DIY Lap Swim/Triathlon Suit

Okay.  If I give you this tutorial, you have to promise not to judge me.  I know I am a cheapskate.  I also know that I am a clothing snob.  If it doesn’t fit the way I like it, then I tweak it to my liking. 

I guess if we’re still friends after the toddler underwear tutorial, then I’m probably pretty safe, eh?

Okay.  So, why would I make a lap swim/triathlon suit?  Because I can.  A friend and I are going to compete in our first triathlon this Summer.  We’re training hard and super excited.

But, really?  I know we’re exercising and no one is looking, but WHY do lap swim suits and triathlon suits have to be so unflattering?!

Lap swim suit:

Not unflattering if you have a figure like a Supermodel.  But me?  No way!  I also hate that it has no…ahem…bra in it.  Yes, I KNOW I’m just exercising, but still…

Next up, the triathlon suit:

Oh my.  No way; on so many levels.  Even if I had a Supermodel’s figure…no way!

Bathing suits are cute and can be flattering, but they just don’t hold up.  Not only that, but they don’t stay put, either.  There’s too much movement in lap swimming.

So, what is a girl to do?  Well, I don’t know what anyone else would do, but THIS fashion snob took matters into her own hands!

First off, I bought these outfits off the clearance rack at JCPenney:

In case you’re wondering; yes, that is what I look like when I’m wearing them!  :)  Ha ha ha!  I sure wish!

Anyway, I checked the fabric content, and both of these outfits had the same polyester/spandex ratio as a lap swim suit.

I first started with the tops.  They only had shelf bras in them, so I added cups!

Much better.  I just cut them off of a couple of bras I had that I never wore.  The shoulder straps didn’t fit right.  You could also use these:

For the bottoms, I cut them off into shorts.

I pinned them the length I wanted them, which was 14.5 inches up from the hem.

When you’re cutting shorts, it’s important to measure up from the hem.  The pants or capris have more fabric in the back to adequately cover your booty.  Moving on…

Measure…

…cut…

Check out this Self Healing Cutting Mat the Hubsters gave me for Christmas!Love it!  Love him!  Moving on…

Shorts cut?!

Fabulous!  Next, serge or zig-zag stitch the raw edges.

Hem the shorts and you’re done!

I know these shorts look super short, but really, they hit me mid-thigh.  Oh, and no.  I will not be modeling this suit for you! 

Not bad, eh?!

I did the same things to the yellow and black outfit.  I got all four pieces for $10.00 a piece.  That’s less than a lot of lap swim suits and way less than triathlon suits.  Not only did I get TWO for less than the price of the other suits, but they fit perfectly, they hold up great in all the chlorine, and they’re more flattering!  Score!

…you know…if Spandex can possibly be flattering…  ;)

Hopefully someone out there (other than me) will find this tutorial helpful!  :)

Guilty Pleasures

K, how many of you when you saw the post title cringed a little? How many laughed? So poor Nat has to go have surgery tomorrow. So, we need to send her happy thoughts, and give her some funny comments to read when she’s feeling miserable. So, I’m going to confess some of my guilty pleasures, and you’ll do the same back, kay? Remember, no judging zone. I don’t care if you laugh out loud at some of my things, because I hope to laugh at some of yours! If you’re a 65 year old male who likes Justin Bieber, more power to you!
Wanna know what a guilty pleasure is? Wikipedia says this: A guilty pleasure is something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. The "guilt" involved is sometimes simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes. Fashion, video games, music,^[1] movies^[2], and junk food can be examples of guilty pleasures.
So what started me thinking about this? Recently, I made my husband watch a musical of boys/men dancing around, singing, in the streets of New York. Muaa haa haaha!! Any guesses to guilty pleasure #1?

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You may recall when I posted this little YouTube gem on here. It was the first thing I pulled up on YouTube with our new blu ray player that had the YouTube app. Yep, I’m super cool. Whenever my hubby rolls his eyes as I’m singing or giggling with the movie like a little school girl, I remind him that the main guy grew up to be the epitome of Batman. Yum. This is just one of my movie guilty pleasures.
Food Guilty Pleasures:

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Need I say more?

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Could, and have, eaten an entire package of these. In one sitting. By myself. Yuck, right?
Music Guilty Pleasures:

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Now, let me just say I heart Eminem. Not the language, or the content or anything. I don’t go buy his CDs, but I like the music videos for some of his songs, and have downloaded some edited songs. I only know the mainstream songs. I have gotten guff from some people who found out I listened to his music now and again, because, let’s face it, I’m a white girl that is so not the stereotypical rapster/gangster sort of gal. I  have stopped listening to it for the most part, mainly cuz I don’t want to know what my toddler would start repeating, but when I heard Lighters the first time, I was so excited to hear something on the radio that I could listen to with my kidlets in the car. Yes I downloaded that one too. BTW, watching the Super Bowl, one of my favorite commercials was the car one that was playing the background of “Lose Yourself”. Yay!
Celebrity Crushes:
This is where I may lose some of you if I haven’t already I consider these 2 to be hotties. Ready?

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Seriously. Love the Bowie. That Christmas video of Bing Crosby and David Bowie singing Little Drummer Boy? Watched it daily in December. Have you ever watched any Flight of the Conchords video on YouTube. Hilarious. The David Bowie one makes me laugh. (Cello Tape, Albie the Racist Dragon, and Business Time are also awesome. Just sayin). Love it. One of my favorite dance moments in a movie….A Knight’s Tale. You know the part I’m talking about. Here if you don’t. I make my husband watch that show too much as well.

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The one in the middle? Billy Joe Armstrong. Oh man. Heart him. Went to his concert back in the day and it was ah-maz-ing! Seriously. I was a bit of a concert junky in college. It all began with Weezer.

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Nothing guilty about my unabated love for Rivers Cuomo. I just had to post his picture on my blog so I don’t betray him. I heart nerds. Big time. Before it was cool to admit it. But I am a pretty big nerd, so that works, I guess.
Book Guilty Pleasures:
K, this is one that I really am ashamed, embarrassed, too shy, scared to post. I literally don’t tell anyone. My cousin recommended this author to me way back in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy with #1. You know that time that DRAGS on for-e-ver? I posted on Facebook for book suggestions of lighthearted reads, and she told me this author. I literally read every book of hers in our little town library within that 6 weeks, and even got a library card for the next town over to read their bigger collection by this author. Wow. Since then, I have read every. single. one. of her 39 books. I own 19 of them on my Kindle (and have read them multiple times). Wanna know the best part? No one knows what I’m reading on that thing. I could be reading Tolstoy or Steinberg and no one knows I’m reading fluff. Pure and simple. It’s fluff. Being the person I am, I am shocked at myself for loving them. Seriously. They are predictable, formulaic, have some editorial errors, and really, if you’ve read one, you’ve read them all. But still. I love them. I kind of hate myself for getting so silly and giggly about them. But I do. The cousin who recommended them to me came up to me at a family thing and was asking if I’d read such and such book by her, and my other cousin who I freakin love and cherish her good opinion was there, and started asking about them, and I got so embarrassed. I knew she would most likely hate them, so I couldn’t confess. I’m silly, I know. What can you do? So if you want me to confess to my super silly and embarrassing book crush, you have to tell me some of your guilty pleasures. Please? I love reading about other people’s to know I’m not alone in the world!
P.S. I’ve been a cooking fool this morning. I’m doing the Norwex party tonight, and I think party=yummy treats. So I made some buttermilk lime shortbread bars, peanut butter popcorn, brown sugar cookies, rolo cake bars, and my favorite, chocolate truffle cookies. I may be a little crazy. There’s still time if you want to come join the madness. Especially since you got a look at the goodies

DIY Invisibility Cloak

Hi there!  It’s great to see you again!  Before I start this tutorial off, did you get a chance to enter the What I Wore Sunday link party?  No?  Well, then, I’ll just wait while you enter!

…waiting…

…waiting…

…waiting…

Back already?!  Thanks for going to our par-tay!!

A few weeks ago, I saw these on sale and knew I needed them for my five little guys.

Even though the were 50% off, that was still more than I wanted to buy.  I mean, I wanted FIVE of them.  So I did what any frugal cheapskate would do.  I scoured the internet until I found the perfect fabric.  I found it and made the cloaks myself.  It was so easy.  This is how I did it-

I got a screaming deal from the fabric shop, and they’re offering special discounts for Crafty Cousins readers.  Score!  More info on that in a bit.

I love this fabric.  It is so soft, smooth, and silky. 

I started off by cutting out my pattern.  Not gonna lie.  That was kinda tricky.

This is what your cloak should look like at this point.

Huh.  That’s really hard to see.  Hang on.  I’ll draw it out for you in Paint.

There ya go. 

Once your cloak is cut out, serge or zig-zag stitch your raw edges.  I had to buy special thread for these cloaks.  They gradually turn invisible so that you can still see what you’re doing while you’re sewing it.  You know…in case you mess up!

There is the thread--not yet invisible.  After I serged around the raw edges, I pinned them down to hem the edges.

I used a spool cone holder on my sewing machine so that I could use a spool of the thread to finish off the hem.

I used this stitch for added strength and security.

I just LOVE how they turned out!

I love that I was able to make them cheaper than I could buy them.

The best part?!  My guys LOVE them!!  (you can’t see the other two boys in this picture, but trust me they’re there!)

The downside is that sometimes I can’t find the boys, but at least they love their new cloaks!

Guess what?!  That totally awesome fabric store is offering Crafty Cousins readers a special discount on the supplies for this cloak.  The fabric is 40% off, and the specialty thread is 30% off.  Just enter the coupon code CRAFTYCOUSINS in the promo box at check out.

Click

HERE

to buy your supplies!

Happy shopping!

{{{loves}}}

What I Wore Sunday: Week 6

But before I get to that; I did something foolish.  Or stupid.  Or both.

Remember how my birthday was last Friday?  Well the Parental Units and the In-Laws gave me money.  I hurried and spent it before I had time to second guess myself.  This is what I bought:

Yes, I bought a flute.  Crazy, I know. 

I played the flute all throughout middle school, junior high, and high school.  I loved it.  And I was really good at it.

Isn’t she lovely?!

I even played it a bit in college and since I got hitched.

The last time I played my flute was at Hubby’s uncle’s funeral.  9 years ago.

Why in the world would I take such a long break from something I love?

Because Hubby dropped my flute in the street when he was loading it into the moving truck.  That was the end of my flute; may she rest in--pieces!  Don’t worry, Love.  You’re still forgiven!  :)

I have really missed it all these years so I decided to buy a new one.

It came on Wednesday, and I was super excited to play it.

Guess what?!  I’m still good!  A tad rusty, but still good.

The first song I played on my new flute was the theme song from Star Wars.

Yes, I am a geek, but my dudes loved it.

It may have been stupid and foolish to buy it, but I’m glad I did.  :)

Anywho, onto What I Wore Sunday…

Click the link for the rules and past weeks.

Here’s what I wore Sunday:

You guys are so lucky!  You get a real picture of me this time; not a mirror-self-portrait!  Hubby’s calling leaves me flying solo on Sundays, and my kids don’t take very good pictures.  Hence the self-portraits.  But, Hubby was home with a sick baby for the first half of Church last Sunday and was able to snap this picture.  Thanks, Lovey!

I refashioned a tee shirt from the dollar clearance rack into a skirt with a yoga style waistband.  Super comfy.  I featured some of these pics in the maternity jeans tutorial.  The tutorial for the skirt will come later.

I also refashioned the grey tank I’m wearing.  I also bought that off the clearance rack.  Shocker.  It was my size, but it was too baby-dollish.  It fight just right when I was 7 months pregnant and it isn’t even a maternity shirt.  So, since I loved the shirt and hated the way it fit, I took it in.  Much better! 

What did you wear Sunday?