I did a bad thing to a good dress

with fantastic results!

I didn't take any before pictures unfortunately, but I found this gorgeous floor length 60's dress at a vintage store on clearance for $8. Of course I couldn't zip it, but I triple double loved the fabric.

I cut the bottom of the dress off to utilize the hem, made a casing, and inserted some elastic. Voila!



I love it so much. I also loved being able to wear knee socks yesterday. September hasn't been messing around with the cool breezes.

I also made a lap top case for myself out of the fabric and have a couple pieces left. I'll be back soon with pictures of that and some fun new pouches.

Here's Felix on his first day of school.



I like how he HAS to criss cross the velcro on his shoes now. It looks cooler, right? This is what he wanted to wear to school:

Feather Flair DIY

Hi friends! Today I shall teach you how to create fun feather accessories for your hair or ears. I don't have a super fabulous picture of the finished product as I am on day 2 post shower, which isn't a good day for loose hair shots.



Materials needed:

Alligator clips and/or earring hooks
Feathers- I got mine in a bag at hobby lobby, but I heard fly fishing places are where the good feathers are at. I'll be checking one out next time I'm able to do so.
Wire- I used Craft Wire from Walmart
Embroidery floss- I used brown so it would blend in with my fur
Needle Nosed Pliers
Wire cutters- I'm using my Dad's here, but I don't have any at home. I just used my junk scissors.



Step One: Cut a hole in the box. Just kidding. :D I cut a piece of wire about 6 inches long, but sometimes that's too short. I'd go a couple inches longer. You can always cut off the extra.



This picture sucks, but it was hard to focus on the wire. I took the pliers and bent it over about half an inch.



I gave this a couple twists to secure a loop on the top.





If your feather has furry stuff on the bottom, rip it off. Just do it, it's easy! You need room on the end to wrap the wire, so if your whole feather is furry, just do between half an inch to an inch.



Then I lined up the end of the feather with the bottom of the loop.



Then I pulled the extra wire down a bit and started twisting it on.



Start wrapping the wire up to the top.



I like to make sure the wrap covers the first end of the wire on the loop (does that make sense?) to secure it. I used the pliers to bend the end down, and then I used them to gently squeeze up and down the wire coil to make sure it's clamped onto the feather. We don't want that feather coming out!



Looks good, right?



Cut a piece of your embroidery floss.



Tie the floss onto the alligator clip. I tied it in 4 or 5 knots just to make sure it's secure. You could probably use a dab of glue.



Tie the floss onto the feather loop using the same method. If your feather is really long, don't make the string to long. Hold it up to your hair to measure if you like, but I've learned that keeping the string short is key.

You can also skip the floss and attach the loop to an earring hook. They look super cute as earrings too!



I like to tie 2 or 3 small feathers on one clip. You can wear these one the top of your head or underneath to hang down by your neck. I'll have to get more action shots on another day when my hair is more fresh.

I'm no pro at this feather and wire business, but I just thought I'd share. My friend Brooke asked me to make her some hair feathers like this for her birthday, and this is what I came up with. If you use this tutorial please share so I can see how awesome yours turned out!