Repurpose Fabric from Salvation Army

Hurray for Fridays and Saturdays at my Salvation Army store!  Today, Friday, they had 5 items of clothing for $5.00 of purple tagged ones, which is this week's 50% off color. They have 5-6 tag colors which allows them to keep a piece of clothing about 6 weeks before sending to another store or whatever they do. And on Saturday, they reduce that color to $.49, and no minimum. Lately, I've been drawn to prints, thinking I could piece similar colors together for some project. I usually get natural fabrics; cotton, linen, wool, silk. Top of the pile is an orange silk top and skirt. Second from the top is a cotton panel print dress; love finding borders, too. Then a denim sheath dress with embroidered flowers, a linen skirt, 4 pairs of pants or skorts, and a long cotton dress.

One great find, I hope, is a long sleeveless linen dress from J Jill with the original $99.00 tag still attached. I will try to sell it on ebay in the spring, but if not, there is a lot of linen fabric to use for $1.00.

Who doesn't like to save money? Cottons in the fabric store run $4-10 a yard. My girlfriend makes fun of me, driving up to a goodwill store in my Mercedes. Or going on senior citizen day to get the senior discount. Hey, maybe that is WHY I can afford a Mercedes...ha-ha!

Small Felt & Fabric Dove with Bread

 Here is Mildred the Dove with Baguettes at Panera Bread after purchasing her loaves for her family. This is another project from the book, Little Birds, referenced in the post before this.

 It was such fun to craft this project using felt for most of it with cotton for the backs of the bird, wings, and the baguettes.

 The outline backstitch work reminds me of redwork that was popular with women in the early 1900's. I liked using just one thread of embroidery floss; seems to keep the illustrative quality easier to control.

Small strips of fabric were wrapped around wire, then inserted into her tummy and sewn shut.  A coating of Mod Podge or fabric glue keeps them from unraveling.

Penguin Toy

The book, Little Birds, has the most adorable birds to craft contributed by many different artists.  I chose Pikku, the penguin to make for my grandchild who likes to play Club Penguin online.  The interesting part of this project is the round piece of cardboard inside the bottom which was a little bit hard to handle. I like the fact that it can easily stand up.

Investing Your Money in Today's Market

Wow, I am reading Aftershock Investor.  Concerning your comfort and happiness, there is nothing more important than protecting your hard earned savings.  And this book is quite an eye opener.  It was just published late summer 2012, so is current, and I encourage all who stumble upon my blog to read this!  Request it from your library, as I did, or buy it now!

Essentially, it made no difference who won the election, as far as our economy goes. There is too much money being printed and we will all have to face the piper sooner (now) or later (next 3-4 years). This book talks about the bubbles that have already broken (real estate, etc) and the remaining two that will break soon.

There are recommendations on how to protect your money. I am still reading and just stopped to post this, as everyone needs to have this information.

Embellished Shirt

This was an experiment using an idea from Alabama Studio Style by Natalie Chanin.  There is a bleach spot on the lower part of the shirt, so when I looked at that book, I thought these appliqued circles might be a good way to put a design on the shirt while hiding the spot.  I like the spiral, the hand-stitching, and the general idea.  But am not sure it is attractive the way I placed them.  Perhaps I should put them all on the one side, but even then, not sure.

Matching Doll Clothing

Using Joan Hinds book, All Dolled Up, and the included patterns, I made one of my grandchildren a skirt and vest as well as a matching outfit for her American Doll.  The local Salvation Army store was where I found the jeans and plaid jumper that supplied the material used to make them.

Retro Hand Bag from Used Clothing

What fun to make a useful item from no longer useful clothing.

The center fabric is from a pair of capris from the local Salvation Army store bought when they were on clearance for $.49. Since the full fabric width needed could not be cut from one leg, the tiny green-checked fabric on the sides was from an old pair of culottes. The lining was also from the SA store and was a pair of homemade lounge pants. All I had to buy was a metal ring for the handle and a magnetic clasp. The lounge pants had patch pockets, so I utilized one for one side of the lining and made another to add to the other side, so there are 2 pockets inside. If I made again, I would add a pocket to the outside back.

This pattern was in a book from the library, and was called Retro Purse. I think the print fabric actually looks like something from the 40's; a kind of Hawaiian kitsch.

The three items of clothing before cutting.

Fabric Scrap Pups

Are these cute or what?  From another book I found at the library...I think it was on using scrap material.  The puppies are from felt.  The only variation I made was to put rice in the bottom of the bodies when stuffing to allow them to sit better.  They are about three inches tall.

Artistic Binder Clips

With a little Mod Podge as glue and sealer and an advertisement from a magazine for Gustav Klimt needlework kits, these plain old everyday binder clips are now pretty and fun.

Easy project with big impact!

Fried Cauliflower Rice

This is just like fried rice, but without the carbs!

Recipe from Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals


Takes 15 minutes; serves 2-3

3 Tbsp sesame or coconut oil
1 white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
3/4 lb meat; raw or cooked, cut in small pieces
4 Tbsp tamari (healthier than soy sauce)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 small head cauliflower, grated in food processor
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup frozen peas
4 scallions, roughly chopped

     Heat wok or skillet over high heat and add 1 Tblsp of oil.  Add onion and saute until it starts to brown (2 minutes).
     Add meat & 1 Tbsp tamari.  Saute 2-3 minutes (or longer if raw meat needs more time), then add remaining oil, garlic, and cauliflower.  Saute 2-3 minutes.
     Add eggs & remaining tamari. Stir until egg cooks, add peas and chopped scallions.  Cook 1-2 more minutes.

Repurposed Dress as Curtain

Here is a dress I purchased for $1 at the Salvation Army store remade into cafe curtains for my laundry room.  All I had to do was detach the skirt from the bodice, turn under the raw edges, and voila, instant privacy. 

Dining Chairs Painted and Recovered

BEFORE

and AFTER

Although the wood was in good condition, my daughter-in-law, Winavie, wanted a cream painted look for her four dining room chairs. The badly stained seat fabric had to go. We both loved the bright, modern, and colorful large print she finally chose at Joann Fabrics. As she said, "So Anthropologie!".

After hearing Nate Berkus say they used spray paints on furniture, I decided that was what to use for this transformation. That worked beautifully! I started with a rust-colored primer because Winavie wanted a slight shabby chic look with worn edges, which I needed to sand down. A light sanding should be done before painting and in between coats. I sprayed on two coats of cream, sanded sparingly for the worn look, and added a top coat of clear to finish the job. Acrylic paints dry so quickly, too. As the can warns, time will harden the paint, so be careful the first few days or weeks to not bang the painted pieces around!

Embroidered Dala Horse

Another project from a library book called Christmas Crafting in No Time, although this wasn't so quick with all the embroidery it has.  I used a yellow skirt I bought at Salvation Army and felt from my decades old felt stash, of which some may have been my mom's stash.  The traditional Dala Horse has no tail, but since mine had a bump, I added one!  I like Swedish crafts; I should do more and decorate a whole bedroom!

Repurposed Library

Checked out a book from the library called The Repurposed Library and liked this project.  You take a book of at least 300 pages, (although mine was 289), cut it into fourths using a metal ruler and craft knife a few pages at a time, after removing the hard cover.  Then fold one page in half.  The next page is folded in half and in half again.  Alternate these two folds, and, voila, you have a lovely piece to hang on a nail on your wall.  Several grouped together of different sizes would be a nice display.  Just get wider books.  Books are cheap to buy at a thrift store or library sale.

Luggage Tags

These extra-large (3.5" X 6") colorful luggage tags will be easy to spot when at the baggage claim.  The idea/instructions are from Made For Travel by Mary Mulari.  The vinyl for the ID insert is what I took off a binder when I deconstructed it to get the cardboard for the Kindle cover. Such a simple easy project using items you already have.  That is, if you save anything you think MIGHT be useful.  The ties are from twill tape which held a rug rolled up for delivery to me about 20 years ago.

Tuxedo Bag

This bag is made from a man's tuxedo jacket, and, yep, I got the jacket at Salvation Army for $5.  The directions are from Refashioned Bags by Faith Blakeny.  After cutting off the jacket below the sleeves, you quilt it.  The pocket is a sleeve with the buttons still intact.  The front strap uses the other sleeve with buttons.  Two side straps reuse some front buttons for embellishment.  The body of the bag is a bit narrow and long, I think.  It all depends on the size jacket you find, but it could be made wider by cutting right at the arm holes.

I really like the rich feel of the material and lining from this Bill Blass jacket.  The quilting was a little tricky.  I suggest putting pins all over the piece after inserting stuffing. Then before sewing the first diagonal line put in a line of pins, so you don't end up with a wavy line. The construction is very simple once the quilting is done.  As the author states, you can use any jacket, but be sure to get a man's, preferably a TALL man's, so it will be wider. 

Gingerbread Ornaments

Even though the names of these evoke Christmas, surely they can be used year round. I have the brown one sitting on my adding machine for a bit of whimsy. The idea and instructions are in Fa-la-la Felt by Amanda Carestio.  The basic form is a bottle cap. The brown one was made with a water bottle cap which only went about half-way up, so is not quite as solid as the blue one made on a lotion bottle top. Great way to use up small amounts of felt. Baby rick-rack was used and the basic embroidery french knot, as well as the blanket stitch.

Another Tablet Cover

Had to make another tablet cover for hubby, as he bought a new one, and gave his Xoom and cover to our daughter.  This is made with very fine wale corduroy fabric from a jumper found at...yes, Salvation Army store. Love the border that was around the bottom of the skirt which is on the fold up flap of the cover.  The last cover had a handle made from a pair of shorts, and that pair of shorts had twill tape in the waistband to adjust the fit. I used that for this handle, as it did not need to be sewn; it is like a thick tape.

Skirt for Window Covering

While at the local Salvation Army store, which I seem to frequent more and more, I found this adorable skirt. I thought it would fit perfectly in my basement bathroom window, and it did!  I just took out the zipper and seam, opened it out, tacked down those 2 edges, and hung it on my Ikea wire with Ikea clips.  It was already lined with a light blue, but if it had been at a street facing window, I would have added a plain white lining.

TABLET COVER

 I made this cover for a Xoom tablet using the same concept as the Kindle cover. Using Chica and Jo's  calculations at the end of their instructions, one can make a cover for any size device. This one I added a handle per my husband's request. Since this was for a male, what better material to use than men's clothing...two shirts from Salvation Army store on a buy one get one free day and a pair of shorts (for the handle).
I added some fiberfill batting this time for extra cushioning, adding it when sewing and trimming it off close to the seam.

The handle is about a 4" wide trip with the sides folded into the center, then folded in half, tuck in the ends, and top-stitched down both sides. When sewing on the handle, I put iron-on interfacing on the back side of cover for reinforcement, and stitched a square with an X inside on each end.