Refashioned T-Shirt Gauchos Tutorial

In Megan Nicolay’s newest book titled Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt she shows you how to make gauchos out of a tshirt on page 69. This is a photo tutorial to review this project. You can make these eco-friendly refashioned gauchos with just three t-shirts and a bit of your spare time. The length of time needed to complete these will be determined by your skill level and whether or not you choose to sew by hand or machine.

Here’s how DIY:

1. gather 3 tshirts (l or xl), chalk marker, ruler, scissors, pins, needle thread and Megan’s book.

2. Turn your shirts inside out and cut two of the shirts into 15″ wide rectangles that extend through the bottom seam.

3. lay all four pieces together and cut off the bottom seams.

4. separate into two pairs of rectangles and pin along one side of each to create the legs of the gauchos.

5. Lay the pinned legs together and draw a gentle arc on each side to form the crotch of the gauchos about a 1/4″ from the edge and extending about 2″ long. Cut along the chalk line to finish shaping legs.

6. Open the panels and place them design side together, matching the curved edges and lining up the seams. Pin and sew with at least a 1/4″ seam allowance.

7. Use the third shirt to cut 2″ wide tubes of fabric from the bottom, just above the seam to create the waistband ties.

8. pin to the tops of the pants with an even amount of fabric hanging off both sides of the pants and sew on.

9. Turn your pants inside right and rock out! To wear, start in the front or back and tie the first panel around your waist like an apron. Pull the other panel up and tie to overlap. Now go show everyone how awesome your new pants are.

If you don’t want to make these pants yourself, pick up a pair in my Etsy shop. If you don’t see the ones you want, just convo me with your measurements and color preferences I’ll make them to order.

Recessionista Beauty Secrets

For those of you who have read my blog before you have likely read that I have issues with my complexion; it’s combination and acne-prone (ie, expensive to take care of). Over the last two years I have been working to reduce the number of products I use and looking for inexpensive, natural options to replace the plethora of expensive chemicals that I have been slathering on my face. I tried olive oil to replace my face wash with mixed results. It was definately inexpensive and natural, but it was also messy and dulled my complexion. It did turn out to be the best eye make-up remover that I’ve ever tried, and outshined even the most expensive products that I relied on to remove my hard working MAC eye-liner for pennies on the dollar in comparison. I would definately recommend rubbing on a bit of olive oil to remove eye-makeup and then wiping dry with a cotton cloth, because it moisturizes while it cleans and leaves my eyes looking fresh and wrinkle-free. As for the rest of my face, I now use differin acne medication by prescription, which has allowed me to eliminate a number of beauty products that I relied on previously. I now use Aveno face wash because it is gentle and non-drying and an astringent. I had been purchasing Mario Badescu Special Cucumber Lotion for years, but it did nothing to control the oil production in my T-zone, which left me patting down my face several times a day and it doesn’t fall into the inexpensive category to be sure. Buying it in its largest 32 oz size brought the $/oz down to about $1.50 per oz. I began researching astringent/toner alternatives and decided to try Witch Hazel.

Also known as winterbloom, snapping hazel and spotted alder, Witch Hazel is indigenous to the woodland areas of the Northeastern United States. This unique plant bears delicate golden flowers and seed capsules in late autumn, after the leaves have fallen. The seed capsules mature one year later, at which time they burst open and scatter the seeds away from the mother plant to ensure propagation of the next generation. The twigs and bark contain the therapeutic and aromatic constituents that when distilled create the clear, fragrant, natural astringent Dickinson’s is famous for today.

Native Americans recognized Witch Hazel’s value, and would apply it topically to treat minor wounds, abrasions and skin irritations. Nineteenth century missionaries learned of the plant’s therapeutic qualities and produced the first commercial Witch Hazel Extracts as basic ingredients for a wide array of personal care products.

Today, the applications of Witch Hazel go beyond facial care where a mild but effective astringent is desired; other applications include cleansers, body washes, hair care, eye gels and personal hygiene products. Consumers and medical professionals alike recognize Witch Hazel as a naturally soothing and cost effective botanical extract.

Witch Hazel is recommended for:

• Excellent for sensitive skin
• Removes excess oil and sebum
• Controls oil production
• Reduces skin blemishes
• Cleanses and conditions skin
• Tones and tightens pores
• Soothes redness
• Refreshes and cools skin
• Does not over dry
• Hypoallergenic
• Dermatologist tested

I checked this information with “The Derm Doc” and he confirmed that it would be safe and effective as a toner for my face and I started using it nearly 3 weeks ago. I purchased the Up and Up brand from Target and have used it twice a day (morning and night) each day over the last three weeks. The oil production has greatly reduced down to normal levels, leaving my skin looking taught, dewy and fresh. I haven’t had any breakouts or irritation as a result of using it and I would recommend this product without hesitation as an inexpensive, natural toner/astringent. I do not exfoliate my skin because I am currently using the prescription acne treatment, but I’m certain that there are plenty of inexpensive, natural options out there.

What inexpensive, natural beauty secrets have you discovered?

I look like a doily (and I love it)!

As many of you who have read my previous articles no doubt know, I gave up purchasing new clothes and have committed to doing so for one year with my new friends at TGAAD. While I do still enjoy swapping clothes that no longer fit properly or are generally unflattering, I do try to hold on to my modest selection of clothes that I really love. This could be because they are extremely comfortable, make me look hot or have some sentimental value. I haven’t purchased any truly expensive clothes in years, so in the old days it is very likely that if I ruined a shirt with bleach or benzoyl peroxide (both of which happen with alarming regularity) I would have either relegated them to cleaning or workout clothes, donated them to Goodwill, or used them for trash. I certainly could refashion them into something else where the stains aren’t visible, but for this shirt, it was so comfortable, and the fit flattering, and worse… I had just bought it! In fact, it was one of my very last purchases of new clothes before I started TGAAD, so I was determined to keep it as is. I began thinking of ways to cover the stains that appeared on the neckline and on the front of my shirt. Apparently I was washing my face with my benzoyl peroxide cleaner again, even though I know I am not supposed to, and dripped some down the front of my shirt. grumble. I was not giving this shirt up to cleaning or working out, how could I fix it? I could make a patch, but it’s so light weight that it would likely ruin the drape. I could do applique, but the stain was in some pretty strange spots for attaching individual designs. Then, I go the idea… what if I just bleach it some more so that it looks like I totally did it on purpose?  Eureka! So, I looked up online how to do this, and then after reading a few other blogs cobbled together a few ideas and came up with the shirt you see above. I found a cool doily that my mom had just given me (well, I rummaged from her pile of donations destined for the Salvation Army actually) and I cut out some cardboard heart shapes to cover the stain on the neckline to match the doily. I then mixed a 50/50 solution of bleach and water, put it in an old spray bottle, and went to town. I think it turned out really cool, and you can really see the detail of the lace. It looks a little hippie and a little handmade, but you know what; I love it! So file this in your bag of tricks for the next time you accidentally destroy a perfectly good garment and lace it up!

DIY Sweater Boots Instructable

I adore this instructable so I had to post it. Grab yourself an old sweater and a pair of flats from the thrift store or a clothing swap and make some fashionable sweater boots.

Upcycled Sweater Boots – More DIY How To Projects

Rethinking the Cotton Round

Photo: Sproutzstore.blogspot.com

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the production of cotton uses a lot of water which is a valuable and dwindling resource. Shortages of fresh water worldwide lead to famine and starvation, war and terrorism, poverty and disease. In thinking about how I can do my part to help eliminate the unnecessary use of this precious resource globally I have been looking to reduce consumption of disposable products that I can replace with reuseable options. The first and easist switch for me was to stop purchasing new clothes and reuse fabric that I have available locally. Next, I began to investigate other household items that I could replace and while I was washing my face last night it dawned on me; cotton facial rounds! These little cotton pads are great for removing eye make-up and cleansing, but I use several of them each and every day. I thought,”surely, there must be some way to buy or make my own reuseable pads”. This morning I began to look for alternatives and was pleased to find that I can both buy and make my own easily and inexpensively. There are packs of Organic Reusable Cotton Face Rounds on Amazon and variety of homemade versions on Etsy like these cotton buds or facial scrubbies. There are literally hundreds in a variety of colors, textures and materials on etsy just type “facial cotton” into the search box and go. If you are of the DIY persuasion there are even patterns so that you can crochet your own and tutorials to tech you to reuse fabric you already have to sew a few. My takeaway from this is that I can keep pushing myself to reduce my consumption in ways that help my family and the world, with little inconvenience to our way of life. Each little change that I make helps and if we can each change a habit or two, perhaps we can begin to make some real change. So keep pushing new ideas and sharing them with everyone so that we can all walk the long road to reducing our impact and improving our way of life for everyone together.

Blown MTB Tube = New Wallet

bike innertube wallet – More DIY How To Projects

Recycled Tshirt Bracelet from Instructables

Recycled T-shirt Bracelet – More DIY How To Projects

The Cookie Exchange: 4 Dozen Gluten-Free, Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

My mother has decided to begin an annual tradition of exchanging cookies. The idea is that everyone brings four dozen cookies and we all eat lunch, sample the cookies and play games to spend time with friends and kindle that Christmas spirit. The challenge is that we are a motley crew and among us we have meatatarians, country girls, gluten-free gals and some weirdo vegans (ie, mom, and yes that is a tongue-in-cheek reference).  Everyone is short on time and funds during the holidays and some of us (ahem) are just challenged in the baking arena, so coming up with an easy, low-cost DIY gluten-free, vegan cookie recipe was tough.  Luckily I found a good recipe base online and with just a few simple modifications I present to you:

The No-Bake Gluten-Free, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter “Cookie”

*The term cookie is used loosely here because there isn’t any actual cooking involved This recipe makes 48 cookies.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Sugar in the Raw

1 Cup RICE DREAM Rice Drink, Enriched Original, Organic

1 Cup Hershey’s Cocoa, Special Dark

5 Cups Bob’s Red Mill Organic Quick Cooking Rolled Oats

1 Cup Smart Balance Light Butter

1 Cup Natural, No-stir peanut butter

2 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:

Place oats, peanut butter and vanilla into a large bowl. Next, combine sugar, milk, cocoa powder and butter substitute in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir frequently and allow to boil for about one minute, or until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined, thick and bubbly. Pour the chocolate mixture over the oats mixture and stir well. Really work to combine the mixture quickly because it will thicken and begin to solidify as it cools. Form about a tablespoon of the mixture at a time in your hands like little burger patties and then place onto waxed or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Once you have formed all 48, place into the fridge to cool.  You can dust with powdered sugar once cooled to make them look a bit more festive, as in their natural state my daughter and I decided that they look a bit like reindeer poo Enjoy!

DIY Christmas Card Recycling

Every year I get and save my Christmas cards so that i can reuse them for packaging and tagging gifts. This year I found a handy gadget for quickly making tag-shaped tags here Uchida LV-SJCP74 Clever Lever Super Jumbo Craft Punch, Merchandise Tag and it’s arleady on it’s way to my home now. You can always do it the old-fashioned way (as I have for many years), but what can I say; I’m a sucker for gadgets that make my recycling easier. While I was surfing around looking for new and creative ways to recycle my old greeting cards I found this awesome tutorial for creating gift boxes out of old cards. This is perfect for gifting jewelry and other small items; I am sew doing these tongiht!

How to Make a Gift Box out of a Greeting Card

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

This is a great way to recycle old greeting cards and make little boxes for small gifts (or for storing small objects). This box is different from an origami box because it includes a top and a bottom. It requires only a few simple tools and supplies, and the result is charming and eco-friendly. Click any image to enlarge it.

Steps

1. Gather your supplies and tools, listed below.
2. Cut the card in half along the fold. The easiest way to make the top fit over the bottom is to make sure both halves of the card are the same size, so you may have to trim a little. You will use the colorful front of the card as the box lid.
3. Decide how tall you want your box to be. This may depend on the design on the front of the card, or on how big the item is that you want to enclose. This demonstration uses 1 inch (25mm) for the top, and 1 and 1/16 (27mm) for the bottom. Add a little to the measurement for the bottom, so the top will fit over it.
4. Draw a square in each corner of the top and bottom of the card, the size of your measurements. You can mark just the corners, making a square so you can see where to cut.
5. Score the card all the way along all four sides, using the squares to give you the distance from the edge.
6. Cut along the score line from the edge to the next, perpendicular score line in each corner, but do so for only one side of the square you drew. Leave one side of the box uncut to make a tab. Do this for all four corners of the card.
7. Fold the sides up, and fold the tabs in.
8. Glue each tab and paper clip it into place until it dries.
9. Repeat the marking and scoring for the other half of the box.
10. When your box is dry, place your gift or other small objects inside.

Tips

• It is important to add a little to the measurement for the bottom, so the top will fit over it.
• To score the card, take your dead pen or other instrument and draw along the ruler from edge to edge on the paper, pressing down hard enough to mark the paper but not hard enough to cut through.
• Alternate the way the tabs fold on the top and bottom, so they fit together a little better.
• If you have trouble getting glue to stick to the glossy surface of a greeting card, help it out with a little tape on the inside. Or use an emery board or small piece of fine sanding paper to very lightly rough up the paper to take the glue better.
• Greeting cards are available for all sorts of occasions. Use a greeting card that suits your occasion.
• Reuse is a great way to recycle.

Warnings

• Be careful with the compass, if you’re using an old metal version with a sharp point.
• Use scissors and other cutters with care.

Things You’ll Need

• a greeting card
• a ruler
• a pencil
• a pair of scissors
• something to “score” the card stock (the point of a compass, an old ballpoint pen that is out of ink works perfectly, as does the tine of a fork, a butter knife, or a small-gauge knitting needle)
• glue
• paper clips

Related wikiHows

• How to Make Placemats from Greeting Cards
• How to Fold a Paper Box
• How to Make a Greeting Card Envelope
• How to Make a Word Search Greeting Card

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make a Gift Box out of a Greeting Card. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

DIY Make-up Kit

I switched to minral make-up a few years back because it was less expensive, longer lasting, and looked more natural on my pale skin.  I’ve bounced back among a few brands of the last few years and recently I’ve been using Physician’s Formula and purchasing it at Target.  It looks great and it’s pretty cheap, but here’s the real issue.  When you look at the ingredients listed they are: ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: TITANIUM DIOXIDE, ZINC OXIDE. INACTIVE INGREDIENTS: BORON NITRIDE, ZINC STEARATE, LAUROYL LYSINE, RETINYL PALMITATE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, MAY CONTAIN: MICA, IRON OXIDES

A few of these ingredients have some pretty scary warnings. You can learn more about individual ingredients here at Skin Deep. Their “About Us” page provides lots of information including information about the campaign for safe cosmetics, “Skin Deep helps fuel the nationwide Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of public health, educational, religious, labor, womens, environmental and consumer groups working to protect the health of consumers and workers by requiring the health and beauty industry to phase out the use of dangerous chemicals and replace them with safer alternatives. Through the Campaign, as of May 2007 over 500 companies have joined the effort by signing the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Environmental Working Group is a founding partner of the Campaign”

So…back to where we were… I have heard that parabens aren’t good for you, so when I saw this ingredient listed I decided to look it up and I found that it doesn’t look good… Methylparaben. On a danger rating scale of 1-10, methylparaben is an 8; yikes! Thus began my campaign to make my own make-up for less money and with known safer ingredients.  This is good for my wallet because it’s cheaper. It’s good for the environment because I can buy in bulk (less shipping) and I can reuse my own containers so less plastic to have created and recycled; I always prefer to just reuse. It’s good for me because I know exactly what’s in it and I can make it match my skin tone exactly.  Sounds good right?  Well, I was shopping for my annual soap and bath fizzy ingredients at Bramble Berry and voila!  They happen to make a DIY mineral make-up kit! The kit contains:

Mineral Makeup Foundation Kit contains:
Sericite, Dry Flo, Kaolin clay, Titanium Dioxide, Honeyed Beige mica, Soft Beige Mica, Cappuccino Mica, Luster Black Mica, Brown Oxide, Ultramarine Pink Oxide, Ultramarine Blue, Brick Red Oxide, Black Oxide, 3 empty containers as well as a luxuriously soft kabuki style brush.

No parabens in site and the kaolin clay helps absorb oil, which is perfect for my oily, sensitive and acne-prone skin.  Woot!  So, I’m putting in my order today so that I can get to work on Christmas projects and start making my own make-up.  They also have a kit for making your own lipstick and if I like making my own foundation I’ll try that next.

Wish me luck…