A Turkish Feature

So I noticed that I was featured by someone in Turkey...

It's driven a lot of traffic to my site and for that I'm grateful!

But, I don't know how to thank this woman...

I can't read a word on her site!

I can't even read what she wrote about me!

I tried to enter the little paragraph in a translator, but what came up didn't make very much sense.

HELP!

What do I do?

How can I read a blog by someone in a different language???

I'm at a loss...

Here's the link if you want to see.

Scroll down to her second post.

You'll recognize my Braided Bracelet

Please help~

Meredith

Sunday Refashions

I'll start off by telling you what I wanted to do with my Sunday...

I wanted to be basking in the 100 degree weather next to one of these

(source)

And this is totally the pool I would be going to...cuz that's how I roll 

I also wanted some of this

(source)

Because today is National Ice Cream Day!!!

BUT...

Neither of these wonderful things happened today

Why?

Because the kiddo got in trouble

Boo

So now I'm stuck inside being pale and healthy.

AND sewing!!

I have 2 refashions for you today...

First off, I have this dress that I NEVER wear. 

I love it, it's super cute, but my rib cage is too big for the top.

Solution...cut it off and make a skirt instead.

Here's what I started with

Look how great that detail is!

If only I could breathe with it on as a dress!

Ok, so here's the second item I refashioned....

I have this shirt that I HATE

It's orange...gross

It's boxy...blah

It's all around U.G.L.Y.

I don't even know why I bought this shirt so many years ago

I'm sure I've never worn it

See what I mean? Not cute at all!

I made this a little more form fitting and cut the sleeves off

Here it is after the transformation

Loads better, but still boring

So I used the scrap fabric from the sleeves and dressed it up a bit

Here's the whole outfit finished

{ignore my blurry photos...that's what happens when you are trying to photograph yourself}

{and I cut my head off because my hair looks like poo today and I have no makeup on}

There's no question I love the skirt!

The real surprise here is that I now ADORE this shirt!!!

I think I might just wear it everyday...I'm only kidding...sort of

And it looks fab with this skirt!

So there you have it

If I can't have the pool and ice cream, I can at least refashion myself a new outfit!

Hope you are doing something fun today!

Much Love~

Meredith

Handmade Gift Exchange

Twice a year at Craftaholics Anonymous Linda hosts a Handmade Gift Exchange.

Sign up and receive contact info for a partner.

You then have 1 month to get to know that person and make them a lovely gift!

It's such a great idea!

My partner was a lovely woman name Heidi.

Heidi loves pink!

So here is what I made her...she *hearts* it!

The gift exchange went on during the month of June. 

Unfortunately the postal system sucks seems to have lost my package from Heidi, so I have yet to receive anything from her.

Every day I walk to my mailbox with such anticipation, but to no avail.

That's ok though! If nothing shows up, I still had a great time making something for a total stranger!

Gave me the warm fuzzies inside *giggle*

I have been waiting to post what I made her until I got my gift, but I just can't wait anymore.

I had to share!

From what I understand (since I'm new at this stuff) the next exchange will be in November.

I highly recommend looking out for it and joining!

Much Love~

Meredith

Purse/Coat Hooks

My entryway is kind of an eyesore.

I don't even have a real rug inside my door...it's a carpet remnant...super classy I know!

Anywho, I needed somewhere to hang my purse when I come in the door

And I suppose it would be nice for my guests to have somewhere to hang stuff too

I saw these at Hobby Lobby for a whoppin $1.40 a piece

Woot! Score!

 But really, who needs 4 hooks that have crowns on them?? Yeah, not this girl! 

So I painted them :)

 And here they are!

Yes I realize the one my purse is hanging on is a wee bit wonky, but I promise I hung them level...I think the bracket on the back is off...but that's what you get for $1.40 right? Oh well, good enough

Cute enough I think :)

I'm certainly not the best painter in the world mmmkay

Much Love~

Meredith

Braided T-shirt Bracelet

This was a super quick project that I whipped up before work the other morning.

It's so easy to do that I'd recommend making, oh, about 153 of them!

So here's whatcha do

Start with an old knit shirt of some kind. I had already cut the sleeves off this for something else.

 I cut 4 strips that were an inch wide and 8 inches long. I measured my wrist to be 6 inches around then added a couple inches that I thought I would lose in the braiding process. After you cut them, pull the ends to stretch them out. I should mention that this won't work very well unless you cut your fabric the right way, so tug and pull on your shirt beforehand to figure out which way to cut.

 Since I'm all about doing things the easy way, I just hot glued the strips together at the end

 Use a binder clip {or whatever clip you want} and clip to a book {in this case, Mr.'s accounting textbook} and start braiding!

 When you are done, hot glue the other ends together

 Fold together and , yeppers, you guessed it...hot glue the 2 ends together

 Cut another strip about 2.5 inches wide and 4 or so inches long, then fold over the sides to make a tube

 Glue on the inside of the bracelet when your ends meet, wrap it around and glue to finish!

 And voila! A super cute, super comfy, super quick bracelet for summer!

Now go cut up all your old knits and get to braidin'!

Much Love~

Meredith

Still Alive

I've been absent from my blog for 8 days

Shame on me!

What a bad blogger I am

BUT I have excuses...

Doesn't everyone love to hear excuses?

No?

Ah, well, that's all I got...excuses

Excuse #1

I spent the entire 4th of July weekend doing this:

Yeppers, that's me trying to stand on a raft!

Ok, so I didn't do exactly that all weekend, but I did spend every day in a pool of some sort.

It was hot, the pool was cool, and I loved every minute of it!

Excuse #2

I went back to work. 

BOO!

My lazy summer days where I have unlimited time to do whatever I want to do, are over.

This makes me sad, but thus is live, let's move on.

Excuse #3

I decided to put TURQUOISE peek-a-boo highlights in my hair

AHHHH!!!

Crazy I know, but it's just hair, it grows

When my hair is down, they aren't really visible, but the hair is up, or moves, KA-BLAM!

I'm going to dye it again to make the color darker and not quite as mermaid-ish

Maybe I'll show you again when I re-dye it (do you even care?)

Anywho...here it is

(sorry for the crappy photos and my naked face)

Excuse #4

I had a concert to attend

A monumental concert!

I am a die hard 311 fan, like to the core

First CD I ever owned was 311

I've seen them (now officially) TEN times!

I sing every song, I jump in the air, I totally rock out

I L.O.V.E. concerts

There is so much energy at a 311 concert!

So there you have it, my week in a nut shell

I have a new tutorial for you on monday, so be on the lookout.

Hope you all had a fantastic week!

P.S. I'm one follower away from 50 and that makes me smile :) Thanks to everyone who has made my blog start a terrific one!

Much Love~

Meredith

Ikea Mirror Redo

I have these 4 Ikea mirrors I bought 6 or 7 years ago.

They were unfinished wood when I bought them

I painted them a flat black

They hung on my walls in my various rented apartments for years

Now they've been packed in a box in my basement for the last 4 years or so.

I decided they needed a new life

Here's what I started with

Not the most attractive mirrors right?

I covered them in scrapbook paper. 

Take your paper, turn it upside down and cut out the middle square. I didn't worry about it being centered because my paper was bigger than the mirror.

Then modge podge to the front.

I didn't worry about covering the sides or the inside of the square by the mirror because I thought the black looked good enough

Then just trim off the outside with the exacto knife and you're done!

I hung 2 of them in my family room and 2 by my front door

It feels so good to breathe new life into all the random things I have been holding on to!

Much Love~

Meredith