New Dreams for Old Seams

Monday, July 28, 2014

#74: Helloooo Nurse!

Halloween has come early! I found this sexy nurse Halloween costume at a yard sale for $1, and I had to get it. Other than the humor, I thought it had good structure.

Before: Sexy Nurse Costume

Once something is on the internet, it never leaves; so I'm not taking the chance of posting me and my busty self wearing this just in case it would compromise me in any way...

Before: Sexy Nurse Costume

...but I'll show you how it looks from behind : )

Before: From behind

I can't help but be reminded of Animaniacs' Hello Nurse character.

Hello Nurse, always being oogled

I wanted to de-sexify this costume so it could actually be worn on the daily grind. Check this out:

First, I removed the red buttons and patches.

Buttons and patches

Next, I had to open almost all of the hems and seams so that I could remove all the red trim.

Removing collar trim

So, so much trim, and the stains left beneath

After I had all the red gone, I cut the skirt open just below the front buttons.

Cut open the skirt

I folded a new hem where I had just cut the skirt, and sewed closed all the seams and hems I had opened. (I also removed the back zipper since it didn't need it, and I could use it on another project).

Pinning and sewing the collar seam

I also replaced the red buttons with white ones (well, off-white ones I painted white with fingernail polish).

New Buttons

Once the structure was back together, I cut and removed just over half the length off of the skirt, and sewed up the bottom hem.

Slicing the skirt

It took a good washing with bleach to get the red stain from under the trim out, and afterward I ironed it.

Voila! Here again is what it looked like before:

Before: Sexy Nurse Costume

Before: From behind

And here is the de-sexified look:

After: White Ruffled Blazer

After: From behind

After

I took this costume-y sexy nurse getup and toned it down to create a functional piece of business-wear. And it opens all the way down the front like a Summer blazer.

I think I did a pretty good job on this one, don't you?

Let me know what you think in the comments section below!

Until next time, blessings.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

#73: Teal Party Dress

Hey yall!

Last month I went to Vegas for by wedding anniversary, and when preparing for the trip, I found this teal party dress at a thrift store.

Before: Teal Party Dress

Before: From Behind

I liked the dress, but it was super plain and boring.

I've gathered a lot of beads throughout my time doing transformation projects, so I decided to jazz this dress up with some simple bead work.

Somehow I lost my process photos, but I mostly lined up my beads the way I wanted them, and glued them on with fabric glue.

Here is the after result:

After: Beaded Teal Party Dress

After: From behind

Here's a close-up on the detail:

Top beaded detail

Bottom bead detail

I liked it a whole lot better this way : )

I've got another transformation coming that I'm excited about, so check back soon!

Until next time, blessings.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

#72: Sweater Dress

So, you might look at this post and think, What's wrong with you Leanne? Don't you know it's been ridiculously hot?!! Yes, I know it has been ridiculously hot, but I actually completed this transformation on an eeri-ly cold weekend back in May. So I'm sane ;)

I picked up this looooong sweater for $1 at a thrift store. It's so body-hugging that I felt kind of shaped like an Oscar.

Before: Long Turtleneck Sweater

Before: From behind

This piece was outdated, long, and had a big hole in the shoulder.

Hole

So first, I hand-sewed the big hole, as well as 3 smaller holes at the neck.

Sewing holes

Next, I removed the turtleneck collar and fake-serged the edges of the new neckline

Turtle, turtle!

After that, I measured and cut over a foot of length from the bottom and hemmed it up.

So long...long!

We be hemmin'!

I wanted to add a bit of detail to take this out of plain and blank status. I decided to make pockets.

For this, I cut 2 squares from the length material I had removed, and sewed on some of the turtleneck material to give them texture.

Adding texture

Then I shaped the pockets and sewed them onto the front of the piece near the bottom.

Pinned and ready to sew

And I was done!

Here again is how it looked before:

Before: Long Turtleneck Sweater

Before: From behind

And here is my version of a more modernized sweater dress:

After: Sweater dress

After: Pockets!

After: From behind

I like the re-do, but I think this may have to sit in my closet for a while until it gets colder outside.

Sometimes you can get something slightly damaged for super cheap, and make the repairs and changes yourself to save some big bucks!

I hope you liked it!

Until next time, blessings : )

Saturday, July 5, 2014

#71: Oh, Say Can You See?

Happy Independence Day Weekend!

In honor of Old Glory, I thought I'd channel some red, white, and blue. When I found this piece while thrifting, I thought it would work just fine.

Before: Not feelin' this muumuu

I really hope someone didn't really wear this

I tried getting all creative with it, but ultimately just ended up making it into a maxi skirt. Here's how it looked after I removed the arms and trim, and sewed new hems:

After: Ready for the 4th!

And I even made a neck scarf out of the sleeve ties.

I hope you all enjoyed your Independence Day celebrations, and remember the sacrifices of those who fought and continue to fight to give us the right to sport that red, white, and blue with pride. Thank you!

Until next time, blessings.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

#70: Cat Clutch

Summer is here! I've got lots of new projects to post, but haven't had much time to post them, but that changes starting with today's post!

A while back I was reading my favorite upcycling blog www.NewDressADay.com, where the fabulous Marisa Lynch made a copycat Charlotte Olympia Kitty Clutch, which originally sells online for $995 (for that much, I sure hope that's real gold and diamonds!).

Charlotte Olympia Kitty Clutch

Marisa upcycled an old black clutch to capture the essence of the original cat purse. This is how hers turned out:

Marisa's version

When I found this shiny red clutch at the thrift store for $2, I was inspured to re-make the re-make!

I started by cutting out cardboard outlines of the eye shapes and tracing it with a pen on the flat side of the purse.

Cardboard eye

Outlined Cat Eyes

Then I outlined the rest of the cat face free-hand.

Cat face

I then took fabric matte paint and outlined the cat face.

Outlined cat face

I did not have any thin oval-shaped gems, so instead I used gems I had in my collection and slanted them to give it more character. I glued them on with fabric glue.

Eye gems

In order to make the ears, I cut out ear shapes from a red foam sheet.

Cut out foam ears

Then I painted them a brighter red to match the purse.

Painting, painting, painting

RED!

After painting it multiple times and letting it dry, I cut a small slit in the bottom, and folded the sides in opposite directions.

Cut

Fold oppositely

Then I used a strong glue to glue the folded parts to the top of the purse.

Supplies

Glued on each side

And that was that!

Here again is the original purse and my original piece:

$995 Charlotte Olympia Kitty Clutch

Before: $2 Thrifted Clutch

And here is how it turned out after!

After: Re-re-transformed cat clutch

After: Cat clutch

My husband and I took my mother-in-law out for her birthday to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, Hollywood Wax Museum, and Guinness World Records Museum in Hollywood, and I decided to bring along my cat clutch and got some pretty awesome celebrities to show off my purse! Strung through with a turquoise necklace as a strap, check it out!