Making a dress dummy

Now I did have to have help on this one, so a big big thanks goes to Lynette @ Crazed Mind for being willing to help me out. I have been doing more sewing lately and making shirts and dresses for Poo. We are trying to get summer ready and she loves dresses . It is easy enough to try things on her and see where I need to make room or take some up. She is very good about being still so I can pin the hems and whatnot. For me on the other hand it is not so easy. I really want some new shirts for working in the garden and in the yard. I want something cooler that I don't have to worry about getting stained or torn. Unfortunately, I am not a model nor do I have a model's body. Things don't always fit me the way they do on the front of a pattern so I needed a dress dummy. Now if any of you sew then you know that dress dummies are not cheap. I definitely could not afford to buy one so we went old school, redneck, ghetto, or whatever you want to call it. Here is my DUCK TAPE dress dummy! Now go ahead and have your laugh but when you think about it this is perfect. It cost about 10 dollars which is very good for my budget AND it is exactly my body. Whatever it looks like on the dummy it will look the same on me. It is much easier for me to make changes in the design if I need to and it is simple to do. Here is how you can make your own dress dummy.

You will need: 1 VERY good friend to help you ( you will be immobile and they will have scissors) 3 to 4 rolls of duck tape ( depending on how stiff you want it to be) 1 very snug shirt you are willing to cut up (short or long sleeves depending on what you prefer)

First, put on your snug shirt and set you main taping lines. Under the bust is a good place to start. Then do across shoulders and under the arms. Now it is time to just spin and wrap the tape all around you. You want the tape to be snug but not to tight. You want your bumps to still be there and you will need to have room for the scissors to get under it to cut you out. After you have several layers of tape all over, make sure they are interlocking with the shoulder area and the arms so it is one uniform piece. Now you are ready to be released:) Cut the underside of one sleeve to the armpit. Now cut from the bottom of the same side up to the armpit. Now you should be able to slide out. Tape the seam heavily and stuff with whatever you have handy. Mine is stuffed with bubble paper , plastic grocery bags, and scrap fabric since I did not have a lot of any of them.

I was lucky enough to be able to put mine on a stand and tape it to the stand for stability. So now I have a wonderful dress dummy on a stand for around 10 bucks. That's about what it would have cost for 1 new shirt. Now I can make several shirts and maybe even a dress or two for me without the hassle of getting it all done and having to rip out a seam because it doesn't fit right. Yay!!

Wordless Wednesday

All I can think of when I see this picture is just pure BLISS. Thanks to Never Growing Old for the WW linky!

Senior Pictures

Well, this weekend we managed to go get Munchie's pictures taken at the local park. We took about 500 so she had plenty to choose from. There were also Poo, Papi and landscape pictures in there also but she still had plenty. She was very happy with the way they turned out and is very excited about being able to get her graduation invitations out to family and friends. She was having trouble deciding which one to use so she put 10 up on Facebook for voting. After getting so many different responses she went back and decided to give each person the photo they voted on so everyone would have their personal favorite. I thought that was very diplomatic and showed a lot of consideration on her part. I sure am proud of the woman she has grown up to be. Even though I am only her aunt I am just as proud as any momma could be! Here are some of the wonderful pictures we took that didn't make the top 10 but we both loved. All in all we just had a wonderful family day in the park together. The Poo got to play for several hours so she was quite happy and it was just a beautiful day. So sunny with a light breeze, just a perfect day all around.We were lucky enough to get some very good pictures and all get to spend time together. We even went for a little mini hike in the dried up creek bed where we got some of the best pictures of the day.She is making her own graduation invitations as she didn't really like the ones the school had to offer. I can hardly wait to see the finished graduation invitations. I bet she will do a wonderful job on them. She is very artistic and has good vision for the finished product. I am just so excited!!

No Internet

Just a quick note to say our internet has been down for a few days. It really sucked but now we are up and running again! Still not sure exactly what happened but I will get back to blogging soon. We have a busy weekend coming, we are planning to get the garden planted, the trees trimmed and brush removed. Hopefully I will get some pictures to share :)

It's a PARADE !

On Saturday we all got up early and drove to Dublin, the home town of Dr. Pepper. Why did we do this you ask? Well, they had a big St. Patrick's Day parade.The Poo had never seen a parade this big so it was sure to be an experience.

Granny M took us all to a wonderful breakfast and then we walked outside to watch the festivities. We had quite a car full and everyone had a wonderful time! The Poo enjoyed waving at all the people who were going by and seeing the princesses in their gowns on the decorated floats. She also ended up with a TON of candy which they were throwing from the floats. Sissy was kind enough to help her get the candy that was too far into the street for her to reach and all candies were then divided. The Poo came out with the lions share. It was wonderful to see the excitement on her little face as the parade came by with horses and music. She was amazed by all of it. She cheered and waved and laughed at all the floats and ponies.

We spent the rest of the day playing with loved ones and then had a cook out to end the evening. She sure was one tired little girl last night. I think she even fell asleep smiling.

Perfect Pairings

Psalm 30:5 (KJV)
“ For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Thanks to That's Baloney for letting me join in on Perfect Pairings!

Monday on Wednesday

Well it was a bugger of a day to say the least. Somehow when the oil got changed on my blazer, the oil filter didn't get back on right , so when I went to drive it the oil filter came off and all the oil leaked out. Guess what happens next....You win!!! My engine seized up and my vehicle ceased to run. Now, it was a used vehicle that I still have 3 years of payments on and no warranty.
Just to add insult to injury, on the way home towing it, the person driving it rolled over the chain and ripped off half of my bumper. Yes, just half. No, I don't see how that is possible either but I saw it with my own eyes so I PROMISE you it was only half of it.
Trying to keep a good sense of humor about it all and not run screaming and crying at the top of my lungs! Instead I drowned my sorrows in blackberry cobbler and coconut fluff. It was a really nice end to a tragic day. Today we will be gone in a borrowed vehicle as Papi has a doctors appointment out of town. Great timing, right? Yes, that's why I got the oil changed. Hope everyone has a great day and I am hoping today is a he&& of a lot better than yesterday!
Make time to hug the people you love and maybe even the ones you don't love just to mess with their heads:)