June 15, 2009

Project Dresses For Ivy


A few weeks ago I did a big closet purging of all the clothes I don't wear anymore and will never wear again. I freecycled a ton.

I am a sentimental person, especially when it comes to clothes. The kids each have their own bin filled with things I could never part with. I have a few of my own, too.


So I had this idea to re-purpose some of my old t-shirts that I loved...

[The t-shirt I got when we went to Disneyland, as part of Noah's Make-A-Wish trip. The Ralph Lauren pink pony tee that everyone had and I just had to have one, too- a birthday present from like six years ago? An Old Navy tank top that I just liked the cool design. And the colorful Paul Frank tank I bought in Estes Park, Colorado. ]

My blog friend Kim (Prairie Mama) had sent Ivy one of her darling pillowcase dresses that she makes and sells on etsy. I told her my idea but my lack of sewing skills- to fashion my old tees into dresses for Ivy. She was in.

I mailed them off and today they came...



[my Gram's jar of buttons]

[Come on in]



[P.S. Today Ivy LaRue turned nine months old.]



Photos by me but edited by Beth.


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93 comments:

tinycandi said...

Those are so adorable!! What a great idea!
My kids just use my old t-shirts as sleep shirts. Your idea is much cuter!
Happy 9 months baby girl!

Loralee Choate said...

Have I mentioned that I REALLY WANT A GIRL!?

Ugh. I will have to root for female grandkiddies!

(She is totally adorable.)

Lisa said...

Those dresses are so cute! What a great idea.

MamaJoss said...

SO AWESOME!! I love it...and your baby girl is just adorable - happy 9 months!

Desiree Fawn said...

Oh, these are just so sweet ^_^

Pamela said...

Oh my goodness they are so cute! And what a great idea, too . . . I so need a baby girl!

Wendy said...

I get sentimental about the children's clothes, too. I keep thinking that someday they'll each have children of their own that I'll pass their old clothes on to. I just can't help it.

I can't believe Ivy's 9 months already! She gets more lovely every day.

The dresses came out beautifully! If this baby turns out to be a girl, I'll definitely have to give that a try.

--It's Your Movie-- said...

Look at her POSE with her shoulder up! And those teeth! Oh my word Steph, I am aching to get Ivy and Alice in the same photo.

Dawn @ My Home Sweet Home said...

That is such a sweet idea – love these!

Kristen said...

They came out so cute!!! I wish I had this skill, then Alyssa would never need clothes

Mama Seoul said...

cutest recycling ever!

Kelly said...

I love it. What a great way to reuse t-shirts and create unique dresses for you baby girl

Equidae said...

they came really nice wow

Michelle said...

Oh such vision! I usually just throw everything in a plastic bag and leave it at my door for AMVETS to pick up. How stinkin' cute!
Just recently saw another re-using project--turning tshirts into shopping totes (cut off the sleeves, cut out the neck, sew up the botton). Am almost inspired to cull my shirt stash and get crafty (or you, know, enlist the crafty's help)

erin said...

What a fabulous idea!

Mandy said...

The dresses are so cute!

Mel @ A Box of Chocolates said...

You always amaze me with your fantastic ideas. Those dresses are absolutely adorable! I especially like the Disney one, but I'm a huge fan of Mickey. Now I wish I had kept some of my old t-shirts!

Amy said...

That is sooooo smart! What a great idea for repurposing the things you love!

Jen said...

Steph~
I love it!! If only A was a girl :) What a great idea! Missed you at dinner the other night, maybe we can try again in a couple of weeks. Your daughter is stunning...what a blessing!
Talk to you soon~
Jen

Alli said...

Wow, that makes me want to have a girl! And a bigger house to do decent sewing in. Your daughter is so cute!

Amy's Blah, Blah, Blogging said...

What a great idea and a perfect keepsake for Ivy!

Emily E. said...

What a great idea! I may have to commission my mom to do that for my daughter.

Tara aka "Mama Koala" said...

Totally love this idea! The dresses and Ivy are just adorable.

Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry said...

What an amazing idea. She is so talented, maybe we should fly to her and take sewing lessons? Road trip, maybe?

You did such a great job with the pictures, Stephie-poo!

thediaperdiaries said...

Fantastic idea. Man I wish I was crafty!!

Kim said...

Oh they look so good on her! :) I am THRILLED that you love them.
Will you send me a couple pictures of Ivy in the purple and white one? That is the only one I didn't get a photo of for my profile.

xoxo!

Ashley said...

Wow! Those turned out really well. And Ivy is absolutely adorable. She has the prettiest eyes!

Sheryl said...

Very Cool!

Boston Mamas said...

Nom nom nom - she is adorable! And so are those dresses. xoxo christine

onemotherslove said...

Those are awesome!

Erin said...

Wow what are a great idea! they all turned out so cute!!

Amy @ Six Flower Mom said...

These are so cool -- I have a few things that I have saved and hope to make into a quilt someday!

It's a Beautiful Ride said...

Love the clothes! & Ivy!

Upstatemomof3 said...

Oh those are so adorable!!!! What agreat idea. But of course Ivy makes everything look good so we knew she would be adorable in them. And I know how happy it makes me to see Big Sister in Big Brother's old clothes I can only imagine how much I would love seeing her in my old clothes. If I was 100% certain that I was never getting pregnant again I think I would do this with my maternity clothes. :)

Tina said...

It's simply amazing that she's 9 months old already.

LOVE the dresses, too!

imadramamama said...

She did an amazing job!

That first picture of Miss Ivy made me laugh out loud. What a face!

Lenae said...

Seriously, so very, very cute!

Stam House said...

Wow what a neat idea! And those dresses turn out so nice! Now I think I know what I'll be doing with my (Never going to fit in it anymore) clothes!

Ivy is so adorable!!!!

Thanks for sharing!

corrin said...

The Disney dress is just the cutest thing! I'd wear it.

Kara said...

What a cool idea! I will have to remember that if I ever have a girl. I know I have some old T's I don't wear for various reasons but can't part with.

Amber said...

What a great way to reuse an old shirt! Those dresses are so very, very cute. Kim is a talented seamstress, indeed.

Crooked Eyebrow said...

FABULOUS!
I love it and what a great job she did.

BeautifulWreck said...

Those are absolutely adorable!

Stacie's Madness said...

awesome idea...happy nine months to you both!

Mimi's Toes said...

Unbelievable! I love them all. That first picture is something else. What a special way of reusing your favorite things. You may have started something here. Who would have thought! Ivy is a Ham.

To Think is to Create said...

Oh how I wish I had that talent! The black one is my fav. They look so comfy!

Rebecca said...

adorable and such a neat idea! ivy is beautiful!

Andrea McMann said...

I love making refurbished clothes for my kids out of my old stuff. These are adorable!! :D

Casual Friday Every Day said...

You should so totally learn how to sew! I bet you could end up doing some really fun stuff. My Mom sewed almost all me and my Brothers clothes when we were wee little tikes. I still have some of them. Too bad I likely won't get to re-use them a little girl!

These dresses are the cutest things ever. And how special. I bet they'll make it into Ivy's special clothing boxes!

Nell

Isadora said...

What a great idea!! Ivy looks adorable in all the dresses! Im going to have to go looking in my closet for shirts I dont wear.

gretchen from lifenut said...

Adorable and so clever! Such a fabulous idea.

Laura Moffitt said...

I never would of thought of that! They turned out great.

Mimi's Toes said...

I can't stop looking at these pictures. I see YOU in Ivy in each picture, besides the T's of course. She is looking more like her momma.

Sarah @ BecomingSarah.com said...

They're all so darling! It must be so much fun to see her wearing those old shirts as beautiful dresses =)

Courtney said...

what a super cute idea. and the dresses turned out adorably.

Rachel said...

That was an amazingly awesome idea, Steph! I LOVE them!! I'm unbelievably sentimental too, so I am impressed!!

Madeline said...

How can you stand the cuteness! It's nearly unbearable. What a clever way to reuse old t-shirts. The dresses are adorable.

Heather of the EO said...

What an amazing idea! They look great. Kim rocks. And so does Ivy. And you do too :)

Kelli @ Gohn Crazy said...

Those are so neat!! Great work, Kim! Adorable dresses and model. Happy 9 months, Ivy!!

Kris said...

They turned out great! What a great idea.


Happy 9 month bday Ivy!

Stephanie said...

Those are so pretty - and simple too! Sometimes I wish I knew how to sew. :)

Kiki@Seagulls in the Parking Lot said...

Love the idea and the way they turned out!

She is so cute. And big, when did that happen?!

AmyJane said...

Um, adorable. What a great idea!
Maybe you already know this, but to even further recycle...for my daughter I've started using a lot of her tiny 0-3, and 3-6 months dresses as tops. They're adorable over jeans or leggings or whatever. These cute dresses would work GREAT for that, and then she could wear them for a few years!

thehighernest said...

This is the cutest thing ever.

It makes me wish I had a girl!

Kate said...

Oh, my... How AdoRaBLe! :0 Soo stinkin' cute! Happy 9months, Little Ivy! (My DS turned 10months yesterday the 15th!)

Naomi said...

Oh my gosh! I absolutely LOVE them... what a great way to commemorate your old tees. With the smocking, she can probably still wear them as tee through toddler-dom... awesome.

chrissy said...

Great idea! I wish I had thought of that when my Windy was a baby!
Good idea!
Have I mentioned how adorable Ivy is?! She is a doll!
You have a wonderfully beautiful family!
Amazingly blessed!

Mama Bub said...

I had that same pink pony shirt and wish I had the foresight to save it for a future daughter. They're all so, so, so cute, but I LOVE the polo one the best!

Bloggy Mama said...

Genius idea. I use old shirts to make capes for my kids. Let me know if you want the link... it's under "craftiness" on http://mybloggylife.wordpress.com
Super Hero in Five Minutes

Sheena @ Mommy Daddy Blog said...

Awww how cute! I'd love to do the same when we have a girl! Happy 9 months, Ivy!

4 Little Men and Girly Twins said...

Oh I just LOVE this idea... I might have to try it! :)

britt

Elaine A. said...

These are absolutely wonderful!! I do believe Prairie Mama should expect some more business soon... : )

Happy 3/4 of a year to Miss Ivy!!

ExtraordinaryMommy said...

What a great idea! I love these - and Ivy just might be the cutest thing I've ever seen!

The Mickey Mouse dress is DARLING!

Happy 9 months sweet girl!

(And Steph - thanks for continuing to stop by during all of the chaos with the photo! Loved seeing your name and reading your comments!)

Mary @ Parenthood said...

Happy Nine Months!

I might just have to stop wearing my t-shirts into the ground so that I can try making cute outfits out of them :)

meganbhulsey said...

I love , love, love those dresses! I am going to have to learn how to sew so I can make dresses for Emily!

Valerie aka Mamalovelock said...

Those are so cute!! Every time I see cute little girls, it makes me want to try for a girly!! They are adorable and what a wonderful idea to keep you memories alive!

Allison said...

What a fantastic idea! Way to be green!

I love the Mickey one by the way!

Erin said...

Kim is so talented! Ivy is gorgeous in the dresses. I really love the idea. I'm a huge sentimental clothing person, too, and have a hard time getting rid of clothes that have memories tied to them.

Mommy Melee said...

Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!

WANT.

I'm with Loralee. I want a girl.

Weep.

Jaime said...

I love those dresses. What a good idea! if only i had a girl. Or a cute way to redesign them into boy clothes

Such The Spot said...

Oh my goodness those are fabulous. What a great idea. Although I think Jayce might look kinda funny running around in one of my old pink tees.

Jodi said...

Those are so cool!!!

KBM said...

Oh! The dresses with the elasticized-ruffly tops! So cute.

And I got a bit verklempt the last time I left a bag at Goodwill. It had infant clothes in it - nothing sentimental or special. But it was my unspoken admission that I'd be having no more babies. Sob...

(And thanks for stopping by my blog today too!)
Kate

Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

that is such a fabulous idea, steph! love the new dresses. :) ivy is such a cute little model too.

Guinevere Meadow said...

What a brilliant idea!!

Is she really 9 months old??? Where on earth have I BEEN??

Neucky said...

What a great idea - I love it! I think people would buy these. Adorable.

Shannon said...

Those dresses are so cute!! i love them! Does she work off some kind of pattern that you know of?? She is absolutely adorable!

Deb - Mom of 3 Girls said...

Oh what an awesome idea! And those dresses are absolutely adorable. I've got bins of old t-shirts - wish I had enough sewing savvy to figure out how to do something creative with them...

Happy 9 months to Ivy!

Amber said...

What a great idea! I love it! Checking out her etsy site, now!

willblogforshoes said...

What an awesome (and very COOL) idea! They turned out great! May have to try it!

Jodie said...

So a cute idea. Wanted to say hi, because you are only the second person I have seen with the name Ivy. My almost 12 year old is named Ivy and loves to see somebody else with her unique name. http://justbecausejodie.com/?p=1048

Half-Pint said...

It would be great to get a tutorial!!!

jen jafarzadeh said...

this is so genius! what a great way of giving favorite clothes a new life. we have the same problem with attachment to old T-shirts. definitely filing this idea away.

 
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