Fashion Friday

Tank top refashion. These are tank tops that I bought YEARS ago to wear under shirts and have not worn in a long time. You can add ruffles to any shirt using these simple steps.

Start with two tank tops:

Cut the bottom of one of the shirts into approximately 1 1/2 inch wide strips.

I chose to serge the edges, but this is not a must.

Sew a basting stitch down the center of the strip, which means the stitches are long.

Pull on the top thread so the fabric will "ruffle" or scrunch up.

Pin the pieces to the shirt. I ended up only using 3 pieces on this shirt.

Sew the ruffles onto the shirt along the basting stitch and Voila...you have refashioned a shirt to make it more trendy.

Thankful Thursday

This week has been a heart wrenching week. A friend of mine has been faced with a difficult situation. She has recently gotten a diagnosis that is not so favorable and with her family history, it is especially scary. Luckily she was given some good news yesterday, but there is still some issues that need to be resolved. I will continue to lift her up with my prayers so that God will take care of her.

This week, I am so thankful for my family and my health. We have been so fortunate in that I had a healthy pregnancy, a healthy child, and a healthy family. Sometimes I know that I take things for granted, but I am so thankful to God for blessing us with a healthy life.

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek for Fashion Friday's refashion tutorial:

Before:

After:

Summer Dress

I couldn't wait until Friday to post my latest creation. This is a Miamy (my brandname) original! I used a cotton interlock print and ribbing, so it will be nice and soft!

Mini seems to really like her new dress!

A replica of this dress may make its way onto etsy, so let me know what you think!? Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Relay For Life

Relay For Life was wonderful as it has been for the past 4 years. Our team raised over $10,000 for the American Cancer Society and finished in 6th place overall in teams raising the most money!! Whoo hooo! As usual Sandy and I should not be allowed near each other at this event, because we ball like babies when we watch the survivor's lap, the luminary ceremony, hear stories, watch the kid's walk, and at the closing ceremony, so basically, most of the event. The past two years have been especially touching because of the cross country team from a local high school. One of the members of the team lost his mother to cancer last year, so both last year and this year, the whole team started their "Relay" at their high school and then ran to the event location (10 miles away at least) and then a member or members of the team ran throughout the entire event; the team always had someone running from 12 noon on Friday to 12 noon on Saturday...WOW! They are so inspirational and the fact that they are running in memory of someone who touched their life with her support and strength makes it even more amazing. This year, Mini joined our team and walked at the Kid's Walk...I cried, but so did Sandy as she watched Conner walking! These kids are our future and the future of continued cancer research. Mini did an awesome job walking the entire way around the track holding her daddy's hand until she got to the balloon arch where she proceeded to try to steal some of the balloons....OOOPS...we will work on that for next year! It was a great event and I am so proud of all the money we raised for cancer research!

Fashion Friday...a day early!

I know that I will not have time to post tomorrow, so I figured I would post tonight. Tomorrow is our county's Relay For Life event. This is the 4th year I have been involved in this event and it hits close to home each year as I see how cancer effects more and more people all around me. Last year Mini attended all the meetings with me and this year I thought that it was time that she was involved, so this year she is one of many representing our team at the "Kid's Walk!" Thus far, she has raised $90...I am beyond thrilled, since her goal was $25. As a participant, she was able to get a shirt, but as a toddler, it was HUGE, so I thought I could refashion it into a dress!

Before...(this is actually my shirt, but hers was equally as big)!

After...

You got to love the 80's side ponytail!

She loves the "spinning" effect of her new dress!

A close up!

Chuckles

PA Pictures

Here are just a few of our pictures, the rest are on the other camera...they will be coming soon!

A stroll to the park:

At the Pittsburgh Pirates Game:

New Dresses

Here are two dresses that I have just finished up for Mini...did I mention how much I LOVE my serger. It really does cut sewing time in half! Both of these dresses were recycled from Will and my old t-shirts! The pictures don't do the dresses justice, but they look cute on Mini and the best part is...she LOVES them!!!

I used freezer paper stenciling to paint the "Pirates" on the top!

I used freezer paper stenciling with the skull too. Notice the reverse seams...Will doesn't care for it much, but I think it gives it more edge!

Here is the whole dress...I think it will be perfect for ECU Football season!

Sassy Saturday

Since I have been so slack about posting Fashion Friday on Friday, a new day is born...Sassy Saturday! Today's feature is the corkscrew bow, which proved a little more difficult then I had imagined. Usually I can look at things and figure out how to make them, but since Mini doesn't own any of these bows, this posed a little problem. I had hoped to find a tutorial on the Internet that I could just link, but all the tutorials I found did not work 100%, so I combined some of their ideas with my own to provide a tutorial for you.

Items needed: pins, needle and thread, skinny dowel rods, ribbon, liquid starch, hot glue gun, pan, oven, and hair clips.
Step One: Dip entire ribbon in the liquid starch, so that the entire ribbon is wet, but not dripping.

Step Two: Pin the end of the ribbon to the dowel rod.

Step Three: Wrap the ribbon around the dowel rod and then secure the other end with a straight pin; I ended up wrapping 6 dowel rods.

Step Four: Bake in the oven at 275 degrees for 20 minutes. Then let cool and twist off of the dowel rod carefully.

Step Five: Cut the corkscrews into similar lengths; I used 12 corkscrews for each bow so that each would be full. Mix the corckscrews up and then gather them in the middle. Stick a needle and thread through the center trying to go through the majority of the ribbons.

Step Six: Start wrapping the thread around the ribbons so that they are clustered together. When finished thread the needle back through and tie the end off.

Step Seven: Hot glue the ribbon clusters to a hair clip. I always like to clip the hair clip to cardboard so that the two sides do not get stuck together.

Here is Mini sporting her new bows with pigtails. Overall the bow was easy to make once I figured out a method actually worked.

PS

The delay on the pictures from the Super Cooper Vacation is due to a part on order. My Mom and Mike, my stepfather, were ever so generous and gave us there old, but wonderful Nikon camera to use in situations that require faster shutter speed...we used it throughout most of our vacation. Now don't get me wrong, I love my Olympus camera, but it is more for everyday use, but when you are dealing with kids, you need something super quick, because they do not stay in the same position for a long time. We LOVE our NEW Nikon, but didn't have a compatible USB cord, so I just ordered it off of Amazon...as soon as it arrives, I will be updating with pictures!

The Craft-o-holic is baaaaaaaack!

Now that I have met my retched deadline and have gotten back home, I have been crafting away. I just finished a flower pot that I made for a PTA auction and of course forgot to capture in a picture...but don't worry, I have decided to create a duplicate, because I have a plant that is in desperate need of a new stylish home...there will also be a tutorial to come! I have made 2 more dresses and am in the process of making a skirt for Mini as well. I am also in the process of refashioning a shirt/cardigan for myself...that's right finally something for ME! Last, but not least, I am in the process of adding an additional tutorial on a new style of bow making, but have run in to some hiccups, I will fill you in later. As you can see I am beyond excited to be back crafting and am looking forward to accomplishing my goals for this year. Did I mention that my mind goes 100 miles a minute and now have a sketch book to record my ideas so that I don't forget them before I can create them?! For all of you with baby boys out there...I promise I have B-O-Y ideas and tutorials to come soon!!!

Mini's Latest Quotes

Here are some of Mini's latest sayings accompanied with translations.

"No, I not tie-red!" Translation: I'm not tired and good luck putting down for a nap!

"I not do that!" Translation: I did not do that and there is no way you can prove that I did.

"Shhhh...you no talk!" Translation: Stop talking because I'm not listening to you anyway.

"Truck's not gonna to hit me!" Translation: That truck better stop as I cross the road or they will have to deal with my mama, and they don't want to even go there.

"Pricess and Frog." Translation: Let me watch the Princess and the Frog for the 100th time.

"No, no, go timeout." Translation: You are bugging me, so go to timeout.

"1, 2, 3...Come Here." Translation: Mom thinks she is the only one that can countdown...I'll show her!

As you can see Mini is developing a very strong and independent personality. We continue to love her more and more each day as she continues to fill our life with joy and laughter.

A Super Cooper Vacation

So we spent our spring break with wonderful friends; this was a trip that was scheduled around Christmas time, but was canceled due to a trip to the Emergency Room Christmas Eve. We left Sunday afternoon for a trip to PA to visit the Voelps. We had a blast spending time with "Ranny," "Be," and "Owie" as Mini calls them. We got to visit some of their local favorites like Lilliputs, Carnegie Science Center, a Pittsburgh Pirates game, and Simply Yogurt. Pictures are soon to come. As always, we loved seeing the Voelps, but goodbyes seem to be especially difficult.

We really had a blast, even though Mini was a little stinky throughout the trip. In true Voelp/Cooper fashion, we always seem to spread the love and the GERMS with each visit; last night when we got home, Mini had a fever of 100, which is not ridiculous, but when combined with the congestion, ear ache complaints, eye gunk, and stinkiness she has had all week, it is either the "terrible twos" or an ear infection. This time, all the blame can be placed on Mini as she was congested prior to the trip, so hopefully if she was carrying something, it will remain with her and not be passed on to "Owie"...we'll see?!

Also in true Cooper fashion, we had several injuries. Whether it is me slipping and falling in water, such as I did at Disney, or the time I literally busted my hind-end snowboarding and still have a bone chip to prove it, Bella followed suite with numerous injuries. The first injury occured when she was just walking and tripped over a railroad tie in the Voelp's front yard and then proceeded to land head first on the concrete driveway! I heard her head hit before I even heard her cry, but luckily minus a little bit of road-rash in her hairline, she was okay. The next injury occurred in the bathroom at the baseball game...she was rubbing the door while I was using the potty and I looked up and she was playing in blood on the door. What????!!!! You can just imagine my panic, because of course I assumed the blood was not hers being that we were in a women's bathroom and she was not crying at all. After scrubbing her down in the sink, I realized that she had somehow slit her finger...who knew such a tiny cut could yield so much blood. The final injury came when she was just walking and ran into a corner of a table with her eye. Luckily there is just a minor scratch and after ice, no black eye. I've learned that unless she says "Boo-boo" over and over it is not a medical emergency, but I'm a little worried that my child might be very accident prone like her mother...let's hope that since she actually drinks milk, she can avoid broken bones.

Fashion Friday...on Saturday????

The Bubble Dress

Action Shot

So I know that I am a "day late and a dollar short," but it's been a very busy week, so Fashion Friday was delayed. This is an upcycled bubble dress. I had bought this shirt at Target for $1 knowing that I was going to cut it up and make it into something for Mini, as it is soooo soft and with the help of my serger, this was a 30 minute project.

From the back...

She was much more willing to pose after I gave her a piece of candy.