Shabby Apple Vintage Clothing Giveaway

Ever After

I have some exciting news for you! If you're like me and love anything Vintage, then this is the perfect giveaway for you. I was contacted by Shabby Apple to give my readers a chance to win a piece of Vintage Clothing  to add to your wardrobe.

Save the Date

The giveaway starts Monday, July 15th at 6:00am (PST). You have until the following Monday, July 22nd at 6:00am (PST) to enter. The winner will be announced on Monday, July 22nd by 12:00pm (PST).

Cut the Cake

If you would like to enter the Vintage Clothing giveaway from Shabby Apple, please leave a comment here on this post.

At Last

Myself, along with Shabby Apple would like to thank you for entering this giveaway. After you enter the giveaway, make sure you come back on Monday, July 22nd, to see if your name was drawn. We will give the winner 24 hours to claim their prize. If the winner does not claim their within that time frame, another winner will be chosen.

Together Forever

I'm so excited about this giveaway. I look forward to saying "Congratulations!" to the winner. That winner can be you. The only way to find out is by entering the giveaway.

Moon River

The winner will have the option of choosing from one of the dresses from the photographs above. I also want to encourage you to shop Shabby Apple. Personally, I love their selection of modest, stylish, vintage clothing.

Sincerely,
Sandra King

*I was not compensated in any form to promote advertisement for Shabby Apple.
*This giveaway is not available for my international readers, but forward this giveaway to your friends in the United States.

My Version of the Latest Denim Skirt Trend

First, I must tell you why I ventured out to make this skirt. My youngest son is graduating from basic training soon. I wanted some new clothes to wear during the time we will be near the Army base. We have decided to go a few days earlier for some rest and relaxation since we are literally flying across the United States.

I saw this denim skirt on Facebook and decided to check out the website Love My Jean Skirt for more information. I had never spent that much money on a skirt. So I looked around to see if I can find something similar at a cheaper price. During my Google search, I found a denim skirt on Apostolic Clothing. Still out of my price range.

I talked to my husband about it. He wanted me to get it. But, in my heart, I couldn't bring myself to spend that much money. That amount of money on one item would put a dent in our clothing money this quarter. My youngest son decided he would pay for it because he knows how much his momma "loves blue jean skirts". I didn't buy it that day...

The next day I sent a message to my Facebook friend Jessica who's also a lover of denim skirts. I asked her opinion on the skirts. She thought they were cute. Then I talked to my cousin Tony over at Well Watered Woman because I wanted her opinion. She sent me some wonderful tutorials from Youtube on converting denim jeans into skirts. Which I will do later.

It dawned on me when I recalled a Scripture about God asking Moses what was in his hand. The light bulb came on. I have my hands. I can make a skirt. God has given each one of us gifts to use. God has given me the gift of sewing. I decided to try and make my own version on the skirt.

I used a basic skirt pattern.

Altered the pattern to give me a semi-fitted fit.

Basic 7 inch zipper that's made for denim. Noticed the used the yellow thread for a contrast look.

The split in the back.

Inside the split in the back. I didn't use my serger machine because I didn't have enough yellow thread or denim needles. So I just used the settings on my regular machine to overlap the edges.

This is how it looked before the waist band, the ruffles and the flower.

For the ruffles, I used 4 inch wide strips. The length is about 2x as long as the measurement around the skirts. You can use more if you like. Putting the ruffles on the skirt is easy, but it may be time consuming. The results are well worth it :)

I needed a guide for the flower so I used a small plate.

I used dots to help me guide the ruffles for the flower. About an inch from the border and then another inch until your ruffle is finished.

This part may take some time. Be patient and work at it. I promise you, you will love the results.

Here's the finished skirt. You can make a little circle to put in the middle. I had to do mine by hand. The material was thick and I didn't want it to get stuck on my sewing machine.

The flower close up. You can also see that I used a band around the ruffle on the skirt. 

I loved the way the thread shows up against the denim material.

The back of the skirt near the split.

I had enough denim left over to make a handbag.

I made a padded pocket on the inside to protect my phone.

Total price for the skirt was $18.90. With that being said, I can honestly say that if you purchase one of the skirts from the links above, it's well worth the price.

The Fig Leaves Weren't Enough

What if I told you that in the beginning of time mankind has struggled with modesty would you believe me? The issue with modesty is nothing new. When I typed in the word "modesty" in the search engine on the internet, about 15,600,000 results came up. That tells me two things. Either people are trying to understand the meaning of modesty. Or people are writing about modesty because immodesty is an issue.

If I were to tell you that in the beginning of time God never intended for nakedness to be wrong would that give you the freedom to walk around with no clothes on? God created the body. The body is beautiful. His first intentions for mankind was to walk in freedom unclothed. But what happened that made something so beautiful to be the downfall of so many?

When Adam and the woman's eyes were opened after they sinned (disobeyed) they realized something.....

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings." Genesis 3:7

After looking at just one fig leaf, I wonder how many fig leaves did it take to cover their naked bodies. The Scripture doesn't say they covered their whole bodies. It says they made themselves coverings. What did they cover? For you and I when we clothed ourselves each day, the first thing we do is cover our private areas. Even with our private areas being covered, still we are not fully clothed.....

After God spoke to the serpent, the woman and Adam, He clothed them.
"Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them." Genesis 3:21.

Mankind was in a fallen state. In our fallen state, God knew that we needed help in clothing ourselves. Remember we tried before with the fig leaves, but the fig leaves just weren't enough. We were still exposed. Imagine how He felt as He was making tunics to cover up something so beautiful. But left uncovered, He knew that mankind would self destruct.

That brings us to the day in which we live in. Many of us today have chosen to clothe ourselves. We no longer feel that modesty matters. We are told if it looks good then flaunt it. Let us not forget we (mankind) covered ourselves in the beginning and it wasn't sufficient. Although you may have the body and want to flaunt it, as Christian women, we need to go back to the beginning.

Imagine Adam waking up after being in a deep sleep and seeing this beautiful woman. Maybe Adam experienced a physical change that occurred in his body because he preached his first message in Genesis 2:23, And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man." That man was excited by what he saw.

It's amazing to me that they were both naked and were not ashamed.

Many men today are ashamed because they are physically responding to seeing images that are not meant for them to see. Especially in the church. Men can work in an office setting and not get as enticed as they do as when they attend church. In the office, there's a professional dress code which applies. When you start to work for a company they will give you a company manual. Most company manuals have a "dress code" section. As Christian women we have a manual, the Bible. In it there's a dress code for us.

"In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works." I Timothy 2:9-10.

I'm not saying that a woman should not look good. I'm not saying that looking frumpy means you've finally arrived and now you're dressing modestly. No. What I am saying is that we as Christian women need to clothe ourselves properly and wear sufficient clothing like the ones God made for Adam and the woman.

Being in a fallen state, we can't lean on our own understanding of what being properly clothed means. We have to turn to the Bible. Just covering certain areas does not mean you are fully clothed. We can cover our breast, but leave the cleavage open. That's not being fully clothed.

The next time you get dressed ask yourself, "Am I just covering myself like Adam and the woman, or am I fully clothed?" Remember the fig leaves weren't enough.

He Took A Second Look

Lately I've been talking to one of my son about what to look for in a wife. Yes, I know he's only 18, but that day will come when he comes to me and say, "Mom, I met a girl and I'm really interested in her."

I have yet to hear those words come from his mouth. He has many female friends. I for one consider him to be one of my best friends. We can talk about anything. Sometimes we can have deep conversations. Sometimes it's about politics, ministry, marriage, having solutions to the world's problems, things we're passionate about, ect.

Over the years we've talked to our children openly about relationships and why we don't like dating. Our son has never been on an official date. You know the kind where he goes and picks her up. Takes her to dinner and a movie, alone. Would he like to go to dinner and a movie with a young lady? Perhaps, maybe, but with whom?

Sometimes I scratch my head because I really don't know what he's looking for in a young lady. I have an idea, but when I ask him, he says stuff like, "She's got to have a nice personality." Me being the mom, I'm like "What else?" Then there's this awkward silence....

A few weeks ago he mentioned to me that he saw a young lady wearing a skirt. I was kind of puzzled because he sees young ladies in skirts all the time, but something was different about this skirt. The next words to proceed out of his mouth was, "She had on a modest skirt and she looked like a lady."

Then it dawned on me that it's not very often that he sees a young lady dressed modest. He told me he had to take a second look. Wow!..... Imagine that, a young man taking a second look at a young lady dressed in modest attire.