repurpose.remake.reuse.reclaim

To READ is to FLY; it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries. ~A.C.Grayling My friend's daughter (also, my daughter's friend) just got a new Kindle and would like to have a cover for it. So I made one using an old book.   As soon as I "gutted" the inside, my son said, Wait, I haven't read that book. Aiya! This book was not for reading. I picked it up for projects. Anyway, I gave him the text to read. I scanned covers of her favorite books (Percy Jackson Series), made a collage out of it, added a quote, and printed it out. I'm using another old book here because the other one wasn't thick enough. I'll use those book pages for other projects later. Before doing anything, I secured the inside spine with duct tape. Did I mention Duct Tape is your friend here? After doing so, I scored the printed collage lightly with an exact-o knife so it...

A heart that loves is always young. ~Greek Proverb This is such an easy and eco-friendly project.  The only thing that takes time is the cutting out of the hearts. I used old magazines, scraps of scrapbooking paper, junk mail, anything that's not too flimsy.  Make a heart template out of cereal box, trace and cut away.  No need to be perfect.  I had my kids do it.  Then sew them altogether.  Use the widest stitch.  And hang it up.  That's it.  Done!  OR you can do it  this way. Lunar New Year usually comes around the same time as Valentine's Day so I brought out the good ol' red lantern.  This was actually last year's decor.  So simple yet festive enough. This year, I finally strung together the origami cranes my kids made from way back when.  I'll post those later...  In the meantime, "MAKE A HEART" =.) I love thee for a heart that's kind. Not for the knowledge in thy mind. ~W.H. Davies, 1870

My middle child went through the Guardians of Ga'Hoole (Legends of the Guardians) phase.  She read the books ferociously, and even joined an OWL drawing contest with Aaron Brothers soliciting many to rate her illustration.  She didn't win but she had great fun. Thus inspiring me to make Barn OWL plushies myself.  I've never made a plushie before but I thought it would be easy since they're mainly basic shapes: rectangle (rounding off the edges) for the body, circles for the eyes, cone/circle for the beak, and heart for the face.  That's how my kids learned how to draw, with basic shapes which I just discovered can be applied to sewing, too! I used old sweaters/sweatshirts/scraps, nothing bought.  And I stuffed them with used fabric softener sheets. After every laundry (which I do a lot of), I saved those softener sheets--enough to stuff a small plushie. I also have this iron-on adhesive since forever.  I've made several projects with this one roll.  A...

Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. ~Epictetus I've found many uses for my old jeans collections.  One of them is an ascot.  So what is an ascot? Per Wiki, an ascot tie, or ascot, is a narrow neckband with wide pointed wings, traditionally made of pale grey patterned silk.  Ascot was  worn in the early decades of the twentieth century regarded as an elegant form of casual dress. Ascots of the casual day cravat variety were popular fashion in the UK for teenaged and young adult males from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s, coinciding with the mod and psychedelic movements. It was a craze in the 60s along with tye-dye shirts, bell bottoms and peace necklaces.  In Toy Story 3, Ken was shown wearing an ascot when he met Barbie.  (Remember?) Now that we kn...