Sorry for the small hiatus!

I'm still here!

The blog has been quiet, but I've been busy, I assure you. :)
Last blog, I introduced you to my first video blog ever - now, I introduce you to the entire HopeCycle/LadyCarton youtube channel!

Besides being a place for vlogs, sewing tutorials, and original music, the LadyCarton channel is home to a series for girls called "Morning Chats".

I've also added some new products to the Etsy store (though without tutorials here, I'm sorry!):

Scarves!

Fairy scarves!

Paisley unity scarves!

The main reason you haven't seen any sewing from me recently is A) I've been having a little too much fun with the videos, and B) I'm working on orders and gifts for Christmas! But I'll be back with some new things soon!

Also! (Unrelated to HopeCycle)
Since this blog has essentially become the HopeCycle, I'm moving all my story sketches (and possibly writing work as well) over to my new Tumblr blog!
I'll be posting doodles and concept art for the book I'm 'working on' :D

Remember this? There's a lot more where these came from!

So that's all the craziness, for now! Mwa! <3
 

Landfill to Lovely: A Closet Refashion

So you'll remember a little while back, when my work area was EXPLODING with HopeCycle stuff, and I had to refash it STAT.

Well it started happening again, but in my closet.

Aaaaaagh . . . .

Most specifically, the bottom.

Eek! What is even going on??

Which made me feel like this:

Something needed to be done! 

So this happened:

Woohooooo!

You can watch the 4 minute-long video blog above, or you can just cheat and look at this picture down here.
(Spoiler Alert! :P)

Is this MY closet?!

So that was fun! It took me an entire afternoon, and it's too bad I didn't get any in-between shots, because there was clothes EVERYWHERE.

Stay tuned for more HopeCycle Refashions coming soon!

New Things for HopeCycle!

I know, the blog has been quiet since Labor Day . . . ya'll are a patient bunch, thank you for sticking around. :)

I've been working on some things! Like this, for example:

What's that??

And THIS:

It's purple and petally! What could it be?

Oh, and this . . .

Oil painting is one of my many distractions. I'm sorry.

Oh, and spending quality time with this . . .

I love him so much. :) Monster faces are the best.

But there are NEW things coming to HopeCycle! 

New products are in the works, and I've also started a YouTube channel - you can find me under LadyCarton! :)
Stay tuned!
 

3 No-Sew Pillow Covers

Happy Labor Day!

I'm really excited about today. We aren't doing anything special (no cookouts, no parties, no chips and dip), but I actually have the day off.

The whole day off. From wake-up to bedtime. No work.

THIS NEVER HAPPENS.

So I made myself a scheduled list to get everything done! I'm already ahead, and loving it. :)

This project in particular, I'm really enjoying! What better way to fritter away your labor day than sprucing up your living room for FREE with clothes you already have, and no sewing required?

A weekend or so ago (before the hubster's semester started), we FINALLY got around to finishing painting our walls. They looked like this for the longest time;

Paint sample abstract art! For . . . months and months.

Which is why in most of my before pictures, you can see this weird patchy pattern behind me.

Yeah. That's 'cus we never got around to actually painting. Oops.

But we finally got it done! TADAH!

The back wall is more of an aqua/pale teal than this picture shows, and the right wall is latte.

Well, now that's done, we could finally start updating our decorations to coordinate! Specifically these couch pillows - and just in time for fall!

These are pillows that say "Meh."

Inspired by this tutorial, I'm proud to introduce to you...

3 No-Sew Pillow Covers

 - from clothes lying around your house!

Pillow 1: The Maxi Dress

Love the patterns on this dress!

Place pillow in the middle

Overlap each half of the skirt

Tie the ends! I gave myself a little more on the skirt side than the top side, since I'll be hiding the top part.

Tuck in the top part, and pull the leftover skirt bit over, to look like a knot. Safety pin in place, and voila!

Pillow 2: The Peasant Skirt

Love me a good hippy/boho/peasant skirt!

Place pillow in the middle!

Fold the waist and bottom over

Fold the remain sides over, and safety pin in place!

How easy was that?!

Pillow 3: The Turtleneck

Stretchy turtleneck, meet 14x14" pillow!

Stuff!

Tuck in that neck!

Fold under the bottom ends . . .

And pin in place (on the same side you tucked in the neck)

Flip it around, and tie those arms!

Knot them -

Tuck in your ends, and you're done!

And that's it!
The possibilities here are endless - skirts, silk scarves, table cloths . . . changeable for every season!

How fun are these??

Bonus! Bling it up with some extra-long necklaces!

Such a quck and easy update! How will you refashion your living room?

Happy Fall, ya'll!

Towel-head Dress Challenge!

A little while ago, we received a package via USPS that said CHOCOLATE on the outside.

It was a pretty big box to be filled with chocolate - my small crock-pot would've had room to slosh around inside that box.

I was excited. 

But then I realized, this probably isn't really chocolate. (I suppressed the tears.) But then I realized, what else would somebody send me in a box this size?

DRESS DONATIONS!

Woohooooo!

You may recognize that dress on the far left, and remember what I just did with it :)

 In case I haven't made it clear, pretty much all the refashions you see here are done with donated items, because I'm not just refashioning for refashions sake (or for my own closet's sake), but to sell the refashioned items for charity!

But what about those four other dresses?

I started trying them on, and while they all basically fit me, I began to realize that they're all kind of the same dress, with slight variations.

The Pink Gauzey Towel-Head Dress

The Black Drop-Waist Towel-Head Dress

The Green Stripe Towel-Head Dress

The Shiny Periwinkle Towel-Head Dress

So here's where I need YOUR help! I want to refashion each of these dresses into something every-day wearable, and I want each one to be different! What should I do?

Comment here or on Facebook!

If I use your idea, not only will you be credited, I'll send you a special HopeCycle prize! (There may or may not be cookies involved.)

But seriously, guys . . . . .

these dresses need help.

Save the Towel-Heads!

Prim Prom Dress to Polka Party SHIRT!

So last time you saw me take this dress, and do this with it!

And somebody already has called dibs on it. :) Love it when that happens!

But what about that lonely upper half?

Cut off from its friends and family, poor dear . . .

Of course, you can already see where we're going with this. :)

So first thing I did was pull out my wood-burning tool and wood board!

Lifted everything up to get to that very bottom layer.

If you happen to have a burning tool and are interested in experimenting with cutting synthetic fabrics this way, here's what I do;

Use your pointiest tip, and turn the heat to medium (if your tool has heat options).

Always remember; you NEVER change out that tip while your tool is on! You want to keep those God-given finger prints!

You have to move fairly slowly through the material to get a clean line, and it helps to hold the fabric on each side of the cut. If you don't pull the cut slightly as you go, then the newly-melted fibers will just stick back to each other and you'll have to re-cut it.

Carefully . . .

 

Slice!  ...the hand position is optional.

So I cut/melted a loose scallop pattern through all three layers of material, alternating where the peaks and dips would be, so you'd be able to see the different layers peeking through.

And there you go!

A cute baby-doll style shirt!

Gotta love that lace-up back.

Dress it down . . .

 . . . or dress it up! (And remember this skirt??)

Sometimes the best refashions are the simplest. :) This item is not yet up in the Etsy store - let me know if you're interested!

Tune in next time! Mwa! <3