Paint it Black: Refashion theme for the month! Cherry dress

 Fair warning; this post is bit much. I'm laying on the heavy, sad stuff pretty thick, so reading the words could cause projectile vomit or eyes to roll so hard they fall from their sockets. Proceed!
"April is the cruelest month" -T.S. Eliot
Hey... I'm quoting poetry...that's cool for a DIY blog. I do find April to be a difficult time, so I thought I'd class this thing up and add that. Spring is in bloom and the sun is out, but I'm like, "whatever." With each turning page of the calendar, I always find myself remembering where I was the previous year. I remember last April...
"Just when you think you've hit rock bottom; the bottom drops out" -VH1's Behind the Music narrator. I remember my boy, Greyson quoting that to me last year when I told him what was going on in life. Starting in the summer of 2012, things started going wrong and by the spring of 2013, the shit storm that was becoming my life was a category 5 hurricane.
A year later, the storm has passed. No more anger or fear. Just quiet solitude and a yearning for the past. I've made many changes, tried new things, and have plenty to be thankful for. But nothing fills the void of what I've lost. I can't help missing the life I used to have and the person I used to be.

That person.

I should probably digress and get to the point here. Sometimes, I miss wrestling, and my former wrestling company, WAW was my pride and joy for so many years. I miss that spotlight, that outlet, and mostly the camaraderie. Last Sunday was the WWE's annual Wrestlemania, which I certainly did not watch; I've lost my interest in one of my favorite old past times, and wrestling pay per views are things people watch in groups. In my old days, Wrestlemania Sunday was like a holiday and friends would gather together and order the show with everyone pitching in to pay. For me, those days are gone.
Not coincidentally, WAW's "wrestlemania" will take place this month. WAW puts on weekly shows, with bimonthly special events. The special-est of all is WAW's Legacy. There were times when the gym would be so full of spectators, people were turned away at the door. It was spectacular. The title of this refashion "series" comes from the Rolling Stones' song that we used (and they probably still use) for the theme song of WAW's Legacy. WAW's Legacy was a time of celebration. We all came together and worked hard to put on the best show of the year. It was a very important part of my life. And I don't have it any more.
So, here's what I'm doing here: I see the spring, but I want to wear black. I'm doing a series of refashioned outfits centered around the theme "Paint it Black." Could I possibly be any more long winded?
For my first edition, I started with this thing:

Hey, that's too big. And it's ugly. I'm pulling on the little ties on each side to give you the full effect.

The bottom of the dress featured red hats with orange ribbons. Why. Of course, when you look up close the bulk of the dress's material features cute, purple cherries. So, that''s cool. Also, I guess I could've ironed before I took that close up.

Naturally, the first thing I did was chop that bottom part off. There are more cherries on the hats, so maybe down the line, I can cut the fruit out and make an applique thing out of it. Next, I had to take it in a bit. From the tag, I found out it was a size 12 and that the dress originally came with a shirt to wear underneath. So, the top was a weird size.

See what I did there? Normally, I would make something smaller by taking in the sides. That didn't work so well, because the sleeve holes were low and would've left too much side boob visible. I folded the dress in half lengthwise and pinned it in the back. That worked, so I sewed it.
I then had to hem the bottom where I cut off the ugly hat border. Anyone who looks at my dresses sees that I like them to come below the knee because I'm ashamed of my white legs. I was kinda disappointed that this dress was going to be a little shorter.

 The bustline was a little boring looking, so I gave it a little gather. Like a sweetheart neckline, I think? The picture looks bad because I do this stuff at night. See, I just pinched up a little of the material and pinned it with a safety pin and then hand sewed it like that. There are better ways to make a little gather like that. I do things the quick way.

The fit was still a little bit roomy. So, in that picture, I pointed the camera at myself to show how I just pinched up a little fabric on on each side in the front of my dress and pinned it. Of course, I then had to turn the dress inside out and re pin so I could add those little darts.
Finally, I added a sash to the waist. Because that's what I do. The whole thing was pretty easy. Here's my outfit:

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors any more, I want them to turn black

In hindsight, I really should've stuck with black tights to go with the theme. I wanted to bring out the purple of the print. I'm probably also going to regret the inclusion of the song lyrics with the pictures! I guess I'm thinking, "hmm...needs more pretentiousness."
 Here are some more, though:

 I see a line of cars and they're all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you
If I look hard enough into the setting sun
My love will laugh with me before the morning comes

I love the line, "I could not foresee this thing happening to you," because throughout WAW's history, I'm guessing no one would have ever thought that Moody (myself) would ever be this way.

Thrift Hoard: Pardon me, I'm a little slow

I'll get the downer stuff out of the way:  By the way, I'm home from work today because when I woke up my head hurt so bad, one would think I had partied over the weekend (yeah right.) I've been off my game of thrift-photograph-list-sell as of late, because dang--I'm still depressed! We're looking at two years here, folks. I thought that it worked like this: you get depressed; you seek help; you make some changes; you find a new activity (blogging/etsy); and soon you'll be as good as new! Sunshine and rainbows!

 Don't get me wrong, I've done some thrifting. Last weekend, my mama took me to the Goodwill next town over, but I mostly just found stuff for me (which mom bought).
I picked up a freebie! Last month, two tenants moved out of the building. One of them was the very mean bully mentioned in the melodramatic "My Story" here on my blog. My landlord pulled a bunch of stuff out of the building, and amongst the more feminine stuff was this:

Tacky, thrift store wall art! I wanted to sell it, but it has a little tear in the canvas, so no. I was thinking I would use it for a DIY project, like the ones where you put stickers on and then paint over it and then peel off the stickers. You know the one's I'm talking about. People usually make cheesy quotes. What should mine say?
I really just liked the "irony" (not actual definition of irony) of me grabbing up her cast offs. (Because she dated my old boyfriend? Get it?)
In drama-free news, I picked up this magazine rack for $2.

Boooo. It's chipped and now I have to spray paint it. But, it's got a cool spring handle. A mid century, metal magazine rack was the first item I sold on Etsy. I was like, "holy crap! Someone bought something!" I figured I should try and list more of these. I just looove these metal wire things (plant stands, record holders, little tables, shelves). I have stuff that I could totally sell to atomic lovers in my apartment that I really don't want to part with.
I acquired some items with which to refashion, as well.

I picked that out while shopping with mom and she forked over the $4.99. Too big, and has ridiculous large hats on the bottom, but I like the purple cherries and saw this as an easy fix. I already did the refashion! I'll totally post my "after" pics and process later! (probably) My head feels much better, but the ache could come back!
And this:

I haven't replaced my tripod

Big, polyester, 70s top that I plan to make a kimono out of. I really want to do that, like now. $0.50!

And this big, shapeless, thick black dress...I don't really remember what my plans for this thing were. $0.50, so I'll make it work!
Linking up at a living space, Sir Thrift A Lot, and perhaps elsewhere.

DIY cardigan clips

Like I said yesterday two days ago, I'm posting my tutorial for the cardigan clips/pins thing that I added to my cut up sweater.
I've seen many tutorials for DIY cardigan clips using clip on earings. Those are awesome, since vintage clip ons are usually easy to find and can be really unique. The problem I have with mine is that the clips don't hold the sweater very well. So, I tried pins.

Even though it's so simple, I'm reasonably sure that you could put it together in your sleep, here's my step by step process.

1. Materials: a chain, about 6-7" inches long (mine's 6.5") depending on your preference; pin backs; some little pliers; big jump rings (I don't know how many mm! Do I look like a legitimate jewelry maker? Big enough to fit the button); glue gun (it's plugged in somewhere else); and two buttons. 

As you see, I've got 10 buttons in that picture. That's part of my process: be really indecisive! Gather up your stuff, heat up the glue gun, then look through an entire button stash before your choose. Kill a lot of precious time! I decided on those white and silver ones.

2. Attach jump ring through one of the button holes.That's about it for that step. See? Open the jump ring and put one end through a button hole. Repeat with the other button.

3. Attach that same jump ring to chain. That little chain segment already had medium size jump rings attached to each end because it was part of another project that I didn't need. So, I attached those jump rings to the ones on the buttons.

4. Glue pin back to the back of the button. I laid the chain out flat to make sure I was gluing the pins on the same place on each button. You know so both pins will be above the chain so it falls right.

I knew the pin backs were visible behind the buttons, but for some reason, I was ok with that. If it bothers me down the line, I could maybe glue something else over it.

Do me a solid and "Pin" this, would ya? (Just kidding, you don't have to.)

Shrug life: sweater refashion (and a useful DIY cardigan clip!)

First week of April, and for once in a long time, we cold weather dwellers can safely leave home without mittens. So, Obviously it's just the right time to refashion a warm sweater.
Here's what happened: last week was cold. Rainy and miserable. "I'm tired of all you stupid sweaters!" I cried, before falling upon this one. It was a candidate for refashioning because I haven't worn it all year. "Why not this?" I pondered. Too small and too big at the same time, that's why. But, I'd just done a fresh dye job, so red hair likes green.

I love those big wing sleeves, but the thick band at the bottom was too tight for the area it was supposed to be around. Those pictures make it look ok...but it wasn't! It looked bad!
I mostly wear cardigans. I was thinking I could make this like a big, shrug thing. You know, a sweater that's mostly sleeves? This was a Goodwill find from last year and it was acrylic. I heard that acrylic stuff won't fray up, so this could be a no sew. As I used scissors to remove that band on the bottom, I found some decent looking raw edges.
By the way, if you search Pinterest for sweater refashions, you'll find a lot of this:

 Because, why would you upcycle one sweater, when you can upcycle a shitload of 'em and make them into one wacky, patched up sweater with contrast seams and a felted embroidery! You know what I'm talking about. (Puts head down, shamefully) I make fun...but this kind of refashioning obviously takes a lot of talent and patience, of which I don't have. Maybe I'm just jealous hater, ok!
I began...

Then, I cut it right down the middle, no measuring or anything.

I thought it would look good a little longer in the back. I remembered that to make an even high-low top, you have to fold it vertically and cut it that way. I thought ahead and did something right!

Then, I thought it looked stupid, so I cut it straight. I cut and pinned, thinking that I might want to sew the sides.

I pinned the sides and looked for matching thread. Didn't have it. I'll just used this gold colored stuff and make zig zags. That also looked dumb. So, I thought I'd try that bias tape stuff.

Black bias tape, pinned and sewed...and I hate it!

I don't even want all that much material in front, I want it "shrug" style! Mostly sleeves! I cut that black stuff right off. And left it like that. I'll buy some fray block, bitch. "I ain't sewin' shit," I said, defiantly. I'm not even gonna zig zag the edges...raw edges; that's how I roll.

(one of my favorite internet memes from a couple years back)

I had a good idea. Add something to the sweater to draw attention away from flaws!

A DIY sweater clip! That's actually not clips, they're pins! (As you can tell. The pin backs are visible. I'm ok with that.) I made it with buttons! Look, I'm tired. I''m gonna share that tutorial tomorrow. Although, I'm sure you can figure out how I made it, smartasses.

Here's the thing...I finished the sweater and just put it on over what I was wearing. It was not a good combination because both items were slouchy. My bad, I'll just crop...

Oh. Apparently, my gray jersey sack dress also has a spot or two in front that was only visible to the camera. All right, this is going well. That's just so Moody. There are a zillion blogs out there, and err'ybody's refashioning clothes on them, these days. Some bloggers are actually talented! I ask myself, "What do you have that sets you apart? What makes your blog different?"
This. This lack of "ease" at which others seem to have at completing each project. This propensity to "fail" at each attempt to do what could be a simple task. The unpolished, late blooming, screw up that is me. GET ON BOARD THE TRAIN WRECK, PEOPLE.
 Join me tomorrow, when I show you this glued together, cheaply made sweater clip, where the backs of the pins are totally not even hidden!

Recent Acquisitions

Do you ever get that "out of it" feeling? When you feel like you're working and you get tired, then realize you haven't actually accomplished the things you were supposed to?
No? Me neither, I was just asking. I'm a legitimate blogger, I'm totally with it... I'll just show you some stuff.

I love these little sewing boxes! My mama has one that she's had since the 70s in this same color, but it's the flat shaped one. I feel like I always pass these up when I see them because they're usually kinda price-y. So, when I saw this one for $2, I got excited. It wasn't until I was washing it at home that it occurred to me: hey, this is missing it's little removable compartments. It's just a box.
I came up with several alternative uses for this box besides holding needles and thread. I already took some pictures of it with lotions, craft paint, lunch, etc in it with hopes that I can sell it with it's cute, retro factor alone.

Speaking of cute, retro factor...I like this ceramic fish. For $1.99, he swam into my cart because I like the colors and how it looks like it's got aqua bubbles on it. It's diamond shape is so MCM, and I like that. I'm gonna promote this guy as wall art, or maybe a trivet (that's a fancy word for a thing you put on your kitchen counter to rest spoons on), or maybe a thing you put plants on top of?

This fabulous dress. Such a great vintage style and color palette. I actually did get around to listing it. Spring blue dress

The polyester and long sleeves aren't exactly spring like. But, look at the butterfly belt! Also, it's cold and rainy here. 70s pink ruffle dress

I listed this horse head. ceramic horse head wall hanging

...and this cat head. ceramic cat head wall hanging

I don't want to talk about the heads. I promise to do more listings this week and less fooling around. On that note, I can't decide if I should list or keep these two:

That pale green, gauzy one would be such a cute summer refashion. And the other one is for fall, obviously. But, I really wanna take the sleeves off. My seam ripper's ready.

Linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot

I don't have "musings"

I don't have "adventures," either. I have this green tulle skirt:

If you take all your blog pictures at night; you're gonna have a bad time

It's a big pouffy skirt in a green tone. Look, I started this post one week ago, and found it very difficult to do. This post isn't about skirts, it's about life and shit. I started feeling depressed during the summer of 2012. It is now spring (allegedly) of '14 and still...I feel the pain.
Yeah, whatever. These poofs came into fashion at some point a while back, I don't know, I'm not an avid follower of trends. Of course, like many women of my age, I see things on the pinterest and think, "Hey, I want that." In fact, last October, I found one for cheap on the Goodwill Halloween rack. I made this outfit:

Remember that one? It was from my confessional, bizarre, "stories behind the blog" series. I put that outfit together, snapped some pics, and then promptly changed back into something more comfortable.

Here are some images I collected as inspiration (click for finding sources). A tulle skirt--it's all twirly, it's ballerina wear, and it screams "I'm femme as hell!" But there's something unabashedly badass about this article of clothing. It's like; if you see someone in one of those you'll think, "Girl. Did you just put on an old prom gown, throw a t-shirt over it, and just walk out the door like it ain't no thang?"
And I'd be like, "yeah, and you wish you had one"...probably. I digress. When I saw this skirt at Savers during one of the 50% off sales, I figured I should buy it for $3.50. Here's the thing: it looked like lettuce.

Do you see it? With those little layers?

So, I started with a seam ripper, but that wasn't "cutting it" (sorry) so I used my scissors and gently removed those strips of delicate fabric, one at a time. I wanted the skirt to come higher on the waist, so I started folding the bare waist part over and pinning, like I was going to add a thick elastic. It wasn't working.

To hell with that; Imma use this wide belt.

The skirt slid away from the belt a little, I might consider sewing that thing right to the skirt. Or big belt loops. Or nothing, because here's the thing....
Two of my favorite blogs are Refashionista and New Dress a Day. If you're into sewing, I highly recommend these blogs. They've provided a lot of inspiration for me. In both blogs, the women take ill-fitting, ripped, stained, or otherwise ugly/unwearable articles of clothing and revamp them into fun outfits. First, they show themselves posing in an ugly dress; then the process; then the "after" shot of the finished product. Finally, both bloggers end the post with pictures of themselves wearing their new outfit out at an event, party, bar, art gallery, etc...
Hmmm...what's missing from my refashion posts?

This is me, in my lettuce tulle skirt, drinking coffee alone. I only make outfits so I can blog about them. I stage self timer-ed photo sessions and put the results here.

No one can say I didn't try. Even my therapist is concerned about how long I've been unhappy. I did what I was supposed to do; I started therapy, took medication, got a new hobby, started a blog, and even started my own Etsy business. I was trying to cure my depression, but at this point, it seems that I'm just coping with it.

I think that I've been sad for so long, that it's no longer just "depression." This is part of me. This lonely, sad soul is who I am now. I feel like it's too late. I can't think of anything that would really make me happy. There's nothing left but pain.
Nothing can fill the void left by the lack of social interaction. It's very embarrassing...I cringe when co-workers ask about my weekend, but it's the case. I have no friends. It's just the reality that I have to deal with.

There's a couple actual outfit pics. Don't have a tripod, so I had some issues.
"Go out and meet new people!" you say, as if that's a thing. And share what?

There's a reason depression is a cycle. Sadness=loss of activities and friends=lack of confidence, and so on.  It's like I don't even want no new friends! (throws laptop)

That's what it looks like when you wonder about the people you used to care about and love that no longer love you. They move on with their lives. They go out and enjoy the nightlife, driving right past the place where you suffer all alone. They leave you behind. And they don't miss you.
It's ok. There are people out there who have it way worse than I do. Of course, people suffering more doesn't make my sorrow any easier.

That picture of me looking all forlorn at a smiley face sticker isn't just there to be ironic or something. There's a story behind it. Next time I make time to write, that's what I'll tell ya about.