Photo Friday #8: Thrifting Edition

Alot of people I know who sew spend their days at fabric stores, picking out the perfect fabrics they have in mind, buying the exact notions they need, with the exact amount necessary for their project.
Me? I can count on two hands how many times I've walked into a fabric store.
I'm a firm believer in recycling, using what you have collected over the years, "making do, and mend." Sometimes this means I run out of fabric, don't have the zipper length I need or put off finishing a project because I'm waiting on the perfect notions to come find *me*.
But I don't mind much because I love the thrill of finishing a project that challenges me to be creative and resourceful.

Every other monday I meet my sister and our friends at the Salvation Army and scour the racks for fabric and buttons and inspiration. These are the latest finds. :)

I didn't get these first two dresses but the details on them really make me wish I had!

Instead, these last three are the ones I brought home and hope become a "Thrifted and Altered" Post soon!

They Don't Call 'Em Challenges For 'Nothin

Today is the last day of my summer vacation.
For most people that means they have some laundry to do, a last couple laps in the pool and packing backpacks for the next day.

But for me?

I have to cringe and swallow my pride to blog about how I did not conquer my 35 in 31 challenge.
It turned out to be more like a 14 in 31 Challenge actually.

Which, now that I think about it, isn't tooo bad. I mean, if I hadn't started the challenge at all, those 14 projects would probably still be sitting in my sewing box. So I'm going to go ahead and give myself a fraction of a pat on the back and just let the blogosphere be hard on me instead. Without further a-do here are the last 10 projects I finished up:

Day 6: Project 6

The Yellow Gingham Blouse

This blouse was an X-large but I never turn down gingham, so I took it all apart, took everything in, and put it back together.

Day 7: Project 7

The Navy Skirt

Another thrifted find, this skirt was super long so I shortened it with a scalloped edge. Well, once I wore it and washed it a couple times, the edges looked less wavy and more tinkerbell-esque, so I made it straight again.

Project 8

The Dress That Started it All

 This is the first dress I ever sewed. It was a skirt I found at Goodwill my sophomore year and I hand-sewed the darts and zipper. Its probably the least attractive dress I own because of my novice sewing from back then, but I still love it to death because it was my first.

The only thing I figured I'd do to salvage it a little was to add some snaps to the zipper wouldn't stop falling.

 Project 9

The Black Gingham Belt

Not so much a sewing project as a "why in the world don't I wear this belt?? Oh yea, the buckle snaps off every time I wear it! Had to hot glue that...

Day 12: Project 10

The Cream Top

No I didn't count the skirt twice, I actually had to fix this top too. It used to be my mother's but she never wore it much because the top part was really loose and leaning forward in it was a total no-no. So I took the top in and now it is appropriate for all occasions! Lol.

 Day 20: Project 11

The Little Blue Polka Dot Dress

My grandmother brought me this XXL polka dot dress from Goodwill because she knows how much I love having all that extra polka dot fabric. So I basically used it to make a whole other dress, but shorter and cuter. (please excuse the non-modeling of the dress, I promise I'll wear it sometimes soon! lol)

Project 12

The Wedding Hair Accessory

and

Day 26: Project 13

This hair thingy is getting it's own post later because it has a somewhat interesting back story :)

As for the bow tie, well I had fabric left over from my romper and I've always wanted to make a bow tie, just never had the motivation until I saw one at Forever 21 for 8 dollars. I thought to myself "Psh! I could make that for FREE!" (I shouldn't psh, I bought it anyway LOL)

 Project 14

The Seashell Bracelet

My last project is actually one of my favorites. I've had these tiny little seashells for a really long time and never knew what to do with them. Finally I figured I'd just braid a bunch of sewing thread into a bracelet and tie them on. I used a tiny little screw driver to make holes in the shells and simply looped them through like tiny little buttons :)

I'm sure you're thinking "wait, that's all you did in 31 days?? How LAME-O!"

Well, it's really not :) These are actually the only projects I finished, but I made tons of progress on other projects that need a little more time and they'll be finished too, I just didn't feel it was fair to include them if they weren't finished. That doesn't really count at all!

Hope you'll stay tuned to see what other things I do manage to finish between new schoolwork and adventures! <3

35 in 31 Challenge: Day 4

Day 4: Project 4

The Blue Pencil Skirt

I started this skirt 4 YEARS AGO D: Ugh shame on my severe procrastination!! It was another goodwill find that I knew I could make a really cute bombshell-esque wiggle skirt, so I snatched it up! I'm a little...um... wider? than I was 4 years ago so I had to do some alterations to the hip and the side zipper which made it look like one of those exposed zippers. I didn't like the effect it gave the skirt so I decided to add some lace paneling on the side to A-hide the zipper, and B- make it look 10 times cuter!

 Project 5

The Pink Teeny-Bopper Skirt

I was on a roll after finishing the blue skirt so I decided to finally fix this skirt (also a goodwill find!). I really love this skirt, it reminds me of a totally cliche 50's teeny bopper, so I threw in some faux bangs, ponytail and glasses. To be honest, there really wasn't alot to do to this skirt, just take it in a little bit from the top. I've actually worn this skirt a couples times in the past but always with a hidden safety pin to keep it up. I swear I'm the laziest seamstress in the history of sewing... if you don't believe me just notice how I was too lazy to change my shirt from the last project pic! haha.

 A Future Project Sneak Peek:

35 in 31 Challenge: Day 1-3

Day 1: Project 1

The Floral Romper

I actually bought this as a really long matronly dress from Goodwill YEARS ago, because the fabric matched these shoes almost perfectly. At first I figured I'd make it into a different type of dress, but once I got started I knew it'd have to be a romper. I actually started this project about a year or two ago and had done a little bit of it here and there, but I knew it was time I finally finished it and let it become an important staple in my summer wardrobe.
See?? Practically identical...

 Day 2: Project 2

The Wonky-Sleeved Violet Blouse 

This is most likely the least interesting project on the list. I thought I finished this months ago but the sleeves were still all crazy weird and I had to do a little altering for them to fit right. I can't wait to wear this in the winter (the fabric is SO warm) with maybe a black high-waisted circle skirt and tights. Plus I love the color!

Day 3: Project 3

The Wonky Padding-Pink Lace Dress

Ok so this one isn't that exciting either. Haha. I got this from a cousin's yard sale for an 80's dance in high school. (I was full on Pat Benatar, and probably the only one who dressed up for that dumb dance haha) Anyway! After I washed it the light padding in the top got all crazy scrunched and basically it looked like I was smuggling hamsters in my dress. So I figured I'd finally take the top apart and sew the padding in correctly. (I would have just left it out altogether, I'm not a huge fan of padding in dress tops, but the dress wouldn't stay up otherwise haha)

Today is Day 4 so I am off to figure out which projects are next! Hope you're all having lovely weekends!
(Also, don't forget to go "like" Adventures of a Vintage Hippo on facebook to get all the behind the scenes info on the challenge!)

The Biggest Challenge of All

35 Projects in 31 Days.

That is the insane challenge I have inflicted upon myself.

(This is an old picture, some of these are already finished and some aren't in this photo)

If you read my last post you know that I've been feeling really inspired lately, but I really don't want to start on any brand new projects when I have so many already started and unfinished. So this is how I'm going to challenge myself to keep motivated. I've always felt that I work best under pressure, and knowing that I have followers to hold me accountable to this challenge, I feel I can actually get alot done.
I decided to count the 31 days backward from my last day of summer break (today is day 3), which is a great start seeing as how I already finished two of the projects in the past two days. Also! I created a facebook page for this blog, so if you're interested in following the challenge as it happens or wanna show some support for my insanity, just go give it a "like"! *EDIT* I'm officially www.facebook.com/adventuresofavintagehippo!

All of the lovely comments on my last post really mean alot and they keep me that much more motivated. Thank you to all of my old and new followers, you are amazingly supportive people who have made this blogging experience a fantastic one.

No.15 Home

I kept putting off writing this post, and at first I honestly couldn't understand why. I want to share my adventures, and this one was spectacular! This trip was something that I had waited months and months for! But I kept saying to myself, "no.. not today.. write it tomorrow, when you have more time. No, not yet, not yet..."

I didn't realize it until now that I wanted it to be this really personal post about being home and how it all makes me feel. Santa Maria, that trip, all of those feelings of being home and belonging, they are my most personal types of feelings. When I'm there, I have no internet, I turn my phone off, I isolate myself because I want it all to myself. I let the sunshine be my best friend, and cold my only worry. Its all just too much for a post that's supposed to be about a car show! Haha, so I'm going to go ahead and share my trip experience, instead of a novel about how much I loved being there. :)

(Heads up: This is going to be a picture heavy post. )

We stopped at dad's work to say hi to everybody and take pictures in the furniture showroom. Haha.

Then it was off to the car show!

When we got there, we went into the buildings first (I was on my shorts-hunt after all) when I saw my dad making a bee-line for this man. He was like, "OH MY GOSH TRISHA TAKE A PICTURE OF HIM AND ME!!!" Thinking he was just a random man, I was like, "uumm... okaay?"

Turns out he's from my dad's favorite show Car Warriors on the speed channel! and upon further investigation I realized why my dad was acting like me if I had ever run into Dita Von Teese:

"Known as 'The King of the Customizers,' the legendary George Barris and his world-renowned Barris Kustom Industries has built some of the most famous automobiles of all time, including the original Batmobile, The Munster Koach, the original Green Hornet and The Beverly Hillbillies jalopy."

Um yea, COOL! He was a really sweet man, and took a picture of my dad, me and my sister for fan pictures. Really glad I got to meet him!

You'll notice most of the pictures I took of cars are either black or red. I just can't help myself, every time I see a classic car I think, "Ooooo it's so pretty but it imagine if it was black!" I love the classic aquas and pinks and creams, but I feel like I've seen those a MILLION times. The ones with a deep green, deep red, or super shiny black just get my heart racing every time.

My sister got her first pin striping brush and she's really excited to learn some new techniques. This one was her favorite.

Look this one isn't black or red! Ok I have to admit, I saw this car and immediately thought, "Hey! I wanna make a dress like this! A black bodice, plum belt and aqua skirt!" Haha, inspiration comes from everywhere I guess :)

It took a couples hours of being there before I felt comfortable enough to take pics by the cars.

(My friend once asked me, "How are you gonna be a pinup girl if you don't like when people take pictures of you??" I think I said something stupid and random like, "Shutup, I don't trust people!" but I really meant,

"I'm SHY! D:" haha)

If there's anything I learned from my parents growing up it's this: DO NOT TOUCH THE CARS.

I grew up in a family of car people, and the one thing they cannot stand is when they spend all weekend washing and waxing their cars and people go and put their grubby little fingerprints all over it. I'm 19 and my dad still makes this crazy face when it looks like I'm going to lean on it or I'm getting to close. So now I only pose by cars where I can put my wrist on the window sill, or hold the handle.

(I make that awkward pucker/fish/parrot face when people stop to look at me and I get uncomfortable.. lol)

But then I found the car I'd been waiting all day to see! I caught a glimpse of it the night before at the hotel and I knew it was going to look gorgeous in the sunlight.

I was in love.

(Theres that stupid face again, this time it was because the owner of the car was staring at me, he probably thought I was going to touch it... haha)

Want. Want. Want. Want.Want.

Lunch consisted of strawberries and brownies with whipped cream. :))

(I just noticed the woman sitting behind me, snood and cheetah print coat!?! Awesome!!)

Hey! I haven't saved these shoes yet! Woo-hoo, saved pair No. 15! (From Payless)

(The rest of the outfit: Top, seashell necklace and Flower Clip-Made by Me, Skirt-Thrifted and Altered, Cardigan-WetSeal, Black Leather chain purse-Froever21, Octopus bangle-HotTopic)

Yay for always having a pretty car in the background!!

 

This was my favorite pin striping art from that day. Ha.

Then it was back to the hotel to enjoy some silliness our last night there.

Because who DOESN'T jump on the hotel beds???

The first year or so that my dad's work transferred him to Santa Maria he lived here at the Travelodge, and we stayed here with im an entire summer once. It's really like another home to me. While dad was checking out I couldn't help but take a few pics.  

My sister got in on the picture action. Haha.

Someday I'll be back in this beautiful town for good. That sunshine and chilling coastal air. It'll be mine. Someday I'll be home not just for a weekend, but for forever.

With that amazing red car of course.