Rocker Reconstruction!

My latest project was suuuuuper fun!!!  In fact, I may have found my calling.  I repurposed a pair of regular cargo pants:

.......into rocker pants!

John Corabi sporting his new rockin' pants

I ain't gonna lie--A lot of work went into these!

{The next part is the technical "mumbo jumbo" just for you detail-oriented peeps.  Instant gratification chicas can scroll down a bit to see the close-up after pics.} ;-)

{The nitty gritty}  Instead of using new fabric, I used two "used" pairs of pants I found at a thrift store for all the fabric elements I added to the existing pants.  Here's what was left of them after I was finished:

thrift store pant remains

The first thing I did was fit them to make them a tighter fitting pant instead of baggy cargos.  I took them in at the back seam and the inseam.  Then, I removed the waistband to give them more of a low-rise fit.

the waistband I removed

The next steps all consist of making different elements to add to the pants:  pockets, flaps, d-rings, snaps, patches, belt loops, and belt, not necessarily in that order.  

{Patches}  I printed John's logo onto fabric using my computer and made it into a patch with leather edges.  I also made patches using cross stencils I created and silver fabric spray-paint.  

{Pockets}  I created pockets using denim and leather {my fave materials!} and snaps.  There are a lot of pockets on these pants!

{D-rings}  I added D-rings and strips of denim.  I also cut and roughed up the denim to give it an edgier look.

{Belt loops and Belt}  I created new belt loops and sanded the fabric to give them some wear, then I made a belt and, again,  roughed up the fabric.

{Finishing Touches}

leather around the front zipper.

Hand-sewn stitches

{the final step}

Vahle Creative {hand-stamped by "Hardwear Merry"}

Lookin' good!

Kid's Aprons--with a Vahle Creative Twist!

I wanted to make something for my two oldest daughters for Christmas this year.  I remember when my Mom made me and my two sisters little fabric bunnies one year.  Each bunny had its own little lightweight calico dress, in slightly different shades so we could tell them apart.  Even as a child I thought it was so special that she took the time to do that, and I wanted to give that same feeling to my girls.  I thought about making them a fabric doll, but then it hit me:  aprons!  The girls both love to paint and create, so their craft aprons get a lot of use throughout the year.  This also gave me the opportunity to use the embroidery function on my sewing machine!  

I got to work on designing the aprons.  Of course each girl's apron had to be unique to her.  I did some searching online for ideas, created a Pinterest board, see that {here}, settled on a design, then searched through my fabrics.  I have really been trying to use fabric I already have instead of going out and buying more every time I have a project, unless I need something specific.  I settled on a heavy denim fabric as the "base" for each.  If you've seen my past work, you know I'm all about denim, and I love bleaching it.  I don't like rough, rigid denim, so I try to wash it and break it down a little--that's where the bleach comes in.  I bleached the denim a little, then picked out some cotton poplin fabrics as the accents:  {pink} for Vonda and a hand-dyed and hand-painted (by moi) {purple} for Maison.  I also picked two old pairs of my husband's jeans from my scrap pile and took the back pockets off to use as the front pockets for their aprons.

For Vonda, I used one of my preset Minnie Mouse patterns on my embroidery machine.  I used different colors than what the machine suggested, and I really like how it turned out.  

For Maison, I made a faux necklace by handstitching heavy yarn and attaching buttons and charms that I already had.  In the middle, I used a vintage Scottie dog pin, which she loved!  I embroidered her first initial in the middle and sewed a charm on it too.

I think they are pretty happy with them!  

Happy Creating!

Fridge Frames!

So, I've been needing some way to organize the outside of our fridge.  I know that the fridge is never going to look perfect, but a Mom can dream!  :-)  I found these laser cut frames at Michaels yesterday and instantly thought of how awesome they would look on the fridge!  I painted them black, glued on magnets and voila!  Instant fridge art/organization!

The possibilities are endless with what you could do with these.  I will probably decorate the frames in the future with some cool vintage sparkle, but for now, I'm happy with this look.  I should have taken a before picture, but if you can imagine the side of the fridge covered in pictures and paper, then you've got an idea of the "before."

I also painted and put magnets on two smaller frames and used them on the front of the fridge.

This was a very quick and easy project.  

Gotta love instant gratification!

Happy Creating!

Florida Vacation + Baby Weight = Swimsuit Cover Up!!!

My Florida vacation is in two weeks, and since I've had two babies in two years (I have a 21 month old and a 9 week old), I decided I am going to need more than the one cover-up I have.  I had the grand idea to reconstruct two vintage men's shirts into one cool cover-up.  Here is what I started with:

I decided I needed the shirt to be a little bit longer since I will most likely be going from the beach directly to a restaurant to eat lunch some days so I took another vintage men's shirt and "borrowed" some length from it:

The second shirt has vertical tone-on-tone stripes.

As you can see, the striped shirt is wider than my original shirt, so I took it in at the side seams before I attached it.

After that, I removed the collar and left the collar stand, closing it back up along the same seam line where I removed the collar.

Next, I decided I wanted the long sleeves to be rolled up, but I don't want to have to worry about rolling them up all the time, so I rolled them and then stitched them in place.

Last, I made some gathering stitches along the middle section to add some shape.  

Voila!