Ollie's Fabric Haul & Thrift Halloween Finds! 🎃

Feeling good so Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz headed to a newly opened Ollie's for a leftover Joann Fabrics boon followed by some Halloween scores at the thrift store! 🎃

Thank you for watching! Peruse the Sewing and Thrifting Playlist for previous Joann Hauls.

Follow me on Blue Sky for the latest crafting and sewing adventures or visit Facebook or Instagram for more project photos. You can browse the entire Kbatz Krafts Archive for more including: 

Black and White and Red Polka DotDress

The Cheap Elsa Costume

Drab to Glam Lampshades

DIY Halloween Orbs

Legacy of Sewing for Search Magazine

Jewelry Making for Search Magazine

Dilemmas in Orange? 🎃

 

My quest for the perfect orange blouse knows no end! These thrift find tops vary in style, material, and even shade of orange but do they meet the autumn grade?

Each of these shirts came from either the Salvation Army store or local Goodwills and cost between $5 and $8. They were all bought separately, so the rainbow between bright orange, yellow orange, tomato orange, and salmon peach was amusing to see together.

First this Old Navy scoop top is a little too lightweight in material. The high cut sides are also tough to style with my problem gut. Fortunately, it's a great shade of true Halloween orange, and the thin cotton is great to layer underneath an open black sweater with an Autumnity Brooch or two.

Next is a poofy sleeve blouse unfortunately more in the salmon peach spectrum and not a rich orange. This material is a little heavier but the hem is the right length sitting at the natural waist. The puffy sleeves, however, mean it's tough to layer this blouse but the flouncy style can either dress up my black jeans or match a frilly black skirt. Wearing this with my Polka Dot Scrap Skirt though would be far too twee.

This high collared New York and Company blouse on the other hand may really only work with a similar sheer black skirt. The color is vivid and lightweight with the ruffled cap sleeve suggesting warmer weather wear even though this is for Fall. The high neckline, however, makes it seem a little too formal, and it would be tough to wear my Black Bobble Jewelry with this top.

Of course this electric orange epic long sleeve blouse certainly stands out in a crowd! The hemline feels a little too short and this light, very easy to wrinkle material needs lots of ironing. Maybe the big sleeves could also use a starch to hold their shape? Depending on the occasion, this could be too over the top with black jeans but a dramatic skirt could also look too costumey. Perhaps plain black pants and one of my long black vests can tone down and compliment the sleeves.

And finally in our orange experiment is this bemusing poncho. There is a cotton blend tank top underneath the sheer drape, and initially, I was tempted to separate them. Unfortunately, removing the direct stitching around the entire neckline would be too difficult to repair. The super long tank, however, confuses me, for tucking it in creates bulk exactly where I don't want it. Thankfully, turning up the hem so its in line with the poncho looks adorable! I'm looking forward to styling this casually with pants or going dramatic with a big skirt after a pinking shears trim and some hem tape in another Easy Thrift Fix Alteration.

None of these is totally ideal. Is there no perfect orange shirt out there? Maybe not. However the pros and cons here in material, color, and style will help me Frankenstein my own custom orange blouse. I kind of want a piece of each of these in one glorious top! How orange is too orange? Is there any such thing?

Visit Kbatz Krafts on Blue Sky for more gothic fashion wears or follow us on Facebook or Instagram for project photos. Browse the Kbatz Krafts Archive for more orange sewing including: 

Orange Tablecloth Skirt

Black and Orange Polka Dot Apron

The Lemon Dress

Jaunty Autumn Hat

And of course, AFTER I had this post scheduled, I found another Old Navy orange top for $4 at Goodwill. This is more fitted with a natural waist but again lightweight so the quest continues! 

Mini Fall Fabric Haul Impulse!

 

Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz shares some quick Halloween finds and fabric impulse buys. Because there's always room for more polka dots! What would YOU make with the black and yellow polka dot fabric? There is also a temperamental cat. Thank you for watching!

For the latest crafting and sewing adventures, follow me on Blue Sky or view project photos on the Kbatz Krafts Facebook or Instagram. Browse more videos in our Sewing and Thrifting Playlist or peruse the Kbatz Krafts Archive for much more including: 

Tea Stained Labels and Bottles 

Drafted Nightgown Pattern

Black and White and Red Polka Dot Dress

Autumn Chandelier for Search Magazine

Autumnity Accessories! 🍂🍂

I received this grab bag of assorted enamel leaf pins as a gift and adore mixing and matching cascades of leaf pins on my hats and shoulders. However some of these adorable leaves were also broken and not totally my colors or style – so I decided to put them to good use as new brooches, hair clips, and more findings for complete autumnity delights!

Naturally the torti cat supervised as I sorted the pins, leaving the orange and maple leaf pairs that I already wore most as is. The more feather-esque designs, green leaves, and yellow charms were earmarked for new use as hat stick pins, alligator hair clips, and barrettes. Jewelry pliers made it easy to bend the original pin backs, sometimes I could even press them down to lock onto the new clips before hot glue did the rest. Surprisingly, Dollar Tree super glue that I usually use on metals didn't seem to work as well, but the hot glue created a smooth layer binding the unusual black leaves to gold jump rings for a sophisticated statement ring. A duplicate pair of orange maple leaves was re-purposed with new stud earring backs – although I did make them asymmetrical to go in different spots in my back ear piercings. Because, why not? The broken chestnut style leaves anchored two alligator clips alongside red oaks, again mismatched as sisters rather than twins in number and color. Four different colors and leaf shapes were combined on a larger pin back for one large brooch while two more single leaves became fun rings. Single maples became the stick hat pins before one larger barrette used up the last of the broken yellow leaves. Huzzah!

I prefer accessories to match, usually with one accent color per season. The similar reds and oranges maybe, but black and green and yellow at the same time?! Keeping these accessories as somewhat random leaves just looks a little more natural than if everything was absolutely coordinated. Besides, this helps me get out of my darker whimsy comfort zone and if they're in my hair, I don't have to look at them! If these were all accumulated, differently styled and textured pins, the look would be messy; but since they are all of the same enamel and theme, everything makes a statement together. Is wearing all of this all at once a bit too much for my bigely age? Maybe. Fortunately, the possibilities for an autumn hair accessory, brooch, and a ring are now endless. There's a certain illusion between what's a hat pin or a pin on the hat or multiple leaf pins together or just one leaf brooch, and I appreciate the double take when people notice something unusual in my hair and say I look “festive.” Since I had the glue gun at the ready, I also fixed several other broken accessories – including a black folding fan and white and red flower clips I usually put in my bun. Did I fix these summer pieces in time to use them with my Black and White and Red Dress? Of course not! A previous set of red and gold buttons that had been re-invented as hardly worn earrings, a pin, and a ring was also re-purposed as another barrette. A sliver from my Polka Dot Scrap Skirt likewise became a little Scrunchies hair tie. I thought about doing an even bigger one or a polka dot headband and barrette, however that did indeed seem too twee with all the gray infiltrating my hair.

Perhaps this is a silly write up; I feel the need to explain how I did these risk free accessories despite this being a simple have glue gun, will travel day project the whole family can do together. As I wrote in my forthcoming DIY Jewelry column in the #EverydayMagic Fall issue of Search Magazine, go ahead and put a pin back on anything. Is it cheap and tacky? Absolutely! Do I believe nothing is too cheap or so basic a DIY? Also absolutely – because it is customized by and for you and that's worth celebrating. There's no reason not to bling it up with the autumnity vibes. The term “autumnity” itself means “the quality or condition that is characteristic of autumn” and it needs to come back into the mainstream lexicon ASAP.

Join me on Blue Sky for more or visit Kbatz Krafts on Facebook and Instagram for more project photos and more jewelry shenigans including:

White Jewelry Bling

DIY Holiday Jewelry

Black and White Bobbles

View more of my recent autumnity appearance at the Hit the Stars Learning with Horses Apple Festival! 🍂😁🎃🐴

"Oh yeah, you blend." 🤣