Simple Dress for Cheap!

Hello! You've probably noticed that this is a craft blog. Or, it's going to be. To get started, I'm going to share a tutorial for a simple dress from my favourite blog, Talk2theTrees.

For reference, the original is here: http://talk2thetrees.blogspot.com/2010/07/how-to-make-easy-high-waisted-dress-for.html

All credit for this goes to Rachael Treetalker. (:

(Also my centered text is something I picked up from her. Ha. It looks cool.)

Like Rachael, I'm also cheap and love dresses. I'm also learning to sew, and this would be a great beginning project. It's a little hard to mess up. Plus, you only need about $6 to make it. And it's super cute, with the lovely Rachael modeling.

All you need is a ribbed tank top and 3 yards of fabric. 

Cut your tank top about in half. A little shorter or longer depending on the way you want it. 

Then wrap your fabric around your waist one and a half times, and cut it straight. I'm really glad she doesn't use patterns, because I don't know how to use them. IMPORTANT, keep your fabric folded. Or if it isn't folded, fold it. This way you'll have a bubble hem, and you won't have to actually hem it. Short cuts! 

Now fold it in half again, and sew down the raw edge. Now sew a simple running stitch around the top of the skirt, but only on one layer. If that makes sense? Then you're going to make a ruffle. You do this by holding the thread and scooting the fabric. If you know how to make a ruffle, great. Because it's really hard to explain. 

Turn your skirt inside out, unless you never turned it back the right way, so that the raw edges you sewed are on the outside. Now pin your tank top inside out inside of your skirt. Make sure it's pretty even and lays flat. Now you can sew around the edges.

And then it looks like this. Now to make the sash. Take some of the leftover fabric and cut it into a strip. Make sure it's big enough to fold in half longways. 

Then sew along the raw edge. Turn it right side out and finish the edges, and then you're done! This isn't sewed to the dress, so you just tie it around your waist.

And there you have it. A cute dress for only $6 and 30 minutes of your time. (:

Again, this is not me. This is a tutorial by Rachael Treetalker. 

Project GRAD

One Sunday of this week, I packed my bags and headed to Reese Hall at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville for a week long summer institute with Project GRAD.  This institute is the second of two institutes that qualify juniors and seniors from Fulton and Austin East high schools for a $4,000 scholarship to the college of your choice.  Throughout the week, I've taken classes like college research skills, precalculus, english, and communications.  All of these were meant to prepare me for what college classes might be like.  I finally get to leave tomorrow feeling accomplished and and secure knowing that I have $4,000 of my college tuition paid for a year.  That's something I was really worried about. But now I feel a bit better. (:

This week has been pretty stressful, with the waking up at six am, and not going to sleep until about 1:30 the next morning. It'll be worth it, though. That's me with the blue headband, and my awesome communications teacher, Iveta in the pink.

Tomorrow's my last day, and I may have to give a speech in front of an auditorium full of people. Not looking forward to that. Anyway, this has been a pretty good experience for me. I've gotten to know new people, and now I have this blog. That's a plus. (:

This is me.

Hello! My name is Ashlee Dougherty, and I want to welcome you to my blog.  I am a senior at Fulton High school, but not for much longer -- I'll be graduating in December this year.


I love to make art, and do crafty things, like sewing and bringing new life to pieces I find at thrift stores.  I also enjoy playing music, and I am in the marching band at my school.  I play mallet percussion, which includes all sorts of instruments like marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, and chimes.  I also play auxiliary instruments like cymbals, triangle, and lots of others.  I've even played trash cans and car brakes.  Another hobby that is really important to me is drawing and graphic design.  I love to design and create posters, flyers and things like that in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.  I'm going to base my career off of this.  I also love reading blogs, and my favourite one is Talk2theTrees. Anyone who reads this should definitely check her out.


I really care about things like being environmentally friendly, animal rights, and creativity.  I like to reuse and use environmentally friendly or sustainable supplies in my projects, and I recycle everything that I can, and try to reduce energy use.  When I move into a house of my own, I would like to install solar panels, and drive an electric car, so I would be no longer contributing to the burning of fossil fuels.  On the subject of animal rights, I feel that no animal should be bred, raised, or killed for food, and I am a proud supporter of PETA.  Because of this, I have been a vegetarian for almost six years now, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon, or ever.  Feeding my creative side is very important to me. Without things like art, the world would be a very dull place to live. And that's not fun at all, is it? 


After I graduate high school, I'm going to attend Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film in Nashville, Tennessee. After that, who knows? Maybe a job in graphic arts and  crafting in my free time. (: