Lengthen T-shirts that have become too short

I have a number of T-shirts that have become too short for me to wear comfortably without showing my midriff everytime I stretch or bend down. I love some of these tees and have them stashed away in the wardrobe, hoping that someday I'll be small enough again wear them! Although I think they have shrunk in the wash. Not that I have grown! Wishful thinking?

I love my brown tee with a butterfly embroidery. After having my 3rd child, it became too short but I take it out from time to time to try it on. Another tee that is a bit too short for me is my Sunday School teacher tee. It's a tad short but I have to wear it when I'm teaching. I'm always conscious of showing my back when I bend down or sit on the floor with the kids. I have been thinking of how to salvage these tees.

Thought of adding another layer to the bottom to lengthen them but didn't know how and what fabric to use. Was inspired by Ashley at Make It and Love It who does such a beautiful job re-purposing old clothing and materials and modifying store-bought clothes. She made her daughter's plain T-shirt into a twirly dress by adding frills. But I can't add frills to my shirts, can I?

I dug into my wardrobe and found a stack of tees which I don't wear anymore and picked 2 to cut up and sew onto the 2 tees.

Found a purple tee which matches the butterfly embroidery very well. But I took a while to cut it back as it was still a nice shirt and it seemed crazy to cut up a good shirt. I took a deep breath and made the first cut. The rest was easy. Pinned and sewed the cut-out under the brown shirt.

Ta da! So happy that I can wear my favourite shirt again! Next, my teacher shirt,

Are the stripes cute? The original stripe shirt is wider so I had to do a bit of gathering before sewing it but the gathers aren't obvious. I'm going to wear it this Sunday. Will see if any of the teachers notice my longer shirt! A few of us have the same problem so maybe they'll want to modify their shirts too!

I'm inspired to think of ways to re-use old clothing! Found one idea a week ago - make french pouf from t-shirt. Oh yes, I've saved the top portions of the shirts I cut up for the next project which I'll be looking out for!

It's beginning to feel like Christmas!

This December has been a busy one for me with the kids' various activities, my work, planning for the new school year (I told myself last year to start the school year later in Jan so I wouldn't feel rushed in Dec but I forgot!), my dreams to craft & bake... Finally had time to play my favourite Christmas music - First Noel by Josh Groban, while I baked a chocolate cake for my mom who turns 60 today!

"We've got so much to be thankful for..." sings Josh. Indeed, I'm thankful for many things. For Christ, for His birth & His sacrifice. For my family. For my nice baking tools!

For a helper who cleans up after my baking. Even if she doesn't do a good job sometimes, I ought to be thankful that I could rush out after baking without having to wash up to get some Christmas shopping done. Thankful for a daughter who loves to help. She suggested the gold beads on the cake & helped to lay some of them.

Thankful for an appreciative mom who was excited about my cake. Her happy face was precious. Love you, Mom!

Today is the Day! Glad I baked a cake!

It's time

After reading so many crafters' blogs and drooling over their handiwork, beautiful pictures and interesting posts, I decided it's time I have a blog to post pictures of my handiwork too! I see how people are inspired by one another to do more and make beautiful things, and I want to be inspired too. Maybe with a blog, I'll be challenged to craft and to keep my desk clear!

I did get stuck thinking of a name and blog address. First failure at being creative. What is a good title to describe me? A full-time homeschooling mom, part-time consulting actuary who has many interests, likes to craft but isn't too creative yet, likes to bake & cook but hasn't done enough of it yet to be an expert, who likes to sew dresses for her daughter, loves to read and sleeps too late. How do I express through the blog title what I want to do with regards to crafting or baking or cooking, which I suppose are my creative outlets?

Was pleasantly surprised that "phylchan" and "phyllisbchan" were available as url addresses. Picked the latter to be consistent with my gmail address. Easiest to describe myself with my name. It's me! And I get to change the blog title whenever I like (I think)! In case I want to post about stuff other than craft. So it's a good start!

I'm excited to start working on my first craft project for this blog!