recycled | ShabbyShe

Archive for the tag “recycled”

30 Jul 2014

A Bird’s Eye View…?

Ok bloggy friends and readers, I need some advice!

I’m continuing my obsession with making little bags and phone cases with this birdy reverse appliqué phone case, made from felt and (naturally) upcycled children’s clothing.

The problem is the little chap needs an eye, but I can’t decide which one. This is where you come in – thoughts please!

Option 1: Button and little beady eye

Button & bead eye bird

Option 2: Large beady eye

Large beady-eyed bird

Option 3: Little beady eye

Phone case using upcycled fabric from clothes

Small beady-eyed bird

So far two friends have voted for option 3, one for option 1 and my daughter likes option 2!

It’s the Viewers’ Choice now – I need your bird’s eye view (groan!!) ….

I promise to go with the majority vote. Thank you x

Posted in Homemade gifts, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged cheap craft ideas, gifts, handmade, homemade, rainy day fun, recycled, Repurposed, Sewing & Fabric, Upcycled

15 Jul 2014

Upcycled Clothing Phone Case

Another fabric scrap project to add to my growing list. I just can’t bear to part with bits and pieces of fabric or clothing that look like they will upcycle into something fabulous!

A friend recently gave me a lovely pale green top which sadly didn’t fit her or me, but the fabric was too pretty to pass it on to the charity shop! The solution: some more upcycled clothing projects!

repurposed clothing made into phone case

A new phone case from old clothes

Luckily the top featured a ruffled edge detail which looks really cute on the case I think.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The button is, of course, from my stash. I used felt to line the inside of the case to give it a cushioned look and protect the phone as it clunks around in my handbag! The cord is a simple chain finger-knitted from embroidery silks. Remember finger-knitting? It’s still fun! 😀

Posted in Homemade gifts, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged cheap craft ideas, gifts, handmade, homemade, rainy day fun, recycled, Repurposed, Sewing & Fabric, Upcycled | Leave a comment

25 Jun 2014

5 Comments

Teacher Totes – a Thank You gift

It’s that time of year again when the summer holidays are beckoning and children and teachers are worn out and longing for the break! (I can say this with confidence as I was a teacher!)

I usually put some cash in the class whip-round but the children’s teachers have been so lovely in every way this year I wanted to make them a little gift to show our appreciation. If you remember, at Christmas I made the teachers some personalised knitted mug cosies.Hopefully these have kept other people’s mitts off their cuppas in the staffroom as well as keeping their tea warm! 😉

Now Summer is here with a vengeance in South East England I wanted to make something both useful and summery. These tote bags are based on instructions from the excellent Molly’s Sketchbook Twenty Minute Totes.

Handmade teacher gifts – tote bags

I hasten to add that 20 minutes is I’m sure achievable for a more experienced and less faffy seamstress than me, but they took me over an hour! Still, they were easy to assemble with fab instructions and visuals from the Purlbee and I think are super cute! I can’t wait to give them to the teachers!

Little tote bag with fabric flower

I bought some fat quarters from Hobbycraft in coordinating colours and used thread from my stash. They’re mostly *new* (rather than upcycled) apart from the fabric flower on the teal striped bag which is made from a repurposed dress and top of my daughter’s. A warning word about the fat quarters: I thought they were a standard size, but apparently can vary depending on the width of the original fabric. The tutorial above uses fat quarters that are larger than mine, so I had to adjust my measurements down from 14″ x 16″ to 11″ x 11″ – quite a difference, but the resulting bags are maybe sweeter for it as they’re little!

Fabric flower made from repurposed clothes

Upcycled clothing fabric flower detail

Denim patch to hide stitching!

Ruffled ribbon flower

The flower on the red striped bag is a ribbon which I used the sewing machine’s different tension settings to snag or gather, then I simply coiled and stitched it to the bag. I used a patch of upcycled denim jeans inside to cover the messy stitching with my Sewing Cheat (fabric glue!!)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’d love to say the children helped with more than just selecting colours but they’re that little bit too young to do serious sewing yet (i.e. in a straight line!) It won’t be long though, they’re both filled with enthusiasm for my sewing machine 😀

Posted in Homemade gifts, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged cheap craft ideas, diy teacher gift, flowers, gifts, handmade, homemade, rainy day fun, recycled, Repurposed, Sewing & Fabric, Upcycled

17 Jun 2014

3 Comments

Scrap Fabric Project – Denim Pocket Purse

Another lovely upcycle project for all those sweet little pairs of jeans which are no longer worn by the children – denim pocket purses!

Here is the Prototype…

Upcycled denim jeans pocket purse featuring a ribbon flower and strap

I made the strap from a piece of hot pink decorative ribbon I had in my stash, and used the remainder to make a little flower featuring a double-button centre. The back of the purse looked a bit unfinished as it was just the inside of a pair of jeans, so I traced the shape onto card and made a fabric patch the same size to finish the back.

Repurposed girl’s dress makes up the fabric on the reverse of the purse

The fabric on the back was another crafty repurposing of fabric – it was a beautiful Chinese-style dress which my daughter point blank refused to wear!! However even though it was lovely the very narrow fit hardly suits a typical D-shaped toddler tummy!

The fabric is very delicate and sheds easily so I carefully hemmed it before stitching it to the denim pocket.

Naturally as both items of recycled clothing were hers originally my daughter instantly claimed the purse as Hers! It makes a nice little purse for a few coins to spend as a treat and she feels so Grown Up wearing it round her neck. Bless ❤

A Girl’s Best Purse… 🙂

I'm going to make several more in different fabric finishes and possibly try a craft fair later in the year – especially if I can team up with one of my crafty friends. It makes it much more fun!

Have a good week everyone & Happy Crafting! x

Posted in Homemade gifts, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged cheap craft ideas, denim jeans, flowers, gifts, handmade, homemade, rainy day fun, recycled, Repurposed, Sewing & Fabric, Upcycled

23 May 2014

4 Comments

Pallet Upcycle – Smallest room re-do!

Storage unit and art work display made from recycled pallet wood

I’m very excited about this upcycle project as it combines the several favourites of mine:

reusing and repurposing pallets
storage solutions
displaying the children’s “art work”, and…
fabric decoupage – who can resist a bit of mod podge fabric fun after all??

It also showcases the talents of ShabbyHe, who created this clever toilet paper storage shelf…

Upcycled pallet toilet roll storage

Fabric decoupage decorated clothes pegs

My contribution was the wooden clothes pegs which I decorated with fabric and mod podge (a brilliant glue and sealer for those not in the know) – a process known as fabric decoupage.

We then used a strong wood glue to bond the pegs to the pallet wood. Adding some recent (a-hem) “masterpieces” by the kids was the final touch 😉

Upcycled pallet and peg art display board

Art display – pallet wood and decorated clothes pegs

Pallet upcycle love 🙂

Decoupaged wooden peg is bonded to pallet wood for displaying pictures

Toilet makeover using repurposed pallet wood

What do you think? x

Posted in Storage, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged homemade, recycled, Repurposed, reusing pallets, Upcycled, wooden pallets

19 May 2014

Upcycled Pallet Garden – an update

How weird is this…I decided to update my Vertical Pallet Garden with some fresh Spring-into-Summer flowers and as I checked back on how it looked last year I find it’s exactly a year ago to the day that I posted about this garden upcycling project!!

Spooky or what?

Here’s an update on this season’s pallet garden look and a comparison with last May’s planting…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As you can see, the pallet itself has weathered in nicely over the year giving it an even nicer Shabby / antiquey look. Since planting last year I moved it to lean against the garden wall where it can enjoy more shade than its previous south-facing position. As our soil here is so light and sandy and doesn’t hold onto moisture, small plant containers like the ones we created in this pallet need all the shade and water they can get!

I decided to go for just blues and whites this year, reminiscent of Royal Doulton blue and white china which I just love. They look so blue in the evening light, in which the picture above was taken, but looked more vibrant and purple in the brilliant sunshine we had over the weekend.

A sun-drenched view of the newly-planted pallet garden

Newly-replanted repurposed pallet 🙂

Blue and white flowers in the sunshine

Coming soon…more pallet upcycling ideas, this time indoors! Happy Upcycling everyone 🙂

Posted in Gardening, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged flowers, Garden design, homemade, planting, recycled, Repurposed, reusing pallets, Upcycled, wooden pallets | Leave a comment

14 May 2014

3 Comments

Upcycled Clothing Tooth Fairy Pillow Toys

Q: What to do with daughter’s cute stripy tights when they’re outgrown?

A: Upcycle them into Tooth Fairy pillow toys!

How cute are these little toys?? They’re made from two pairs of woolly tights which were otherwise due for the fabric scrap heap. There’s also a small amount of felt, some toy stuffing, embroidery thread and a recycled cloth nappy liner (which looks just like white felt).

My daughter’s Owl Soft Toy…started out as me not wanting to throw out these gorgeous navy & pink tights. But once I’d cut the foot off them, stuffed and stitched it up, it just looked like a foot…!

Stuffed foot of tights, but what to do next?

I decided to fold the footy part in on itself and the owl shape just evolved from there! Then it was just a case of cutting out eyes and a belly and embroidering owly designs on them.

The more observant amongst you will notice that the finished item has an embroidered beak instead of the yellow felt I originally cut out. I just preferred the homemade look of embroidery, plus I thought a felt beak might get in the way of the pocket. The owl’s belly is a tiny pouch (unstitched at the top) for the all important Tooth to go in, ready for the tooth fairy to collect 🙂

The owl starts to take shape

Assembled parts for the owl’s face and belly

Tights tucked into base of toy for shape and structure

For my son’s Monster Tooth Cushion…it was a little more complicated (but not much more).

Tooth fairy pocket monster

I wanted to make the monster’s mouth a pouch or pocket for the tooth, so I sewed a sausage shape for the body and folded the fabric up a bit, sewing in the teeth and stitching the sides to hold it in place. The arms and legs are made in a similar way and tacked on rather haphazardly to the body.

There are some lovely tutorials on Pinterest for sock monkeys, which this is roughly based on, but with several short-cuts as you can probably see from the pictures! But “homemade” and “rustic” are badges of honour here at ShabbyShe. We don’t do perfect 😉

Tooth pocket made by rolling tights up

Legs are snipped from one foot of the tights

Sewing on the monster’s arms

Sewing it all together – monster’s body and legs

This was my third foray into making toys for the children from their old outgrown clothes – see this post and this one from last summer.

The kids love them and I have to regularly put them back on a higher shelf so they don’t fall to pieces before another tooth fairy visit is due!

: Owl tooth pillow with pocket

: Best buddies – just like my kids! ❤

Posted in Homemade gifts, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged cheap craft ideas, crafts with kids, gifts, homemade, rainy day fun, recycled, Repurposed, Sewing & Fabric, toys, Upcycled

30 Apr 2014

Upcycled Shoe Storage Ruffle Tote Bag

This project brought together 3 of my favourite ~~obsessions~~ interests – sewing, upcycling and making bags!

Ruffle tote bag with upcycled pockets

This tote bag started life as a humble Bookstart bag which we got free with some books for my son (Bookstart is a UK charity which gives books to all children – see this link for more info). It was lovely to have a free bag but it was starting to look a bit faded and in need of a funky revamp, hence the ruffles!

I added simple ruffles using this excellent tutorial from Crazy Little Projects and finished it with a piece of ribbon I already had (which by a miracle matched the fabric perfectly!)

The shoe holder part of the process was my own innovation: I wanted some pockets so I could find things more easily when using the bag as a handbag/purse. I already had this fabric hanging shoe storage which originally came as a detachable addition to a tallboy wardrobe, but I have since removed the wardrobe’s cover and hence wasn’t using this shoe hanger. I simply cut it to size and sewed it into the tote bag. Happily two shoe pockets fitted perfectly on each side of the bag. I love it when a cobbled-together plan works out perfectly!

Inside pockets made from fabric shoe storage

So there you have my upcycled ruffle tote bag – along with some of my other bag projects…

A proper grown-up bag!

Denim handbag made from old jeans

Ruffle tote bag

Fabric scrap brooches to decorate a plain bag

Denim straps from old jeans, stitched to front & back to make a cross-body strap

Posted in Homemade gifts, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged gifts, homemade, rainy day fun, recycled, Repurposed, Sewing & Fabric, storage pockets, Upcycled | Leave a comment

20 Apr 2014

1 Comment

Hanging Pockets – CD Wallet and Cardboard Box Upcycle

Fancy a 30 minute craft which will help solving storage and organisational problems and can make a pretty gift…?

I was clearing out the horror that is our kitchen drawers recently, and wondering how to we can keep all the many flashcards I’ve made to help the children with their reading & spellings, when inspiration struck – in the form of the modest CD wallet!

I would make hanging storage for the flashcards, reusing the CD wallets as pockets!

Materials assembled ready for upcycling

I gathered my supplies:-

hot glue gun
flat cardboard (so glad I kept that huge box!)
plastic CD wallets
ribbon for hanging
self adhesive decorative vinyl film
flashcards (homemade obviously)

In true ShabbyShe style, everything – apart from the glue gun and self adhesive paper – is recycled or repurposed (including the lovely green ribbon – I love green & hot pink together).

It was just a case of working out how tall and wide I wanted it – I used the CD wallet pockets as a guide for this step – and covering the card with the decorative vinyl.

Card and plastic CD wallet hanging storage

Working out dimensions for hanging storage

Decorating cardboard with self adhesive vinyl

Adhesive vinyl paper covers the card to give a pretty finish

Hanging pockets - using glue dots to fix in place

I used glue dots to position the pockets

Next I glued the “pockets” on with glue dots (LOVE these, they’re so quick & versatile!) and punched the top edge with an office paper holepunch for the ribbon.

Add holes for the ribbon using a holepunch

I hot-glued the vinyl paper edges onto the back of the hanging storage to make sure it would stay put, and did the same to the top pocket for good measure. Then I tied on the ribbon and hung the thing up to assess my work…

Easy-pleasy quick craft project – hanging storage pockets

Yes – I was pleased with the result, although the ribbon was slightly too long (picky I know!)

Here it is, the finished product including the all-important flashcards (and slightly shortened ribbon) – this also solves the small problem of my lovely Bonjour coat hooks which can only hold lightweight coats 🙂

Finished hanging storage pockets, complete with flashcards

Hopefully this will encourage us to use their flashcards more now too!

Posted in Homemade gifts, Storage, Upcycled or Repurposed and tagged cheap craft ideas, gifts, homemade, rainy day fun, recycled, Repurposed, stationery, storage pockets, Upcycled

16 Apr 2014

Easter Egg Hunt (without chocolate!)

Fun Easter Egg hunt game using upcycled birthday cards!

This is a fun game you can play with the kids over Easter – an Easter Egg hunt without the chocolates!

I took some of the children’s birthday cards and used the back of one to draw an oval to use as the template.

I then chose some brightly coloured cards and traced the egg shape onto them (checking there was no text or other markings on the back).

Recycling birthday cards for an Easter game

Choose cards with lots of bright colours and details to make effective looking Easter Eggs

I then created two larger egg shapes for them to use as answer cards as they went round hunting for the little eggs.

Numbered lines on the answer card “eggs” for the mystery word

On the back of the little eggs they found a number and a letter, which they had to write on the corresponding numbered line on their answer card eggs.