Carnage

Haven't felt like blogging lately.  The last post was right after we found out that we were losing our sweet Tipsy and a week later we had to put her to sleep.  The cancer was so aggressive and we didn't want her to be in anymore pain.  It's the hardest decision I've ever made in my life, but I know it was the right thing to do; the humane thing to do. 

It's almost been a month and I still choke up at the thought of her and I still catch myself looking for her when I come home or when I wake up in the morning.  I'll spare everyone the details for your sake and mine.  But I will do a post about how we talked to Evelyn about it and prepared her.  By all accounts it went very well.  But oh goodness the things she has said to her friends about it......I'm surprised I haven't gotten phone calls from parents.

Anyway - as I've been saying I have been a painting and project machine lately.  Which is why I haven't gotten around to posting as much.  Again, my sincerest apologies.  I've decided that I'm doing a blog every Thursday until I get back in the swing of things.  Today you'll get a few snippets of different things I've been up to.  But it's not quite time for the big reveals yet. 

Not that many posts ago, but like forever ago I got a new toy cabinet for the den and did a post about it (here).  Like two days later I switched out the hardware and never gave yall an update.  So here it is!

 

 

 

 I'm still not married to the accessories on top.  But we moved the Every Little Thing painting over it and I think it's going to stay.  We tried a lot of different pieces and it works the best.  It's also in a better spot there than over the stairs so I can see my mantra throughout the day and practice my 5 deep breaths.  Did I mention E just got over a 2 week Terrible Threes extravaganza?! 

 

Ev went to Razorback Dance Camp at her dance studio this morning and was done at 10:30.  We had lunch with Daddy right after and ran errands and got home by 12:30 so we had all afternoon to do projects - right?  WRONG. 

 

We got an adorable little wickery - very sturdy table at my favorite antique mall that I originally was going to put in the dining room, but then moved out to the newly painted entryway.  Newly painted, by this gal.  Did I mention it's the second time I've painted it in a year and a half?  This time I like the color so it won't be changing. 

 

Anyway, E's dance studio is next to Hobby Lobby (which I hadn't been to in a month!) and I ran there to grab some new pulls to replace the boring little wood ones that came with the table.  I got a few options and tried them out on the first drawer.  I narrowed it to two selections so I wanted to put one in one drawer and one in the other........yea, the nightmare ensues from there. 

 

The screw on the right drawer was totally stripped.  So after thirty minutes of trying every screwdriver we owned (literally), and the rubber band trick (which btw - never works.  I've tried it three times now) I start to get a little heated.  So I start whacking this knob with a hammer trying to get it to just break off.  Then I'm all "Whoa lady, hold your horses.  You might damage the drawer front."  Then I was like "You're right conscience.  I should be more careful.  Let's think for a minute.........Booya - I've got a Dremmel and have never used it." 

 

So after another thirty minutes of reading directions and figuring out which head to put on the Dremmel, I get going.  Long story short - shards of wood are flying everywhere, as well as sparks as I'm trying to saw through this knob to rip if off.  So it smells like burnt wood and I'm freaking out because I'm worried I'm going to catch the house on fire.  Hindsight taught me I should be doing this project outside and not on my wood floor in the entryway.  I finally am able to break this thing off in pieces and manage to get it off.  It seriously took 2 hours.  And of course, Evelyn wanted to help and kept giving me hugs of encouragement.  We did manage a picture of excitement over busting out the Dremmel for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

So here's the hardware I'm picking between.

 

 

Yes, the ones on the right are the same as the toy cabinet in the den.  I like both - I think I'd like the left better if the rings were shinier like the one on the right. 

 

 

So there's the new wall color - Lenox Tan by Benjamin Moore.  It's also going up in the bathroom on the left there which you can totally see half painted walls.  I love my little Foo Dog I got at TJ Maxx and the gold frame came from Target.  I'm pretty married to those but not the Tuscan vase underneath.  That's more for size reference for me to order something from Z Gallerie. 

 

What's that?  You love that wall art above the table?  Don't get me started.  I'm obsessed with it!  I stare at it for at least 10 minutes everyday and sigh with love.  I'd been eyeing that piece for awhile on One Kings Lane.  I finally pulled the trigger and couldn't be happier with it.  I first saw it at Horchow for $500 bucks and got it at OKL for $129.  Love, love, love it.  I only decided to buy after I painted the living room a certain color - which is being kept TOP SECRET until I'm ready to reveal it to you guys.  But I will say it's everyone's favorite room in my house.  I've been on the hunt for chairs and can't find anything I like yet.  After I get those I'll give ya a sneak peek. 

 

I'll finish this post off with some pics of the actual carnage from my dealings with the original door knob.  Remember to follow me on Pinterest to see updates of things I'm currently working on!

 

 

Note that over to the right is the knob from the left drawer - still intact.  All those other bajillion pieces are from the other knob.

 

 

 

RIP Sweet Tipsy Lou.  Thanks for the memories. You won't be forgotten.

This was right after Evelyn's first birthday party ended.  She was completely wiped out after having 40 some odd people at our house to show off our 1 year old.

A 31 Year Old Who Just Got Contacts for the First Time Walks Into a Bar........

I'm that 31 year old.  I didn't get glasses until January of 2008 when Joe and I moved to Dallas.  I honestly didn't realize I had a problem with my vision until we were in the process of moving to Dallas and I noticed I couldn't read any of the street signs and therefore had NO clue where I was going.  That British lady on my navigation system and I were tight for awhile.

After 5 years and having a kid who just loves putting her grubby fingers on my specs, I talked myself into getting contacts and giving them a try.  I stayed away from them for years as I have astigmatism and sometimes it's not the best option for people with my eyeball disability.

Long story short - I get contacts.  The tech at my doctors office was really good at telling me how to put them in and take them out and not to wear them in water.  But there are a few things I was not informed about that I learned really fast:

With astigmatism, your contacts pop out really easily because of the shape of your eyeball.  I have terrible allergies and tend to rub my eyes a lot....no more.

Make sure you put your contacts in BEFORE you put on makeup.  Rookie mistake.  Mascara was EVERYWHERE.  EVERYWHERE - looked like a oil spill in my eyes and all over my face.

Don't forget to take them out before bathing/showering.  If Joe had a dollar for everytime I've had to call for him to come get a contact that fell out while I was getting so fresh and so clean clean - he'd be $5 richer.  (Did I mention Baby Joe has been wearing contacts since he was like 13 and gave me no tips whatsoever?  He was suppose to be my Miagi on this thing!)

And here's the big one.  Don't cry with contacts in.  Between the extra moisture and the rubbing it's the Pandora's Box of not being able to keep those suckers in.

This is not a happy story and if you're looking for a pick me up - read no further.  This is a sad story with a not happy ending.

Another long story shortened a tiny bit, Tipsy (Joe's dog turned my dog) is dying.  She is 11 and has had a beautiful wonderful life full of leftovers and sharing a Temperpedic bed with us.

It started a few years ago with a lump that randomly showed up and just never really changed.  So we left it.  Around Christmas this past year it started to get bigger - about the size of a ping pong ball.  So in January we had it surgical removed.  We opted to not have it biopsied and tested for a few different reasons.  The main one being that we didn't want a timetable for how much longer she had.  Even then - Joe and I had a sense that it wasn't good.

Come April this year I'm putting Evelyn to bed one night and look down at Tipsy who was laying at my feet and she was laying just perfect enough to wear I could see another lump has appeared towards the bottom of the last incision site.  I watch it for a week and it just grows and grows.  We go to the vet and have it biopsied.  It's a low grade mast cell tumor.  Which is life expectancy meant if we do nothing - she has 2 years.  By this time the tumor is what I would categorize as "big".  So of course we decide to have it removed.  Mast cell tumors affect the histamines in the skin - much like a bee sting makes you swell.  So we put Tipsy on a high dosage on Benadryl daily hoping to make the tumor shrink so that it's easier to see it's margins during the surgery.  We go to Florida for a week and come back and it's pretty much doubled in size - which then causes problems for removal. 

We go see our local doctor who recommended to go see a specialist in Tulsa to give Tipsy the best chance possible.  So last Friday I load up the old girl in the car and start driving to Tulsa.  And I am tearing up the entire time and quietly sobbing b/c I don't want to upset the dog.  I get to Tulsa and failed to check the mirror before I went in because I was handed a tissue when I walked in the door to get cleaned up.  Another long story short (LSS), the surgeon was very confident he could remove the tumor without any problems and get the margins around it he needed, but first he wanted to do an abdominal ultrasound to make sure it hadn't metasticized.  So I leave Tipsy for surgery and completely lose it.  Big Time.  I cry so hard I give myself a crick in the neck (the type where you can't move your neck!).  I just didn't feel right about leaving her - something in my gut. 

I had the luxury of one of my roomates from college living in Tulsa so I headed to commiserate with her over lunch and catch up (she has a new baby - and I love me some babies!)  And the surgeon calls.  I knew the second it was the surgeon and not the tech that it wasn't good.  LSS - cancer has metasticized.  I could have gone on with the surgery and put her through chemo but that would only buy her 18 months.  So I ask "If we do nothing, how long does she have."  "3-6 months".  He said it back to me so quickly that I was startled and shocked and grieving immediately.  Did I mention I'm driving at the time on 71st?  So I pull over and just let it all out.  The surgeon was so understanding and comforting which kinda made it worse b/c I cried more because of that.  I managed to choke out that I was going to come get Tipsy and take her home and he agreed that was best.  So I'm in a parking lot losing it.  And the damn contacts aren't staying in which kinda makes me laugh/irate/more sad.  Luckily the admissions ladies provided me with ample amounts of tissues which was a lifesaver.

After a quick lunch with Steph I go pick my sweet Princess Tipsy up and we head back home.  And I keep it together pretty good.  Then the sad songs on the radio start and I cry the whole entire way home.  Again - not being able to see out of my right eye at all; not sure what was going on there.  When I get to the house I strip nude and climb in my bathtub thinking that will make everything better.  It didn't.  I just cried more and got too hot in there.  I did have the state of mind to take the contacts out by this time.  Joe and E came home and loved on me which helped but gosh darnit, I was just so sad.

I'm not a crier.  Joe worries because of my lack of emotion.  I've only cried at 3 movies ever:  The English Patient, Message in a Bottle, and Armageddon (my grandfather had just died and the scene was when Bruce puts Ben in the capsule so he will live).  So Joe didn't know what to do, I've only been Tipsy's Mom since she was 4 - but Joe raised her.  I feel like I didn't give him a chance to grieve b/c he was so worried about me. 

Saturday I totally cried in the shower and then got my sh** together and went on with my life.  It's what we have to do.  I'm a quick griever - always have been and I'm already in acceptance mode.  I ease the pain by sneaking Tipsy Oreo's and whatever else I'm eating.  Luckily Tipsy has no outward signs of pain, but I know that can change in an instant.  We're just trying to enjoy her while we can.

In other news - new furniture is being delivered tomorrow and I think I'm ready to debut the new den/kitchen area to yall.  I keep putting it off because it's not completely done.  But yall have waited like a year to see it and you deserve it.  I've been antiquing recently (muahahahaaa!!!) and have some new purchases to share.  And true to self, I started on the living room before I finished anything else in my house.  :)

I'll catch you up soon!  

Wall Art Anniversary Gift

If yall are anything like Baby Joe and I this is how our anniversary gift conversation goes:

Joe:  Are we doing gifts for our anniversary?

Beth:  No.  I don't want anything b/c I buy whatever I want.

Joe:  Okay.

That's what we say.   But here's what we do:  Act like we aren't getting each other anything - and usually Joe gets nothing.  But then he ALWAYS gets me something.  I think last year we actually did take a break and not do gifts and it was great; no stress.  But years 1 and 2....talk about me feeling like a jackass.

Year 1:  We went to see Date Night at theater at Northpark in Dallas.  Walked to Macy's b/c Joe wanted a new cologne.  Then we went to Bob's for an amazing dinner.  I visit the restroom after ordering and get back to the table and there is a Tiffany's box waiting for me.  I open it - it's a beautiful sterling silver Paloma Picasso heart necklace.  Joe says "You like it?" and I say "Duh" - or something like that and then he says "Well, let me know if you like this too".  Boom!  Slams ANOTHER Tiffany's box on the table.  Matching bracelet.  Me - cologne.  Him - Tiffanys.

Year 2:  I get him nothing.  We again go to Bob's.  The Mavs lose - he's in a terrible mood.  Get home - Boom!  Humongous package with a brand new Coach purse that hadn't even hit the floor yet.  My normally mute husband somehow talked the girls into giving him something that wasn't suppose to be sold until Tuesday.  What color is the purse?  Tiffany Blue.  Me - nothing.  Him - Coach purse. 

So he is the most thoughtful husband ever and I suck.  I know I'll never beat him in giftgiving so I decide to go the sentimental route.

I lookup the traditional 4th anniversary gift - it's flowers.  Yea - not gonna work.  So next I google "anniversary gifts for men". Not kidding.  I did the link to a link to a link thing and finally ended up on Etsy (go figure) and got some ideas. 

Less than $20 spent and a trip to Hobby Lobby later.  I have a gift!

 

This was super simple folks.  I busted out some resume paper and googled the lyrics to our first dance song, "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillet, and copy and pasted it into Word.  Then repeated the copy and paste.  Adjusted the margins and was done with that background.  The other frame has our wedding vows repeated for the background. 

Next I got out my handy dandy worth every penny Cameo and cut the letters and numbers out of red paper I had.  Glue sticked it on, put it in the frame, and Voila!  Gift complete.

Now I will mention I did not find a frame I liked in black.  I had it in my head I wanted a frame with at least double matting since the lyrics and vows background was busy.  Here's what the frames originally looked like. 

I had some black latex paint leftover from another project and painted them sloppily and then used a sanding block to shabby chic them. 

Joe's pretty easy to read and he liked them a lot.  We've got them hung up on either side of our bed.  I think the bedroom was a great place for them because it's something so sentimental and personal.  And we had no wall art hung up in there so that marks something else off my to-do list!

I've been gettin' on the wall art - another post about it coming soon! 

I highly recommend following me on Instagram if you like my crafts.  There should be a button on this page somewhere for that exact purpose.  I'm pretty good about posting pics of projects right when I finish on there - plus you get the added bonus of seeing pics of Evelyn!

Updating a Brand New Storage Cabinet

For those of you with kids, you know how their toys get out of control and take over your house.  Downstairs we turned E's old room into her playroom and keep the big toys there and then upstairs she has her room full of toys and in the bonus room we have an Ikea storage center with bins full of stuff.  In our den we had a little chest I got at Hobby Lobby when she was a baby that is about 2 feet wide by 1 foot high and deep.  That no longer contain hurricane Evelyn.  So Joe and I came to terms that we needed to invest in another piece of furniture for the den. 

Luckily, Northwest Arkansas got a Home Goods!  Imagine my excitement.  I knew that they would have something just perfect for the den.  I went opening day of course right when they opened.  I had to drive around for 5 minutes and had 2 parking spaces stolen from me as I was attempting to pull in.  But I finally snagged the last space on a row.  I'm getting out of my car and there is a BMW small sedan parked behind me.  What happened next was.......an unusual encounter to say the least.

The Latina woman with big black sunglasses and extremely long fingernails began to yell at me and say I stole her space.  So I said something like "I'm really sorry, it's a busy day and I had a few spaces 'stolen' from me as well (I didn't air quote stolen.  I'm using them now as a sarcastic reference).  And I tried to laugh it off.  No go.  She starts yelling and saying "I'm not talking about YOU.  I'm talking about ME!"  The woman goes into a tirade about how "Everyone is suppose to be so nice here!  Why aren't you nice?! Everyone keeps saying how nice it is here"  So I'm completely taken aback.  Then she points to me with her long index finger nail and says "You hit me. So I hit you."  I'm completely befuddled.  I'm thinking is she gonna ram my car with hers?  Because I didn't "hit" her.  Then I thought maybe there was a slight language barrier and she was saying "hate" instead of "hit".  So I of course just walked off and snapped a pic of her license plate as I walked toward the front doors in case she did decide to "hit" me. 

After I get in the store I try to laugh it off and think "Maybe she's just having a bad day."  But then the longer I shopped the more my mind ran wild and I found myself looking over my shoulder thinking her brother and his friends are going to come kidnap me.  Or perhaps I'd walk out to my car and someone would be on top of it slamming it with a baseball bat. Turns out none of those things happened - yet.  I have a semi noticeable car up here b/c there is not an Infiniti dealership.  Not to mention a Mavs tag on the front and a razorback on the back.  And it's blue.  Seriously - it's the only blue G35 I've seen up here.  Don't worry though - still have the license plate pic.

Back to the real reason I'm writing this post is the cabinet I bought at Home Goods that day.  There were 3 contenders to choose from.  I sent pics to Joe, didn't hear back, made my own choice, then he finally texts as I'm checking out and luckily his choice matched with mine.  Love that guy.  This is what we ended up with

     

 

Joe's one problem with it was that you could see into it.  But I assured him I would fix that problem right up!  I also wasn't crazy about the black pulls so I spray painted them gold the next day. 

 

I considered lining the doors with fabric and was totally going to do it, but then I was walking around at Hobby Lobby and found this 

 

 

These are lightweight laser cut aluminum sheets - and they have all kinds of patterns.  I grabbed one to take home to see if we liked it and it was definitely the winner.  So after another trip to the Lobby, a little teamwork, a pause to go to Home Depot to get more staples for the staple gun, and then some elbow grease - we had our finished product!

 

 

 

 

The blue you see on the top shelf are just fabric boxes I got from Target.  Probably gonna go get another set.  I kinda like the peek-a-boo blue. 

 

I'm not excited how the pulls turned out.  They looked good before we added the aluminum screens but the screens are so busy I feel like I need a more substantial knob or pull there to balance.  I'll keep you posted friends!

It's Christmas in April!

I don't know about you, but every after every Christmas I have internal turmoil about what to do with all the Christmas cards we received.  As a family we do the obligatory photo Christmas card each year and try to have fun with it.  But it can get expensive!  This year I designed the card in Photoshop all by myself and uploaded it to Vistaprint and saved probably $25.  What's that?  You want to see our card? 

Boom!  There it is.

 

 

As you can imagine - the response was HUGE. 

 

I saw an idea for the pic on Pinterest.  Then was searching for card templates on Etsy and got the idea for the wording.  I then setup my tripod (never used it before) that Joe got my for my birthday two years ago and had E pose mischeviously (egged on by the help of Mr. Will acting a fool) then Joe and I posed without moving the tripod; then the photos were merged in Photoshop.  The lights E is holding are all real.  The lights wrapped around Joe and I are half real - half clone stamped (Photoshop vernacular). After turning the photo black and white I went in and hand colored the lights.  It took awhile to do (4 hours or so in Photoshop) but it was worth it.  I also had a lot of trial and error too so that added time. 

 

Anyway - back to the real reason I'm writing this post - people spend a lot of money and time on cards and I feel bad just throwing them away.  So for the past 4 years I've been hording and storing all the Christmas cards we get.  I figured that someday I'd have an epiphany and figure out what to do with them. 

 

That day has come my friends.  I honestly think I got the idea while looking at my Benjamin Moore paint samples; lots of cards all attached together....idea was born.  So during E's ballet class last week I ran next door to Office Depot and picked these up:

 

 

 

 They are like a keychain - but just pull apart!

 

 

 

I hole punched the corner of all the cards and strung them on.  Went to my paper supply and made a cover with red cardstock and used my Cameo to cut the numbers out in gold sticker paper and Voila!  A way to preserve Christmas cards! 

 

 

 

 

I also did all the baby announcements we received and hung them in the back hall on our corkboards.  These little rings are turning out to be pretty handy! 

 

Being as it's only April I'm going to wait until next December and probably add a green bow to the rings and display/hang them somewhere during the holidays.  Maybe from the mantle in the den?  (We hang our stockings in the living room). 

 

Does anybody else have ideas on how to keep Christmas cards preserved? Please share!

Petal Pillow

Today's project was pretty fun to do - and E was very happy with the finished project which always adds to my joy. It's a project that you need absolutely no sewing skills to do! With no further ado, I give you How to Make a Petal Pillow.

It's a petal pillow!  I saw some on Etsy and thought they were so cute but the wait for your order was like 6+ weeks.  So what did I do?  Figured it out and made my own!  I made my own stencils by hand for each petal size and have made a pdf document link for you to download and use if you'd like.  This is the first time I've done the pdf thing so let me know if it doesn't work.  (Link is at the bottom of the blog entry).

I had some leftover polka dot fabric from Evelyn's comforter my mom made so I cut a 17 by 17 inch piece.  (Specific directions on how to make a pillow cover with zipper are found here).  I bought a yard of the hot pink felt at Joann (used a 40% coupon which they always have) and on a separate trip bought the button with another coupon from Joann as well. 

 

 

I'm not gonna lie.  This project was pretty time consuming but that was in part because I had no clue what I was doing.  Hopefully the stencil I made will help you out.  You just cut the felt and sew it on in a circle onto the fabric.  That sounds simple enough, right?  But when you do layer after layer after layer it takes awhile.  And sometimes I wouldn't cut enough petals and had to go back and cut more.  It was an ongoing project that lasted a few nights. 

 

I didn't change petal size every "row" I sewed.  There are only 7 petal sizes on my template and probably 10 or 11 "rows" that I ended up sewing.  There is definitely no "right" way to do this.  You literally just stack them on top of each other and keep sewing.  I do suggest sewing towards the bottom of the petals.  After I was completely done "petaling" I went back on some rows and sewed another round of stitches in to make sure the petals laid flat. 

 

A view of the what the backside of the fabric looked like when I was done sewing all the petals onto the fabric. 

 

I really don't have any directions other than just go for it! 

 

Here's a look at it in process. 

 

 

 A look at the finished project before I added the button in the middle of the flower. 

 

I created a pdf download for the stencils I made and used for the petals for this pillow.  That link is here.  I hope this helps!   

 

Fresh Beat Band Birthday Party

So, you could say my daughter is obsessed with the Fresh Beat Band.  She really really loved them - but after we took her to their concert over in Tulsa back in May it really kicked into high gear.

I knew that doing a Fresh Beat Band party was the only way to go this year for her birthday.  The third birthday is the year you stop having the party for yourself (the parents) and start having for the kids.  So Joe and I bit the bullet and just decided to have a bunch of kids over, turn on some music, and just let them tear up the place and dance!

When I was googling for ideas for the party they were thin and far between so I documented where everything came from to help out other moms.  And......you also get a sneak peek at the new curtains in the den!  Enjoy.

This child has never gotten dressed so fast in the morning.  This is her eating breakfast in full Fresh Beat attire.

I made the little "What a Great day" labels in Microsoft Word - then printed and glued to the party favor bags for the kids. 

 

Backstage passes are available at the Nick Jr. website to print for FREE here.  I took them to Office Depot to print and then they laminated them for me as well.  I ordered the multicolored lanyards from Oriental Trading and then included the passes in the mail with the invitations:

 

Invitations are from Etsy shop - FreshBeatBandHQ.  I royally messed up though - all four of the pink sayings are each band members saying....the last one was suppose to be Twist's "wouldn't it be cool if", but when I paraphrased in my notes and then sent it to the designer like that.  Don't make the same mistake I did!  I didn't notice it until after I sent out invites.

 

 

The awesome Happy Birthday hanging sign came from Etsy shop - PutYourHeartInIt. It looks twice as good in person. Loved working with this Etsy store.

 

 

 

 

I made the Groovy Smoothie sign in Microsoft Word and then took it to FedEx/Kinkos and had it printed on cardstock.  The Groovy Smoothie consisted of orange juice mixed with orange soda - the kids loved it.
 The cupcake toppers were another Nick Jr freebie.  I just cut them out and attached them to cake pop sticks.  My mom is responsible for the the drum stand.  She bought a regular drum at Big Lots and then embellished it with ribbon and foam cutouts.

All the tableware came from Oriental Trading

  

The poster and flyers all came from Nick Jr.com for free.  And I made the welcome sign in Microsoft Word. We also put up the posters and flyers all over the house.

Joe, myself, and the other adults that helped out all wore "SECURITY" shirts.  Joe manned the door and stamped all the kids hands as they came in. 

Our itinerary was let everybody get there, play some FBB music, hit the table and have some Chick Fil A lunch (Brandy and Erik had food already on the table for the kids which helped out a TON), then we did cupcakes and cookies, then handed out the gift bags which included inflatable guitars, sunglasses, microphones and some little stuff, and then we played more FBB music and ended the party with some outside play time.  The rest of the pics aren't too informative.  Just fun!

 

 

My fav pic from the entire party.  Totally captured the moment.

 

 

Joe clowning around with one of E's gifts after the party

The Greatest Invention Since the DVR

I found it my friends!  I found something that cost $12 and changed my life.  Here it is......

Right?! I know.

So some of you totally get it - and some are like "yea, a cut off cami...big deal."  Yes, it IS a big deal. And this is why....

For those of you who don't know me personally, I have boobs.  Big boobs.  34 DD boobs - and I didn't have to contribute to the GDP to get them -  just good ole genetics from my grandmothers.  When I was pregnant with Evelyn they were up to my chin - you think I'm kidding but I, for once, am not exaggerating. 

Because of the boobs, a lot of V necks shirts and dresses that most other people can wear normally, I have to wear a cami under so that I'm not inappropriately dressed.  There's nothing worse than having that extra cami fabric under your (example) dress roll up around your middle and look all bunchy and make you uncomfortable. 

I had been looking for something like the above and came across a bra from Soma (my fav undergarments place) that had a panel of fabric across the cups that serves the same purpose.  I hated to drop $45 on a bra that I couldn't wear everyday though.  And then a few doors down in a little boutique I found this.  I figure I'd give it a try for $12 and I love it.  It's seamless and has elastic around the bottom so it doesn't ride up and eliminates the bunchy fabric that rides up problem completely.  It's made of the same material as my camis I wear under stuff from The Limited (which are horrible roller-uppers). 

Comfortable elastic band around the bottom

 

So I could buy more of them here. But you know me - instead I'm converting my old camis into this same concept bra top!

 

Step One:  Cut the old cami's excess fabric off using the new Ah-mahzing bra top as a guide. I left an extra inch on the cami's so I can fold it up and place the elastic inside. 

 

 

 

Step Two:  Sew in elastic.  Start by sewing it directly onto the side of the cami. Make sure to start sewing the elastic about 1/8th-1/4th from the edge of the fabric.  (I used Dritz' 3/4th Inch Non-Roll Knit elastic bought at Joann.) 

 

    

 

After that, fold up the elastic encased in fabric and pin it on the outside of the elastic band.  The idea is to encase the elastic completely and make a tube.  You don't want to sew directly on the elastic or it won't stretch. 

 

 

Leave about an inch unsewn at the end, and sew the "tube" all the way around.  When you finish - Put it on and pull the excess elastic to a comfortable "tautness" and pin it so it won't move as you take it off.  Then you trim the elastic, reposition and pin the elastic in the fabric, sew the rest of the tube, make a 90 degree turn and sew the elastic to the fabric.  Here is your finished product!

 

 

That took about 15 minutes and saved me $12.  Worth it!