Quick Fix — Wide Shoulder Dress or Top

Here’s a quick little post to show y’all a trick for keeping a wide shoulder dress or top from falling down your shoulders.  Scroll down for a bonus thrift-store sundress refashion! The bandana dress we’re working on today was my outfit of choice for last September’s West Asheville Refashioning Competition.  I thrifted this dress shortly before the competition and this was the first time I’d worn it.  Little did I know it would proceed to incessantly … Read more…

T-Shirt to Skirt Refashion Tutorial Part II: DIY Bandage Skirt

Hey y’all, it’s been a minute!  Before I get to today’s DIY Bandage Skirt how-to, I want to say that I’m sure some of you have noticed that we’ve been on hiatus for the past few months.  I don’t want to go into too much detail about personal stuff, but my family has been dealing with difficult situations and transitions recently–good vibes/wishes/prayers appreciated! As such, MC and I pitched in to help, frequently travelling and taking … Read more…

DIY Journal Bookbinding Tutorial

Back in my college days, when I was short on craft supply funds and storage space (oh dorm rooms, how I do not miss thee at all!), I was always on the hunt for free crafting tutorials online which could be made with stuff that I already had lying around.  One of my favorites that I came across was a basic DIY journal bookbinding technique with instructions to make your own blank book.  I’ve always … Read more…

Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe w/Toasted Pecan Butter Rum Sauce & Vanilla Whipped Cream

  Here’s a little bit of personal info about me: I’m kind of weird about the winter holidays.  I’m not a very traditional person and I don’t always agree with particular aspects of what certain holidays stand for, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, both of which I grew up celebrating with my family despite my reservations.  That aside, I do appreciate paid days off work and quality time spent with family who I don’t get to … Read more…

DIY Tiered Cake Guide

Photo courtesy of: Cindy Kunst, CLicKs Photography This post is for those of you who, like me, love to bake from scratch, have no professional training, and suddenly find your loved ones requesting a fancy cake for a special event.  In my case, weddings and a baby shower.  I will begin by confessing that I’ve only made a total of 3 tiered cakes ever, and I always stress myself to the max worrying about all … Read more…

DIY Miss Universe Halloween Costume Refashion

Halloween is my favorite holiday, hands down.  MC and I always spend Halloween with friends, we make plans for the big night weeks in advance, and, best of all, we create our own costumes each year.  I love the challenge of sourcing materials, crafting and sewing up a storm until the last minute to bring our visions to life.  Like Frankenstein.  Because Halloween!  This DIY Miss Universe Halloween Costume tutorial will show you what I came … Read more…

Quick Fix Ribbon Lacing Tutorial for Too-Small Dress

This ribbon lacing tutorial is a very basic quick fix for a dress that you can zip to your waist area but not over your ribcage/bust–you know, one of those thrifted dresses that *almost* fits like a glove, but not quite.  Thus far I’ve only used this technique for costume dresses worn for an evening or two.  If you want something stronger and more durable I would recommend researching grommets and information on corset-making to get … Read more…

West Asheville Refashioning Project Fall 2015

Recently I did something outside my comfort zone that I’ve never done before.  I heard about the West Asheville Refash Project through a Facebook group a few weeks ago and was immediately intrigued–a refashioning contest, structured like a Project Runway challenge.  As plans for the event solidified I noticed that Altamont Brewing, a local brewery/restaurant in our neighborhood, was hosting.  The idea of being in a friendly space that I was already familiar with and, … Read more…

DIY Garden Trellis Tutorial

In our last post we introduced you to our tiny-but-productive 2015 summer garden and discussed our process, learning experiences and mishaps throughout the past 3 years of attempting this DIY gardening thing.  You may have noticed our garden trellis in the final shot, which we recently constructed so that our green beans could climb and thrive without taking over everything else in the garden, which was one of the mistakes we made last year.  To recap, … Read more…

DIY Gardening: Musings from a Wannabe Gardener

There’s a good reason I call myself a “wannabe” gardener.  Just as I am new to blogging, I am also a gardening novice.  Yes, this is year 3 of our DIY gardening experiment and it’s coming along swimmingly compared to the first year, but trust me, while I may be able to throw a cheesecake together like it’s nobody’s business, gardening does not come naturally and my thumb is a pale yellow at best.  Come … Read more…