Elegant, Sophisticated Design, it’s PLASTIC!

When I was searching Etsy today for someone new to spotlight, I entered ‘upcycled’ into the search engine and was so impressed to find these works by KD.  The green circle bracelet is so elegant and then looking through her store I found some lovely earrings as well. 
ArtworkbyKD also has some very fun and quirky flower rings as well.  Her shop is worth a second look, or third or fourth, enjoy.

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Art Doll Quarterly- Upcycled Geisha

The magazine is out.  I love the photos that Stampington took and included, the doll looks so nice!  I was flattered to be asked to include the doll in the Artist’s Emporium as well.  If you’d like to purchase her and make a nice donation to Art for Heart a portion of the proceeds will go to charity.

Thank you all for your visits, your kind comments, I feel very blessed.

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Spring is here

It’s fall here in Brazil, we’re getting colder at night and still I just can’t accept it.  With Easter just a week or so ago I can’t seem to reconcile myself to this side of the Equator.  So in my home it’s spring and we’re making little pastel houses and decorating eggs with vintage trim.

The little houses are upcycled cardboard with vintage lace.  I’m still at work on the birds who will live in these sweet little homes.

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Owl

I like buying patterns from Etsy and using my own collection of old and worn out clothing to make new stuffed friends. She is made up of a great lumberjack shirt in orange that I just couldn’t part with.

Hoot!

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Whew!

I’ve been working on Halloween costumes for about a month now, off and on.  I’m so excited about how everything worked out and how beautiful the girls looked.  Here they are on the way to the party.  Thank you to Threadbanger, if you haven’t visited their site or downloaded their podcasts, go for a visit!  The wings are due to their great tutorials and excellent instructions.

recycled hangers and knee socks made the wings

beautiful little rosebud

reused easter dress shortened and gathered

not bad for a girl with horns…

this family

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The Top Ten

I’m so excited!  We’ve been at this for almost a year, in that spirit I thought I’d do kind of a recap.  Here are my favorite ways to reuse, repurpose or recycle.  Enjoy!  And as always, please send photos or comments – we love them!!!

Cardboard – Draw on it, paint it, or cut it down.  Use as a substitute for chipboard or wood in your art.

T-Shirts – Cut down old, stained or ill-fitting shirts into ribbons. Crochet a rug, knit a scarf, or even wrap the scraps up to make little birds or other amigurami.

Wool Sweaters – Save or collect thrift store wool to make Christmas ornaments, soft animals or applique.

recycled wool sweater monster

Jeans – Even when the fit or color doesn’t suit anymore jeans can be used.  Try tacking them down on a piece of burlap or old towel to make a warm, soft bathroom rug.  Jean is great as a backing fabric for mini quilts or mini ATC cards.

Aluminum Cans – Cut the cans into flat rectangles and wash – heavy gloves are a must.  When dry, trace butterfly or bug outlines, circles and squares over interesting patterns or colors.  Cut and attach to walls, furniture, punch holes and decorate a light or make jewelry.

Upholstery Samples – Embellish with stitching, applique, embroidery.  Use little scraps to make unique jewelry; add a few grommets and you’re on the way.

Buttons – Inherited from grandma, picked up from the thrift store or harvested from your old clothes.  Paint, draw or glitter for interesting embellishments to hats, shoes or jewelry.  Buttons make great eyes for wool or felt monsters.

Baby Clothes – They can be very expensive and so easily stained but needn’t be discarded.  If staining is minimal consider some simple applique to cover stains.  Heavily soiled items can be cut into ribbons and used much the same way as t-shirts.

Books – Picked up for pennies, the pages make a great background for ATCs or collage; I even use them as part of my jewelry packaging.   If you want to make the type a little more subdued, just try a single coat of gesso paint.

Junk Mail – Create collage, cut and glue into hanging stars; my girls don’t need coloring books with all the paper we get in the mail.  We’ve even sent out Christmas cards in junk mail envelopes.

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Grandma’s Spoons

A few weeks ago I was surfing around Etsy, which is what I do when I’m procrastinating about my messy house or the dishes that still haven’t been washed, or the blogging I’ve not gotten around to.  Anyway, I do this alot and I have a new favorite recycling artist.  His shop is Dank Artistry and I want to be his new best friend.

I looked through his site and ended up with a long list of all the rings and bracelets I wanted and then I remembered a very unsucessful little foray into spoon rings during college.

My mother gave me some spoons to work with, they belonged to my Grandma.  They were those lovely Reed and Barton flower dessert spoons.  Well I made my mom and sister a couple of key rings and then I attempted to make a bracelet for my self.  After a very messy solder joint and some damage to the silver plating I had a bracelet that I’ve worn no more than a dozen times since (yeah that was 10 years ago).

Well thanks to the power of Alchemy I asked Dank to help me  fix the mess I’d made all those years ago.  And today I received the finished pictures of his work… I am speachless, he made them sparkle, they look so pretty and I will be able to wear them, and now I have two little rings that I can pass on to my two little daughters.

Please visit his site, and if you’ve the inclination – give him some business.  He’s very talented and friendly, the communication was excellent, and his prices are wonderfully reasonable.

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Look

I’m working on a new banner, it’s my favorite theme right now.  This banner is made up of stars and a little bit of free-form poetry.  Over a year ago my daughter got a Piggy bank in a really nice clear plastic box, up until last week I was storing quilt blocks in it.  They have a new home and the box was too nice to waste.  So I cut some star shapes, sanded the front and back to help the paint adhere, and had a lot of fun with some of my toys.

Ah, the vindication of a pack-rat.

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Lemon Oak Studio

I’ve collected over 8 pages of Favorite Sellers on Etsy at this point and part of my pick me up, in these days and weeks until all of my crafts catch up with me here in Brasilia, I’ve been looking at other people’s work.

I wanted to share Lemon Oak Studio with you. Tricia and her sister both have shops on Etsy, I understand from her portfolio and blog that she began making the angels from items she collected during daily walks, and that it was originally a means for working through her father’s illness.

Check out the wonderful angels and prints, maybe they’ll inspire your next walk. What a great way to deal with stress and make something out of an experience. I’m so impressed!

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Funky Jewelry

Alright, I finally got something done on this vacation!  About 3 months ago I bought these really fun enamel flowers from Sleepingdogstudio on Etsy.  I was so excited when I got them but couldn’t focus on what to do with them.

And then I’m afraid I put them in a box…  out of sight out of mind, so they’ve been waiting for me.

When I packed my craft emergency bag (living with only one suitcase of crafts has made me a little overly dramatic) they made the cut along with some of my thrift store jewelry.  I’m so excited to wear my new necklace this weekend! 

 

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