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Proudest DIY Moment by Guest Tiffany

by Guest on 10. Sep, 2010 in diy, homemade

Hello IS•LY readers. I’m Tiffany from Simply Modern Mom. And I am excited to be here to share with you my proudest DIY moments. Going through my list of tutorials, I had a hard time deciding which one was my favorite. They all had a special meaning to me at one time or another. After contemplating it for a few days, I decided to go with my pillowcase dresses — the pleated bow pillowcase dress and the retro ruffle pillowcase dress.

The reason why these are my proudest DIY moments is because they were the first dresses I designed all on my own. The ideas popped into my head then I sketched out the idea, figured out the measurements and how to piece it all together. I also used pillowcases I found from the thrift store for 50 cents each. It was no big deal if the dresses didn’t turn out. But since they did turn out, I made my daughter two new dresses for 50 cents each!

This pleated bow pillowcase dress turned out differently than I had sketched in my book. Originally it had pleated sleeves and just pleats in the front. Once I started making it, I forgot the sleeves and added the bow because I thought the pleats alone looked a little plain. And the white trim at the bottom of the skirt was a last minute idea. I had scraps leftover from the pillowcase and didn’t want it to go to waste.

Next, the retro ruffle pillowcase dress was actually my first pillowcase dress design. I found the pillowcase first and loved the pattern and colors. I knew I wanted to make a dress out of it and give it a retro style. This dress turned out great except I made the collar a little too big. It didn’t turn out to be a huge deal because I could tighten by shortening the ribbon on the back of the dress. I love little girls in blue dresses, don’t you?

If you want to make these dresses, go to Simply Modern Mom for the full tutorials.

Happy sewing!

Tiffany {Simply Modern Mom}

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Proudest DIY Moment By Guest Madeline

by Guest on 09. Sep, 2010 in diy, homemade

Hi, I’m Madeline. I love all things pretty, and blog about budget style & fashion over at Über Chic for Cheap. I got to know Melissa when we bunked (yep, I said bunked) together at EVO. It was ridiculously fun and Melissa is ridiculously awesome, but you all know that.

Sometimes I see something lovely and expensive and I fall in love with it. The next days and weeks are spent feverishly plotting ways to get that something for myself – without breaking the bank. My proudest DIY moment came about from one of these times. I started coveting this Anthropologie Hidden Hummingbird Tank the second I saw it.

Isn’t it gorgeous?

As soon as I saw the $78 price tag I started plotting ways to make one of my own. Then I remembered this ridiculously awesome fabric that has been in my mother’s fabric stash since about 1991.


It’s a single side floral printed fleece. My mom said she bought it to make my little first grade self a sweat suit. So awesome. I cut the flowers and leaves out to use in my design. I also cut leaf shapes out of the solid blue portion of the fabric.

I laid out the pieces on my scoop neck tee, pinned them in place and hand sewed them on. I added the contrast stitching around the edges while sewing. Then, I added beading to the flowers.

Here’s the finished product:

Looking back, I would have ironed fusible interfacing on the inside of the applique, because the fabric rolls a bit. I also would never put this in the washing machine, and obviously not the dryer.

Other than that, I am really happy with how it turned out. 5 months later I am still completely in love with it.

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Proudest DIY Moment by Guest Melanie

by Guest on 07. Sep, 2010 in diy, homemade

Well hello, hello. I’m Melanie  author of You Are My Fave and a general fan of all things awesome. That does not include when people misuse the word ironic. I met Melissa in college where we worked together so I’ve beheld her thrifty chicness and talent in person.  I feel as if I get some sort of bragging rights for that.

I’ll tell you what was not my proudest DIY moment. The day in seventh grade life skills class where I sewed the two sides of my mini duffle bag together then cried in the closet while my teacher unstitched it. I learned then and there that I’m not cut out for sewing and I needed to explore other DIY territories. The art of the party entered the scene when I took on the challenge of crafting centerpieces for our prom and decided that staying up to finish them was more important then getting sleep the night before I took the ACT. Those tragic Mardi Gras themed centerpieces were the beginning and this handcrafted pinwheel party is the present.

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Every detail was handmade and although pinwheels are on the easy end of things, it was still a proud DIY moment for me. Mostly because it turned out like the picture in my head and that’s a rare, rare thing. Just ask my husband about his birthday cake this year.

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Proudest DIY Moment by Kami Bigler

by Guest on 06. Sep, 2010 in diy, homemade

Hi IS•LY Readers!

I’m Kami and I blog at no biggie. I’m so happy to be here today! I have loved getting to know Melissa. We both share a love for thrift store finds. Melissa invited me to share my proudest DIY Moment. Over the past year, of all the great thrifty finds I have found, I would have to say that this Mirror would have to be my favorite and proudest moment, indeed.

I was just getting into thrifting, and I had decided to spend a full day going from thrift store to thrift store. On that day, I found this beauty. This big Old mirror was priced at just $10. I know! Just $10! If you saw it in real life you could see how big it is. Luckily it fit in my car.

Here is what it looks like now, you gotta love spray paint:

Below are some pics of the transformation process.

A good friend was over recently and commented, “That mirror looks like it came from Anthropologie.” It was so fun to tell her that I bought it for $10 at the D.I.

You can find Kami at no biggie sharing all of her favorites: great recipes, upcycled thrifty finds and paper crafts. You can also find her blogging on Baby Center’s Momformation blog.

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Proudest DIY Moment by Guest Jessica

by Guest on 03. Sep, 2010 in diy, homemade

Jessica here of Allora Handmade where I blog about my crazy happy (mostly) life as a mom and handmade business owner trying to keep it all together. (I’ll let you in on a little secret. I don’t have it all together. Promise.) Moving on…

When Melissa asked me to post about my favorite DIY moment I completely drew a blank. Between working on my shop and making sure my kids have something to eat three times a day, there is little time for DIY around here. Unless you count Mac N’ Cheese. But I’m pretty sure that doesn’t count. Besides that, I happen to be married to one of the best DIY-ers I’ve ever met. Naturally, any project I dream up or even begin is more often than not made bigger and better by the Mr. I think I’m pretty lucky to be married to the handyman/graphic designer/interior designer pro, but when I look around at all the projects in my house there are very few (as in zero, ahem.) that I can call my own.  BUT, I think we make a pretty awesome team.

Since we have moved 7 times in the 5 years we’ve been married (can you imagine?), one of the most important DIY projects we do together is making sure our house feels like a home. Though it’s tempting to never settle in, we have put a lot of effort into every place we’ve ever lived, regardless of how long we were staying. Our taste and our skills have evolved with each new home, and I must say, our current home is definitely my favorite.

the view from our front door

Our style is pretty eclectic, but has to be 1 and 2 year old friendly. We love bright colors and pictures (obviously) as well as thrifted and vintage items. The Zebra rug is quite a statement, but I love it. Totally unexpected when you walk in the front door. The bright blue chair is my husband’s most recent project. It’s crazy wild, but my boys can’t get enough of it. Really, everyone who comes to our door feels compelled to step in and take a look around.

yes, i know the chandelier needs replacing...

In almost every home we’ve lived in, we’ve incorporated some sort of picture wall, but this one is different from the rest and has a little more flair to it. Instead of just pictures, we’ve added in some thrifted art, some personal art (even a few done by the boys!), vintage mirrors, etc. We love the way all of the frames look together – all mis-matched and gallery like. To recreate this look, start hunting around for some cool art with colors you like, some thrifted frames, and blow up some of your favorite photos. If you’re obsessive like us, measure all of your frames and draw out a map of where everything will go before trying to hang anything up. Keep in mind, it doesn’t have to be perfect! At our house most of the time the frames are a little cockeyed and full of little boy fingerprints.

treasures are kept high and out of reach

The greatest part about all of this? Most of it was free or super cheap. Not kidding. Those awesome swivel dining chairs? Free. The blue chair? Maybe $20 including paint and fabric. The vintage metal desk? Free. The leather sofa and chair? $50. The big vintage mirror? $10. Most of the frames were from a thrift store and all of the found items as well.
Believe me, if we can create a home out of a house and a few bucks, anyone can! And while I never look forward to moving, I am excited to share many more DIY moments with my Mr.
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