My Zipper Tee DIY tutorial...Tshirt Recycle Supplies: Zipper 22 inches or so... old tshirt or 1 yard fabric. I am all about casual style, but usually like something to separate my tee from everyone elses. This started in middle school when I took my first sewing class and from their I was refashioning the family's "giveaway pile." Here is one I designed back then that I recreated for a tutorial. I wanted to share it because it's quite easy, yet still looks amazing! For this zipper: I know they have double zippers, but they go the other way so you will have to make it like i did. You can use an old tshirt, it doesn't matter what size. If you use fabric: I used a light jersey cotton with a nice drape. If the fabric is light, I would suggest ironing interfacing to the edges so it wont wave from the zipper. Sew the side seams if you used your own fabric.
Upcycling Becomes a Treasure Trove for Green Business Ideas This story first appeared in the April 2011 issue of Entrepreneur. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Like everything about Looptworks, the signature on CEO and co-founder Scott Hamlin's e-mail is a call to action: "Did you know that it requires more than 400 gallons of water to make one organic cotton T-shirt? Upcycle." If you're not up on the green lingo, the best way to think of upcycling is that it's like a sexier, even greener version of recycling. When something is recycled (or "downcycled"), it's broken down into something of lesser quality--a process that consumes energy. Looptworks personifies the upcycling trend. "There's a plethora of people looking into different angles in different industries--the opportunities in upcycling are fascinating," Hamlin says. For its part, Looptworks uses what it calls "pre-consumer excess" as source material for its accessories, gear and apparel. There's also serious behind-the-scenes innovation happening. Make it innovative.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Repeat - Mason Jars Yes, they are everywhere. Yes, I have posted on them before. And yes, I am still smitten! How could I not be? I should note...I'm a little obsessed with how the matte black came out and have more outside drying as I type this. Then, in my Pinterest crazed obsession, I found this little DIY image. This led me to trying my own version with a milk jar, fabric marker and glue gun.... She's not perfect, but I love that about her. For all you DIYers with questions on how to or the materials used for this project...I did a follow up post that can be found here.
Paintstick Starburst My friends, if there ever was a bandwagon, this carefree DIYer is jumping right on it. For months, I’ve seen fabulous versions of the sunburst mirror pop up all over the blogosphere. And for weeks now, with every stop in the paint department, I couldn’t help but notice how those paint stir sticks might just make a very cool version of this decorative favorite. I couldn’t figure out how to stack them nicely enough around the center to make it worth my effort, but that little road bump didn’t stop me from snagging more than my fair share of free stir sticks at a time, like 8 or 10, over the course of a month. How to Make a (Paint Stir Stick) Sunburst Mirror What You’ll Need: 46-50 paint stir sticks; wood base, 7” embroidery hoop, 7” circle mirror, gorilla glue or hot glue, paintbrush, Xacto knife, plastic spray paint (optional, and not necessary if you use a wood hoop), craft paints in various colors; picture hanger (not shown) Tools: miter saw. Paint your embroidery hoop.
Scrabble Coasters Is everyone ready for today's Pinterest challenge? I know I'm excited to share my project and can't wait to see what everybody else came up with. Pinterest in general just makes me tinkle in my pants with joy! So let's get to it! Lately I have been obssessed with games like Words With Friends, Wordosaur, Scrabble and any other word games that make me use my noggin. Online these babies go for $26, but with a little crafting and an old scrabble game, these can be yours for practically free! Here are the materials you need: 64 scrabble letters (check yard sales, thrift stores, or order some on Ebay or Amazon if you don't have any on hand)1 thin cork board (buy at any craft store)1 x-acto knifesuper gluehot glue gunmodpodge/sealer Step 1. Arrange 16 letters to make 4 words that you are happy with on your coasters (Ex. Step 2. Glue letters together using a thin layer of super glue leaving about 15 seconds to dry between each letter. Step 3. Step 4. Step 5. What do you think?
Corkboard Journals Here's another DIY project from our sweet friend, Sasha - from the The Gilded Bee. Be sure to check out her awesome shop full of handmade packaging lovelies. Thanks for being here with us Sasha! I'm delighted to share my book tutorial with you today: Supplies you’ll need to make this project: • One—8.5 x 5.5 sheet of cardstock • One---1/2 x 3 inch piece of cardstock or paper • Two---2 5/8 x 3 1/8 inch pieces of cardboard, chipboard or matboard (not corrugated) • Hot glue gun and glue sticks • 25---3 x 5 inch ruled or blank index cards • Two---3 x 5 inch sheets cardstock • 2 rubber bands • Pencil • ¼ inch wide Ribbon: One-6 inch piece, plus two-1 inch pieces To make the page block: * 1. * 2. * 3. * 4. * 5. * 6. To make the cover: * 1. Make a little mark at the center of each side of your paper (4.25 inches on center). On each side of those center marks, draw three lines paralleling each other (6 lines total): 5/16”, 5/8”, 13/16” inch from the center mark. * 3. * 4. * 5. * 6. * 8. * 9. * 10.
t-shirt pom poms | Craftaholics Anonymous™ Learn how to turn old t-shirts into pom poms! T-shirt Pom Poms are so much more durable than tissue paper ones. And I think they look loads better! got an old tee or two {or 20!} Supplies t-shirts, 1 per pom pomscissorscardboard use round objects to trace circles onto cardboard to make 2 templates like those shown above. i used a roll of tape and my camera lens cap…. the diameter of the outer circle is 6.5″ and the diameter of the inner circle is 2.5″. you can play around with different template sizes to get different sized pom poms. cut your t-shirt into 1/2″ strips. i only used from the arm pits down on each shirt. . take one strip and one template and place strips as shown close to the inner circle. sandwich the strip by putting the other template on top. take a fabric strip and place on cardboard with the end even with the outer edge. wind around the template as shown. pull the strip tightly so that it stretches the material. when you get to the end of the strip….
Using Up That Sweater So I had some leftover sweater material from the pumpkins I made. The sweater did not felt like I thought it would when I washed it because it wasn’t all wool. But it still was really soft so I thought why not a pillow. I had a bed pillow I wasn’t using so I just cut it down and used it as the insert. Then I cut the body of the sweater from armhole to armhole. I had already cut the sleeves off since that is what the pumpkins are made out of. Then just a straight stitch across the top with my machine and stuff the insert inside. I became addicted to making these cute little flowers. I had a gray sweater as well (which felted better) so I decided to combine the two colors. I cut out some leaves and then outlined them with my sewing machine. It wasn’t showing up enough so I hand stitched them on top with some embroidery floss. I whip stitched the bottom by hand as well. And I managed to hot glue them on without any injuries! Not too bad. It’s a great size for my bed. Plus I love the texture it adds.
- StumbleUpon I’m getting a little tired of the winter weather and will take just about any opportunity to daydream about the sunny warm days ahead. These Moroccan-inspired lanterns by Ohdeedoh contributor and DIY expert Katie Steuernagle are the perfect antidote to the winter blues; I love the glow of the rich jewel tones and the intricate gold designs. If you have any old sauce jars lying around, this is the perfect way to make good use of them and get yourself psyched for spring— it will be here before we know it! CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump! Materials old glass jars (spaghetti jars, jam jars or any plain glass jar will work)gold dimensional puff paintglass paint (Delta or Pebeo Vitrea glass paint are great options)paintbrushwire (optional, for hanging lanterns) Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4.
Tutorials for Recycling Books We rode bikes around our neighborhood this weekend and stopped at all the garage sales we found along the way. I love doing this because it's like exercise and shopping in one! Plus, my bike basket is perfect for holding whatever treasures I find. On this particular trip I was noticing a lot of old books for sale. My DIY craving kicked in and I knew I had to do some research on the projects I could use old books for. How to Recycle Magazines into Jewelry September 23rd, 2010 Email 419 users recommend Experiment with various coil sizes, and even glue coils together! Diane Gilleland Magazine paper lends itself well to this colorful little project. There are tons of design possibilities... Photo: Diane Gilleland 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6next> View all Before you recycle those old magazines, turn some of their pages into pretty coiled pendants. What you'll need: Magazine pagesScissorsBone folderThin wooden skewerLow-temp glue gunWhite craft glueEye pinBlank cardstockClear acrylic sealerJump ring A note on glue: After much testing, I've found that my low-temp hot glue gun works well for this project. As an alternative, you can glue your coils with white craft glue, but you'll have to hold the work in place for a few minutes to let the glue set. First, you'll need several magazine pages. View 3 member project galleries posted in: necklace, paper, recycled magazines Get special offers, FREE eLetters and your FREE PDF bonus now. Find us on: