DIY: Lace Skirt Tutorial

Hello everyone!

So a while back I found this picture and this picture on Pinterest

and I fell in love with the crochet skirt (And have been looking for a skirt like that for a couple of years now...)

Then I found this other picture of a skirt made out of LACE and I thought to myself.. "hey! I can do that!"

So here is my little tutorial (which, by the way, was written about 2 years ago):

You will need:

-Enough lace and fabric of your choice (for the underlinning) to go around your booty (and a couple of extra inches for seam allowances).. My measurement is 38", so I got 1 yard of both fabrics

-Enough elastic to go around your waist (or wherever you want the skirt to sit) (I used about 28" of 3/4" wide elastic)

-Thread!

PREWASH YOUR FABRIC!!!

Steps:

1- Measure around your hips (largest part of your butty) and write it down somewhere. (Mine 38")

2- Cut 2 rectangles of the lace (Making sure you dont cut the pretty edge because that's gonna be your "hem"). The rectangle should measure==> Desired Leght (+ 2inches for the elastic on top and hem on the underlining) x width (hips measurement + 1' for seam)

3- Cut 2 rectangles of the underlinning fabric with those same measurements

4- Hem the "bottom" of both rectangles of the underlinning fabric (we will do this before attaching them to each other!) by folding it 1/4" and then again 1/4" (That means you reduced the length of the underlining by 1/2" and the pretty lace edge will be 1/2" longer that the underlining)

5- Place one rectangle of lace on top of one rectange of the underliningfabric and topstitch the sides. Repreat with the other two rectangles. Make sure they lay flat, and that the lace pretty edge is about 1/2" longer than the alrady hemmed undelinning edge. Iron seams.

6- With the lace facing right sides together sew all four rectangles together on both sides (pin beforehand, trust me, you will want to pin EVERY step of the way when working with lace!) with 1/2" seam on either side. Press seams. This will create the "tube" form

7- Topstitch all around the top of the skirt (cut any fabric exess/unevenness). Then fold the top of the skirt 1/4" and topstitch. (Or if you are lazy like me use a hem presser foot)

8- Fold again 1 inch (or however wide your elastic is +1/4 inch) and sew over the first set of stitches.. Make sure to leave an opening on one side (to insert the elastic)!!

8- Insert the elastic through the opening with a safety pin.

9- Place one edge of the elastic on top of the other (forming a circle) and then sew the overlaping area with a zig-zag stitch 

10- Hide elastic and sew the opening shut.

And you are done!!!

You have made a brand new lace skirt ready to be paired with some cute tights for winter! This could also be a great Christmas gift for your sister, mother or best friend...

Love, Aranza 

E.T.A. You can check out the skirt in full action here!!

White Sweater Refashion. Add length to a sweater or shirt

Hello everyone!

I hope you are having a wonderful day :)

Today, I wanted to share a little refashion tutorial that could come in handy when you have a shirt or sweater that you like, but happens to be too short.

See, I had this delicate white sweater perfect for winter (it has little snowflakes embroidered all over)

But it fit me kind of awkward and it was too short.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a friend wearing a baggy sweater with 3 layers of chiffon attached to the bottom; I thought it looked so delicate. It also made her look like she had tons of layers on, so I decided to take that idea and add some length to my awkward sweater..

For this refashion you will need about 1/4 of a yard of chiffon (you could also use lace for one of the layers to add even more texture!).

I started by cutting the chiffon in half the long way (I actually cut a small slip, and then tear the sides appart.. this helped give it a fraying look and kept the strips even)

I placed one of the strips on top of the other like so:

And then I folded them in half leaving about an each of space in between to get those layers.

Pin in place

All the way around the strip

I made sure that my end were even

And then I sewed about 1/8" from the folded edge (making sure I was sewing through all the layers) to keep them together

The last step I didn't get a picture of, but I basically just pinned the strip in place (at the bottom of the sweater) and sewed with a zig-zag stitch. I didn't know how much of the strip I would use because I knew the sweater would expand as I started sewing. So I decided to start sewing on one of the side seams, leving about 1/4" of the strip unattached, so that at the end, I could attach both edges and then cut the excess.

And this is what the finished product looks like!

 

I love it!!!

God bless, Aranza

OoTD: Beauty and the Beast

⁴ 

"I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

    he delivered me from all my fears.

⁵ 

Those who look to him are radiant;

    their faces are never covered with shame"

Psalm 34:4-5

I love this whole chapter. These are two of my favorite verses. I can repeat them over and over in my head mesmerized by God's faithfulness. He delivers me from all my fears. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of boldness. All Gone. No more fear. He answers me every time.

And then, He remids me that even when I sin and I feel ashamed for what I have done, He sees me as radiant! He takes my shame away!! 

 

However, this doen't come by itself, first I have to seek Him.

So, I encourage you to seek Him today and always!

Red coat, navy flowy skirt, black skirt, black tights, brown riding boots

Andrew and I went to the theater to see The Beauty and The Beast!
It was awesome!!!! Belle was an awesom singer (as well as everyone else) and I loved how cartoonish everything was.

My camera messed up this photo.. it does that sometimes :/

The play was in the Realto 

Beautiful ceilings

And beautiful columns.. and beautiful people

There were so many little girls dressed up as Belle.. They were too cute!

Beautiful chandelieres

Andrew and I

I changed to black pumps for the play... There was a girls wearing a black loooong dress. She looked goregeous

Just having fun with the awesome mirror (s?)

We weren't allowed to take pics during the performance. I was able to take this pic right before it started.. Such a cool stage.. And then a random person walked by... boooh

Have a great rest of the week and God bless!

Yours, Aranza

What's your favorite play?

OoTD: Delight to Show Mercy

"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy."

Micah 7:18

My purpose today: to show marcy whenever I can.

From time to time, I like to think I'm perfect (I know I am not, but I like to think I am), and I can sometimes be very harsh to other people. Not today. Today, I will not judge, I will not hold anything against anyone, and I will not get angry. I will show mercy today..

Hopefully, this will become a daily occurance as I strive to be more like Christ.

I hope this encourages you to show mercy as well :)

Black and white coat



Red, long sleeve cotton shirt, comfy jeans, comfy gray boots and a white scarf... Can you tell I like to be comfortable?



It got too dark, and we weren't able to take too many pictures, so we went to a nearby funature store.. It was quite fun!!



Don't you love all the glitz on the back??



Andrew makes me smile

Have a great day and God bless!

Yours, Aranza

OoTD: Eternal Comfort and Good Hope

Short and simple:

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say."

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

What an awesome reminder! He has given us eternal comfort and good hope (despite what we might see in the news that can sometimes be disheartening, sad and just plain out wrong, there is hope) 

Now, this hope is not to be kept for ourselves, it is to be shared with others. He has encouraged us to do so and has given strength to be bold. We ought to do and say good things, not to boast on ourselves, but for others.

Yes, we are nowhere near perfection, but that cannot be used as an excuse to stop us from sharing God's hope and comfort with others..

How can you do this you may ask? Talk to that person sitting by themselves during lunch hour, or gather with a few of your friends and volunteer at a shelter. Don't worry about what to do or say; it may be awkward at first, but He will give yout the right words to say eventually... And don't forget to smile!

Soon, you will realize it is a blessing to do these things, and He will "encourage your heart" 

That will be the greatest reward anyone could ever ask for!

Happy beggining of the week!

Yours, Aranza