repurpose.remake.reuse.reclaim

“Crafts make us feel rooted,  give us a sense of belonging and connect us with our history.  Our ancestors used to create these crafts out of necessity,  and now we do them for fun,  to make money and to express ourselves.”  ~ Phyllis George My little girl is not a little girl anymore.  Nor do I plan parties for her anymore.  She plans her own.  And she likes them nice, simple and crafty.  {No big planning and decorating committees like I used to do them.} For her 14th birthday, she wanted to make sock monsters/plushies with her equally crafty & ultra-artistic friends. And if you're not, you become one just by hanging out. All you need is some old (or new) socks... Some oddities/scraps/found objects... A good reference book {I borrowed Strayed Socks} Fillers {you can get them from any craft store or use scraps} And a little bit of patience and concentration. And voila! Here's everyone's creations.  Now, do they look like their creators? Thank you, Auntie Breya {who is

I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use. ~Mother Teresa These are remnants from the jean-repurposing projects I've been working on.  I should throw them all out, right? But look what else I can make with these denim seams & hems. I can use them to embellish a frame, make a hair clip, a brooch pin, a necklace. I can add them on a purse, a hat, a bag, another pair of jeans.  The possibilities are endless. You can also use t-shirt & other fabric scraps!  So easy!  No sewing required.  All you need is hot glue gun, patience and some tears--I burnt my finger the other night! Ouch!!!   You can do it  this way  or  this way .  Check out these tutorials.  They're so adorable! Happy Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.  ~Ancient Persian saying

On my planet "to rest" is to rest, to cease using energy. To me, it is quite illogical to run up and down on green grass using energy instead of saving it. --Spock in  Shore Leave My oldest daughter has always been into make-believe and drawing since she could start changing clothes and hold a crayon. self-portrait at 2.5 years old And when she was accepted into an art school at 7th grade, she found others who shared the same interest.  Can you imagine going to school in cosplay* whenever you want, and no one would give you weird looks or laugh at you? She once said, "Mom, it's an art school.  Everyone's quirky." (That would've been the perfect place for me!) Throughout the whole school year, they would ALL pretend to be on board a starship.  Don't worry, they all do their studies well.  They snap out of it once they're in class.  But during breaks or in the hallway, they would address each other with their science fiction names.

Wow, has it been that long?  More than a month.  Time definitely doesn't wait for anyone! Well, I've been sewing and RIPPING like crazy.  I like the sewing but the ripping part is soooo tedious. I don't like it one bit. But it comes with the territory. My kids didn't put in their order for their costumes until two weeks before all the festivities (school carnival, costume parties, harvest festivals). They were reluctant to ask because they didn't want to overwhelm me. In fact, the girls stopped asking me 3 years ago due to the homeschooling demands. How thoughtful! Now that I'm not homeschooling, I have more time in my hands, right?  NOT! Actually, I'm glad they asked because I missed sewing costumes for them. I hope to post them when time allows me to do so. In the meantime, I thought you'd enjoy these hats knitted & crocheted by my then- eleven year-old who is now 14. She learned from her aunt while we were in Oregon. Then she took off from ther