Upcycled Cloth Napkins From a Dress Shirt and a New Series: "Resolve to Repurpose!"

 Upcycled Cloth Napkins From a Dress Shirt
and a New Series: "Resolve to Repurpose!"

I'm always mixed on New Year's resolutions.
On one hand...goals are good, mmmkay?
But on the other, expectations are the devil.

This year, I've opted to continue the healthy self-care I've had in place for a long time, but that doesn't mean I don't have goals. In fact, I thought 2015 would be a great year to even further increase the ways I can up-cycle used and vintage things in to a new series called "Resolve to Repurpose!" 

There are many ways to do this without cluttering your home with toilet paper tubes and old coffee cans, and most importantly, you can do it with thrifted, gifted or free items!

So, without further ado, I present my first craft project of the new year: up-cycled cloth napkins! This project was so much fun and yielded a very useful product. If you have a few old dress shirts laying around then you won't need a thing--otherwise, you could easily pick up a large shirt at a thrift store like Hope's Outlet for around $2. Read the instructions below! 

HOW TO DO IT

Gather up your materials! You'll need:

-At least one large or extra large dress shirt 
(I went with plaid because I love it, but any dress shirt will work nicely!) Each dress shirt of this size will yield about 6 napkins using the measurements I've provided and that is without using the sleeves, which I saved for a future project. ;)

-Scissors

-Measuring Tape

-Marker 

-Sewing machine with zig-zag stitch setting (optional)

 

 

MEASURE AND CUT THE FABRIC

Using a soft tape measure, I marked off 11x11 squares wherever I could fit them in! (You could easily do slightly smaller or larger, but I was also leaving a small amount of room for a 1/2" hem on each side). 

I was able to cut two squares from each side of the shirt in front, and a grid of four squares on the back. 

The next step is optional...

read on to find out why!

HEM YOUR SQUARES

IF you are particular and precise, you would carefully press the edges of your napkins to make a 1/2 inch zigzag hem on all sides before sewing.  

IF you are a un-apologetically lazy seamstress like I am, then you get on your sewing machine and start the party! 

IF you don't have a sewing machine at all or simply don't want to mess with that aspect of things--good news! You can gently pull out vertical threads and skip this step altogether to create a pretty fringe border. If that's the case, carefully rip out the vertical thread on each side of your napkins with a seam ripper or needle until you see the fringe border you want, in the thickness you like. This is a little time consuming but does work nicely!

Then, get an ice tea and sit back and appreciate what a domestic, up-cycling goddess (or god) you are!

If you're thinking that these would make an excellent gift...how right you are! Trust me, I'm keeping this project on my radar for next year's handmade Christmas giving, because who wouldn't want an adorable setof up-cycled plaid napkins? You could even get fancy and monogram them. More on that next season... ;) 

The next step is to enjoy your super cute cloth napkins and relish in the fact that you are helping to reduce consumption of paper products! Cloth napkins feel so much more fancy and they happen to look exceedingly adorable, as well. 

STAY TUNED FOR MORE UP-CYCLED PROJECTS! 

Follow me on Instagram or explore the hashtag, #ResolveToRepurpose2015. 

What can you re-purpose today?

 

DIY Saddle Shoes!

DIY SADDLE SHOES!

Last week, I blogged about styling the annual Lumber Baron's Ball!  I love these yearly events hosted by the Lakeshore Museum (see last year's WWII era announcement here, and what I wore) and the theme for this year is one decade later...the 1950's! (Search my blog for more coverage of last year's event).

After giving some thought to what would be a fun DIY project for anyone attending, my mind was drawn to the idea of saddle shoes! I found a few pairs shopping online ranging from $25 to well over $100 (see the most affordable I found here at www.Payless.com).

I decided to go out on the hunt for a pair of black Oxfords or similar dress shoes to transform...and had immediate success at Hope's Outlet in Grand Haven, where I scored a pair that fit me for only $3.99! Naturally, I'm not the first person to consider making my own saddle shoes. I found a few other DIYs (linked below)for canvas shoes and other versions, but I decided to try my hand at spray painting instead! You can easily do this DIY yourself and feel good about saving money AND resources while creating an awesome saddle shoe.

You don't have to feel limited to donning them at the 1950's themed Lumber Baron's Ball either--because saddle shoes are INCREDIBLY fashionable and work so well with lots of different stylings. In fact, check out this fashion board I've created on Pinterest just so you can see how versatile they are!

Saddle Shoes Style Board by Thrift Trick

   

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HERE'S HOW I DID IT!

What you'll need: 

·         ---- A Pair of Oxfords (dress shoes or canvas shoes will work, but I preferred the look of a structured dress shoe for this DIY).

·        ----  Spray paint (I chose Rustoleum 2X Cover paint and primer in one…in “almond” rather than white, with a glossy finish. Retrospectively, I wish I would have chosen a flat finish, because I feel it would have added more dimension. But you could be fun and try any color or finish).

·         ---- Variety of tape—whatever works for you. I used duct tape and painters (masking ) tape.

·        ---- Paper to lay down/area to spray paint.

·         ---- About two hours to properly spray and allow them to dry to at least the first level (it will be a few days before they are really ready to wear, in my opinion. After spray painting shoes in the past, I discovered the paint was tacky for a  few days after, depending on your environment and humidity, etc.)

I taped the shoe off with duct tape ONLY because it was the only thing that would stick to the shoe! (Painters tape and others, included). I was a little worried at first that it would leave residue, but nope--it peeled off nicely. Following the natural lines of the shoe, I opted to paint the front and back white (though you could reverse this and do just the middle section for an easier time--I just preferred the look of predominantly white saddle shoes). 

My only advice? Make sure you tape very securely. I DID have a little bit of bleeding occur on my lines, and I cleaned it up as best I could with a cotton ball and some acetone.

Thank you, little kitty, for keeping the paper down while I spray painted. (It was windy out there!)

VOILA! SADDLE SHOE GOODNESS! Check the Pinterest board above for outfit inspiration!!

Fun with the faux leopard print laces, right? Picked these little gems up for one dollar at Dollar Tree this weekend--get 'em while they're there!

OTHER DIY SADDLE SHOE RESOURCES:
http://rookiemag.com/2012/03/diy-saddle-shoes/
http://themessinmessenger.blogspot.com/2013/03/diy-make-your-own-saddle-shoes.html

DIY: Address book into ipod/iphone Carrier!

Here’s what happened…

I saw this super cute embroidered fabric address book on a thrifting trip today. It was small and fit inside the adorable little case shown. My mind immediately went to a Pinterest pin I had seen for a large book as a Kindle case, and I thought..why not turn this into a fun craft project to house my iPod touch?

After all...who really uses address books anymore?

I honestly can't tell you the last time I didn't store this information ON MY IPOD. I know, I know...it's so "1984" of me. But it's true! And the little address books are the perfect size for most smart phones or iPods, so why not turn them into cute hard cases?

OF COURSE I use thrifted items for my craft projects...c'mon! They are more unique items and usually cheaper!PLUS you are doing something kind for the Earth in recycling and upcycling items... Just do it! I found this at Lakeshore Rescue Mission Thrift in Grand Haven, MI today along with THREE Marushka prints to add to my collection! Stop by the Thrift Trick Facebook page and check them out!

I love the iridescent blue and embroidered dragonflies on this!

Here’s how I did it…

I delicately cut out the address book from the binding. I will use these small papers for scrap--I try not to ever waste paper.

Once I had the bare book, I used my scissors to "drill" two holes in the binding, but you could make a more precise hole with a nail and hammer, or just about any other method you could think of...

Then I threaded through this elastic cord and tied it on the outside of the binding. You could slide the knots around to the inside after if you want to hide them! I put mine on the outside for now.

After I did this on the top and bottom (very taut cords) I had the finished project. Ta-da! My ipod slid right in and the elastic holds it right into place. Positioned right, it is easy to use the ipod right inside the case, without even removing it!

AND, it slides right back into the cute yellow hard case.

Hitting the new year with new purpose: Solo earring ring DIY

Look at these fabulous (and upycled vintage) rings I made!

They are so easy that you don't really even need a tutorial (in my opinion).

Here's what I did: I went to Hope's Outlet in Grand Haven and I purchased vintage clip on earrings that had lost their mate for .49 cents each! Losing one of the pair is so sad for an earring but no problem for a new life as a ring! They were all clip on or screw on, and they backings easily removed by simply bending back and forth. There was no cutting or grinding necessary. You could probably sand the bottoms down a bit if you like but I left them just as is.
The next step was to glue them to the ring blanks I bought. I purchased these ring blanks from Amazon.com.

I used hot glue. I believe hot glue or another very hard setting epoxy would be your best choice. I would not use super glue as I don't believe it would work. Fixing the earrings with jewelery wire might be another acceptable choice.

And voila! Instant statement rings that are unique, vintage, one of a kind, and just beautiful! I've already recieved many compliments on mine. I'm thinking of doing some giveaways with them. Maybe in the future I'll have a shop location where you can pick one up! You never know. ;)

Have a great Tuesday!