RePurposing Bubbalu's Button-up Shirt For Lil Chick....

I LOVE little boy button-up collared shirts. I have Bubbalu in one almost every Sunday and a few days of the week too. It never fails to make me smile. They make him look like such a cute lil man!

I'm also digging the whole Women's boyfriend shirt thang:


Urban Outfitters


American Eagle


Nordy's

Being that I have a ton of these button-ups of Bubbalu's and this fun women's wear trend....you can pretty much guess what I did, right?

In order for Lil Chick to wear these hand me down shirts of her older brother, they needed some tweaking and embellishing. Some Sassifying, if you will.

First of all, I wanted them to fit her in a bit more feminine style. Most boy shirts are extremely boxy and unshapely. I could have taken in the sides but really didn't feel like measuring and all that jazz. Because I'm slightly lazy.

Enter elastic thread. LOVE THIS STUFF. Use elastic thread in replacement of your bobbin thread and you will have lovely gathered, flexible, fabric scrunching. It's delicious.

Mark off a centered rectangle section on the back of the shirt at the approximate waist area:



Replace your bobbin thread with elastic thread and start sewing.Making sure you bobbin will sew on the UNDERSIDE of the shirt, start on one corner of your marked rectangle and, backtacking first, sew a straight line the entire long side of the rectangle:



When you reach the end of your marked section you'll need to sew a hairpin turn and then sew across making a second line. CLEAR AS MUD?? OK, I'll draw you a picture to show you what I mean:

Start sewing at the red star, end at the green star. VOILA.

You'll end up with a gathered section that looks like this underneath:



That's ALL I DID. Threw it on Lil Chick and snapped some pics.

See how the gathered section adds a girly touch?



Of course I HAD to give her a flower pin:


(Yes, she DOES have two piggy tails, one is just hiding. I'm not trying a new hair fad on her)

This shirt looks great on her with jeans, or leggings and sparkly flats. Love that I can easily repurpose Bubbalu's old shirts into something fun and sassy for my little lady...without spending a cent.

I'm off to sassify some more button-down shirts...

A

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Linking up to these FAB crafty parties:

The Cough Drop Diet...Guaranteed RESULTS!

This shockingly effective diet is guaranteed to curb those pesky unhealthy cravings and results in a dramatic short term weight loss.

Step 1:

Go to your local grocery store and lick as many grocery store cart handles that you can find. BONUS if you find someone coughing or sneezing, lick them too.

Step 2:

Restrict your intake of water to less than one glass per day, get no more than 4 hours of sleep a night and do not take any vitamins or supplements. This will produce a perfect environment for a virus to grow and multiple. Awesome.

Step 3:

Virus will have made enough little invaders that by two days post shopping cart handle licking you will have come down with a hacking cough, the inability to swallow without cringing and your sinuses (Sinusi?) so congested you want to slap yourself for licking those shopping cart handles in the first step.

Step 4:

In order to deal with aforementioned hacking cough and swallowing difficulty, suck on copious amounts of blue menthol cough drops until your tongue is permanently stained smurf blue.

Step 5:

Congratulations! You have reached peak effectiveness for the Cough Drop Diet Program! Now, while sucking on a blue menthol cough drop, try to imagine eating your favorite, most unhealthy foods.

Blue cough drop + Queso and tortilla chips = Yucky!

Blue cough drop + chocolate lava cake = Gag!

Blue cough drop + mashed potatoes and gravy = Blech!

Blue cough drop + ice cream = Barf!

Isn't that AMAZING? See how it works? As long as you are sucking on blue menthol cough drops you WILL lose those cravings for all your favorite foods resulting in dramatic short term weight loss.

Enjoy those blue menthol cough drops!

A

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On Shopping With Young Children...

Is there anything more awesome than shopping with young children?

We are FINALLY getting our family photos done and wanted to get some clothes for the shoot. While I don't want all of us in matching navy polos and pleated khaki's I would prefer that Bubbalu wear something other than a peanut butter smeared t-shirt and ripped jeans.

Oh yes, shopping with young children.

My hint? Bring CANDY and TOYS.

New toys in shiny plastic wrap that they are only allowed to hold and drool over until they have behaved sufficiently to earn the right to lay their grubby paws on an unpackaged toy.

Cereal bar? Nope, not good enough. Trail mix? Nada. Cut up pieces of fruit and a shot of wheat grass? Nice try.

You need CANDY.

Candy that ALSO has shiny plastic wrap on it that they are only allowed to hold and drool over until they have behaved sufficiently to earn the right to shove it into their mouth and swallow without chewing.

You just need the earplugs to silence the "Can I open it now? CanIcanIcanIcanIcanIcanI? Moooooooooom, can I open it NOW?" that is sure to ensue.

I would also suggest not bringing the noise cancelling earplugs because when your son sets off the store wide fire alarm you'll want to hear it and intervene appropriately before they ban you from shopping at their store permanently.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Not that this has ever happened to me before.

Or yesterday at 2:44 pm at Old Navy. But whatever.

My biggest mistake was not bringing a restraining device. I should have just brought my single stroller along but completely forgot. ( I decided to forgo the strait jacket because I figured it wasn't politically correct. Plus they don't make them in his size. Ain't that a shame? )

Strapping him into the 47 point harness in the single Bob stroller would have been beneficial being that he tipped over a rack of clothes, ran down a sales associate in Macy's, tried to climb the huge employee-only restocking ladder, peeked at other customers under the dressing room dividers and got lost, well, about 47 times.

Also, that little poo sweet boy WILL NOT ANSWER ME when I call for him. At one point all I could see was tufts of hair sticking up in the middle of a clearance rack in the next clothing section.

Good times were had by all (Insert massive eye roll). OY.

Any other hints and tips for shopping with young children? I need all the advice I can get...

A

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Get Yer Fall "Be Calm" Printing ON...

Now that the last day of October is (finally) behind us fall decor is in FULL swing. YAY!

Now, I celebrate fall in one very specific way. I have a hunch that MANY of you also choose to celebrate fall along with me in this one very specific way, don't cha?!

What?

Haven't figured it out yet?

A Pumpkin Spice Latte

Hallelujah my taste buds are dancing just typing those delicious words.

Yes, I do love me some pumpkin flavored sweets.

I thought I would declare my devotion to the deliciousness that is a Pumpkin Spice Latte and made a lil sumpin sumpin for my wall. See, I have this glorious new wideplank white beadboard that is all bare and needing some company in the form of decor.

Enter:

- One thrifted brand new wooden frame (with glass!? That never happens!) for $1.49. Spray paint it Heirloom white and then distress and regress and distress some more til it looks completely stressed out and happy.

Add in:

-Get a lovely "Be Calm" poster printed out. You know, the "Be calm and carry on" thingy's you've seen everywhere.

HOWEVER.

I wanted a special one.

So I made one and printed it out at Costco for $2.99 because my new computer is STILL not hooked up to our photo printer. For only $ 2.99 I really don't care because HELLO THIS IS CHEAPO.

"Be Calm" + Pumpkin Spice Latte :



Oh yeah baby. That's what I'm talking about.

Keep Calm Drink A Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Oh you want one for your wall? OK, I'm in a sharing mood, here you are:



Right click, save, print it out, frame it and be happy.

Happy Fall Y'all!

A

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Linking up to these FAB crafty parties:

New Plaid Flannel Scarves...

In honor of Plaid Flannel Party week....and to reduce my sizable plaid flannel stash, I came up with some new scarves for the Vintage Dutch Girl ETSY shop.

First up, another Wide Ruffle Edge Scarf in Red and Black Plaid on sale for $15:



Remember the original Wide Ruffle Pink Plaid Flannel Scarf? Yup, I've got another one available:



Next I created some infinity scarves. You know, the ones you loop twice around your neck and they STAY THERE. Yup, no long ends that flap in the breeze and swat you in the face (no offense to Mrs. Ruffliscious up there). These are EVERYWHERE right now. Super stylish and easy to wear.

I made some for myself as well as the Etsy shop and am LOVING them. Super cozy and easily added to sass up a boring outfit....because I tend to dress rather blah monochromatic.

First up was a delicious Chocolate brown, Cream and Burnt Orange Plaid Flannel Infinity Scarf. Of course, I added a flower pin, I HAVE to. It's a rule around here. This $20 scarf includes a removable Vintagey lace flower pin:



Our little family at the pumpkin patch this year. It's hard to see but I'm wearing my infinity scarf that matches the one above:



I found this charcoal, yellow and cream plaid flannel and fell in L.O.V.E. So, what did I do? Bought 7 yards. Cause I'm silly like that. Good for you though, plenty of fabric to make a delicious Charcoal, Yellow and Cream Plaid Flannel Infinity Scarf. This one is only $15, perfect for chilly Fall and Winter mornings running the kiddo over to preschool:



Guess what? That charcoal plaid shown above that I LOVE? Well, it came in red too.

Uh oh.

Yep. LOTS more yards of Plaid Flannel fabric to turn into scarves. A Charcoal, Red and Cream Plaid Flannel Infinity Scarf with a removable coordinating deep red sheer flower pin for $20:



Think how lovely your girlfriend, sister, mother, aunt, daughter and granddaughter will look wearing one of these. A handmade scarf is a delicious surprise to open on Christmas morning!

OK, OK... you could just get one for yourself :)

Have a happy chilly fall day! I'll be busy trying to figure out how to continue decreasing my Plaid Flannel Stash and listening to my Glee playlist and wishing there was a Glee club here in my town that I could join. I'm no Lea Michelle but I do love me some singing...

A

p.s. The Plaid Flannel link up party is cancelled for tomorrow. Let's see if I can get my act together for November. There's always hope, right? Yay optimism :)

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Dorothy and a Swordless Pirate Distracted Me...

We interrupt this Plaid Flannel Party to present you with the following concerns:

-Amanda's been too stinkin busy with cranky high energy kiddos that she doesn't have much free time.

-She also was a single parent all last week and grossly miscalculated the need for R and R after the loooonng days. (R and R is roughly translated as: Watching TV and Eating Cookies.)

-Um, hello, the church Harvest Party is tonight. Yep, TONIGHT. Missed the memo on that one when planning the sad Plaid Flannel Party. So yes, I've been busily trying to fit in outfit creating during my gobs of spare time. I promise I won't send my kids to the party half dressed (maybe).

-I invited some people over for the express purpose to motivate me to clean the house. It worked. And when the cleaning bugs are finally, belatedly biting, I don't ignore them. I let them keep on biting and enjoy the rewards of (finally having) a clean house.That means crafts and blogging go on the back burner. Not my favorite place for them. I prefer my front right super industrial fast boil burner to be loaded up with crafting and blogging and my piddly slow simmer burner to be laden with the housework.

*** INSERT EIGHT HOUR BREAK***

-I'm so scatterbrained and ferklempt I didn't even finish this post. We are now back home from the harvest festival with one tired out Lil Dorothy:



And sadly, my best photo of my swordless pirate:




There was no way on God's green earth that I was going to willfully hand a sharp weapon over to my boy. Not with his track record.

Sad picture, huh? I'll have to wait for all the Grandma's and Aunties to send me better pics of the kiddos when we did the "Look at how cute they are in their costumes!" show-off circuit around town before the harvest festival.

I had a riot making their costumes. SUCH fun. I decided to make many of the pieces adjustable for future hours of dress up playtime

I may have gotten a little carried away with all the costume fun. Dorothy DID wear ruffle butt bloomers in The Wizard of OZ, right?



These bloomers are stinkin cute and rather easyish to make. I think she might need one in every color.

Hmmmm, maybe in PLAID with a tutorial so I can get back to my sad Plaid Flannel Party???

A

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Plaid Lampshade Recovering Tutorial...Plus Giveaway!

Welcome to Plaid Flannel Party week! Let's get started on the Plaid Flannel goodness:

Hello there, meet my friend Uglampo:

He's a lamp shade and he's kinda ugly. He doesn't really fit in very well with our bedroom decor. (No, that face is not for reals. Hello photo software stickers, I love you).

Uglampo's twin brother Uglampi did not sign the media and press waiver so we are unable to post pictures of him. We deeply apologize.

Sadly, (OK, not too sad for me) we need to say buh-bye to Uglampo. He needs an extreme makeover....but needs so much work that his former identity will be null and void. New identity, here we come!

Lay Uglampo on your chosen piece of fabric (PLAID! CHOOSE PLAID!) and while rolling the lampshade cut out the basic shape of the lampshade with a good 2 - 3 extra inches all around:




You'll end up with a piece as shown below and your Uglampo will end up with motion sickness. Perfect.



Put a dab of glue (I used my hot glue gun because it's fast and easy) where each of the arrows is pointing and lay your Uglampo on it, being sure to smooth out any wrinkles or folds. Glue small 3-4 inch sections on the lamp edge and roll along your fabric to attach it. Do NOT be afraid to quickly rip off sections of misshapen, folded and rolled on fabric before the glue fully dries and redo them so they lay smooth.* AHEM*.

Uglampo is feeling a bit dizzy after all this rolling and gluing going on...but he's looking FAB:



Where the two edges of the fabric meet, glue one side all the way down flat against the lamp. On the remaining edge, fold the raw edge under and glue it down forming a smooth line with no raw edges showing. Think about wrapping a present and tucking the ragged edges on the bottom under forming a smooth folded line. Same thing. Clear as mud, right?

Cut slits into the top extra fabric where any lamp hardware is attached to the outer rim. I had three metal bars to work around so I cut three slits:



(Hee hee, those scissor photo stickers are making me giggle )

Glue along the inside edge of the lampshade and tuck the fabric in leaving a smooth edge. Then trim off the excess fabric:



(Why yes, I DO realize I'm overdoing the use of photo stickers. Let me have my fun)

And there you go, you are DONE. I really can't believe I turned such a rather simple project into a post this long.

Meet Plaidlampo:



Ain't it a cutie pie?

BEFORE:



AFTER:



And you betchyourbuns I'll be ripping that plaid flannel off and recovering those lampshade anytime I am the least bit sick of them.

Looking at that picture makes me want to restain those tables....and spray paint the lamp bases....and stencil a quatrefoil pattern on the wall. You get the general idea. Anywho...

OK, giveaway time!

Up for grabs is this teal, purple, pink and black plaid blossom pin...because sometimes a full plaid shirt/skirt/dress/coat is just too. much. plaid. This gives you just a nibble of plaid to accentuate an otherwise dull outfit:



Please don't ask me why a fiery glowing pumpkin is peeking out from the right side of the blossom pin. I won't have an answer for ya.

Oooo, I have an idea...



That's better.

Giveaway Rules:

1. LEAVE ME A COMMENT telling me what outfit/article of clothing you'd use this sassy pin.

2. Earn another entry by FOLLOWING ME via the Google Friend Connect Follow Me doodad located on the right sidebar and LEAVE ME ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you just signed up or already DO follow Vintage Dutch Girl.

3. Earn yet another entry by subscribing to the Vintage Dutch Girl blog via a reader and LEAVE ME ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you newly subscribed or already do so.

4. Earn another entry by "Hearting" or "favoriting" the VintageDutchGirl ETSY shop and LEAVE ME ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you did and WHAT YOUR FAVORITE ITEM IS CURRENTLY FOR SALE IN THE SHOP.

5. Earn another entry by BECOMING A FAN on the Vintage Dutch Girl Facebook Fan page found HERE...and LEAVE ME ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you became a fan or already ARE a fan.

6. STILL need some more entries? Whew...OK. Earn another entry (if you're still counting, that's up to FIVE) by blogging about, facebook posting, or tweeting about this giveaway (with links added in to spread the fun!) and LEAVE ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you did so.

7. OK, last one, I promise. GRAB THE Plaid Flannel Party BUTTON located on the top right side of the blog and post it on your blog to spread the news during this Plaid Flannel Party week and LEAVE ME ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you did so.

(Sorry, but for shipping reasons, this contest is only open to residents of USA and Canada)

*why so many entry possibilities? I want to say THANK YOU to those who read and follow along with my blabberings and projects!*

I will leave the contest open until THIS FRIDAY, October 29th, 10 PM PST at which time I will select a winner through Random.org and post the results.

Remember!!! You do NOT have to run a blog or have a google/gmail account to enter. Just click in as anonymous and make sure you tack your first name and email on the bottom of your comment so I can contact you if you win. Enter to win and join the fun!

A

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Glow-In-The-Dark Galaxy...

I went and got my thrift on this morning. As always, I came home with more things I didn't know I needed.

I was jazzed to find these glow-in-the-dark stars and planets for 99 cents:



Be honest, how many of you had these on your bedroom ceiling as a kid?

Confession: I didn't have them but secretly thought they were cool. My brother had them and sometimes I'd sneak in there when he wasn't home to look at his glowing little ceiling galaxy.

(Jason - I also MAY have played with your legos and transformers. )

I just stuck a bunch on them up on Bubbalu's bedroom ceiling and he is LOVING them. Maybe it will help him stay in bed and take naps again? (Trying to be optimistic here...just go along and pretend with me that children that don't take naps are wonderful creatures, mkay?)

I also came home with a delicious bag full of vintagey lace and trimmings.



I may have to incorporate some of these into my plaid projects for the Plaid Flannel Party starting next week. Plaid + Lace? Yes please.

OK, off to try to convince the 3 yr old that quiet room time literally means QUIET and IN YOUR ROOM...

A

Don't forget about the party starting next week!

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The Irony Of It All...

If you can't make out the lettering, it says, "ULTRASONIC BIRD REPELLER":



Yup, with a nest right next to it.

I really do find joy and humor in the mundane things of this life...

A

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Upcoming Plaid Flannel Party!

I LOVE me some Plaid Flannel. One could say I've been hoarding a yard or eighteen of this deliciously colorful and cozy fabric. I finally decided to do something about it to bust my stash.

Heads up! I am hosting a Plaid Flannel Party next week, October 24th - 29th! Grab the button and post it on your blog so everyone knows you are participating and get the word out!

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I have HEAPS of Plaid Flannel that are itching to get sewn, ripped, glued and crafted into beautiful things. Seriously, HEAPS.

What can you expect from this Plaid Flannel Shindig?

* Plaid Flannel Project ideas

* Plaid Flannel sewing tutorials

* New Plaid Flannel items in the Vintage Dutch Girl shop

* All ending with a huge Plaid Flannel Project Parade Link-up Party and GIVEAWAY on Friday, October 29th. Get your Plaid Flannel projects ready to post and link up and we can all be ready for some super Plaid Flannel project inspiration!

So, get out there and get shopping for some lovely Plaid Flannel to join our Plaid Flannel Party on October 24- 29th. Hope you can attend!

A

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Crack Soup... I mean Pasta e Fagioli...

This soup is SO good it deserves a repost. Especially it is Autumn and chilly in our part of the country.

*originally posted February 4, 2009*

This is the best. soup. ever.

Seriously? Want to impress anyone? Not that talented in the kitchen? Short on time?

This IS the soup for you.

I actually made 6 batches while 7 months pregnant to freeze and use when Lil Chick arrived. It is actually thawing nicely in my refrigerator at the moment. My lovely Sister in law requested this recipe for her husband, who dubbed it "crack soup", it is THAT good.

Enjoy! Really, PLEASE enjoy:

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

12 ounces chicken sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced (Sun Dried Tomato Basil or similar flavors work well).
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup bow tie pasta
2 cups (or more) coarsely chopped zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp oregano
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Dash of pepper

Heat sausage, stirring constantly, over high heat in large pot for 2 minutes (or until sizzling nicely). Add broth and pasta and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes. Add zucchini and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer another 2 minutes. Stir in oregano and kidney beans, give a good dash of pepper, cover and simmer 3 minutes or until pasta and zucchini are tender.

Serve with shredded asiago or Parmesan cheese and eat and eat and eat until you hate me.

I get the chicken sausage at Costco, which is really flavorful. I've doubled the recipe except for the sausage and it still tasted wonderful.

Also very good with my favorite and easy Cheddar Garlic Biscuits to dip into the yummy broth.

You're welcome...

A


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Christmas Etsy Shopping...

While at Costco yesterday with my Sister we did a bunch of Christmas shopping.

Yes, I know, the idea of Christmas shopping makes some of you physically ill, but think how lovely it would be to have ALL of your shopping done (and wrapped!) before December hits! Then you would be free to attend every and all holiday shindig and allow yourself to snack on every bit of peppermint bark, holiday fudge and peanut butter bon bons that you can find.

Not sure why I translate having shopping done with the freedom to eat snacks, but whatever. I may be a bit hungry for breakfast and am trying to distract myself from the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen. (Yes, I've had them for breakfast before. No, this hasn't worked to distract me. If anything, now I want them even more.)

OK, back to shopping.

There's some new stuff going on in the Vintage Dutch Girl Etsy shop.

Have you considered a handmade Christmas gift for your girlfriends, Mom, Sister or daughter?

How about a sassy gold flower headband?



Or maybe a chic houndstooth flower pin?



And the ON SALE Pink Plaid Flannel Ruffle Scarf. I have one of these just for me and I love it:



Don't see a particular color you wanted? No problem, I love doing custom orders! Just contact me and we can chat.

That's it for now but stay tuned for more Vintage Dutch Girl ETSY shop updates and think again how nice it will be to have all your shopping done early!

A

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