Turn Your Skinnies Into Something Groovy With This Simple Costume Hack

Need a cute, simple costume idea for you or your kiddo? Here’s a fun little hack that my daughter and I came up with for her homecoming week at school. One of the themes for her class was Arbor Day. Hmmmm. What do you do with that one? She and her friends started with the idea of being tree lovers, and we took it from there. We made a quick stop at Goodwill looking for some groovy pants. We came up empty, but spied this long green paisley skirt that had potential. I don’t remember exactly how the conversation went, but by the time we left, we had a sweet idea!

Our Inspiration Piece

Goodwill skirt

This is not such a hot pic, but you get the idea. Isn’t it groovy fabric?

How We Made “Bell Bottoms”

See the great long ruffle on the bottom of this skirt. It is almost 9 inches long. Basically, I cut it off and made two very small “skirts” with it. You could certainly do this with any fabric, but this was already hemmed and ready for us (which saved a lot of time) and…..BONUS….it was only $3.50!!! Many of you who sew know just how to make a simple elastic waist skirt, but for those of you who don’t, this is what I did.

Goodwill skirt

I cut the ruffle off all the way around the bottom of the skirt about 2 inches above the seam.

 

Goodwill skirt

Then I folded the raw edge down and pressed it nicely so that I had a nice crisp edge that was even all the way across.

Goodwill skirt

Then I folded it down over the seam and pressed it again.

 

Goodwill skirt

The next step was to sew a line of stitching along the edge to create a casing for the elastic.

Okay. Here is where I did not really take any pictures. I think I got too excited to finish!! I now had a LONG ruffle with a casing. I measured my daughter’s calf with the elastic and then cut two pieces of ruffle approximately twice the length of the elastic pieces so that it would gather nicely.

Goodwill skirt

Then I closed up the raw ends, being careful not to close up the slot for my elastic to go into the casing.

 

Goodwill skirt

The last step was to insert the elastic and close up the opening with a few stitches.

Quick tip: Use a safety pin on the end of your elastic to easily thread the elastic through your casing.

Goodwill skirt

Here it is! One of the little “skirts!”

My girl in her costume….Isn’t she cute?

All Julia did was slip those little babies over her jeans and popped on her Berks. Easy peasy!!! On a side note, I also made the t-shirt with some scissors and my Cricut….with which I am starting to become very good friends! This should have been a very fast project, but I may or may not have slit my thumb earlier in the day and then may or may not have kept catching my bandaid with my sewing machine!

Do you have some favorite simple costume ideas that you have tried? I would love to hear about them!! And don’t forget to subscribe to my email list. You will receive a post with fun ideas about once a week.

Have a wonderful day, all!! God bless.

 

A Fall Refresher For My Flower Pots

When you read this, the first day of fall will have arrived!!!!!! YeeHaw!!!!! Today I decided it was time to give my flower pots a little seasonal love. They had done their job making me happy all summer long but were starting to look just plain tired. A little subtracting and a little adding is all it took to make them look fantastic for a beautiful Nebraska autumn.

Fall Home Tour – Papa and GB’s House

My momma (otherwise known as GB for Grandma Betty) taught me to love fall. We love the colors, the smells, the annual trips to the pumpkin patch, the cooler temperatures, the comforting soups and casseroles…everything. We especially love to decorate for the season. You are in for a treat. This is a tour of a home containing loved belongings collected over time and full of stories. My parents are less concerned with current trends and instead concentrate on what rings true to them…warm, darker colors and an eclectic feel. Even though I did not grow up in the house they are in now, it feels like home. So here we go….

Make a Sweet Seasonal Garland With Your Cricut

I love my Cricut machine, and I am nuts about fall. Today I combined the two by creating a little paper leaf garland. This project is EASY. I mean really easy. I haven’t decided where this will end up. Our family made a similar one for Christmas a few years ago. (We like to do a little craft on Thanksgiving.)  It hangs above the kids’ bathroom mirror at our house in amongst some greenery. My momma wraps hers around one of her trees. There are so many ways these garlands could be used….even wrapped around a package.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you decide to make a purchase. Thank you for keeping this little blog up and running!

Keep Your Family Informed with This Simple Chalkboard “Calendar”

I have tried a variety of calendar methods at our house, but this chalkboard method seems to be the most effective for us. There was a time when I could keep everything straight in my head without writing our schedule down. Then our kiddos started missing a practice here, an appointment there. MOTHER OF THE YEAR. I went back to using a planner like I had so diligently used in college, which worked when the littles were too small to be in charge of their whereabouts in any way. As the littles got big, they needed to know what was going on in our family….not just their own schedule, but everyone’s. They needed to see the big picture. I posted a typical month-long calendar page on a bulletin board in our mudroom which worked pretty well if they would read it….not sure they usually did.

An Antique Dresser Becomes a Gift Wrap Station

I absolutely love this dresser. It holds special memories. When I was expecting our first child 20 years ago (GASP!!), I found this gem for our nursery at a second-hand store. Let me tell you….it was ugly. I honestly have forgotten exactly what it looked like, but I remember taking it to my dad to restore. He always has vision, but he said, “Karen, I don’t think there is much we can do with this one.” He and I were both delighted when we saw the beauty of the wood come alive with a little love. It has been through three kiddos holding onesies and receiving blankets, then big kid jeans and t-shirts. Now it sits right at the top of our stairs and houses….GIFT WRAP. 🙂

Gift wrap dresser

Target scissors and tape

The gorgeous scissors and the tape dispenser were Target finds. I used to run around the house looking for scissors and tape. That was silly! Now they are at the ready, and they look beautiful. Of course if you have little ones, you will need to find a safer spot for them!

I always save gift bags and tissue that hasn’t been destroyed. I pick up rolls of gift wrap and ribbon when they are on sale or if I totally fall in love with some. BTW…T.J. Maxx and Marshalls always have DARLING rolls of wrap! I also like to save silk flowers, buttons, jingle bells and other little treasures for that little extra touch. I have plenty of room for all of that in this dresser!

Organized Drawers

I took an hour or two this summer to organize all of my drawers full of supplies. Now if I can just keep them that way!!!!

The bottom dresser drawer holds gift bags and flattened boxes of all sizes.

Rolls of gift wrap fit perfectly in the next drawer up with room to spare!

Gift wrap drawer

That extra space holds folded pieces of fun tissue paper.

Gift wrap drawer

Rolls of ribbon and twine and raffia fill this one along with a few take-out boxes.

Ribon scraps

All of my ribbon scraps fit in this little drawer. They come in very handy!

 

Gift wrap drawer

This little drawer holds cello and drawstring bags and tags.

 

This one holds some of my favorites…small flowers and embellishments for topping a gift!

Well, that was my little “tour” of my gift wrap dresser. I know I have mentioned it before, but gift wrapping is one of my favorite things in the world to do! How do you store your gift wrap supplies?

By posting on Tuesday instead of Saturday last week, I feel as though I haven’t been in touch with y’all F.O.R.E.V.E.R. I would love to hear from you!

Check out these gift wrapping ideas from past posts here and here. Happy wrapping! God bless!

An Updated Shelf Finds a Home in Our Lake House Bath

Hi, all! I promised I would share pics of our new and improved shelf all installed and functioning. In case you missed it, you can read about this little project here. It is WONDERFUL to finally have hooks in our lake bath! We even added some to the doors. No more towels on the floor…right? 🙂 We attached the shelf to the wall with long black screws drilled into the studs and decided to let the screws show. I actually love how they add a little rustic touch. And of course, there is a ship in this room. You can read about that here.

A Shelf Goes from Outdated to Farmhouse Cool

I have a shelf that has been lurking in my storeroom F…O…R…E…V…E…R. It is a solid, well-built, real-wood piece that was just begging for new life. I am crazy excited about how this small project turned out. First, I have to show it to you in all of its 1996 Americana Country Christmas glory. That was our second Christmas as newlyweds in our teeny rental house. Our kitchen was so small that our fridge had to sit in the dining room, but I LOVED that house. I did my best to make it feel like home with a small budget, but oh my, even though a few of these pieces have transitioned into my current decor, my taste has definitely changed over the years! Check it out.

Cake in a Mug Recipe for Kids!

Who can resist a little individual cake in a mug? Because this was my birthday week, I thought it would be fun to share this super simple recipe! I am trying very hard to eat less sugar, but sometimes a craving strikes for a tiny bit of sweet. One of my daughter’s friends shared this recipe with us when they were little. What a perfect treat for after school that the kiddos can do themselves, and school is just around the corner!

A Quick DIY Summer T-Shirt Pillow Project

I ran across a sweet little summer t-shirt that my daughter outgrew. She loved this one so much that we saved it, intending to do something fun with it. Well….today was the day. Summer is slipping by. Truth be told, fall is my favorite season, BUT that means that our oldest goes back to college and our other two are in school all day. So….I am going to continue to hold on to summer as long as I can. I will turn my head when I walk by the back-to-school aisles at Target, and I will savor the little seasonal touches in our home….including my darling new pillow creation. It started with this tee.

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