The internet made me do it

Reason 812 Why I Love The Internet/Blogging:  It inspires me.  I look at things I see on the web, done by normal people just like me and it makes me think I could do it.  I see people make mistakes, laugh it off, try again and have beautiful successes and it takes away my fear.  I get all bold and empowered and I tell myself that I can paint furniture, I can reupholster a seat - it even makes me just delusional enough to think I can cook!


Did I ever tell you we have a peach tree?  Drew knows I love peaches and one day last summer he came home with a peach tree just for me!  So sweet right!  Then my friend Stacie posted a recipe for a peach crisp and I was all hey! I have a peach tree!  I can do this!  

The ones on the left were from the tree, the ones on the right

were mutant peaches from the store.  

Stacie's recipe is on the left and I used strawberries instead of blueberries and

I also made The Pioneer Woman's cobbler on the right.

Stacie's was waaaay better!

Then, my bestie Ryan wrote about how he made The Pioneer Woman's pot roast in his Fretch oven and I was like hey!  I have a Fretch oven!  I can do this!

This is merely proof that I did it.  If you want step by step instructions

with gorgeous pictures, go to Ryan's blog.  

But I did it!  I even made mashed potatoes from scratch for Sunday dinner!

Well, I did it again, only this time it wasn't food.  I was on Better After one day and she wrote about a girl who had made over an old pair of jeans.  I was like hey!  I have old jeans!  I can do this!  But this wasn't cooking, it was sewing!!  Remember when I was so scared of my sewing machine?  Well, that hasn't completely gone away even though I've used it a handful of times.  But I went to the girl's blog, studied up and figured I had nothing to lose.  I didn't wear the jeans anyway so if I messed them up, it wasn't that big a deal.  Then I also remembered that my old standby, Young House Love, did a post on dyeing things so between the two of them I figured I could do it.  These are regular people doing regular things so I have nothing to be afraid of.

Exhibit A:  Fake Seven jeans from Ebay.

All the details are right, but the denim is really cheap.  

I was so pissed when I received them because they were all 

"Authentic Seven Jeans!" and I paid the Authentic Seven price - serves me right.

But I never wore them because the wash made them look so bad and so fake.

Perfect for experimental sewing and dyeing.

This is the side you want to sew.  I turned them inside out, eyballed it and started sewing.

I only took one picture because I was pretty sure it wasn't going to work.

Very first pass with the sewing machine.

Boot cut on the left, skinny-ish on the right.

I did the other leg and then came the dye.

They don't sell it anywhere in Dallas, so I got mine from Amazon.

Amazon has everything.

At the last minute, I threw in another pair of my jeans.

I didn't sew these, but the wash was a little light and dated.

I studied the YHL tutorial, even using a paint stick like they did.

Her tutorial wasn't clear about stirring until the salt was dissolved and I 

stirred forever and it really wasn't dissolving, so I dumped it in the washer and prayed.

Then we played while I prayed to the baby Jesus that I didn't just ruin my washer.

I set the cycle on heavy duty and did an extra rinse just like Sherry said.  When the cycle was over, I took the jeans out with my eyes closed because I was convinced that my washer was going to be a mess of dye and the jeans would be the exact same.  Then we left the house, something about distancing myself from the (theoretical) mess.  But I had to get the jeans out sometime.  I had to see what I'd done.

It worked!!!  I dyed my jeans and now I have two more pairs of jeans in my rotation, which is a godsend because while I'm loving breastfeeding, it's sucking the pounds off and all my clothes hang on me - I look like a hobo.  But look at my jeans!

Because we all love a good before and after.

I put some wedge heels on so they didn't bunch at the bottom because

I'm not confident enough to attempt hemming.

The difference on the other jeans is a little more difficult 

to pick up on camera.

They have a bluish, grayish color and it's way more uniform 

and looks much nicer.

It's like I have two new pairs of jeans!

And yes, they have crystals and stitching on the ass which is one

of the other reasons why I last wore these in 2006.  But since 

I'm scrawny now, they have to come out of retirement and the new color

makes them a little more palatable.

Oh, and my washer is completely fine.  I wiped off the door and the rubber ring before I did another load and I said many Hail Marys when I was putting the clothes in, but they came out just fine.  Therefore, iDye is my new favorite toy.  The other dyes you have to dump in the sink, stir constantly, you run the risk of your sink getting stained and it's just a mess.  iDye is totally easy to use and I'm already scoping out my next project.  I'm thinking about this t-shirt pillow.  Instead of just one color, what if you did a bunch of different tones in the same color family for the rosettes?  I saw this one and I was like hey!  I have a bunch of t-shirts!  I could do this!

Please god don't let me come across a sky-diving or make-your-own bungee cord tutorial.  With enough wine, I just might do it.