2013 Upcycling Workshops

Dream catchers, great and small.

 Using salvaged roundy bits (like bits of yogurt tub [shown above], bicycle tyre and hubcap fastenings), reclaimed yarn, scrap fabrics and plastic bags, make yourself a dream catcher.  

Paper bead jewellery

Make elasticated bracelets and necklaces out of paper beads that you design yourself using monochromatic newsprint, or bright junk mail!

 Junk Modelling Free-for-all

I provide the tools and materials, you provide the creativity! Brilliant for drop-in sessions, younger and SEN children, get busy with card, plastic, sticky tape, hole punches, felt tips, scissors and see what you come up with! 

Above is a tank turret and submarine....

All these can be run at your venue, a 2 hour session costing £3/child, minimum 5 participants, or at The Green Place in Sileby, £4.75/child, minimum 10 participants.

Paper, Cream & Chrome

I have finished designing my April 2013 jewellery range, here is a sneaky pictorial peek!

So, these are being added to my Etsy store as I type (multi-tasking, a joy of motherhood). If you are interested, check'em out, and share with your mates :)

Ever onwards!

Woo hoo! 

Today saw me taking a train ride one stop away to Sileby to The Green Place, to have a chat about having some of my work in their shop. I went with my good friend Elizabeth Lenore, who makes some funky upcycled record bags, cassette lights and other upcycley goodness. She has a lot more experience of this malarkey, so held my hand(no, not literally, that would be a smidgen weird), but it turned out not as scary as I had made it up to being in my head. Of course!

Had some positive feedback, and they had a lot of my stuff off me, on a Sale or Return basis. This feels like a good step into bricks and mortar, from online, but we will see how it goes. 

Go take a look if you're in the area, it is a lovely place.

Teardrop Innertube earrings

I have been having lots of fun with upcycling bicycle innertube recently. We are a cycling household, and so far I haven't needed to source any from elsewhere, but that may all change soon. These are my most recent, a teardrop shape. They are available from my Etsy store HERE.

making handkerchiefs

Over on the Facebook page I have made a step-by-step tutorial on sewing handkerchiefs from old sheets. Take a look!

Hot water bottle covers

Seem to be on a theme here, don't I? 

Hot water bottle covers where something I tried a couple of years ago, when going through my daughters baby jumpers. some where a little worse for wear, or too loved, to leave our household. I found some knitted ones, with stretchy enough necks for me to slide the water bottle through it, then I traced a hot water bottle onto the (inside out) jumper, and just sewed around that line. Bingo! 

I have made them from brushed cotton night shirts,

zip up cardies, and larger than baby clothes too. 

                                                                                                                                                                    some get the sleeves sewn in, so your hot water bottle can give you a hug:)

pink pillowcases

Just a quicky, about another pillowcase project.

These pillowcases where a commission for a young girls first full-sized bed. The fabric came from 2 super-king sheets off the bed she used to sleep in as a baby, that got torn. A fitted single sheet was also made, but that is a different story altogether! 

There was plenty of fabric to use for this one, so no buttons where needed for the back. 

The sheets where faded in places, and had been machine dyed at some point, so where splotchy, and I tried to cut the best bits, but you can see the graduation on the red pillowcase. Again, the sentimental value of the project means these “imperfections” just add character, and they where well received!

The set went for £30.