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Prudent Baby

Get sewing how to, sewing tutorials, and sewing help to learn sewing. We offer sewing tutorial for sewing moms.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Windows Phone 7 GIVEAWAY!: Do More With Less

Here at Prudent Baby we try to be, well, prudent. And being prudent often means doing more with less. More style, more fun, more crafty goodness - with less money, less time, less materials. You know exactly what we mean, right? Which is why we are so excited to be giving away a Windows Phone 7! That's right, one lucky Prudent Baby reader is going to win a Windows Phone 7 for telling us how they do more with less.



So in the spirit of more with less, I tried to create the easiest dress of all time. Even easier then our most popular tutorial ever, the 10 Minute Onesie Dress. Presenting the Two Minute T-Shirt Dress.

It's a dress you can sew out of an old t-shirt in about two minutes (ok maybe five).  You guys seemed to like the Recycled Ruffle Sleeve Bubble T, and a bunch of you mentioned adding some old tees to the sewing pile.  I have the same pile so I tried to use one of them to make the quickest, easiest, simplest possible dress.  It seriously doesn't get any easier than this, it doesn't even involve any cutting. Also, this unicorn t-shirt was from Wal Mart, it's pretty cute right? I hope you like this tutorial and are inspired to do more with less.

And the big bonus: One lucky Prudent Baby reader is going to win a Windows Phone 7!

Get the Two Minute T-Shirt Dress Tutorial & The scoop on the Windows Phone 7 Giveaway after the jump...

Two Minute T-Shirt Dress & Windows Phone 7 Giveaway!

Check out the full tutorial, and learn how to enter the giveaway below.

1. Acquire one t-shirt. I used a woman's t that my friend Kate bought me as gift for the White Trash BBQ. I don't know that unicorns are white trash, but unicorns+rhinestones+glitter+skin tight probably qualifies?


2. Load your bobbin with elastic thread and regular thread on your spool. I used gray so you could see it, but normally I would recommend using the same color as your shirt in the spool. For tips on sewing with elastic thread visit this post. Now grab your shirt and find the seam at the top of the sleeve. Sew from the neckline to the end of the sleeve 1/2" from the seam on either side, backstitch at the beginning and end to hold your elastic thread in place. So you're sewing two straight lines:

Do that to both sleeves. Sleeves complete.

3. Now look at your shirt and imagine it as a dress on your kid. Choose a general waist area for it, a little low so it can pouf over. Then just start sewing in a spiral all around the shirt. I started at one side seam and just sort of went up and down, not paying attention to straight lines, spiraling around for 60 seconds, backstitching at the beginning and end:

See, it look sort of messy up close, but you'll never see it because it's gathered and the dress poufs over it anyway.


Done. Pretty cute for two minutes?


And one t-shirt put to good use. The kid LOVES it.


So readers, there's one way we did more with less. Keep checking in this week to see other ways, like a simple homemade body scrub whipped up with basic stuff you have in your kitchen.

So tell, us how do you do more with less? To enter the Windows Phone 7 Giveaway leave a comment on this post with a way you do more with less. Leave your comment anytime between today and midnight, November 29th. We will randomly select one winner using random.org. The winner will receive one Windows Phone 7. For official rules click here: Windows Phone 7 Official Rules.

This giveaway is brought to you by the new Windows Phone 7. Less MIA. More PTA: Learn about Windows Phone online at www.windowsphone.com and see it in person at local T-Mobile stores today.

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256 Comments:

«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 256 of 256
Blogger Lindsay said...

I do more with less by coupon and thrift shopping to stretch my dollars as far as they can go! :)

lindsayzockoll(at)gmail(dot)com

November 21, 2010 at 8:55 PM  
Blogger Erica best said...

i do more with less when i use coupons they help so much

purple_lover_04 at msn dot com

November 21, 2010 at 11:27 PM  
Blogger Samantha said...

What a great idea! love the phone too!

November 22, 2010 at 8:12 AM  
Blogger Mandy said...

My husband loves putting leftover meat with cheese and toasting it into a quesadilla. One more dinner I don't have to worry about.

November 22, 2010 at 9:03 AM  
Blogger kelli said...

I love doing less on Sundays and spending more time relaxing and bonding with family!

November 22, 2010 at 10:57 AM  
Blogger Dele O said...

I'm all about doing more with less by using free tools such as the Google calendar to organize my day, week, month, year...need I go on!!!

November 22, 2010 at 11:23 AM  
Blogger Rusthawk said...

My more for less: Bake family goodies instead of buying storebought. Make extra and freeze for later. Do the same for meals: cook more, freeze extras.

November 22, 2010 at 11:56 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I am loving aluminum foil as an insulation material these days, helps me shape cakes, and keep things warm :)

November 22, 2010 at 7:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I pretty much live by the motto "do more with less" so, I apply it to so many aspects of our lives. I shop at second hand stores and I buy my daughter's shirts at least one size too big and she wears it with leggings while it's big and then as a shirt the following year.

November 22, 2010 at 8:21 PM  
Blogger Turtle Mom said...

I try to stay out of the stores unless I need something and then I take a list and stick to it. I use the internet to search for the best price before I waste gas.

November 22, 2010 at 8:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've always been an artsy craftsy kind of girl, so it was no surprise to me that after every project for school, I'd keep all the fabric scraps and key chains and construction paper and paints. I'd always look for an excuse to bring them back out again to recreate something beautiful :]

November 23, 2010 at 12:34 AM  
Blogger Mandy said...

I put french toast in the waffle iron! SO much faster than the traditional way.

November 23, 2010 at 9:25 AM  
Blogger Dele O said...

I do more with less by using awesome phone apps. There are many useful, fun, and creative apps out there that help make life a little bit easier to manage.

November 23, 2010 at 9:35 AM  
Blogger Rusthawk said...

Doing more with less means creating a tight budget and sticking to it, avoiding impulse buys, and saving for rainy days. Peace of mind generates productivity.

November 23, 2010 at 11:05 AM  
Blogger amidel said...

We just had the best do more for less moment the other night! We came home from work/school and were all very weary. When we climbed out of the car it was super windy and leaves were blowing everywhere! So we all dropped what we were holding and tried to *catch* the leaves as they came swirling, twirling down from the trees. It was so much fun for us all to be outside enjoying the last warm rays of the sun and laugh!

November 23, 2010 at 11:23 AM  
Blogger Jessica@SewHomegrown said...

No Fear! The thing that helps me do more with less is confidence. NO FEAR! Don't be afraid to try it yourself - you CAN make it, you CAN cook it, you CAN be resourceful - we can do a lot more than we give ourselves credit for.

November 23, 2010 at 6:58 PM  
Blogger kelli said...

I love the idea of crafting... But I don't actually do it. So I guess I do more with my time by not crafting!! hahaha

November 23, 2010 at 7:11 PM  
Blogger Turtle Mom said...

I do more with less by baking from scratch and cooking meals instead of grabbing fast food or eating out. It not only saves money, but it's also healthier.

November 23, 2010 at 8:00 PM  
Blogger Amanda said...

As a young married couple with a 4-month old, me a stay-at-home mommy, my husband a newly employed engineer, we get by on basically love alone, but we still live with more happiness than I could ever have imagined. Dinners are always simple meals, but I dress them up with fun. Fun music in the background, candles lit, fun conversation with my husband, who's sense of humor matches my own; we eat, talk, laugh, clean up together, put the little one down for the night, and then snuggle up on the couch and just enjoy the time we have, not worrying about anything for those blissful moments of the evening. It's all I want...it's all I need...and I'm truly thankful for it all.

November 24, 2010 at 5:00 AM  
Blogger ALo said...

We do more by looking at each purchase beyond the basics and determining whether we (okay, I) "think" we need it or we really need it. Then we look to see if we can recycle or repurpose. By then, our girls [at 3 yo and 18 mo] have distracted us and we're all off on a hike or a trip to the park, and [I] realize that we don't need nearly as much as [I] thought. Thanks for one of the most motivating and fun sites this SAHM could have found.

November 24, 2010 at 7:16 AM  
Blogger Dele O said...

Doing more with less means keeping your cars as long as possible especially when they are paid off.

November 24, 2010 at 8:25 AM  
Blogger Maureen said...

I have been finding recipes that are simple and use basic ingredients that I have on hand.
mce1011 AT aol DOT com

November 24, 2010 at 1:54 PM  
Blogger Turtle Mom said...

Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for people who pour their hearts and souls into blogging! I am especially thankful for the phone giveaway as I am in desperate need of a new one!

November 24, 2010 at 9:17 PM  
Blogger Rusthawk said...

Doing more for less means buying a gently used car that's been cared for and maintaining it carefully for another ten years.

November 24, 2010 at 9:33 PM  
Blogger Ronny said...

We do more with less by finding free events around town. On days we need to get out of the house, we go to the local pet store and look at the different animals (and go home empty handed).

November 24, 2010 at 10:16 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

i love giving out coupons for watching your kids for an hour or clean your house its cheap and effective so everyone is happy

November 24, 2010 at 10:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I do more with less by planning as much as possible ahead of time
k k g r a y 8 8 @yahoo

November 25, 2010 at 12:16 PM  
Blogger alana said...

Wow, this giveaway is timely! The speaker on my phone is starting to fail.

I do more with less buy making things myself or buying things used. I also make almost all of our meals at home, and we enjoy the simple pleasures of the great outdoors in our free time :)

November 25, 2010 at 12:40 PM  
Blogger Dele O said...

Doing more for less is all about doing dishes before, during, and after thanksgiving dinner. Saves a lot of time the next day.

P.S. happy thanksgiving

November 25, 2010 at 8:25 PM  
Blogger Rusthawk said...

More for less: Host a get together with your friends and have a clothes swap ...exchange your don't-likes and never-worns for things you can use. Everybody wins!

November 25, 2010 at 8:29 PM  
Blogger Mandy said...

I like making more than I need to so I can have lunch to take the next day.

November 25, 2010 at 8:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I do more with less by trying to do eight million things at once! More things done with less time would be a lot easier with a smart phone, right now I have a lame flip phone that was free with my plan and I can only tweet/email/etc. when I’m actually at my computer. How 90′s. Thanks for the giveaway!! scg00387 at yahoo dot com

November 25, 2010 at 10:55 PM  
Blogger Misty Sedehi said...

Whenever I put anything in the microwave, I make myself clean up a mess in the kitchen (i.e. counters, dishes, floor, etc.) until the microwave beeps. You would be surpised how much you can get done in just a few minutes!!

November 26, 2010 at 1:07 PM  
Blogger Dele O said...

doing more with less could mean budgeting and adhering to it. It allows us to save properly and spend wisely

November 26, 2010 at 5:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I do more with less by making lists so that I can plan ahead
k k g r a y 8 8 @yahoo

November 27, 2010 at 7:03 PM  
Blogger Rusthawk said...

My grandmother taught me to "save steps". During chore time around the house, always have something with you to be returned or replaced as you move from area to area and room to room.

November 27, 2010 at 7:09 PM  
Blogger Turtle Mom said...

I am trying to do more with less by entering to win wonderful freebies!

November 27, 2010 at 9:11 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

m and ms are probably my favorite more with less candy. i use them to decorate cakes, i use them in counting games with kids, and they just taste good

November 27, 2010 at 10:06 PM  
Blogger Kristin said...

Recycle clothes--we use hand me downs, then hand them down again. You never know what you will get and its always fun to have a new stash arrive.

November 28, 2010 at 12:56 AM  
Blogger Dele O said...

Doing more with less sometimes means reusing grocery bags, or buying the recyclable types and using those. Saves the environment and saves the grocery stores money, which in turn saves you money.

November 28, 2010 at 7:52 AM  
Blogger Turtle Mom said...

This phone would help keep me organized so that I can do more with less!

November 28, 2010 at 6:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

doing more with less for me means staying as organized as i possibly can
k k g r a y 8 8 @yahoo

November 28, 2010 at 8:31 PM  
Blogger astroXP said...

How to do more with less? I have in my own house a soda vending machine, when I feel like drinking one, I buy one. At the end of certain period of time, I open the vending machine to recollect my profit!!!

astroXweb@live.com

November 28, 2010 at 9:06 PM  
Blogger Rusthawk said...

Doing more for less means delegating more responsibilities to the kids so my time can be used more productively.

November 28, 2010 at 9:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I use small hand towels instead of napkins or paper towels. Not only do I save money on paper products but it’s environmentally friendly!

November 28, 2010 at 10:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I keep on track with things using my busy body book.

November 29, 2010 at 11:40 AM  
Blogger seemommyknit said...

I try to reuse my decor items-glitter for Christmas, black spray paint for halloween, etc! Makes me more creative!

November 29, 2010 at 12:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i try to stay organized so that i can better mutlitask
k k g r a y 8 8 @yahoo

November 29, 2010 at 4:26 PM  
Blogger Turtle Mom said...

I need organization in my life! I need to do more with less! I really need this phone!

November 29, 2010 at 6:25 PM  
Blogger magicthimblecreations said...

I do more with less by planning meals that can be changed into a different meal later in the week

November 29, 2010 at 7:11 PM  
Blogger initial J said...

Cute dress. Instead of buying new toys I would find a neighbor who is looking to offload some of their old ones.

November 29, 2010 at 7:19 PM  
Blogger Dele O said...

Doing more with less could be decorating the christmas tree as a family. More work done in less time, and lots of family time together.

November 29, 2010 at 8:28 PM  
Blogger Rusthawk said...

More for less mean having an emergency kit in my car when I travel, and also carrying our own snacks and drinks so that we don't have to make expensive stops.

November 29, 2010 at 8:29 PM  
Blogger kelli said...

I do more homework with less phone time now that I've lost my phone...! It is seriously gone. 2 days now. So winning this giveaway would definitely help me out! So don't you want to...? Help a sista' out!

November 29, 2010 at 10:42 PM  
Blogger DMK said...

We do more with less by buying second hand clothes, books, cds, etc. And by going to the library to get books and dvds. We've saved a fortune that way, though I still like to hit the bookstores and browse!

November 29, 2010 at 11:44 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I do more with less by having a grocery shopping moratorium at the end of each month. The last week of the month, I skip the weekly (sometimes twice-weekly) grocery shopping and we make do with what we already have. We're able to clear out the fridge, freezer, and pantry and always come up with interesting, but delicious, meals. The food waste has certainly been reduced in our house.

January 20, 2011 at 10:19 AM  
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