Guest Post | Shopping Modest on A Budget

Apostolic Pentecostal Ladies I have a treat for you today! Recently I met blogger Madison from Clothed in Glory and we had the chance to email a few times. After getting to know her I thought she would be someone you ladies would be interested in getting to know her too... especially since she shares a lot of cute, affordable and easy outfit ideas. She is here with us today guest posting and sharing yet another great outfit of hers!

Hello! I'm Madison from Clothed in Glory. I created Clothed in Glory to help Apostolic/Pentecostal ladies find modest and fashionable clothes. I'm not just a blogger though, I'm also a YouTuber! Clothed in Glory now has a YouTube Channel and I have really enjoyed reaching out to young girls and talking about all the fun stuff us girls do.

"Outfit of the Day" posts are my favorite so I decided to show you a fall outfit under $25! I love to shop at Plato's Closet & Goodwill to find amazing deals. Finding ways to put together an amazing outfit on a tight budget (not to mention a modest outfit!) can be difficult, but it's definitely possible!

Here are a few tips on dressing fabulously cheap...

1. Find a good consignment shop near you. Whether it's Plato's Closet, Goodwill, Savers, or whatever else. Do a little looking around your town or online to see what is nearest you.

2. Look for BOGO's and sales everywhere. Different online stores will do promotional sales... for example: JustFab (an online shoe shoe store) gives you 50% off your first item. All their shoes, boots, and bags are $39.95 so you get a purse or a nice pair of shoes for less than $20!

3. Set a limit. When shopping, give yourself a budget or guideline as to how much you can spend. I use this method: I won't buy a shirt over $30 unless it's higher than an 8 out of 10 on my must-have scale. Same goes for other items of clothing. Set a limit of how expensive the item can be to buy it unless you are in LOVE with it.

4. Sell some clothes. Plato's will buy some of your clothes used and in good condition and either give you a gift card or cash for them. When you have not worn something in 6 months and it still looks good... sell it! This is a good way to get a little extra spending money for those shopping days.

Here is my outfit!

My Outfit Is:

Shirt: Dollar General for $11.00

Skirt: Goodwill for $6.99

Shoes: Payless for $6.00

Grand Total: $23.99!

See, it is possible to look good on a shoe string budget! Have fun putting these tips into action and looking fabulous as a result.

...be clothed in glory!

Connect With Madison

Blog | YouTube | Pinterest | Polyvore

Apostolic Style | Modest Sport & Active Wear

Hi ladies! Are you one of those people who enjoy wearing skirts...even when working out?? Well I am! Today I found this online store {Apostolic Sportwear} which sells Running/Walking Skirts for anywhere from $26 through $37 depending on the style and/or size. This is definitely something to look into if you're not the crafty type who can sew a pair of shorts into a running skirt yourself. (If you are the crafty type, check out this tutorial from Notions For Nonny on transforming sweat pants to a running skirt!).

I like breathable fabrics especially in the Spring and Summer months when the weather is either warm or just pure heat! I do hope you'll check this out and if you purchase anything I'd love to know what you think about the products!!

Here are a few items they have for sale:

{photos via the Apparel Gallery}

Here are a few other places to check out if you're interested in modest sport wear:

Active Wear @ Apostolic Clothing
Active Wear @ Dressing For His Glory

Know of any others? Let me know so I can add them!

4 Month Bible Challenge | Jump Start; Nehemaih

Well, last night I wanted to go ahead and start working on the Bible reading. I have a lot that has to be read by the end of this year so I decided to get it rollin.

To start it off I randomly flipped open my Bible...and landed at Ezra. I decided to start in the next book which just so happened to be Nehemiah. I realized I should have started with Ezra, but its okay. I will read that at another point.

Here is a little bit about this book which is written in my study Bible which I am using for this project:

Author: Nehemiah

Date: 445-425 B.C.

The Man Nehemiah: As cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I, Nehemiah's position was a responsible one (certifying that none of the wine the king drank was poisoned) and an influential one (since such a trusted servant often became a close advisor). Having heard that the walls of Jerusalem had not been rebuilt, and having received permission from the king to go to Jerusalem to correct the situation, he demonstrated unmatched skills in leadership and organization. In 52 days the rebuilding job was completed. As governor of Judah, Nehemiah exhibited humility, integrity, patriotism, energy, piety, and unselfishness. After 12 years in this capacity he returned briefly to Artaxerxes's court (1:1; 13:6) and then returned to Judah where he called the people to repentance.   Much of the material in the book comes from what must have been Nehemiah's personal diary, so frank and vivid is the reporting.

Historical Background: The elephantine Papyri, discovered in 1903, confirm the historicity of the book of Nehemiah, mentioning Sanballat (2:19) and Johanan (6:18; 12:23). These sources also tell us that Nehemiah ceased to be governor of Judah before 408 B.C.

Contents: The book completes the history of the restoration of the returned remnant from exile in Babylon, a restoration begun under Ezra's leadership. It also marks the beginning of Daniel's "seventy weeks" (Daniel 9:24), and provides historical background for the book of Malachi.

What I Read
So far I've read the first six chapters of this book. There are thirteen chapters total. Two verses were already marked in my Bible from previous times I read this section. The first verse is Nehemiah 4:17. This is the area where the workers are being attacked by surrounding enemies. It says, "They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon." Basically each person who was working on building the wall had in one had a weapon to defend himself from the enemy, and with the other he built the wall. I thought this was really interesting because these people were so dedicated to their work even when they were under attack. They didn't stop their work because they were being attacked, but instead continued their work and were prepared to defend themselves should they have to. I think that in our lives many people do this and don't even know it. We can't live in fear of what others will do/say to us because we choose to be different. We have to continue on our path and be ready when the time comes and we are asked (not really an attack necessarily, but not a positive thing either) why we are different. Be ready, but don't stop doing what you're doing because you are afraid of what will be said/done because you stand for what you believe in.

The second verse is Nehemiah 6:3. This is Nehemiah's response to the enemy who continually tried to take him away from his work: "And I sent messengers unto them saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" Basically he is saying there is no time like the present to be doing this work, why should I let you distract me from it? This fits in with my thoughts from the verse mentioned above. I am relating this in how we as Apostolic Pentecostal (girls) people dress, but it can be used in many ways... Why let yourself be distracted by the immodest clothing of the world? Why be tempted by it when you know what you are doing now (dressing modestly) is honoring God? Nehemiah was building the walls of Jerusalem to protect the chosen people. The way we dress can either be one of two things. 1. It is protecting us/our bodies from eyes and minds who don't need more distractions than they already have (like Nehemiah building the walls to protect the people). or 2. We are adding to the distractions and causing men to lust/sin (like the walls which were torn down so that the city was exposed to its enemies).

How you choose to dress is your choice, but what choice are you making? Are you building walls or are you taking them down?

5 Things To Get Your Closet Ready For Colder Weather

The last few days, or week rather, I have spent a lot of time thinking about writing a post to the girls who choose to dress modest and give some fun fashion tips for the coming fall weather. Last fall I was just starting to wear skirts all the time. There were a few things I discovered: skirts keep your legs warmer than jeans, leggings and tights are a must, boots & scarves are a girls best accessories, and cardigans/sweaters are the best for layering. Unfortunately I didn't figure all this out until February of this year...but these few things are going to help me a ton these next few colder months.

I have spent most of the past 8 months searching for tights, leggings and scarves which are both cute and on clearance or less than $3 each. Thanks to this I now have over 8 pairs of tights (most of which I bought for $1 each), more than 6 scarves (several of which I made), and, so far, three pairs of leggings. I also have found a large number of cardigans and sweaters which I wear year round.

The first few weeks/month of fall is actually not that cold so wearing lots of layers generally isn't necessary. But the closer to winter it gets, the cooler the weather is. These are a few things to get your closet prepared for the coming colder weather.

1. Go through your closet. You might be asking why I say this, but really it is important. If you keep clothes in a box in the garage or anywhere else, go through it too. Why? Well, you need to know exactly what you have for the coming cooler months. I know right now, without looking, that I have at least 5 skirts which I can use for the rest of the year. Of course, I will be making a few more because I already have the fabric on hand...but I don't "need" them. You need to know what you have so that if there is anything you might need you can be on the lookout for it. What items to you need to have for keeping warm? What item's can be used with multiple outfits?

2. Check your shoe supply. Some people wear the same shoes all the time. I am not one of them. I have a lot of shoes. Mostly because they were given to me or I bought them when I worked at Payless so they weren't full price. Unfortunately, the only thing I'm really lacking in are boots. I have one pair of black almost knee high boots. I love them! They are comfy and can be worn with so many outfits. I have multiple pairs of flats which I plan to wear with tights in the colder months. Although it is not a need, I am on the lookout for a pair of brown boots so I can wear them with my other skirts which don't match the black boots. Do you have shoes which can be worn with your fall/winter outfits? If not, what do you need?

3. Accessories. In the fall/winter I like to wear scarves because they keep your neck warm. They are also great for adding a cuteness factor to almost any outfit. Scarves can be found at thrift stores, or regular clothing stores and some other odd places like Walgreens. You can also make scarves from old t-shirts, something I plan to make a post about soon. Do you have/need/want scarves? What two colors would go with most of your wardrobe?

4. Make a list. Now that you've gone through your clothes what things do you need for the colder months? For example, I needed leggings (black, navy blue, and brown). I also needed a gray cardigan (and I found several at a thrift store...one which is light weight for spring and one which is a heavier fabric perfect for winter). I would also like to find a few more long sleeve shirts. Now that I had in mind what I needed I knew exactly what to look for when I went to the thrift store or other stores. All that is left on that list are the brown and black leggings and I may end up breaking down and buying them at regular price from WalMart. Of course the long sleeve shirts I will probably find at the thrift store. What is on your list? What stores can you find those things at for the best price?

5. Start looking. Every time you go shopping (for some of us that's not very often, but still) look for items on your list and stick to it. Check the price tags; don't spend a lot on clothes. There's no need. Look at clearance racks first and then expand to regular priced items if you don't find what you're looking for there. Yes it may be a cute sweater, but it's not worth $20 bucks...try finding one on clearance before buying one at regular price and save that money for something better. I personally love thrift stores because you can find almost anything and it's never more than $5 each. Garage sales are another great way to pick up items even for $0.25 an item. I recently found four items (shirts & cardigans) and only spent $1 at a garage sale. Don't spend a lot and get good deals.

I hope that these few tips have helped you think about the coming cold months. I do plan to post a tutorial on how to make your own scarf from an old t-shirt in the next few weeks. I will also be posting modest fall outfits to show examples of layering and keeping warm while wearing a skirt!

Happy cold weather!

Refashionista | Capri's to Skirt

This project is one I figured out as I went along. I have made several skirts out of jeans and figured it couldn't be much harder to make them out of capri's so why not give it a try? Actually, this skirt was very simple and I absolutely love how it turned out!

Here is the before picture. I used a pair of capri's and an old dress shirt of mine (which was much too small for me to wear anymore) to create a brand new, cute skirt!

Here are the after photos:

I love the length! It turned out much longer
than I had expected, and I'm glad about that!

The sides were difficult because the ruffled back kept trying to fan out too much.
I did eventually get the back lined up right so that it had a more smooth effect overall.

Here we have my favorite part! I absolutely love the ruffles!
I have seen this on several pins on Pinterest and wanted to try it.
I finally had the chance and I love it!
This is my newest favorite way to finish the back of a skirt!

To Make This

You know what you need so here are some simple directions... If you know how to sew, or have made a skirt from pants/jeans then you are set!

1. Rip open the seams on the inside of the capri's only. Leave the bottom as it is.
2. Inside out the capri's. Pin the front pieces together.
3. Trim the middle piece which sticks out more than the rest of the front so that it is even from the zipper to the hem.
4. Sew the seam closed.
5. Cut out a piece of fabric to use as a base in the back.
6. Cut out wide strips of fabric to use for the ruffles.
7. Place the fabric piece in the back of the skirt. Line it up and put a pin in the bottom corners to keep it in place.
8. Fold the raw edges of each strip in together. Pin in place and sew. Repeat for each ruffle (I used 6 ruffles).
9. Ruffle each strip of fabric.
10. Pin in place on the skirt. Make sure that all of the raw edges are covered by the ruffle above it. On the edges of the skirt make sure that there is no gap for the fabric underneath to sew.
11. Sew the sides of the skirt to keep the main part of the ruffles in place.
12. Sew the ruffles in place starting with the top on and working your way to the bottom ruffle.

There you have it. The basic directions to recreate this skirt! If you have any questions let me know! (Sorry for the lack of photos, I didn't have a camera available.)

This Post Was Shared!

• Refashion Co-op: October 18, 2012.

Refashionista | DIY Easy Maxi Skirt

This project was originally going to be a maxi dress...but I couldn't find the third skirt I thought I had to make it so I decided to stick with a maxi skirt. I used two skirts I bought on clearance at Old Navy about two years ago. They have had some good use, but it was time for them to be updated into something new. So here it is....

What You Need

2 skirts which are flowing and fit you well in the waist band area

Sewing Machine

Sewing Scissors

Thread

1. Choose one skirt to use as the bottom fabric. Cut the waist band off of it.

2. If the skirt has a lining piece detach it from the outside fabric.

3. Put the bottom of the detached lining to the bottom of the lining on the skirt which is still in one piece. Pin together and sew in place with a single stitch, followed with a zigzag to keep it together.

4. Now for the main part of the skirt. Since we are using two skirts beware that it will have a 'bubble' effect (as my sisters call it) where the one skirt piece meets the second skirt piece. I like the way it looks, but if you don't you can cut the skirt up more and piece to two top pieces together then add the two bottom pieces. That is completely up to you! :) The reason this happens is because the amount of fabric around the top of a skirt is considerably more than the fabric around the bottom. To help avoid this problem we have to 'ruffle' the fabric at the bottom of the main skirt.

5. Now piece the two good sides of each skirt together. Pin in place. Sew a straight stitch followed by a zigzag stitch. Let the skirt fall into place.

6. On the lining it will probably be tight, mine was. Use scissors to cut a slit in one side only to give your legs room to walk and move freely. You can sew the edges so they won't fray if you want to. I didn't.

7. There you have it! A simple skirt which can be whipped up in less than an hour!

The Skirt Before

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• Refashion Co-op: October 11, 2012.

DIY Layered Denim Skirt

A long time ago, back when I first found Pinterest, I found this amazing layered denim skirt. I loved it. I wanted to make it...but I didn't have enough jeans to rip up at the time. I started collecting bits of fabric for a few months and I finally had enough of a similar color to make this beautiful and different skirt.

This skirt is very time consuming! It took me two days to make. I could have probably made it in one day, but I started late yesterday afternoon and had to stop early. I only spent about 3 hours on it today. The biggest time consuming part is cutting the strips of fabric to make the  layers, but it's worth it!

What You Need
3-5 pairs of jeans or skirts or denim shorts of the same color/style
Sewing machine
Sewing scissors
Lots of thread (white for light denim like I did!)

1. Cut the jeans into strips. Longer strips are easier to work with, but you do need shorter ones also. Sort them into piles by length.

2. Once that is done find a strip which will fit around your waist nicely. Use that as the base for the top of the skirt.

3. Use a favorite length skirt as a guide for how long this skirt will be. I used one of my green church skirts. Layer the fabric the bottom piece slightly over the top piece so you have a better idea of how many strips you will need. I used 12 strips on mine. They were about 3 1/2-4 inches wide.

4. Once you have your length set, pin matching pieces of fabric to the ones laid out (like the photo for step 3.) Make sure to pin the good sides together, leaving the rough sides out so that it will look right when the skirt is finished. Some strips may need two or three pieces added to make them long enough. You have to remember that the longer your skirt goes it will need more fabric around to make it look right in the end.

5. Now sew the pieces for the layers together. Sew a straight line then do a zigzag stitch. Cut off any remaining bits of fabric on the smallest side. (This makes it easier to layer the skirt later on.) You can see in the picture that the fabric pieces aren't even. This is because I didn't cut them by measuring; I just snipped, snipped, snipped and let it turn out however. After doing the zigzag you can straighten out the leftover piece by trimming it a bit.

6. Once all of the pieces are done and are long you can lay them back on the floor. I had three 'colors' of fabric. A really light denim, a light denim, and a medium light denim. I layered them medium light, light, and really light all the way down the skirt. Pin them in place, overlapping them just enough to give you a good seam. (I think I did about 1/4 of an inch?). On mine I used the left side to put them all pretty much in a straight line so it would be easier to add the zipper later.

7. Now your skirt will look like you are making a denim stripe quilt. Don't worry, that's not how it will look when it's finished! On the sewing machine start with the top of the skirt and do a straight stitch all the way down the first layer. Follow down each layer until it is finished.

8. Zipper time! I had the worst time with my zipper. Probably because it is the first one I remember doing. Basic zipper tips: make sure the zipper thingy is on the outside of the skirt, not the inside, before you sew it in! Also, I had to put two zippers in. The first one I accidently ran the zipper off the top so I had to take it out and put a new one in. In order to avoid this I sewed the zipper together at the top.

9. For the first side of the zipper put the zipper down on the good side of the fabric (zipper pull is facing down). I left my zipper sticking above the top of the fabric a little. You don't have to do this, that's just how I did it. Pin in place along the even edge of the fabric. You may need to trim the fabric to make it even. Sew right next to the zip. Make sure to back stitch at the beginning and the end. I sewed along the edge of the zip twice. Zigzag the raw edge together.

10. For the other side of the zipper put the good sides of the fabric together. Make sure there is a fairly straight edge for this second piece. Line the zippers edge up with the edge of the fabric. Pin in place and repeat step 9's sewing directions.

11. Now your zipper should be well in place and fairly secured. Take the bottom of the zipper and pull it out some. Stitch along the outside edge of the zipper toward the raw edge of the skirt. This is to make it secure on the bottom. I stitched mine 3 times...mostly because my zipper is in the wrong way and I didn't want to take it out since I had thoroughly stitched it the second time around. :(

12. Now that the zipper is finished (except the top, but I'll get to that last) take the skirt and hold the top even. Shake it and lay it out on the floor or a table. The straightest edge needs to be on the top, the crazy edge on the bottom. Trim the fabric so that the edges are fairly close to being straight and in line with each other. Pin in place.

13. Sew the raw edges together with a straight stitch. Zigzag the remaining edge.

14. I left the bottom edge raw to match the rest of the skirt. You can sew it if you want. For the top edge fold it down a little and pin in place. Around the zipper area make sure to tuck the piece of zipper sticking up under the edge so that it will be secured. When you sew the area by the zipper be very careful. Your needle will break if it gets caught in the zipper area. Sew a straight stitch or zigzag (I did zigzag) around the top edge of the skirt. The area's by the zipper need to be stitched well to keep it secured.

15. Throw the finished skirt in the washer. When it's done run it through the dryer until dry. Pull it out and check edge layers. Make sure that it didn't unravel too much (aka there are no holes). If there are go sew them up with a zigzag stitch. (Mine had a few holes from the unraveling process so I just zigzagged them up. In the pic you can see one of the holes in the 4th row from the top.)

16. Pair with your favorite shirt and heels for a nice outfit or with a t-shirt and flip flops for a casual day running errands.

How It Turned Out

Here you can see how the zipper turned out.
Not bad for my first time!
BTW When I'm wearing this skirt my shirt will cover the zipper.

Here you can see that the bottom of the skirt went a little crazy.
I think that even though it didn't line up right it still looks super cute!

Links
Photo Inspiration for this project

DIY Basic Belly Band

I have seen this idea floating around Pinterest and loved it. I finally got my sewing machine to work so I decided to give this a try after reading the directions over at Pippa's Long Stockings. Here is my version of the belly band. I call it the Basic Belly Band because there's nothing fancy added to it and it's not a maternity band...although one day I'm sure I'll be making one of those. :)

What You Need
A shirt that fits you good in the mid-section and hip area
Scissors
2 sewing pins
A sewing machine

1. Lay the shirt out flat on the floor.

2. Cut the shirt into two pieces. You want to cut under the arms (as pictured). If it is a V-neck make sure to cut below the hem of the neck.

3. Fold the shirt in half. Measure about an inch in and put in a pin at an angle. (You can kind of see mine in the top right corner.) Flip the shirt over and put another pin in close to where the other one was located on the other side.

4. Now, on the sewing machine, sew a fairly straight line from the seamed edge of the shirt to the raw edge. Make sure to back stitch when you start and finish the sewing line to keep the thread in place.

5. Try on the shirt. You want to do this to make sure it is tight enough around the top edge to stay in place.

6. Cut off the excess material. Make sure to leave a little space so you can run a zigzag stitch to keep the seam from accidentally coming out.

7. Do the zigzag stitch along both sides where you cut off the fabric.

8. Now it will look like this. Inside it out and wear under any shirt that is too short to add length. I am so excited to have finally taken the time to make this because I desperately needed it!

Other Bloggers Maternity Bands

• Make It and Love It 
• Add Lace to it!

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• We Did It Wednesday
• More The Merrier Monday #14

Why I Dress Apostolic

I love clothes! This is a huge understatement. I probably have too many clothes seeing as my closet is packed and I have at least 4 good sized boxes in the garage of clothes or clothes to sew (either from fabric or out of other clothes). I like to design clothes, but have not sewn very many of the ideas I have. One day I plan to work on that a whole lot more than I am now.

This post is about outfits. More specifically Apostolic outfits. In my opinion this would be clothes which the skirts hit the knee or below (preferably below the knee), I personally also like crop sleeves on my shirts, but I do wear t-shirts, and then the necks of the shirts hit the collar bone or about two fingers below that (demonstrated in the photo below).

I choose to wear skirts because they are feminine. This is my choice. If I wanted to wear pants I could, but I chose not to. Another reason I prefer skirts over pants is because they are much more comfortable and give your legs room to move freely instead of being constricted by fabric. I choose to wear modest clothing as much as possible so that I am not a distraction in a bad way for other men I am around.

Dressing like I am compared to how I used to before I made these changes has definitely given me a confidence I did not expect. I feel pretty more times now than I did before with make-up, jewelry, and jeans. I am confidant around other people because I am not constantly worrying that my shirt is falling too low, or too much skin from my legs is showing. I have a freedom and a blessing in dressing modestly.

I was on Elsie Larson's blog, A Beautiful Mess, and saw where she had posted a bunch of different outfit ideas and loved it. The only problem was I wanted to see a bunch of options with skirts and so I have decided to start taking photo's of outfits I put together to go out and post them for all of you lovely readers! I will save all the outfits under the page *I'm Apostolic* in case you just want to see them all at once.