Upcycling

DIY, home, how to, interiors, organising, repurposing, Upcycling

DIY: Clay Wrapped Pots

04/13/15

I love me a pot, jar, “caddy”. I like coralling things together and having little places for everything; keeps me CALM; and pots are perfect for that. If it can be a pretty pot, then I’m a very happy bunny indeed…

And these are pretty, non? My love affair with air dry clay continues and these pots are very much in keeping with the style of my torn clay bowls. In fact the process Â is more or less identical….

Except for the “mold” of course. That is….these pots hold a sneaky secret!

Boring old food cans!

Cunningly disguised….

…and keeping me calm 😉

You don’t need a step by step tute for these, right? Good…because I fluffed the photography up so I don’t have one for you, lol. Â Just follow the same steps as for the torn clay bowls but instead of draping it over a bowl, wrap it around a can and trim the base with a sharp knife. Wetting the surface of the clay before you wrap helps it stick to the can and itself once wrapped.

Simple as that!

DIY, Dressmaking, how to, repurposing, Sewing, Tutorials, Upcycling

DIY: GIANT PYRAMID PINCUSHION

03/10/15

This is a project that is long overdue for me! Â I’ve been working with a teeny pincushion for several years Â and I’ve been hankering after something more substantial for a while now. I use several different types of pins depending on the fabric I’m sewing and my teeny pumpkin cushion just wasn’t cutting the mustard anymore….they wouldn’t all fit for a start, and I’d end up trying to fish out my fine steel pins from between the big round heads of my quilting pins. Annoying!

You’ll need old jeans, rice, Â and ultra fine wire wool. I’d read somewhere that stuffing your pincushion with wire wool helps keep your pins sharp. The rice serves a dual purpose. It weights the pincushion down. But I was also concerned about the steel wool “rusting” over time. Rust is caused by metal + moisture. Rice absorbs moisture. So hopefully it will help keep the rust away!

Cut a rectangle twice as long as it is wide. Mine was 14″ x 7″. Cut a strip of fabric 1″ x 7″ for the tab. I zig zagged the edges of my tab strip to prevent fraying. Fray check or clear nail polish would also do. I didn’t want to rouleau it as I wanted a kind of scrappy denim effect but you could, if you wanted a cleaner finish…

Fold the tab strip end to end and stitch at a 45 degree angle to one corner or your rectangle…

Fold in half and stitch as shown. Along the top edge, then down the side, leaving about 3″ in the middle of that side seamÂ for turning. Â Leave the bottom edge open. (Folded edge is on the right. I triple stitched all seams for strength). Trim all edges. Clip corners.

Now with that open bottom edge…close and stitch it so the bottom seam is at a 90 degree angle to the top edge (this creates the pyramid. You see what was the side seam with the opening, is now in the centre of the bottom edge)…

Turn through to the right side. Pyramid!

Put a generous amount of rice in for weight (I used half a cereal bowl for mine)

Then stuff with the finest grade wire wool you can get. Don’t get the coarse stuff…it’ll just make it lumpy! If it does get a bit lumpy, us a little wadding around the inside. Slip stitch the opening closed once it’s plump enough. (It needs to be pretty solid)

And there you go! Giant pyramid pincushion. Those yellow pins are quilting ones. Then I have glass headed standard pins and fine steel ones. Because my pyramid has 3 sides, (excluding the base. Obvs we all know a pyramid has 4 sides!) each type of pin has it’s own little place. So not only is there now room for them all, I don’t get them mixed up. One less thing to bug me!

Oh and to give you an idea of scale!

DIY, home, how to, Restyles, Thrifting, Tutorials, Upcycling

diy: geometric copper & wood fruit bowl

03/03/15

If you want a quick and easy DIY fix, then DIY doesn’t get much quicker and easier than this fruit bowl “tart up”. Happy days!

Materials

Thrifted Wooden bowl

Kobra Copper Spray Paint

Masking/Painter’s Tape

I thrifted this wooden bowl for like, Â£1-2, a couple of years ago. I’m loving copper accents and am looking at ways of bringing a liiiiiitle bit of copper into our room scheme without it being overpowering or too blingy. I used this same Kobra copper spray paint in a subtle way on the chair legs of our ikea tub chair refurb. (I am a bit in love with Kobra paint)

Like I said….doesn’t get much simpler than this! Mark out your design with masking tape. I went for simplicity with retro looking, nesting triangles. You could do anything though. Stripes, chevrons, criss cross the tape randomly. Use stickers of different shapes and sizesÂ instead of masking tape. Anything left exposed will be copper (or whichever colour you choose) and anything masked out will remain as it was. Plain wood.

Spray and leave to dry for the time indicated on the can. Yes, I know. The base is going to be a funny mish mash of shapes once the tape is removed. You can always tidy up the base later by adding a disc of felt if this is likely to bother you, which I shall probably do at some stage…

Remove the tape and tidy up any rough edges with the edge of your nail and you’re done!

It’s so simple I know. But for me simplicity is beautiful, and it’s the contrast between the shiny metallic copper and the softly aged natural wood that reallyÂ works . Â Each one makes the other more gorgeous.

DIY, how to, jersey, knits, refashion, refashioning, repurposing, Restyles, Sewing, sweatshirt, Thrifting, Tips and Tricks, Tutorials, Uncategorized, Upcycling

DIY: Sweatshirt Market Tote Bag

02/23/15

This sweatshirt was no longer as slouchy as I would like (one too many tumbles in a too hot dryer…yep!) and was languishing unloved in my wardrobe. So I thought I’d turn it into a handy little market tote, (complete with reinforced handles) ready for my next shopping trip… here’s how….

Start by pressing and laying out flat with shoulderÂ seams lined up….

Cut off the sleeves using the seams as a guide…

Cut a big “U” shape out of the neckline…

Turn inside out, remove ribbing, sew opening closed (I curved my corners), then turn right side out again….

Now for the handles. Cut 2 x 7″ sections from the ribbing you just removed….

Fold in half lengthwise and serge (you could also zig zag or stretch stitch) all the way along the open edge. Look what it does! Cuurves into a perfect handle shape!

Feed one side of a handle through the tube…

Secure/stitch the 2 handle/strap pieces together…

Then slide the tube of ribbing over the join to hide it and distribute evenly. Repeat for both handles….

and you’re done!

The beauty of this is that it provides a little more structure and support to what would otherwise be rather stretchy handles, which has kinda what put me off the idea of T Shirt bags in the past. Plus sweatshirt fabric is sturdier to begin with. I think this bag could take a few fresh apples and bananas without breaking into a sweat (unintentional pun 😉

Do you use reuseable shoppers? Handmade or shop bought? My worst habit is actually remembering to take them with me to the shop…doh!

decor, DIY, Future projects, home, Inspiration, jersey, jewelry, knits, Knitting, planning, refashion, refashioning, repurposing, Restyles, Uncategorized, Upcycling

DIY: 21 INSPIRATIONAL IDEAS FOR USING T SHIRT YARN

02/20/15

OK, so it’s fair to say I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with making T Shirt yarn. The next question of course is what to use it for! I’ve been browsing the interwebs for inspiration and thought I’d share a few ideas with you, just in case, you know, I’m not the only obsessive in the room….

These chunky knit cushions are right near the top of my “To do” list. Â A simple knit/purl square on chunky needles with a linen backing. What could possibly go wrong, right?! The ubiquitous T Shirt necklace deserves a mention here. This clutch bag, from what I can gather is knitted from lengths of rubber. No reason it couldn’t work in T Shirt yarn instead though…

The idea of a cosy blanket knitted on chunky needles appeals to me right now (instructions here); and I can see potential in this tutorial for crocheted cord being used in a jewelery piece or perhaps as handles for a bag? Now I know this rug is not made from t shirt yarn but a) its lush so I just had to share (and there are other delicious yarn art examples in this post) and b) the concept/technique could surely be applied on a smaller scale with T Shirt yarn?

I love copper, grey and simplicity. So this necklace tutorial particularly floats my boat. Again there are other tutorials included in this post from Brit +Co. Love this knitted tote pattern from Daily Fix and surely T Shirt yarn lends itself perfectly to macrame hanging plant holders. Several examples in this post from Censational Girl.

I mean seriously, how delicious do these knitted floor cushions look? No tute, but the idea would be simple enough to replicate? I can think of a multitude of uses for these crochet baskets (tutorial here from nimi design.com) and this macrame wall hanging has a simple charm. I’m thinking the technique could also be adapted to form a decorative element for a T Shirt refashion (party in the back anyone?) Â or maybe to create a cute string grocery bag?

Spoiler alert! Rugs are at the forefront of my plans. This spiral rug from A Beautiful Mess, crochet rug from WhollyKao and woven rug from Viva Le Jar, all employ different techniques to equally cool ends…none use T Shirt yarn but….you could, right?

This knitted rug pattern from Purl Bee could surely be adapted for T Shirt yarn. This free pattern for a crochet basket from Ravelry calls for 12mm cotton yarn so could be doable and I like the effect of this rope trivet from Design Sponge. I can’t help but think this nautical style of knotting could be fun to try too…

Another slightly more simple knitted bag. I think even I could manage this one. I love the effect of this idea from Oleander & Palm. Simple lengths of coloured yarn hung in volume to great effect;Â and a random woven belt design that I came across that could totally work!

So, I hope that gives you a few ideas of what to do with your squidgy balls of jersey goodness! I’ve started playing around with knitting mine and have a few ideas in the works….watch this space!

DIY, getting my house in order, home, how to, organising, repurposing, Tutorials, Upcycling

DIY: Spice Caddy (from recyled babyfood jars & an old DVD holder..)

08/21/13

The school holidays always reduces the amount of time I can spend on sewing projects. When I spend that time in the house I start finding things that need doing! So last week I turned my attention to my kitchen cupboards. Boy was THAT a job that took longer than I thought! Aaaaaanyway…one cupboard that needed some serious attention was our spice cupboard. I find those little jars of spices a pig to keep tidy and organised. They come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. If you corale them in a tub for easy access then you can’t see what’s what from the top. If you line them up on the shelf directly, then they tend to stain the shelf (turmeric, I’m looking at you!) and invariably you end up making a mess of them in order to search for the bottle you want. So a solution was long overdue!

I’d had this project in mind for a while and had gathered all the bits together a few weeks back. The babyfood jars I got locally via Freecycle. The wood laminate box is actually an old DVD holder. It had plastic strips glued inside it to create the slots for the DVDs to slide into. I simply removed these and I was left with a simple, if a bit plain, box that conveniently held all my babyfood jars…

I got these self adhesive vinyl letters from our local hardware shop for 20p each….

I completely masked off the rest of the box as I only wanted to apply colour to the front…

I used Plastikote Gloss “Smoke infusion” and applied 2 coats over the front of the box…

I let it dry overnight and then carefully peeled of my vinyl lettering…woohoo! It worked! (I never really know if these things are gonna work out or if I’m gonna fluff them completely :)…

I cleaned and sterilised all my jars and applied 2 coats of the same paint to the lids too…

Here they are all nicely nestled in their new box. See how perfectly they fit? DIY kismet I tell you!

Using double strands of natural jute string I plaited/braided me some handles…

Drilled…

Threaded through…

And secured with knots in the spaces between the jars…

I bought labels from ebay here. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, finishes and quantities. (I went for a 29mm diameter in a matt finish.) The company that produces them provides a template that you can download in Word or PDF format, so the alignment when you print is spot on. I downloaded a font called “A safe place to fall” from this free fonts website. I wanted the handwritten chalkboard effect so simply set the background fill to black and the text colour to white and printed ’em off…

Then filled em up with my spices…(there’s that pesky turmeric!)

And there it is 🙂 Stores neatly in my cupboard, lifts out for easy access AND I can find the spices I need easily without having to root around…

I’d call that problem solved….and I need some more ground cumin….

If you fancy replicating this, (or something similar, for craft storage perhaps (Huli?)) these old DVD and CD boxes turn up all the time at charity shops and car boots for pennies. For the jars, if you have a baby, then you’re sorted. (If not constantly knackered! They’re great for miniature homemade chutney/jam stocking fillers at crimbo too). If you don’t have a baby, (then making a DIY spice caddy is not a good enough reason to have one. Just sayin….) do what I did and find someone who does, either within your circle, or somewhere like Freecycle 🙂 The rest of the supplies can be bought online. Whilst I spent about Â£10 on the labels and spray paint combined, I only used about a third of the paint, and only half a sheet of labels. So I have plenty left for future projects and therefore it still works out super cheap in my book. I’m planning a similar “co-ordinating” caddy for all our oils and vinegars 🙂

Have a great day peops!

DIY, organising, refashioning, Upcycling

Refashion: Dodgy Trousers to Handmade Leather Planner!

04/29/13

I’ve been in organising mode recently. It happens every now and then when I feel I’m losing my grip on some of the things I’m juggling. I have to stop, take stock, reorganise everything and then start afresh. The only way I’ve found that I can do that is with an old fashioned diary/planner. I’ve tried Outlook, calendars on my phone, calendars on the wall….to no avail. I have resigned myself to the fact that I am a jotter…a list maker…and that the only way I will get stuff done is if I plan it or make a list. Because the list then just taunts me until I can get through it and tick everything off! That’s the most satisfying part of a list don’t you think? Smugly putting a line through a task once it’s done. Then looking back at the end of the day at a whole page of scribbled out tasks and feeling just a teeny bit self congratulatory 😉

I thrifted this “well dodge” pair of leather trousers off the Â£1 rail. Just check out those press studs! 90’s in a bad way I think we can all agree 😉 The Italian leather however, was soft, supple and a beautiful buttery colour. I’d been hankering after a new leather organiser (er, pricey isn’t the word!) but buying what I wanted wasn’t an option financially. So, well I made one…..

The leather thong (I love that word…is “thonging” a verb? It should be.) wraps twice around the envelope style binder then a couple of times around a vintage button to secure it…..

Now your gonna think I’m REALLY sad…I even designed and printed my own planner pages (Weekly, Monthly and Yearly plus Notes and Ideas pages) and attached a ring binder fixing to hold them all in….

So it actually looks (and functions) just like a proper shop bought planner….except it’s handmade!
(For a little under Â£15 including printer paper and ink!)…..

What’s more, it’s actually working. I’m way ahead on planning and preparing my blog posts, which in turn is freeing up my time for more making (oh and some housework and gardening occasionally gets done too;) which in turn means I’m a calmer and happier puppy 🙂 Being organised officially rocks; and because I like my new planner so much AND the layout of the pages really fits with how I work, I’m more likely to keep it up! I’ve had 3 different diaries/planners this year already; but haven’t stuck with them because the layouts have just been all wrong for how I work. You know…daft stuff like the lines are too narrow for my writing…there’s no section for notes…or there’s not enough space to write more than one thing under each day…just niggly stuff that means I gradually stop using it. Do you find that? A planner or diary has to really fit with how YOU work…..and it has to be pleasant to look at and use in order for you to keep on using it?

If that describes you too, then stay tuned for step by step photos and details of how you can make one of your own, PLUS a Free (editable) Download for the planner pages themselves so you can get them just how you want them 🙂

DIY, repurposing, Thrifting, tv, Upcycling

Upcycled Coat Rack & Box Seat (with a story attached!)

07/17/12

No sooner had I got back from our holiday and bottled my Elderflower, than an email popped into my inbox that sent me scurrying around for the rest of the week; mostly tidying our house and garden, but also conceiving and gathering supplies for this upcycling project. The purpose of this project was to give an example of what’s possible (a simple hallway/mud room treatment) with a bit of old junk and some imagination, in an afternoon….while my usual self criticism is kicking in here (the box needs another coat of paint and the corners of the seat cushion need sorting out) I’m actually pretty happy with the whole concept and more or less happy with how it turned out. Given more time I would have given that extra coat of paint and restapled the fabric seat. But the gist of what I was attempting has been satisfactorily expressed I feel…

The coat rack is made from timber salvaged from a pallet, repurposed drawer handles for coat hooks (salvaged from another project) and cheap ikea brackets. The blanket box has had a foam cushion added to the lid and is covered in thrifted curtain fabric (about Â£1-2 worth as I have loads left…).

Here’s how in started out. A simple (if slightly battered) blanket box that I got from Freecycle and a pallet that I got from a kind man on our local industrial estate. Neither of these items cost me a penny and the aim was to show what it was possible to do on a very tight budget and in a very short space of time. So a bit of sanding, painting and drilling later I ended up with what you see above…

Now for the story part….

A few months ago I received an email from someone asking my views on thrifting, refashioning and upcycling. That person turned out to represent an indie TV production company. They liked my blog and what I had had to say, and would I be interested in meeting to discuss the possibility of fronting (yes you read that right!) a new show that they were putting together that has thrifting and refashioning at it’s core!! Whaaaaaaaat!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I HATE having my picture taken let alone have myself filmed for telly. But all of that pales into insignificance when presented with the opportunity to be involved in such a project. I’ve never been confident in how I look but I do have confidence in what I say and do, so in this instance I can work around my camera hatred!

So to cut a long story short, we spent Friday filming a trailer for the show, which will now be re-pitched to a major UK TV Channel. The channel have previously been very positive about the format but vito’d the original presenter that was proposed to them. Which is why they came looking for me….so now the proposal has to go back to them but this time with me at the helm!

This is probably the most ridiculously exciting thing that has ever happened to me. The whole idea still feels vaguely surreal. But it really could happen. If they like the trailer and decide to commission the show, I really could be appearing on a TV screen in your living room! How bizarre would that be peops!!! I keep laughing when I think about it because the whole thing seems vaguely insane!

Now the filming is done all I can do is wait. I’m not good at waiting…especially with something this exciting….

Handpainted Furniture, Restyles, Upcycling

Restyle # 5 – Writing Bureau

02/02/11

I finished up a revamp recently that I started back in the summer….

Here she is now…

I tend to do alot of this type of thing in the summer when the weather is fine and dry and I can work on my projects out of doors. I already have half a dozen bits of “rescued furniture” waiting for a facelift as soon as the better weather arrives. I got a tad obsessed with hand painting furniture last summer and am really looking forward to getting creative with an orbital sander and some paint again….;) (I plan on taking some step by step pictures too so I can post a couple of tutorials on this subject if anyone’s interested).