for alas, I have no wings...

This is a song for the Micron Pen.

A cheerful little tune, its true.

For while its target is paper and crafts,

You can use it as a FABRIC PEN too!

While reading Buttercup Festival by David Troupe, I found inspiration. It took me a little while to come up with a medium, but I finally decided to go for fabric markers/ pens. I decided to try both markers AND pens...

I really lucked out in the pen department. Due to a knowledgeable sales' associate at JoAnn's, I was led away from the rest of the fabric pens to the scrapbooking section where lurked the Micron Pens.

I will admit that I was a little nervous to use a pen on my shirt where the specific purpose I was using it for might fit under the all-encompassing title of "and other crafts." You will then understand how thrilled I was when it did not spread or fade when I washed the shirt. (This picture is about six months after I made it... no fading!)

Compare if you will:

Before wash.

After wash.

Sorry, that the lighting really stunk the second time, but I could discern no fading...

I went out and bought more Micron Pens immediately (which turned out to be great since they were on a huge sale). The markers- I used FabricMate- worked well for what I used them for, which would fall under the thicker lines on th

e trees and the blue of the bird.

As a little side note, if you are worried about the Micron pens being too thin, give them a chance. I thought they would be, but it turns out that I love the detail, and filling in the blanks is not difficult at all.

(This is the bottom on the back of the shirt)

Dress It Up: Part 3

Sometimes bigger is better, but aren't those shapelessbag dresses big enough already? Add a couple of extra sizes, and you find yourself in a tent with no particular means of escape. Think Anastasia, "The Russian circus, I think they're still in here," proportions. Although we all know that she came out looking lovely. Durn those animated characters. Picking out an outfit can't ever be too hard, and shaving off the extra pounds is as simple as using a decent eraser.

Now that my momentary tangent is over, I can share... THIS!

You may not be able to tell but the elastic band was about mid-thigh for me. The arm-holes could have allowed a very large and fluffy cat to calmly walk through them. It was pretty fabric however, not to mention free.

I first freed the two sides from each other with a swift cut above the band. Two articles were created. A simple running stitch up the arm holes, then a quick stitch down the back

to gather

the fabric. I wanted something flow-y, so I left a lot of fabric in drapes, nigh onto cascades. There was quite a lot of hemming involved that

I remember.

However, in the end with a piece of black ribbon, the ensemble became something that I felt would not eat me alive, and I could wear it to the office.

Dress It Up: Part 2

Well, I have seen better dresses. I have seen worse too, and this one was at least a similar size to me...

... but look past the pink shirt (that I forgot to remove when trying the dress on) to the collar. You cannot see in this picture, but it was yellow. Not a bright sunshine-y yellow. No, this was the color of the worst pit stains, only on the neck. Can I get

an "ew"?

Removing the collar could have presented a pain in the rear, but not particularly a fan of super high necklines, I thought I would soften the look with a slight scoop neck.

Afterwards, it was a only matter of shortening the shirt. The belt had to be discarded. The thing wrapped around me twice, leading me to wonder at how the owner of the belt thought they were getting into that dress without something severely coming apart...

Then coupled with my new green heels, I was off!

Dress It Up: Part 1

It was heinous.

Knowing full well what I might be letting myself in for, I still turned my eyes to the reject clothes that lay cast in the back of the church building from a clothing exchange. After all, they were supposed to be clothes that were donated by well-dressed women (aged 18-28) that I knew.

Such hopeful optimism was just that: hopeful.

Someone's great aunt must have recently passed, because some of the contributions would never have adorned this group's bodies, let alone their closets... baring the slight possibility that the prior resident in their apartment had deserted their wardrobe... with good cause.

Since I am not one to turn from deliciously niche clothing, not to mention my recent introduction to www.newdressaday.com, which just happens to be something close to the epitome of AWESOME, I picked up some dresses that were probably best off being left for the garbage man.

In the passion of the moment, RENOVATION commenced, with results varying.