Something Borrowed--Transforming an Old Wedding Dress

My daughter has a fascination with a couple of wedding dress TV shows, particularly the one that takes the mother's dress and transforms it into a new dress.  I've always had a fascination about transforming things whether it is furniture, artwork or clothes.  I used to daydream in math class in college and secretly sketch fashion designs.  It's no wonder that I switched out of my Accounting major!  

The coincidence that my mother gave me a circa 1970's wedding dress which belonged to one of my cousins seemed too great.  While it was indeed very outdated, it had a subtle elegance with the high neckline, empire waist, beading, ruffles, lace appliqués and a train.  It almost seemed a shame to cut into it, but if not, it would surely become a victim of dry rot.  

I kept the dress for a couple of years.  At first I thought my daughter who was a young teen at the time might like to use it for a costume.  My cousin must have been a size 00 because it was not long before my also thin daughter outgrew the dress.  So from time to time, I wondered what would become of the dress, but I knew that it wasn't yet destined for the local Goodwill.


All at once an idea popped into my head of a very whimsical modification of this dress.  The design would keep the basic elements of the dress intact, but would transform the feel of the dress including raising the hemline.

My idea for the dress was a fairy theme, gathered above the bust with the lace yoke overlaid and loose off the shoulder sleeves.  I began by cutting off the sleeves and then cutting away the yoke.  The next step was to cut off the skirt at the waist.  Since I wanted to be able to gather the skirt with elastic above the bust, I lowered the waistline 12 inches down the skirt.  I cut a 4 inch ring from the upper part of the skirt which I had previously cut.  This would be the casing for the elastic.  I pinned the lining and organza overlay together and stay-stiched.  I then pinned and stitched the casing onto the skirt, leaving a space large enough for the elastic to be threaded through.  

Next, I made my daughter (my model) try on the new "dress."  I put the yoke on and pinned and hand-stitched.  The sleeves were not really wide enough for what I had planned for them.  I decided the cuffs should remain intact so I had my model put them on and slide down the tops.  I liked the whimsical effect the sleeves created.  One of the best aspects of the new design is that when the skirt was raised, it created a high-low hemline!

Below are some photos of some of the stitching that went into the project.

feeding the elastic through the casing

the new bustline

 The new dress surprised and impressed me.  It has such a modern yet vintage fairy quality.

The yoke fit perfectly over the new dress.  I pinned and hand stitched it on. 

 The sleeves added unexpected whimsy.  The dress can be worn with or without them. The new high-low skirt swished around and gracefully trails the floor in back.

 Emily was not in the mood to model.  For the record, I would pair ballet slippers or Mary Poppins' ankle lace up boots with the dress, but her Chuck Taylor's added a hip hop feel.  I would top the dress off with a flower wreath in her hair with ribbon streamers gracefully cascading down into wavy hair.

I told Emily I wanted a fairy tale pose and this is what she game me!

Check out the link below to the YouTube video on this project.

Transforming a vintage wedding dress into a modern fairy tale!

Salvage to Art

     
     Inspiration can come in many forms and from various objects.  I picked up an ugly old painting at a thrift store that had a nice wood frame.  I tried to paint right over the image but the painting was on a flimsy material that wouldn't stand the test of time.  I was afraid it would warp.  

     I happened upon a trash pile and found a piece of bead board paneling and I knew it was what I was looking for to do a painting in the frame I had.  Now, what to paint?  The bead board reminded me of architecture and I first thought of the underside of a porch ceiling.  That just didn't work out.  It suddenly occurred to me that it reminded me of a nautical lighthouse and that is how my inspiration was formed for this piece.  It's a painting of the Madisonville Lighthouse.

Turning Ugly into a Swan

     Here's an example of something "ugly" made new and pretty.  This solid wood magazine rack was painted in "strange" colors: olive green with touches of magenta.  While I like the two tone aspect, I thought I could do better.  To freshen it up, I painted it with aqua colored duo paint, but it was a little bright so to soften the color, I added a few sprays of cream spray paint.  I'm not sure it's finished yet.  We'll see.

    

Fabric Inspiration and Good Bones

     This is an example of letting a print be your inspiration.  While out on one of my treasure hunting expeditions (which I'm no longer supposed to do since I no longer have a booth to sell my treasures after March 1 and my house is almost full to the ceiling), I found a "good bones" wood arm chair at a local charity thrift shop.  It had a nasty seat which was not screwed in and covered in a nasty vinyl.  I'm thinking it was the original covering because it was attached with about 500 nails instead of staples.  The "cushion" seat was also hard as the Rock of Gibraltar.  But...it was $4!  I just can't pass up deals like that.  Off to the fabric store to see whats new in cotton duck prints and I found the most amazing print with off black, pink and green elephants and florals.  

     The vinyl was so stuck on that seat and hard that I didn't feel like wasting my time trying to get it off.  Instead I just added padding right over the vinyl and then added the fabric and stapled underneath.  My next decision was to decide what would be centered on the seat.  There was a large flower in the pattern that would have worked but instead I chose to center a smaller flower and feature the elephants.  Next, what color to paint the chair.  It needed paint because the original finish wasn't special at all.  I had a Pantone color sample of Jet Black satin from Lowes (my favorite: 8 oz. of paint for $2.99).  It was the perfect compliment to the fabric.  

Before and After Retro Redoux

     Even as I get ready to close my booth at Clayton House Marketplace in Covington, I find it hard to quell my passion for finding a new life for furniture.  It's my type of recycling.  I found this little retro  '60s end table at the Habitat Restore for $10.  I really liked the line of it but it was a) dirty, b) ugly color, c) very lightweight in insubstantial.

    

     As I was looking around my garage for any last minute pieces I could bring to the store to try and liquidate before my last day, I stumbled across this little piece.  How to remedy its problems? First I sanded.  Yes, sanded with an electric sander.  No chalk paint for this piece.  Next, two coats of duo paint with primer.  I don't remember the name of the color, but it's aqua.  I bought it a long time ago to paint a bedroom but hubby didn't like it.  The next step was to sand some edges to "bling" out the shabby chic-ness.  Next was a little dark wax.  Not too much because I think the bright fresh color is what it needed to wake up.  I love the results.  Now it's not a) dirty, b) ugly, but c) the weight of it works!

Giving Old Items a New Purpose

A friend gave 2 very rust iron tables.  They were on her patio and the glass top had broken on one of them.  I think the tables had once been brass or just an iron finish.  I love rust patina so I didn't want to cover it up.  I had a Pantone sample of Emerald, the Pantone 2013 color of the year.  I dry brushed the color on so that the rust was visible in places.  Then I cut wood rounds and made seats.  

On to the table.  I picked up a coat rack out of a neighbor's trash pile.  I quickly found the reason they had trashed it.  It was in three pieces and the top piece would not stand up straight and certainly would hold the weight of anything hanging.  I finally gave up trying to fix it and threw away the top piece (after removing the hooks, I'll use those on another project).  It still had a screw on it so I picked out a wood round from Lowes, pre-drilled the hole and voila! I had a table.  I don't think anyone would ever suspect its origin.

Separately, the stools would be great as a vanity stool and an occasional table or end table. All three pieces together makes a cute bistro set.

Distressed and redone

Antique medicine cabinet, painted and distressed.

    Old medicine cabinets are all the rage in shabby chic decor and home redouxs.  I picked this one up from someone selling on a Facebook group.  It had a bare and dull finish.  I think she knew what she had there but was moving and ready to unload it.  On the inside, it still had most of the glass shelves.  To renew and redoux it, I painted it with off white chalk paint that I mixed myself.  I sanded the corners and trim to distress it and used only clear wax since I liked the bright finish.