it in my toddler's room so we can put pictures and cards on it!

Car Appliqué on Backpack

When we had our little boy this summer, we were the recipients of two plain black backpacks containing free formula. We use one of them for our two-year old to carry his quiet activities to and from church each week. I thought it needed a little something special.

So I added a car appliqué. I used felt and heat and bond; here’s a brief tutorial on how to make your own iron-on appliqués.

I used a car template I printed off of the internet.

First, I bonded all my felt to the heat and bond. Place the shiny side against the fabric and fuse it.

I cut the large car out of blue felt. I next cut out the windows and wheels to use as separate templates.

I peeled each piece of the heat and bond backing off and then I fused it to the blue felt.

I did this for each piece. And then I added a “3” to the car.

To finish it all off, I peeled the heat and bond backing off of the blue felt.

Then I bonded it to the bag.

This technique could be used to make any type of appliqué!

Repurposed T-Shirt Shag Mat Tutorial

This project was a [time consuming] way to create a comfortable, cute mat for my toddler’s room using materials I had on hand.

Do you want to make one???

I started by cutting up t-shirts (you’ll need about 10) in the color scheme of his room. His room also has green in it, but I did not have any shirts in the “right” color of green, so I just used navy, gray, light blue, and white.

I made my strips 1 1/2” x 4”. Using a rotary cutter saves a lot of time.

For the backing, I used a white standard-size pillow case. We seem to have an abundance of pillow cases in our linen closet, so we won’t miss this one! It was a little scratchy for my taste anyway.

Side note: my grandmother always called pillow cases “pillow slips”. I referred to it that way in college once and a few friends made fun of me for years!

Anyway, draw lines on the pillow case that are 1” apart. This will be the guide you use for sewing on the strips. Do not assume you can sew a straight line without a guide!

Start sewing on the strips!

To sew on the strips, pinch them in the middle. Backstitch at the beginning and end of each row. My rows run vertically so I could sew fewer strips per row.

Fold the strips over so that you don’t catch them in the next row of stitching.

Keep sewing rows of strips until you’ve completed the mat!

This will probably take a long time. You may have to cut more strips. I sure did.

Up close:

I like how it turned out! I think it would make a great bathroom mat.

My husband made fun of me a bit for taking on this project. I think he wasn’t sure our toddler will use it, considering the little guy rarely sits down!