Crafty Manolo!

Oh yeah! Twistie, from Manolo for the Big Girl, has a great new crafty blog!
Show her some love and be sure to stay tuned-in to this blog for all kinds of crafty-ass fun!

I love that she talks about yarn bombing! I have always wanted to do this! Too cool!

Thanks for creating this fat-safe crafty space, Twistie! You rock!

It’s Friday, I’m in a great mood and well, just thought I’d give ya a nice fluffy post to encourage you to indulge yourself while saving a pretty penny at the same time. I am in no way affiliated or being paid to endorse the following products/companies, I just think they rock!

I have personally given CustomizedGirl.com a couple of chances by ordering t-shirts and I Love them! They always have fabulous coupons and they carry plus sizes!Here are their two most recent coupons, check ’em out!

Get this pocket vibe for one penny (+$6.95 shipping) Here! Don’t wait, supplies are mega-limited.

Enter Here for a chance to win the The Connoisseurs’ Kit from SexToday.com:

This is one of those if I knew then what I know now kind of moments. Ugh! So, here’s my deal, I bought two pair of these mega-rad jersey-knit capri pajama pants from Old Navy a couple of years ago. Had I known that they would be the most comfortable thing I own, I would have bought ten! They have this very wide elastic waist  band that’s actually too big for me, but I roll it over a couple of time and they are just right. They have split cuffs with lace trim. I have one in black and one in cream, both with a simple floral-ish print. They are my go-to when I’m sick or crampy or too tired to do anything at all or just wanna sleep comfortably. I have other pajamas and wear them too…but these ON Capri pants? They rock, y’all!

Since ON doesn’t make them any longer and I can’t find them on eBay (you can often find last season’s stuff on there) I started to look for other similar styles and fabrics and whatnot and well, I’m quite disappointed! I cannot do flannel, I do live in California and while it does get cold at night (I know not that cold as my Mother in law would say -she’s in Maine), but I also have a down comforter that keeps me plenty warm. I don’t like the typical flat cotton most pajamas are made of and I would feel just silly in satin. The jersey-knit is just right, I think. And would prefer the capri/cropped length since regular PJ pants tend to flow well over my feet and onto the floor (perfect lure for kitty revenge).

OneStopPlus has some things, but nothing like what I’m looking for and the ones that come close are a but pricey for what they are. Although, I had no idea Torrid was added to OSP, Awesome! (And damn, I love the brand Taillissime their entire line is too cute! I wanna own it all!)

These are close from Lane Bryant (Ugh! I really don’t want to give them my money though) and on clearance, but I would have to try them on and I don’t think my local store has much clearance right now. I suppose I could have them shipped to the store…but again I’d rather give my money to another store.

Target had nothing in my size. I don’t really know why. The highest their PJ’s go is XXXL, which sometimes, but very rarely works. But they do have cute stuff. *sigh*

Avenue has some cute stuff and I cannot believe that this is a robe, it looks like a friggin’ dress (and doesn’t come in my size, dammit)!

I did some eBay searching, but nothing popped out at me. I just don’t know. I mean, my two pair are fine. I just want more! I don’t know how many times one is supposed to wear a set of pajamas in a row, but generally 2 is my limit, depending. So this leaves me with having to wear my other pajamas the rest of the week and that’s fine. One pair of actual PJ pants I have are crazy comfy but the tags are long gone and I can’t remember where I bought them. Ack!

Maybe I should just try to make my own damn pajamas! Ha-ha! It could happen…maybe.

So, what do you wear to bed? What are your dream pajamas? Do you lean more sexy or comfy? Do you sleep in the nude (I used to and still do from time to time)? Do you have plus sized pj wishes? Lay ’em on me! Thanks! =0)

I get this catalog from a company called “Solutions” you may have even read some posts about it or their products on this blog before (before it was a dedicated Fat Acceptance blog, that is).I discovered something called a “bra liner” and the catalog carried Pambra’s version and seemed to have some good reviews. Well, being the “bargain huntress” that I am, I just couldn’t bring myself to pay retail for them. But I knew I needed something!!! You see, I believe I have Hidradenitis. Though I have not been diagnosed with it, it often gets misdiagnosed anyway, after finding others on Fatshionista and later someone started a LiveJournal Community specifically for those with it, I soon realized that that was exactly what I had. I had assumed I simply had “sensitive skin” or heat rashes. When it gets hotter it gets worse, too. UGH! And that means painful bumps along my bra line. Terrible stuff, let me tell ya!

So I headed to eBay, my fave place for open market bargaining! I bought a 3-pack of bra liners and couldn’t wait for relief! When they arrived I tried them and while they were a bit awkward at first, I did like using them. Only, after running them through the washer & dryer? They became misshapen and unusable unless I wanted to hand wash, dry flat or even possibly have to iron them. UGH! No thanks! So, when I saw another blogger giving rave reviews over the Pambra’s liners I was quick to comment with my dissatisfaction. I was contacted by Pambra that same day (and my comment quickly disappeared). Turns out, I had purchased an impostor! They offered to send me one bran and one tummy liner to try out.

Bra liner                        Tummy Liner Illustration

I received them and you know what? They were 10 times better than the impostors. Ha-ha! Go figure. But I can assure you, personally, that I gave it the old washer & dryer test (I iron no clothes!) and they came out perfectly fine! I have worn the bra liner a few times and still enjoy it. It takes a bit of coordination to get it on at first, but then it stays put all day! Nice! I only tried the tummy liner once because the weather has gotten colder and colder lately and I haven’t needed it, but it fit nicely in place (read how to measure on the site as I didn’t and had to remeasure) and I didn’t think about it much while wearing it. Cotton and comfy!

My lesson in this? Sometimes, it’s just better to pay retail up-front than end up with impostor products that simply don’t do the job of the original! Hard lesson, learned! This bargain huntress thinks the Pambra’s Bra Liners are perfect!

*I was not paid to review these products, though I was given a free sample (1 of each).
The above is an absolutely, 100% honest review.

Tough economic times call for creativity and using all resources possible! How does this relate to fatshion? How doesn’t it?! Ha-ha! Yesterday I decided to finally dye the vest I bought two weeks ago at Avenue to complete what I’m dubbing “The Ultimate Outfit” (though it won’t be complete without the right knee-high boots, but that search is still in progress). You see, I found the right style vest at the right price, but the color? Meh. The vest was $6.96, how could I pass it up?! So I bought a bottle of RIT black dye and gave it a go! (I have never dyed any garment before, other than tie-dying which is different all together since you’re going for more color/designs/etc.)

The vest’s original camel-khaki color:

As I was about to dye this vest I went to my dresser for a shirt I wouldn’t care if it got stained. I first chose this top I got at Torrid a couple of years ago and looked at it and though, “Why don’t I wear this? I love this shirt!” Then I realized that it had a stain. Boo! So I grabbed two identical shirts from the same drawer and they, too were stained. Y’all! I don’t have to tell you about staining t-shirts on the frontal-chestal area, do I? I believe it’s a fairly common thing with everyone, but especially those of us gifted with larger boobages (I am using all sorts of made-up words today). Anyhoo, I decided I needed to save these shirts from their previously considered destiny: Cut into rags for cleaning! Oh Noes!!!

I headed out to my current sewing station (I’ve been making aprons like crazy for an upcoming craft show) and laid out my supplies and planned my next course of action. Dye? Appliques? Iron-on transfers? Check, check and check! I turned on the iron and filled my bucket with hot-hot water, a cup of salt (my vest was a cotton-linen blend and the bottle said this would help) and the bottle of dye. I first soaked the vest itself in hot water and then lowered in into the bucket-o-blackness. Doing this caused a mini-splash onto my aqua t-shirt and I realized, “Hey! I should just dye this, too, probably won’t see the stain anymore!” And whipped it off my person and into the bucket it went, too!
Supplies:

So much stirring!

30 minutes of stirring followed by many-several changes of water (have to keep agitating and then mild detergent and more water changes until the garments rinse clear) and finally my vest and t-shirt were ready to lay flat to dry. (I must note here that I chose not to use rubber gloves for two reasons: my husband had mysteriously thrown mine away and the dye was washing off my hands just fine at first, until? Well, see the pics!) After that I tackled the two remaining shirts. One got a neat-o iron-on transfer that covered the little stain it had perfectly, I think. And the other got some embroidered appliques ironed-onto it. Now I haven’t worn any of these yet, but I think they’ll look fairly if not entirely cute with these little upgrades. And the “Ultimate Outfit?” Well, I’ll just have to leave you in suspense for a bit, my dears. That will be for another day/week. =0)

Two tops saved (the black swirlyness at the right is what I ironed-on):

The “Corpse Hands” as my husband has dubbed them after the dying:

What creative or resourceful way have you saved something from the garbage or rag bin? Tell me about it! =0)