Green- Not Envied

 

OF COURSE ART WORK IS NEEDED

The original art work was fine but not in the colors I wanted.

That's it***

Footnote 11-23-2025

                                            Toiletries holder

Decided to hang the picture. Can always take it down. The colors don't show up great here but I didn't want to toy with all of the doo-dads.

END...again

Apron from a Shirt

 

The Inspiration

copied from

https://www.allcreated.com/diy-apron-old-mens-shirt/

Man's shirt purchased for $1.99 at Thrift store.

Sleeves and back of shirt removed. Back of shirt used to make lower pockets and ties for apron. Raw edges finished off. 

That's it ***

Boho upcycle and recycle (6 photos)

bo·ho

ˈbōhō/

noun

1. 1.

   informal term for Bohemian (sense 2 of the noun).

lillienoradrygoods

I can waste a lot of time on PINTEREST.
But, the ideas are mesmerizing and get my creative juices going. The juices might have been flowing but it was two months before I got back to the project.

Wayward Threads

 The inspirational outfits

I'm not artist, but this is my sketch. I had big plans. And, yes I sketched it on the back of an envelope that came in the mail.

I have a habit of saving them and using them as scratch paper. It's just another way I recycle.

I bought these 3 items from the second hand store ON Seniors Day which afforded me another 50% off of my total purchase. I cut the tees into rectangles and cut the flannel shirt about where my waist would be.

I bought the shirt larger to allow for any cutting and seams I might need to do. Turns out the sleeves were toooo long and I had to take darts in the back. When it came to mitering the seams on the side I had to contact YouTube University😃. You can find a wealth of information there for almost any problem you have.

I wanted to add lace to the bottom similar to others I'd seen and so I went to yet another thrift store looking for a vintage lace that would fit in with the theme. I found it on pillow shams of which I cut it off and sewed to the bottom. The end result was neatly done . When I put it on, I didn't like what I saw. It needed more alterations and customizing for my figure.

I wasn't willing to spend more time or money on this project.

This will be going into a pile of discards that I'll give to a friend for her grand kids to play dress-up in.

I'm not disappointed. I probably spent about $10 on this project. I'm not defeated. On to the next boho project.

END***

Scarecrow Boy Has Lost His Head

 I got so excited with this project that I forgot about taking pictures for each step. There are only 4 pictures.
After mulching my flower bed with pine straw, I had an extra bale left over. What to do? Use it as fall decor. 

CLOTHING-  I went to the Thrift Store and bought a pair of jeans, shirt and tie that would fit a small child. The cost was about $2.?? for the 3 pieces.
I tied  the legs off with string so that the stuffing of plastic bags would stay in place.

BODY- I  used an empty Tide detergent bottle for his front and back. Nice and sturdy. To keep the clothes in place I used  safety pins. Not shown is the burlap oval I put on top where his head should be.






ARMS-This burlap was stenciled by me to resemble a burlap coffee bag. It was left over from a project that didn't  pan out but, being the recycler that I am, I saved it in case I could use it elsewhere. The burlap was hot glued into tubes, then stuffed with plastic bags and the wire. Wire was placed inside the arms to bend them  as desired.

Here he is finished.  I had raffia left over from scarecrow girl which I glued inside his burlap tattooed arms and at the end of his legs. Other than the Tide bottle, everything is stuffed with plastic bags. The flowers and berries were also left over from scarecrow girl. The plastic pumpkin I've had for years. I cut out felt facial expressions and hot glued them onto the pumpkin.  I kept him sitting up by tying a wire coat hanger to his shirt and the straw. The foam pumpkin stays in place with nails I placed inside the underside of the pumpkin then pressed into the straw. 

That's  it

Neighborhood Farmers Markets

I tip my hat to East Lake United Methodist Church. They gave me my first chance at being a vendor for my crafted goods.

But not only that, it has stayed in a changing neighborhood when many others would have sold or abandoned the church. Their motto being, In the Neighborhood for Good.I spoke with one of the members who was wearing a shirt with this very motto on the pocket.

There aren't nearly as many vendors as there once were. Some of that can be attributed to the numerous pop up farmers markets that are in various communities now. At the time I was a vendor there were few fresh vegetable markets in the area  that offered fresh food at reasonable prices.

This is a very large church building with a very small congregation. They also have a 2nd hand store inside and they sell hot lunches everyday. They seem to get a large crowd for the lunches.

The church is beautiful inside and I'm sure it is expensive to maintain such a large structure. But, they've been holding on.

One of the members told me that the bell tower doesn't hold a bell and never did. The bell tower is now a cell tower rented to Verizon. Like he said, "you've got to pay the bills."

P.S. You may have noticed that the text is larger. It seemed to small and not dark enough in my last posts.

THAT'S IT 

Beads, glass, keys, trinkets????

What do you do with all of the beads, broken jewelry and other trinkets in your craft stash? This is what I did.The inspiration(below) came from Crafts by Amanda   to which I subscribed for future inspirational ideas.

Copied from Crafts by Amanda

Just about all of the "stuff" I have was given to me. Once friends and acquaintances know that you enjoy crafting from "junque" (that's the fancy spelling) you will get all kinds of goodies whether you want them or not. Below is a sample of some of those goodies.

There's broken jewelry, plastic beads, glass marbles, keys, lenses from glasses,earrings.

Those paper clips are good for keeping beads in place.

The cascades are done and ready to be attached to the pitcher. I didn't want to use my store bought jump rings so I made my own from wire I already had.

I really wanted a metal tea pot or coffee pot for the cascades to hang from. Thrift stores are not as thrifty as they once were. What I wanted cost $6.99. I bought the pitcher you see for $2.99 and also got a seniors discount since it was seniors day.

The paint was left over from a 75 cent vase I'd sprayed to look like mercury glass. 

I had to sand it a bit so that the paint would adhere.

I'm pleased with the paint job though it didn't come out with a mirrored finish. I realized afterwards that the mirrored finish would only work on glass. (Duh?)

It reminds me of a vintage milk pitcher. I sprayed a top coat of lacquer on it also. I expect it to rust and age after being out in the weather and that will only add to the character of it.

Time to put in the holes. I probably didn't have the right bit for the drill, so I made pilot holes and then finished by using a long screw, screwing it in until  I had a decent hole and then unscrewing it counter clockwise. Thank goodness for cordless drills. I didn't soften the holes so anyone touching it may get a cut. But, no one is supposed to be examining it anyway.

I have five  holes but seven bead cascades. This is where you ask me, "How do you spell lazy?"


Yes, I know the bed needs to be weeded but that's not the focus right now.

 VOILA'

I expect  the neighborhood cats to tear it down. It will have lasted for a short while.
That's it ***

Purple Dress Update

I saw this purple dress in a second hand store. The short sleeves were cuffed, the waist elasticized with a silver treatment in front. I tried it on but, the hem was a little short for my taste.

I decided I'd buy it anyway, go to a fabric store and see if I could find a purple fabric as close to the color of the dress as possible.

I was able to find a purple,soft faux suede that I felt blended well.
Here are the results.

END***

FAKE ART CANVAS HANDBAG

I like many of the unique items featured at the Anthropologie site. No way will I be purchasing any of their goods because:

1. It doesn't come in my size.

and

2. It's out of my budget.

Thankfully I don't have to join their site just to look. A lot of other sites are snobby that way. Their handbags are impressive. I saw  this one and admired it. It was on sale for ~$80.

 

They also have another tote style that runs close to $400.

I got to work trying to figure out how I could make something similar to the envelope clutch.




Holding the rolled print in place with cans from the pantry.
White canvas fabric  before staining.

The fabric and print were stained with  several coats of brown acrylic paint mixed with decoupage medium. I still wasn't pleased and so I added a little strongly brewed coffee to the decoupage.  The weather was pleasant and so I hung it outside on the fence to dry between coats.

I could leave it as is but I decided to put in a lining.

Before putting in the lining I  attached a pocket. I know it's shabby but I wasn't that interested in making it perfect. This is a test. All of the materials used except the art print were scraps or pieces I had in the closet that were either left over from other projects or never used and part of my stash.

These pictures are a little out of sync. This should have been above. I should have put the pocket on before

sewing the lining to the top. After attaching the pocket , I attached the lining with fusible web. It worked like a charm. 

This was the hardest part, sewing in the gusset. When it came to the curve of the purse, I was unable to position things so that I could sew it so I ended up gluing the curved area down from the inside.

The open purse

No, the stitches aren't straight and uniform but I'm still pleased with it.

Purse closed with  stained canvas flap

Not perfect but I'm pleased with it. The bead at the closure was made with scrap from the print.  I have been experimenting with paper bead making.

Velcro is used to close it.

There are flaws which I expected. Overall I succeeded in what I wanted to accomplish.

THAT'S IT ***