Valentines Fabric Envelopes - a Tutorial!

Hi! My monthly contributor's post for Peek-a-Boo Patterns blog is up today! I am sharing a super easy tutorial on how to make these lovely fabric envelopes for Valentines! 

You can make them in any fabric and theme you want, any time of the year for any occasion. Check the tutorial here!

It's Refashion time!

Today my sewing time was all about refashion!

I think it is wonderful to give a new life to non-fitting or out-grown clothes. This week is Kid's Clothes Week and Refashion week for Project Run & Play, oh and January is the Refashion Month sew-along at House of Estrela, so I definitely had to do some refashioning!

I was raised since a child to give away all the clothes that don't fit me or don't suit me anymore to someone else (usually to low income families or friends). I still do that with my kids clothes. So, when I first thought about joining this refashioning sew-alongs I was sad because I knew that I wouldn't have any old clothes to refashion... But then I remembered that I had a found a lost box of my kids clothing on our recent house move! And I was able to find a few pieces that were suitable for refashioning. Oh happy day!

Project #1 - From dress to top!

Before!

This was a 9-12 months corduroy dress that first belonged to my middle one and then to tiny. 
It is as new as it was not much used mainly because although it was a piece of garment for Winter it had cap sleeves and a gap/ opening in the front and so it always seemed to me that they were going to be cold even with a sweatshirt underneath... 

I love this thin corduroy and the color! So I was really happy to be able to refashion it to a top.

I took the cap sleeves away and redrafted the armscyes to make them larger. 

  Then, I just added lace to the edge and to the gap! 

I also changed the button (ballerina shoes, of course!) and the button placement. And that was it! 

The funny thing is that it fits both my girls (they are 2 and a half years apart, but the oldest is really thin...)!

Project #2 - From dungarees to skirt!

Before!

This was a 12 months size denim dungarees skirt.

First I have cut off the chest and back pieces. 

All separate pieces!

Then I took off one of the skirt's ruffles layer (the smaller, upper one) and took some width off of the remaining main layer (from the center and from the sides). Then I have joined the smaller ruffled layer to the bottom edge of the skirt to add length to it.

This was the harder step... Hello seam ripper and hello broken needle! 
To sew it back together was an huge test for my sewing machine as it had to sew several (I have counted 6!) layers of denim.

Waistband + main layer (with less width) + previous upper layer now at bottom edge.

I have add an adjustable waistband and voilá!

I am being inspired by several wonderful people (mainly by Magda!) to make new clothes out of used ones and I think it will be my new hobby! 
I keep finding myself these days looking at my kids clothing and thinking about ways to refashion them...

If you want to be seriously inspired check Magda's blog and all the refashioning she does every day, along with all the amazing people she invited to join her this month and stop by Project Run and Play's Refashion Week and by Kids Clothes Week (there are a lot of refashioned garments around there too)! 

Believe me when I say that you will want to join this refashion movement!

Torradas Reais

E várias semanas depois do Natal ainda tínhamos um bolo Rei quase inteiro... 
Eu, pessoalmente, gosto mais de bolo Raínha - prefiro frutos secos a fruta cristalizada -, e o bolo Rei figura cá em casa nesta época mais por tradição do que por gosto. Mas como não sou pessoa de deitar comida fora andei a pensar em formas de aproveitá-lo e lembrei-me de fazer torradas! Tenho a recordação de há uns anos ter comida torradas de Bolo Rei e ter gostado.


Receita de Torradas Reais (Que tal este nome pomposo?...)

Ingredientes
Restos de Bolo Rei

Realização
Cortar às fatias e torrar no forno ou na torradeira/ tosteira.

Apreciar com um chá ou infusão!

É óptimo para uma tarde de chuva de inverno como estas que temos tido...