Recycle / upcycle project - Making gift bags

Last night I started my big tidy up of my craft area. No more new projects, get everything off the floor, organise my stuff etc. Why do I have to do this every three months??
Anyway I had previously cut all the paper out of a wallpaper sampler book ready to make into gift bags. So I sewed and sewed and sewed!!! It took me about 1 hour to get them all done, but now I have all my wrapping for gifts done for the year.
I take the simple approach. Sew two similar sized sample pieces together. Then when the gift is in I punch holes in the top and either thread homespun wool through or a ribbon to tie them off.
I have seen on-line where people get really fancy and make them have proper bottoms etc - yes they look lovely but Oh they take so long!!!

I have been at the power tools again

Yes I just can't resist them. Though I had to use our sander and it is really pathetic compared to Aaron's Dad's one. But I got there. I made a coat rack. I used the front of an old Rimu draw that had been smashed up and given to use by Aaron's Dad. (Bit of a waste of Rimu but as the rest of our stuff is Rimu it seemed appropriate).

A set of old EPNS spoons and forks that Anna gave me ages ago when moving to Cromwell. I used the same method as before. Sanding it all, smoothing the corners and then just oiling the wood.

I even polished the cutlery before putting it on (whilst thinking that really I should be polishing my own silver that we actually use.)

I do not think it as professional as the drawer I made but it is ok and makes me laugh. The boys thought it was really cool and Aaron was OK with it. So it does the job of picking up all the swimming bags etc off the laundry floor. They were bugging me so much that I just had to do something about it. At some stage we will get proper shelving in their but at the moment while it is all still unplastered etc this works.
Obviously working with builders etc is starting to rub off on me! Who would have thought!!!!

Making a recycled Eco friendly laundry bucket

Today being such ghastly weather I am tackling a pile of things that should have been done months ago.
The first on the list was getting a bucket to use for soaking clothes etc in the laundry.
This bucket is very sturdy with a metal handle which has a wooden holding piece where you pick it up. So comfortable and easy to use. It is an old 10 litre paint pail.It was covered in a cream coloured paint inside and out from the messy painters.

first...clean it up

first - put it outside in the rain. This made the outside labeling easy to come off and starting working on releasing the paint from the plastic of the bucket.

second...add water

second - put it in the laundry tub and use the grey water coming off the wash cycle of the washing machine. This lifts the paint and the last bits do with a brush. Don't forget to clear out the drain as you do this.
Third - fill the bucket with the clean water coming from the rinse cycle. Put in your soaking aid. Put  in the clothes and you have a fantastically strong laundry bucket.

third - use it.

Why is it Eco?

• No extra water was used cleaning this up to use for a new purpose.
• It has not had to go into the landfill
• I have not bought a cheap bucket from a new shop that will break the handle and perish or snap in the first few months of use.

So good for the environment and very good for my wallet.

Finally untangled

Lots of tv watching later the beautifully silky smooth angora is in knitable form. Thanks to a wool winder. My sewing machine was fixed faster than the untangling took but I have also been clearing out my craft area, a very t tough job.

Oh my goodness see what I found

The most amazing restyling reusing of jerseys etc ever!!! This one for Mieke I think
http://www.etsy.com/people/EnlightenedPlatypus

Getting ready for the fair

On Saturday there is a street fair at Leithfeild. My sister and I decided to buy a stall and are setting up (weather permitting - if it is not good then I get to sleep in!!). This is a tester to see if some of the things we do have a commercial value. We would love to do a stall about once every six months. Anyway it has motivated some fast finishing and last night I managed to paint and stretch material over a pin board and finish some lavender hearts. (Which had only been sitting around unfinished for the last year). They look a bit like bunny ears filled and somehow I did not get the tape right for hanging. But hey my pattern will improve next time.

I love the pin board and will not be disappointed if it does not sell - I have a perfect wall to put it on.

Up cycle a T-shirt into a party dress

This up-cycling project was slightly more extravagant than usual. I got the T-shirt free from an St Vincent de Paul op shop as it had a stain down the front. Thankfully a little sunlight soap, a wash and line dry later, it was all clean. I purchased quite a lot of good quality washable tulle and could not resist the pink sequin as I could see that it would go so well with the shirt. The underskirt was an off cut or lining that was on the sale / get rid of table at Fabric Vision. The sequin band around the hips was from the Salvation Army Op shop in Northlands for $1.

The result was a niece so happy with her 6th birthday present that she went and got out of her party dress and put my creation on. Thankfully it was hard wearing - I had not anticipated it being dragged in the dust on the first wearing!!!