No More "Plumber Butt"

I inherited my Mom's itty bitty waist and big ole booty.  Needless to say, I have the hardest time finding jeans that fit right.  They are either so tight in the legs I can't pull them up, or big enough to fit two of me in the waistband.  So, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I found the first belt loop on my waist band, if your problem isn't as bad as mine you could skip the first one and start on the side belt loop instead.  On the inside of the waist band under the loop, I cut a hole between the top and bottom stitching only through the inside layer of fabric.  I did this on both sides of the waistband.

Be careful NOT to cut the stitching or through the front layer of fabric!

This gives you access to the inside of the waist band.

I used 3/4" elastic, because it will remain tight inside the waist band.  Measure your waistband to insure this will fit and make elastic sizing adjustments if necessary.  I cut a piece long enough to fit once around my waist.  You will trim it later, but this gave me enough to work with easily. 

You will want to use a good quality denim thread.

Hook a large safety pin to the end of the elastic.

Fish the elastic through the hole you made in your waistband, by pushing and pulling the safety pin through.

I pushed the safety pin until it came out the hole on the other side of the waistband.

I then, safety pinned it in place on both holes.

I wanted a really strong stitch to hold my britches up.  I made them long, but really tight and close together.  Your machine might be different from mine, so adjust accordingly.  I suggest a practice stitch on a scrap piece of denim.

I sewed behind the belt loop, so that the belt loop would hide the stitch, if I chose not to wear a belt.  Be careful NOT to sew the belt loop shut!

My waist is quite a bit smaller than my booty, so there is a little bunching, but if you throw a belt on you can't even tell.  

They feel so much more comfortable, and don't bunch up weird under my belt like they did before.

Let the kiddos do my hair

 

The girls are always asking to do my hair.

I have to admit this is probably one of the better hairdos they came up with. 

 Ya, so they did my make-up too!

My youngest said I looked like a banana and made me a charm to wear.

Suck it up and let your kids do your hair and make-up, they will be in 7th heaven.

Hunger Game Shirts

We made our own Hunger Game shirts or swimsuit covers.  This is super easy and the girls had so much fun making them.

First, I bought Black men's large T-shirts from the local craft store.  

*Don't forget to use your coupons.

Cut both sides up to just below the armpit.

We decided we wanted to cut and tie the sides, giving it a cute and more form fitting look.

Measure 1-2" in from the sides and using a fabric marking marker draw a line.  

Then, make cuts every 1/2"-1"

Once your shirt is cut into fringe on both sides, tie the front and back of the shirt together.

Get creative and personalize any other cuts or knots.  A few a the girls also cut along the top of the sleeves and cut out the neck band.

Next, I used an exact-o knife and cut out the Mocking Jay symbol out of contact paper.

We found the image free online.

Peel off the backing of the contact paper and place on your shirt in the desired position.  You may want to use a ruler to help with placement and centering.

Place a brown paper bag or piece of cardboard in the shirt to help the bleach to not soak through to the back layer of the shirt.

Using a spray bottle of bleach, spray the shirt.  Little orange spots will begin to appear, giving a fire like appearance.  Do not over spray or the entire shirt will turn orange. 

*Do not get the bleach on your skin or it could burn you, rinse immediately.  Be cautious of the clothing you are wearing and your surrounding, or you may bleach more then just your shirt.  Use only under adult supervision.

We used the same cut out for all four shirts.

 

 

Once the front has dried, we decided to spray the back to match. 

You can use this method on other color T-shirts and get similar effects, except the colors will be different.  For instance some greens will turn pink when bleached.

Have Fun and Be Creative!

If you loved this Hunger Games Craft you might also like our Divergent Party and Crafts.

click here

Mega Fort

My kids decided to make the mother of all forts.  

Our favorite thing to use to make forts are old waterbed sheets.  The top and bottom sheets are sewn together making an extra large fort.  Clothes pins or safety pins help hold it together.  Have fun, and let your kids creativity shine.  Sometimes you just have to deal with the mess!

They love to grab all the extra pillows in the house and just chill in their fort.

Was nice and let the fort stay up for a week.  Told the girls it had to come down.  An hour later I walk in on three small forts and a Nerf war Zone.

 

They sure are messy, but look at those faces!