Laura in IL sent me this gorgeous piece today! And...I'm not even being facetious when I say gorgeous!!

I was in the local thrift shop and they were having a $1 per piece of clothing sale. I was specifically looking for cable knit sweaters to make into pillows (see pillow pic at the bottom of the page!!) - I saw some online somewhere for $80 and I knew I could make them cheaper - and came across this piece and had to get it. It's not my size (too small) but I just know you can make something exceptional out of it. I believe it's part of a sari - the color is great and the beading is fab!

I was obsessed with this piece when I saw it. The color was my fave - mint green!!

...and the beading was delicious!!

The problem...the maje slits on each side, especially if nothing is being worn underneath!!

Time to make this fabulous! (...and by fabulous, I mean make this a dress!!)

I started off by trimming the piece. I wanted to make it shorter to hit me right above my knees! Post-cutting, I was left with these scraps!

I started working on the hem by pinning one side...

...and then the other!

I can't have this puppy open all the way up to my upper thighs, so I began to pin the seams together on both sides until it hit where I trimmed earlier.

With the pins in place, I started to stitch it all together!! I can almost smell the dress being done!! Woo!!

I paired my sewn together dress with some nude vintage Jennifer Moore heels and an arm party of bracelets to head out for the night!

I got together with my girl AK for a fun eve benefitting The Breast Cancer Research Foundation hosted by Loft and Giuliana Rancic. We took lots of photo booth pics which was smart/good/necessary because...

1 - I didn't charge my camera enough and it died, and...

2 - I left my phone at home on the stove top. Yeah, you read that right...at least I didn't absentmindedly put it in the fridge. (The remote was found there one morning, so just sayin!)

I have to say that the lighting was simply amazing! It really just made the top of the dress shine like little fireworks!

Nothing like getting goofy with props from the prop table!

I skipped on the feather boa, but went to town on the neon light sticks!

PS, I accidentally walked out of the party with those prop sunglasses still on my head.

We shot a slew of pics and divvied up the 4x6 print outs that we received. Time to fill a frame :)

The best kind of night - catch up with pals as well as having alternative camera options (and accessories) for blog purposes :)

"I would like to thank you as well for doing this blog - it really is an inspiration to see how you take things and switch them up and make them AWESOME!"

Oh and those pillows Laura spoke about earlier...she made all three AND her chair was just $10.