New Life on Crafts

I love to craft! And I love to create! When I can mix the two, I am totally in my own little world. So much so that food doesn't even tempt me to leave my crafting nook. Trust me! That's saying a lot!

It all started when I went to throw away a pair of cargo pants that my son had worn a hole through at the knee. As I went to throw the pants away, I sadly looked at the pocket and thought what a waste of all the work in the cargo pocket detail. Do you know what? I didn't throw those pants away. I cut around each cargo pocket leaving enough room for a seam allowance, put the pockets face-to-face and sewed around the sides and the bottom. When I turned the piece right side out, it was magical! Not light bulb above the head magical, but the grand finale fireworks show over the Cinderella castle at Disney World magical. Not gonna lie, that first piece had some mistakes. For instance, I really should have done a top hem before sewing the three sides. Also, the lining should not be sewn in until the strap is made and placed within the two pieces. But it helped me grow in my creativity. No two pieces are ever the same. Heck. Almost all of my pocket purses have different kinds of closures.

I rarely throw anything away now. I look at the piece from a whole new light. If it can be lining of a purse, or a strap, or even if it has buttons, I am going to reuse some or all of it. When I go into thrift stores, I usually look for the most unusual fabrics in the clothing. Once at a thrift store, I found a long sleeve men's shirt that had tiny flowers all over it. I took it home, cut off the sleeves, hemmed the sleeves, cut the cuffs for matching bracelets, (yes, very Chippendale-wink, wink), and used the rest of the sleeve material for a matching mask. I couldn't pat myself on the back enough with that find!

I have gone on to make denim baskets for my students for Christmas gifts. I add their names and school mascot logos with my embroidery machine or iron on cutouts from the Cricut machine. This year I'm going to fill the denim baskets with white pompoms for the students to have "snowball" fights. I've started making said pompoms. I need 250 or more. I think I have 13 done. (Insert umph emoji.) I have used the smaller leftover material pieces to create e-cigarette holders. I even use the belt loops from the jeans and khakis to make it easy to slip those onto a belt. I will use the zippers from the pants along with a large Skittle bag to make cute little zipper pouches. I say Skittles because you don't realize how many Skittles a Kindergarten teacher goes through in a year to bribe her students! LOL! I also have recycled old frames with a fresh coat of paint and chicken wire or twine to make picture holders or jewelry holders. I need to give a nod to the husband at this point. He totally helps out with the frames. I am not one to take away his sense of self on this task either.

I don't really sell these items. I usually hold onto them for gifts. One year the entire lunchroom staff received pocket purses from me. On Boss' Day, the principal and assistant principals will receive the frames. I might attach snapshots of the staff holding up signs when put together will say "We heart you". My latest achievement was making the masks during the Coronavirus fiasco. I quit counting after 1,000 masks. At the time I lived in an older community. I would put a card table at the end of the drive with a "free" sign next to the masks. I must have given away 25-30 masks a day for three weeks solid. I continued making them for months. At first I used boring store bought material. Then I realized I could make unique masks with sports, concert, and random tee shirts. One of my neighbors gave me Royal Crown velvet pouches. Of course I had to give that a shot. They turned out very nicely I might add!

I would like people to support my passion because I believe these are truly works of art and creativity. And I don't necessarily mean people have to buy these things. They can start looking at their own stockpile of goods and wares to see what can be reused as something purposeful and beautiful. I would love to have the means to show mini videos of what I do so that others can start thinking outside of the boxes for one-of-a-kind gifts.

As I write this, I am starting to think of all the stash of material and supplies in my crafting arsenal. Just makes me want to close this ditty up and go in there and start dismantling what I have to put back other beautiful pieces of art. Ciao for now!