Awesome Anthropologie Knockoffs

When these great projects showed up in my google reader feed the other day, I saved them to my Delicious links page right away!

First, I absolutely love Made By Lex's Cirrus Duvet Knockoff.
Don't worry, she even included an awesome tutorial!
Original from Anthropologie is on the left, and Lex's knockoff is on the right.

This Anthropologie tank top knockoff by Sarah at Welcome to the Good Life is also white and airy, and I absolutely love it. Anthro tank is on the left, and Sarah's amazing knockoff is on the right.

Baby Quilt

Lots of my followers are "mommy bloggers," and I'm always jealous of the adorable baby things they get to make! When my mom needed a baby gift for my cousin's shower, I jumped at the chance to use some of these pretty fabrics. I'm not the most precise quilter ever, but I think these pinks and browns can hold their own against the uneven squares.This is just a quick, simple design.

And here's a close up of the fabrics. I love the little flowers and polka dots!

Home Ec Tips

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I came across the following "home economics" tips in a page I'd torn out of an old Martha magazine a while ago. Sorry- I don't know which issue!

1. Freeze overripe fruit in freezer bag to use for smoothies in the future. You can freeze berries and sliced bananas on a cookie sheet and transfer them to a freezer bag once they're frim.

2. Flip a cast-iron skillet upside down and use it as a pizza stone! You can also use it to make roast chicken or cornbread.

3. Freeze extra tiny amounts of gravy, pesto, lemon juice, or wine into ice cube trays and add them to meals later.

Have a great weekend! More project posts to come!

What I Wore Wednesday

It's "What I Wore Wednesday" time again at The Pleated Poppy. If you've been following my blog for a while, some of these pieces will look familiar. And yes, another cardigan outfit for the "What I Wore" post. I just can't help it.

Do I look like a librarian-in-training again? The polka-dot-blouse (also in this thrift store finds post, along with the cardigan) is from the Dollar A Pound thrift store here in Madison- it literally cost me pennies. I'm deeming it "vintage"- it's J.C. Penney brand, 100% polyester, and I love it. The cardigan's from Goodwill for $5, and the belt (which also might look familiar) is from another dress in my closet. The dark wash skinny jeans are from J.C. Penney last year.

That's not all I wore, though. When I left for my mile-long walk to class in the morning, weather.com told me it was 20 degrees outside, and feels like 11. And it's just gonna get colder out. So this is what I looked like to anyone who spotted me on the sidewalk- minus the ridiculous expression, hopefully:

 

Usually I crop out my head, but that seems unnecessary here. The coat is new, and this was the first time it was cold enough to wear it this year. I got it at Macy's. I usually don't shop there, but it was marked way, way down thanks to a lucky sale. It was worth every penny this morning! The scarf's from H&M, and the hat from New York & Company, both a couple years ago. My friend made the giant mittens for me last year out of a sweater. I love that they match my scarf. :)


Oh, and I also wore these boots from Payless:

What did you wear this week? Link it up at The Pleated Poppy!

Sneak Peaks: Embroidery!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I've been working on hand applique for one of my secret Christmas gifts. That idea has been totally scrapped. I've found that hand applique takes forever, and it's hard to make it look good, too! Plus, I like embroidering much better. So here's a couple sneak peaks at what I've been up to now. Really simple, but I think they look nice just the same.

Embellished Ruffle Top

There's a reason why ruffle tops are everywhere: they're SO EASY to make! This one really just took a few minutes. It's the perfect project. Ruffles are adorable. T-shirt knits don't fray, so no tedious hemming. And ruffling a strip of a t-shirt is the easiest thing you can do with a sewing machine. Seriously, I can't think of an easier thing to make.

Just change your machine settings so the tension's at the highest number, and the stitch length the longest, and sew straight down the center of the strip of fabric. It'll ruffle as you go, and is all ready to be pinned and stitched to a plain top.

I think ruffles are the best on a colored shirt, but I like the way mine looks with a cardigan. Who am I kidding, though? I like the way everything looks with a cardigan.

I started with one of these plain black tops from Kohl's. We all know the type ($4-6, for sale in every color). I also have another too-big black knit top that I picked up at the Dollar a Pound thrift store. I've been cutting chunks off it here and there to make ruffles, which is what I did for the ruffles on this one.

 I'm not posting a tutorial for the ruffles because of the vast amount of them on other blogs. But here's a link to some of my favorites. Like I said, easy easy easy, and there's infinite ways to arrange the ruffles. Part of me wants to go ahead and do this to every shirt I own. :)

Delicious

No, this isn't a recipe post. I've recently begun using Delicious.com, a social bookmarking site. It's a lot more convenient than continually saving bookmarks and favorites, especially because I use more than one computer. Even better, this way I can organize my links by tagging, share them with other people, and browse their links, too.

If you're interested in seeing all my favorite recipe, crafting, sewing, and blogging links, go here to see my Simply Step Back Delicious page! You might find one of your own posts there, too. :)

Featured!

My lace keyhole top was featured over at Sugar Bee Craft Edition! Thanks for the shout out!

What I Wore Wednesday

It's time to link up to The Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday link party! I'm really into dressing things down with a cardigan lately (like last week), hence today's shiny top and brown sweater. I still feel a little weird posting about nothing but "What I Wore", but the party last week was lots of fun! Thanks for all the comments!

A little less thrifting going on this week, but there's always some! The sweater is a hand-me-down from my aunt, who's probably reading this and recognizing it. The purple top is from Goodwill ($3), and the lace tank from Kohls.  The jeans are also from Kohls; that's where I get pretty much all of mine. The shoes were a rummage sale deal this summer for $1.

Go check out The Pleated Poppy! She's got some adorable outfits featured this week!

Tutorial: Lace Keyhole Top from Polo

This tutorial's pretty short, but I know I always appreciate even the quickest of how-tos! I'm not sure where the inspiration for this top came from...I was actually about to cut it up to make some navy blue ruffles for a different top refashion, but I just couldn't bear to cut up something that already had finished buttonholes. I stood in front of the mirror buttoning and unbuttoning it, trying to figure out what I could do.  I only ended up saving one of the buttons, but I think it's an improvement- polo shirts just aren't my style.


Here's the "before" pic and another "after." Keep scrolling down for the tutorial!

How to Make a Lace Keyhole Top from a Polo Shirt

1. Start with a polo shirt like the one above.

2. Decide where you want the neckline to fall, probably at the button at the top or second from the top. I did this by folding the collar under so I could visualize the finished neckline, and buttoning the second button from the top. You'll leave that button on.

 3. Remove the buttons below the one you're going to keep.

4. Pin your lace trim (or ribbon or whatever you decide to use so that it covers up the buttonholes and where the old buttons used to be. You can also pin all the way past the buttonhole you're going to use and just cut a slit through the trim. That might be a better plan than what I did. Pin down the collar area (unless you want to leave the collar on. If you want to pin the lace all the way around the collar, you can do that, too.

4. Stitch the lace on. With mine, I stitched down both sides of the lace, but you might be able to get away with stitching just down the center.

5. Figure out how you want to finish the collar. Shh, don't tell, but mine is still just folded under. Because honestly, I kind of like the way it looks with the original polo collar out, too. Jury's still out. But, you can stitch it down, or you can just cut it off. Depending on the knit material, the fabric won't fray so you've got a lot of options.

6. Cover the button (optional). My button looked kind of ugly, but I don't have much of a button stash to replace it, and I wanted to use the existing buttonhole. I made a rolled fabric flower and glued it to a safety pin. Hooray! A cute pin that covers up the button and lace imperfections- and a cute new top, too!

Lots of Links!

I actually got a ton of stuff done ono my non-crafting to-do list this weekend, so today I'm off to the fabric store. Don't worry, it's for Christmas gift crafts, so I'm totally justified. I will even make a list first, so I'm not too tempted to overspend. In the meantime, I've got a few awesome links for you to check out!



First, Sew Much Ado posted the CopyCat challenge finalists. These projects are just fantastic! I think the copy looks better than the inspiriation in lots of cases, and there's lots of tutorials to go with.

Next, Fireflies and Jellybeans posted the secret ingredient for Round 7 of the Iron Crafter. It's clothespins! I've got too many gifts to make in a short time over here, so I won't be entering this round. Clothespins used to be my favorite crafting medium when I was a little kid though...clothespin dogs, clothespin dolls...that was probably the first clue that I'd be a compulsive crafter some day. :)

Belts probably get the least attention in the crafting world, but Christie at A Lemon Squeezy Home featured a Belt Week Challenge this week! The winners are up, and their creations are fantastic.  Check out this one by No Big Dill:

New Blog Buttons!

I finally made a couple buttons for my blog! I'd love it if you grabbed one, especially if you've mentioned one of my projects or want to link back here. :) Just copy and paste the html code beneath each button. I've also added a new page (click "Grab A Button" above) so they're accessible there as well!

<a href="http://simplystepback.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m571/simplystepback/button1-1.jpg" /></a>

                                     <a href="http://simplystepback.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m571/simplystepback/IMG_1119-1.jpg" /></a>

I wouldn't have known where to start to make these buttons myself. I followed Mandy's tutorial over at Mandipidy. She has a great lineup of blog how-tos.
I think her own blog button is just adorable!

Also, the embroidered zipper pouch I made last week has been featured over at Along for The Ride. Click her button below to check it out!

Rosette Headband

I haven't forgotten about fabric flowers, or my glue gun! Sometimes people comment on my projects that they'd love to try, but they don't know how to sew, or they don't have a sewing machine. No excuses this time! I wanted to make some frayed rosettes, and this tutorial by Mama Monster was by far the quickest and easiest. I didn't even have to thread a needle. She uses a glue gun as she wraps the fabric.

It was really easy. And if you don't have a glue gun...get one. I picked mine up for 75 cents at a thrift store and it's a ton of fun.

I attached my rosettes to a headband, also using the glue gun. I think my next one'll be better, but I like this one too.If you need ideas or don't want to bother with making one yourself, there are a ton of sweet ones for sale on etsy.

What I Wore Wednesday (Thrift Edition)

If you're not familiar with The Pleated Poppy's "What I Wore Wednesday" link party, you should check it out! She calls it a "weekly accountability group to get out of our sweats and 'get dressed.'" I have to admit, I feel a liiitttle narcissistic posting this (after all, who cares what I wore today??), but it's also a good opportunity to showcase a couple of my older thrift store finds.

It's a beautiful day in Madison, especially for November! A high of 68 this late is just about unheard of. My warm weather dresses still seemed a little inappropriate for this late in the year, though. So I pulled out this ruffly dress that I don't often wear, and dressed it down with a cardigan. The dress is really short, and I think that keeps it from being too frumpy looking, like I'm in library school or something (oh, wait...).

I found the dress at St. Vincent de Paul in my hometown for $2. It's originally from Forever 21. The sweater is from Kohl's a couple years ago, and the shoes thrifted from Savers for $4. You can't see the earrings too well in the photo, but they're from Forever 21 (new, not thrifted) from their $1.50 jewlery rack. I know, what a splurge. The belt is taken from another dress in my closet. I've been wearing it a lot lately.

All right, your turn! What did you wear today? Go link it up!

Applique

In addition to recently picking up a little bit of embroidery skills, I've also taken on some applique. I'm taking on an involved top-secret Christmas present right now and learning as I go. Hopefully I'll have some update pictures soon! In the meantime, check out this awesome hand applique tutorial at Patchwork Posse's blog.

Iron Crafter!

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for me in the Iron Crafter contest at Fireflies and Jellybeans! They posted the results today, and my sweater dress won! Make sure you go over and check out the second place winner as well!

Christmas Gifting: Embroidered Zipper Pouch

I've completed my first homemade Christmas gift this year! It's a zippered ruffle pouch with the recipient's initials embroidered in the corner.

 The shape looks a little wonky in the photo; it looks a bit cleaner in real life. That embroidery hoop is strategically place, of course, to hide the embroidery (even though I really want to show it off). After all, what if she happens to look at my blog? So much for Christmas surprises. :) If you look closely, maybe you can still get the idea. I printed her initials out in a variety of different fonts, then traced the one I like onto the fabric with pencil and backstitched by hand over it. I've never embroidered before, and I think I'm hooked. You'll have to take my word for it, but it looks pretty slick.

Most of the zipper looks fairly tidy, too, which is a relief.

Now, on to the next gift! and the next...

Sweet Stuff

I've got a few more neat ideas for you to check out today!

Today Lori's post over at The Paisley Cupcake reminded me of a neat site I'd forgotten about: Wordle.net. Basically, you paste in some text from a book or website or anything, or enter the url of a blog, and it'll make a cool word cloud based on the source. Here's one I made from my blog:

Lori had the neat idea to do this with text from favorite books for Christmas gifts! Head over to her site and check them out!


Also, I've been loving Grosgrain's Embellish Knit Month posts. With three little girls, I don't know how she finds the time to make so many beautiful projects, but in addition, she's embellishing a cardigan sweater every day this month. Click her button for more!

Finally, if you haven't voted in Fireflies and Jellybeans' Iron Crafter: Sweaters contest, head over and do that- today's the last day.  (mine's the sweater dress, but vote for your favorite!)

Ruffled Shirt Links

I don't have a finished project to show off, but I have LOTS of half finished ones! I also have some hearty looking chicken noodle soup started in the crockpot. Maybe a bit too hearty- I don't think I'll have space for the noodles. Oops.

Everyone's been making awesome looking ruffled shirts! I really want to make one, but I really shouldn't let myself start another project. I did make one ruffly top over the summer, though. Either way, these are some of the ones I've been salivating over.

This tutorial from Mama Go Round is from back in August, but it's adorable. I hope I have the patience for all the fluttery little petals!

I love all the projects that Little Red Roost posts, and I'd love to ruffle up a cardigan like this. Hers is actually a knock off of a Banana Republic sweater- and I think hers is way cuter than the inspiration!

Here's another oldie from 2009 on MadeByLex.

And I can't not include Tea Rose Home's classic. If you haven't seen this tutorial yet, go check it out!

Finally, check out this one at Ruffles and Stuff. I love the buttons!

There are so many more tutorials and ideas out there, though. These are just a few to get you started!

Crochet Coin Purse

I've been meaning to make a crochet coin purse with a fabric lining for some time. They're pretty simple to make, and quite a lot of it is done by hand, so it's a good on-the-go project with few necessary materials. That's ideal for holiday traveling, as well as keeping my little room from becoming a giant crafting-induced mess.

For the outside, I actually used a crochet coaster pattern I found here, although I used a 4mm hook instead of a 5. Then all I had to do was fold it in half and add the fabric insert. I ran into a bit of trouble sewing in the zipper (as usual), so this one's not quite up to snuff for gift-giving, as I'd hoped. But I'm hoping the my second go at it will have some better craftsmanship and go a bit quicker, too. Zippers get me every time!

Iron Crafter Top Ten!

My sweater dress upcycle project made the top ten finalists at Fireflies and Jellybeans' Iron Crafter competition! I'm very excited- it's such a fun contest, and everyone did such a great job!

Make sure you head over (click the button below) and vote for your favorite project before November 5th!