Well, I made it (kinda) to day 30 of my 30 Days of Repurposing challenge.  This was my first month of my 30 Days Project, where I'm challenging myself to something different each month for a year.  I had laid out some rules for this first challenge (as I will do with every challenge) and I'm pretty sure I broke some.

Let's review the rules:

1. I must post every single day this month with a new project that I have done (FAIL: I was doing great until about 1/2 way through I month I went out of town for a week and it totally threw me off. I was so busy with getting all of my posts and projects scheduled for when I was gone, that when I returned...I had nothing to post! I played catch up the rest of the month.)

2. Even though I must be the one to make the project, it's ok to be inspired by someone else (and of course I will link up the other bloggers I'm inspired by!) (I guess I didn't break this one...I tried to give props where props were due!)

3.  Each project must involve taking something old (or in a few cases new but extremely cheap) and altering it in some way, shape or form. (kind of failed...my waterproof bib and placemat projects were made from a bag that I bought new. Everything else was "old")

So...I'm giving myself a C+ for  November's challenge. I was very optimistic that I'd have a new tutorial every single day...but now I know that next time I need to do more advance planning.  

Here is a recap of some of the projects from the month!

So, now it's time to introduce December's brand spanking new challenge. I'm excited to do something totally different than November (that won't require posting tedious tutorials every single day) :)  Drumroll....

I'm doing 31 Days of Real Food! This will be challenge especially in December, but I know I can do it.  And if you've read the blog 100 Days of Real Food...yes...I'm totally stealing this idea from them.  I don't know if I can handle 100 days, but I think I can do 31.  I will post more tomorrow about my "rules" and what exactly the month will look like.

Repurposing Day 29: Blanket Pants

I can't believe I only have one day left in my 30 days of repurposing challenge! I'm already planning my next challenge for December. I'm excited to start something new! Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions for upcoming months!


Today, I'll be showing you how I made a pair of pajama pants out of a soft, fuzzy baby blanket.

This won't be a full tutorial since I used the same method for my sock monkey pants, so you can refer to that for more details!

Here is the blanket I started with.  A soft pink baby blanket with ballerina slippers on it. Lula loves ballerinas and we have a ton of these little blankets, so I figured we could cut one up!

I grabbed a pair of pajama pants for my pattern

Used it to cut 2 pant pieces on the fold (more details here)

Your pieces will look something like this

Sewed it up according to the tutorial and added elastic for the waist...

And we now have a new pair of cozy and thick pj's perfect for winter!

The ballet slippers are perfectly displayed on the side of the pant leg (I was worried they might look funny!)

One day to go!

Repurposing Day 28: Skinny Pants

Yes, I've been taking some blogging time off for Thanksgiving.  I was feeling pressure from myself to continue with repurposing things during the holiday and I hated that feeling, so I decided to take a few days off and enjoy some low key family time without even looking at the sewing machine.


I am posting a new repurposing project today, though! I took a pair of old black pants and turned them into "skinny pants".  My method is a bit different this time than my skinny jeans tutorial.

Here are the pants I started out with:

I turned them inside out and marked where I wanted to take them  in (I used a pair of skinny jeans that fit well as a guide)

Next, I pinned them so that the 2 layers would stay lined up evenly and then I sewed along the chalk mark.

After trying them on to make sure they fit properly, I trimmed off the seams

And done! A new pair of pants!

Repurposing Day 27: Make Your Own Skinny Jeans

I have a few old pairs of jeans lying around that are in good condition, but fit a bit awkwardly.  I decided to try to repurpose them into skinny jeans, just for fun! The end results aren't too shabby, so I decided to share a tutorial! 

{Just as a warning, this is not the most "precise" tutorial. This is how I did it, I just kind of guessed my way through it. I'm sure there is a more professional way of doing this, but this is what worked for me!}

Here are my jeans before.  Gap jeans that are just a tad too short that I haven't worn them in years.

The first step, is to put your jeans on inside out and pin , starting at the knee.  Just pin around your leg, making them as "skinny" as you like.  You can tweak it later.

Next, cut them, but don't cut too close to the pins in case you pinned them a bit too small and need to make it larger later.

Now, sew along your pins. Don't forget to backstitch and the beginning and end of your seam. (again, this is not very precise, I just eyeballed it all)

After you have sewn along the pins, try them on again right side out.  You will probably find a few areas that are a little funny. Turn them back inside out and re-pin any areas that need fixing.  For some reason, my left leg was much looser, so I had to re-pin and re-sew this area.

After you have tried them on again and are totally sure that they are how you want them, trim the excess fabric from the seam.

Now all you need to do is finish the seam so it doesn't fray.  Set your machine to a zigzag stitch.

And zigzag the seam together.

And you are done! A "new" pair of jeans for free!  I love this project because I'm not convinced the skinny jean trend is here to stay and I don't want to spend megabucks on a pair of jeans that will be outdated in a few years. 

{linked up with tatertots and jello}

Repurposing Day 22: Easy Apron

For repurposing day #22 will be part 2 of the vintage skirt project.  Yesterday I made a easy doll pillow.  Today,  I'll be making a simple child's apron from the same skirt.

Here is the skirt I started out with:

I kind of just started cutting without much a plan and hoped I'd come up with some type of apron.  Probably a dangerous approach, but I'm just being honest. 


I cut an a-line shape, using existing hem as the bottom of the apron.  I also cut a portion of the waistband, but ended up using a different piece of fabric for the top portion of the apron.

I cut a strip, folded it in half and serged the edges together for the neck strap.  I also cut a square for the top portion of the apron (instead of the waistband I originally cut in the picture above)

I turned under the edges and topstitched, then slightly gathered the top of the a-line apron shape

Folded the cut square in half and pinned to the top of the gathered edge.

I also inserted the neck straps into the folded sides of the now rectangle shape and stitched everything closed. ( Sorry-this is not a great tutorial!)

Then, I cut off the hem and made that the tie for the waist.

Top-stitched it down...

And now I have an apron!

Honestly, with all my projects...I would definitely tweak it next time.  This probably shouldn't come as a surprise since I did just start hacking away at the fabric with no plan.  The top of the apron is a bit odd. I think I would change that...

But all in all it's pretty cute and Lula likes wearing it while playing in her kitchen!

And project #22 is complete!