Old Shirts = New Scarf

A while back I decided I wanted to do a few recycled projects with old t-shirts.  I asked everyone I know to clean out their dressers and donate a few t-shirts to my cause.  I couldn't believe how they all came through for me...

Three quarters of this pile is from my brothers and their families.  The other quarter is from the 98 cent sale at the DAV Thrift store.

I already had several projects in mind. Revamp a few t-shirts into a new look, a scarf, an ipod case, a laptop sleeve, a few green bags, a scarf, a skirt, maybe a few pair of pajama shorts, etc.

I may not get through all of those projects, but I will definitely get several of them made.  So, let's start with the scarf...

I decided to get a little scrappy with this project.  I picked 25 t-shirts that had fun or colorful prints on them and cut them up into 9" x 4" rectangles.  I made sure not to put two t-shirts of the same color next to each other, but other than I just start picking up pieces and stitching them together to create the front of the scarf. Then I took a piece of solid navy jersey fabric that I had in my stash and cut it to the same size as my scarf front.

To add a little feminine flair to the scarf, I stitched a ruffle on each end before stitching the front and back together.

The coolest thing about this scarf was that when I wore it around my family, everyone could look at the scarf and see what used to be there t-shirt...and everyone had a little piece in there.  

Plus, it keeps me a lot warmer than I expected.  Perfect for cool days.

Crafty Upcycle #1: Ombre Bleached Jeans Tutorial

I am totally on board with this explosion of the ombre trend.  So, I decided to give a few pairs of old jeans a new look...one successfully and one not-so-successfully. 

Here are the before looks:

 This was a pretty easy, yet time consuming process. 

Supplies Needed:

Old (or New) Pair of Jeans

Bleach

Large Bucket or Bin

Pants Hanger with Clips

A word of warning...if you are planning on doing this, try to organize it when you can do it outside.  I was not that smart and bleached these in a bucket set in the bathtub in a bathroom with no window.  By the end of the night my eyes were burning so bad that I was having a hard time focusing on my bleach fumes induced hallucinations.  

Step 1:  Mix 12 cups of bleach with 6 cups of water in the large bucket or bin

Step 2:  Attach hanger to jeans on the end you are not going to bleach (I recommend you leave the waist the darkest and go lighter towards the bottom)  The hanger will help you control how evenly  the jeans are set in the liquid.  

Step 3:  Once you have decided where you want the first layer of faded color to be, fully immerse the jeans in the bleach/water mix up to that point.  Leave the area that you want to remain the darkest out of the mix.  Let the jeans soak for at least 10 minutes.

Step 4:  Remove the jeans from the mix and let hang dry for at least 30 minutes to allow the bleach to take effect.

Step 5:  Repeat Steps 3 & 4, but each time leave a larger section of the jeans out of the bleach/water mix.

Step 6:  Once you have bleached the entire pair, let hang dry over night.  Wash the jeans and they are ready to wear.

Note:  One pair that I bleached turned yellowish in the area that was supposed to be white.  I soaked them in liquid dish soap for a few hours and then washed them with OxiClean twice and they came out white. 

Here is the final product: 

Let's start with the bad news first....my failure jeans:

(Please don't judge me on my lack of a pedicure)

This look just didn't work.  So...I guess now I shall try, try again.  Maybe a denim skirt or a coin purse.  To be continued....

Now on to the good news...my success jeans:

This worked so much better!  I was thrilled with the final result and now I have a pair of jeans that are a little  more exciting than the rest of them.

 

From Coffee Table to Ottoman

I have had this coffee table for years and never really loved it or hated it.  It was just there.  So, I decided it was time to turn it into something I love.

One thing I really love to do while sitting on the couch is put my feet up on the table.  However, the table is an extremely uncomfortable place to rest your feet.  So, the obvious solutions was turn it into an ottoman.

But, I couldn't just leave it a boring stained wood color.  It needed a new life and that means a new color.

So, I painted the legs turquoise...

...added a foam cushion to the top...

...covered the foam with a layer of batting....

...and covered that with a chic textured black fabric.

I love how it transformed the living room.  I am no longer apathetic about this table.  Now I love it!!  Plus it is such a comfortable place to put my feet up after a long day.  Why didn't I do this sooner?

 

A Fruit Bowl...or is it?

For years I had this oversized black wrought iron bowl sitting on my counter.  I filled it with fruit from time to time, but never really loved it.  It was too big and just didn't seem like a good fit in my kitchen.  I would show you a picture, but I have already gotten rid of it.

Luckily, I stumbled upon this great wooden salad bowl set while browsing Goodwill one day and had the perfect idea of what to do with it.

A new fruit bowl...

The softness of the colors and the smaller scale are just what I was wanting.

This was such a quick project.  A few coats of light turquoise spray paint on a short chunky candlestick and a few drops of hot glue to hold the bowl and stand together.

I love how it turned out.  Now I just have to figure out what I am going to do with the four smaller serving bowls...but, we shall save that for another day.

Bulletin Board Upgrades

It seems like every time I walk into any thrift store, there is at least 3 or 4 bulletin boards or memory boards that are just crying out for a makeover.  And when they price them at $1 or $2 each, it's hard to pass them up.

As you can see, I have some work to do (and obviously I need to stop buying bulletin boards for awhile).

I did get two of them done...

A little fabric, some velvet ribbon and push pins from the clearance aisle at Wal-mart.  What a difference!

This bulletin board was in pretty good shape, but I wanted to spruce it up a bit.  I cut out a few stencils on contact paper with my Cricut and painted the designs on with craft paint.  My niece was really excited with end result.  And the color was perfect (this picture was taken in her room where the walls and the bedding are both turquoise)!

  

All dressed up and no place to go...

Like I mentioned in the last post, my mom and I found this great desk at Goodwill for $15 and couldn't pass it by (even though we had grounded ourselves from buying furniture for a month).

I had the perfect spot for it too.  I had a desk in my office/guest room that was just a bit too big.  It overwhelmed the room and didn't leave a lot of extra space for a twin bed.  So, this was going to be my new desk.  It is petite and feminine with plenty of storage space. 

The biggest problem was that gold is my least favorite color.  I couldn't put a gold trim desk in my office.  I just couldn't...but that's why they make paint, right?  So, a few coats of white paint and this was a new desk.

I intended on changing all the hardware, but the handles were not removable.  So, I just painted them white along with everything else.  Some new crystal knobs and I think it's safe to say this no longer looks like a $15 desk.

I was so excited to get it situated in my office and start filling up the drawers.  The only problem was that I didn't have a chair that worked well with this desk.  All the chairs that I have (and there are a lot, mostly projects to come) had a seat that was much larger than the opening.  I looked and looked for a new chair and found the ideal chair during a shopping trip at First Fridays in Kansas City.  Unfortunately it wasn't ideal for this desk.  But, it was ideal for me...which is why this beautiful white desk is now sitting in my hallway and soon will be for sale at Lone Elm Antiques in Olathe, KS. 

I hate to see it go, but it just wasn't the perfect fit.  I did find the perfect fit for my office and for my new desk chair, but both the chair and the desk need some paint.  Check back to see what I found.