Christmas Tree Skirt to Lady Skirt!

So, incase you didn't know: I have a little bit of a thing for taking Christmas tree skirts and transforming them into lady skirts. I've been doing it For-Eve-Ah. In fact, you can check them out here...

And here...

Here too...

Oh, look, another one...

And just when you thought we were through...

And, I'm sure you can believe this, there's even one more that I didn't document here on my blog! I taught a group of teacher friends years ago in an after-school sewing class how to make one! But...it's been a while. And, since then, I've started creating more video. So I thought it was time for me to update this DIY and create a video how-to! Here ya go:

It's a video that's kinda all over the place so my apologies for that. But it truly is SO EASY. Just remember the following:

* Get a skirt that's 48" and it should be long enough. There are tons on Amazon but...since Christmas is quickly approaching, check those After Christmas sales for tree skirts when they are super marked down!

* Measure your waist and add 2 for the seam allowance. 

* Fold the skirt 4 times so you have 8 pieces of fabric folded over.

* Take your waist measurement and divide by 8.

* Using a tape measure, start at the top of the folded skirt and make your way down until you hit that measurement across the top of the triangle (the video shows this best). 

* Use a small round plate and chalk to draw the curve onto the fabric and cut.

That's the most important steps to remember as you begin. In the rest of the video, I share how to make a waistband and add a 10" zipper. Although, to be honest, if you need a zipper how-to, I recommend watching another video as I failed to film a portion of that! I swear it hit record! So sorry. 

Just remember: no one is gonna get that close and see small stitches that might drive you bonkers. I mean, shoot, even if you skip the zip and use VERY STRONG velcro (we don't want any wardrobe malfunctions!), you'll be fine. 

Merry Christmas, friends!

BY THE WAY...I've not officially shared here even though I've been meaning to...did y'all know I wrote another book?! I finally turned my poem Larry the Line into a children's book! I made it longer, illustrated it and...here it is! It's gotten over 80 5-star reviews from teachers and I'm just so thrilled. You can get a copy here, if ya like!

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DIY: Let's Do This Our Way, Christmas!

I admit: I have been bitten by the Christmas Bug hard, y'all! I have a Hallmark-movie-loving/kindergarten-teachin' buddy at school to thank for that. She's been chatting way about All Thangies Christmas since, like, Halloween. In fact, I think it was Labor Day she told me her decorating was complete. At first I was all, girl you crazy but then I drank the Christmas Kool Aide (which tastes like peppermint, by the way) and have actually been garland-ing up Casa de Cassie every since. Thanks, Heather! I'll blame you when I'm sick of Christmas by December 1st!

Since my house is all sorts of Sparkly Christmas-land, I thought I'd jazz up el bloggo as well. AND share with y'all my fave DIY's of Christmas past. What better DIY to start with than Christmas Dresses, my personal fave. I created that Christmas dress on the left last year on Christmas eve, y'all! Talking about cutting it close. And that lovely candy cane number was cut from the same pattern with just a wee touch of Santa fur for trim. 

These two Christmas dresses were among some of the first I made. My Blue Christmas dress has blue lights sewn in the hem with a remote in the pocket. It's always a kid-favorite. And one year we created German-style cuckoo clocks and I just couldn't stand not making a dress from that clock fabric when I found it!

Of course, y'all know my Christmas wardrobe wouldn't be complete if I wasn't cutting up every tree skirt and creating a Christmas-Tree-Skirt-to-Lady-Skirt like that fuzzy number above! 

Of course, I know I should hold vintage tree skirts sacred...but look how crazy fun they are as skirts! I love circle skirts and these are easily my favorites to wear. Follow this link to see just how creepy that Santa is on the skirt on the left. The skirt on the right is the first tree skirt I transformed. Like, it can be done in under 60 minutes, It's so easy to do it's no wonder I'm addicted! 

And then, you know, when one runs out of tree skirts, round table clothes can come in just as handy. This one was a buck or three at the thrift store last year. A lil garland was added at the bottom because otherwise that dress wouldn't have been nearly tacky enough for me to wear. 

And one's feet simply should be Santa-fied, says me. 

Tacky Christmas Sweaters are always a must...but why stop at just a tacky sweater, says me. I needle felted this lil guy over Thanksgiving a coupla years ago. 

This photo is actually a whole-lotta DIY in one. There's that sweater, that puffy skirt and those gold-foiled shoes. I was actually wearing this ensemble when a stranger at Starbucks snapped my photo and blasted it out to his friends making fun of me! That's the Christmas spirit, right? Don't you worry, I got him back. You can read the deets in this post. 

As a kid, Making Christmas Ornaments was my fave tradition. But, sometimes, you can just use what you have on hand it makes for a unique display. Like the time I decorated a tree with my vintage paper dolls! 

Or, last year, when I was on an alpaca kick, I busted out these guys with the help of my mother-in-law. 

I couldn't stop making them! 

My fave thing to do over the holidays is host craft nights. I love my super artistic and creative buddies! And we always have a great time creating with each other. Last year we needle felted some lovely holiday-themed pieces. I'll keep you posted what we are creating this year! 

Of course, whenever the fam visits, we always do a lil crafting. My mom-in-law is very crafty and my mom, well, she's just kinda dragged into all of the glittering and gluing by default. I put 'em to work on my holiday decor last year! 

One of my favorite things to do, other than stitch up dresses, tree skirts, make ornaments and strong arm my family into crafting, is paint from vintage Christmas images! 

This cute little wooden house was in my stash forever before I painted it to match the painting seen above. 

Of course, who doesn't love this gal? That big fluffily coat, that smart hat, green eyes and those gloves!

Y'all know I had to go and candy cane that canvas edge, right?!

And my very first painting was a copy from my favorite Christmas book. Love Ruddy! I hope y'all enjoyed this waltz down DIY's of Christmas past. I hope there'll be many many more! 
 

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DIY: Christmas Tablecloth to Lady Skirt

Have you ever found yourself, late at night (and by "late" I mean 10:17pm because it's a school night and that qualifies as, like, super late) behind the wheel of a sewing machine attaching the garland you stripped from your Christmas tree to an already tacky skirt and thought to yourself, "Who am I and why am I creating what's sure to be the tackiest ensemble to date?" 

I dare say, I find myself in these types of situations, asking myself these very questions, more often than I'd like to admit. 

Although, honestly,  at the time of the creation of this skirt, I actually thought it was pretty stinking cute. Granted, that was one biggie-sized glass of grape-flavored grown-up drink into my evening so my judgement mightah been a pinch screwed, er, skewed. It wasn't until the following day when I decided my Candy Cane Cons were the perfect addition my ensemble that I was met with some criticism. In the form of a second grader. Which sounded a lil bit like this:

Second Grade Girl: Mrs. Stephens, [smiling sweetly] I really like your skirt and I really like those shoes but I don't know if I really like them together. I don't wanna hurt your feelings but I bet you would look cuter in your heels.

I took that kind commentary much better than the hubs who gave me one up/down look and said, "That is not one of my favorite outfits of yours." Or the co-worker who exclaimed, "Ohhh, that is baaaaad, Cassie." 

Yeah, well, you win some...

And, honestly, since you don't give a rat's pah-tootie what anyone else thinks, you win some more. Whilst looking like Christmas up-chucked on you. Cuz it's what you do.

Wait, whuuut? You too wanna look like some sort of Christmas-obsessed tackless maniac? Well, sister-friend, get in line. And allow me to show you how it's done. 

Start by hitting the thrift stores, ebay and etsy-town to find just the tacky Christmas tree skirt or tablecloth you might need. This shouldn't be hard. Since most people in the universe have good taste, they have a habit of avoiding the ugly. Because I'm a firm believe in Leave No Christmas Crap Behind, I always find a plethora of glittery-gaudy-goodness. Once you've gotten your kitten mittens on a tree skirt/tablecloth, find yourself a circle skirt pattern. I scored mine on etsy a while back. I simply use the waist and waistband pattern for my alterations. You can read more details about that super simple process in last year's post Tree Skirt to Lady Skirt in 60 Minutes or Less. 

And what's a tacky Christmas skirt without some garland gaudiness, hmmm? Not even worth the effort, says me. Garland Stitching Hazard: Your sewing room floor WILL look like you slaughtered Tinker Bell as it will be covered in glittery pixie-dust-esque goodness. Since this isn't my first trip down garland stitching lane, I've learned a thang or two: set your machine on the zigzag stitch (so it catches more of the garland) and avoid pinning as you'll never EVER be able to find those dang sparkly pins in that dang sparkly garland. Which could ultimately result in you sitting down in said skirt and sitting down on said pins. In your garland-y gluteus maximus. You can take a visit to the World's Tackiest Sweater that I garland-ized here, if you think your eyes can handle the glory. 

Dang, you want more tacky skirt sassiness? Well, here's a look-see at last years attempt...

And yet another. Cuz if it's one thing I am, it's consistently tacky. 

And, would you find this incredibly hard to believe...I have yet another tacky Christmas tree skirt to lady skirt in the works. Oh and friends, just you wait. You ain't seen nuthin' yet.

So, I gotta ask, what tackiness are you sporting this holiday season? 

AND is this really as bad as co-worker, kid and hubs say? (if the answer is "no" feel free to not comment). 

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DIY: Christmas Tablecloth to Skirt AND Gold Dotted Boots!

Is it really any wonder that all the poor Christmas trees in my house are sans skirts?! I've just about robbed all of 'em for my current skirt-making craze! Poor naked trees. 

Well {sniff}, I hate to say it but {wiping away tears}, this just might be the last of the Christmas outfits I create this season {uncontrollable sobbing, obnoxious nose blowing}. Which is probably a good thing because, let's be honest, I just...

 Can't-Stop-Christmas-izing-My-Wardrobe.

(we can't stop; we won't stop...you know that's what Miley was singin bout ya'll.)

 It's become a sickness, kids. And it's probably for the best that the Big Day is almost here so that the Christmas-ize-ing comes to an end (huh, Christmas-ize sounds a whole lot like Jazzercise which means that I'm probably burning calories and perfecting my jazz-hands all whilst crafting away. I knew there was a health benefit in there somewheres!)

Now you may recall that this is not my first time down Christmas Skirt lane. After transforming this tree skirt to a lady skirt, I decided to give this lovely table cloth a new life. I scored it on ebay (can you believe I was the only bidder?! Wait...don't answer that) after having fallen in love with all of it's felt-y cuteness.

I mean, can I get an "aww" here? When Dasher's not running out in front of our (now demolished) car, he's prancing through the woods (wait, would that make this deer Prancer? Because he looks just like Dasher, Dancer and/or Blitzen. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TELL 'EM APART?! At least Rudolph's got his red nose and Vixen's got her vixen-y ways. It's called bein' different, deers. Ya'll outta try it).

Okay, where was I?

Oh, yeah, I totes loved all of the woodland scenes on this table cloth. It's what made my finger twitch and hit the Click to Buy button.

However, what I WASN'T prepared for was creeper-face Santa Claus! Holy Candy Canes, ya'll! Looks like Super Paranoid Claus to me. Using my amazing felted-Santa-mind-reading-skillz, here's what I've deduced Santa is thinking:

I wonder if anyone will notice I stole Rudolph's nose?

That sales lady at JCPenny's said vertical stripes were slimming...but I'm not so sure.

Oh, Fruitcakes! My suspender just broke! If these pants fall down then EVERYONE will know I wear women's panties!

That sales lady was right, Mom Jeans aren't just for moms. I look HAWT...or do I?!

I wonder if anyone will notice I stole a baby polar bear and strapped it to my chin.

(Okay, I seriously think I could do this for hours. For your sake [and Santa's], I'll stop.)

I went about creating this skirt the exact same way I did the tree-skirt-to-lady-skirt. I simply placed my circle skirt pattern over the twice-folded table cloth and (loosely) followed the pattern directions. I'm not trying to be vague with my directions here...it's just that there's probably a much better way to go about doing this. I'm a crappy teacher. Just don't tell my students. Oh, wait, they know that already. Don't tell their parents.

You'll notice that Santa is no where to be found on the front of this skirt. I strategically placed that dude on my back side (he's on the other side of the log cabin taking a leak). 

Now! Let's chat about my other DIY in this here post: My Gold Dotted Boots!

Please don't look too closely, these babies are a hawt mess. And totally responsible for my two new gray hairs.

I began with these ankle boots I scored on Black Friday for a mere $10. I already have a black, brown and embroidered pair of ankle boots so I picked these up with the sole intent of DIY'ing them. By the way, this is off topic (like everything else here) but hubs seems to think that ankle boots are the ugliest thing known to man. It's his belief that instead of birth control, women could simply don a pair of these bad boys. I'm pretty sure he feels about these the way I feel about dudes in skinny shorts.

But! This post isn't about birth control and skinny shorts (...or is it?). Back to the DIY at hand. I started by sketching in my dots in chalk. I used the same Gold Leafing Kit that I used on this DIY. You simply paint on the adhesive and let it sit up and become tacky. "Sit up and become tacky"...that sounds like my morning routine!

Then you place the gold leafing sheet on top and rub. The deal is it's supposed to stick to the adhesive.

Which, as you can see, doesn't always work out that way. Now, I'm kinda of a mess but when it comes to my crafting, I like it to be pretty perfect-ish. And this here drove me absolutely nuts(-er). For many of the dots, I had to go back, add adhesive where the leafing didn't take and try again. In the end, I cheated a little by painting in some of the dots...and others, I just decided to let it go. From a distance, they look pretty good. Close up, I like to pretend they appear "antiqued".

I chatted in a blog post last year about my DIY Christmas decor. Read mo' here.

To finish the boots off, I'd been looking all over the place for boot toppers. Turns out you can simply turn your leg warmers inside out, fold 'em down a coupla times and, viola!, you have boot toppers!

A word about my ridiculous head piece. I found it at JoAnn's last year on the super duper after Christmas clearance rack. I added the two smaller green trees...but I still had several kids tell me, "You look like a Christmas Unicorn!" 

Kids, thank you so much for dropping by! PLEASE don't forget to click to vote for your favorite pick-up line on the right side of this post. I'll announce the winner by the end of this week!

I doubt I'll chat with you again until after the Christmas so I hope you have a merry one! Beware of the Creeper Santa and the Christmas Unicorn!

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