Our Final Challenger

This is our third and final challenger in the second chance Sewing Month Challenge. Chanell of Crafty Considerations got all artsy fartsy on us with this entry (wait 'til you see what I sent her):

One of the challenge materials that I sent her has a bit of a backstory (which I will tell you in a moment) but first...the materials!

I sent Chanell an empty packing tape core, 5 plastic register tape cores and several swatches of thin denim.  How she ever turned this heap o' trash into art is beyond me but she did!  All it took was a bit of paint, a polymer clay button and some yarn.  Well, that, and a bit of craftiness.

And now the backstory, if you're an avid upcycler this should sound familiar.  I have a craft room full of other people's crap.  Don't misunderstand, I love other people's crap but I find it comical when the neighbors knock on the door and hand me a bag of their recyclables.  Or when I'm at a craft show and a visitor leaves me the empty Arizona Tea can that they just finished drinking from.  Or when my parents friends bring them a bag full of register tape cores and say, "can your daughter do anything with these?"  

The register tape cores that I sent out for this challenge have been sitting in my craft room for well over a year just waiting to be repurposed.  Unfortunately, I haven't had the creativity to do anything with them.  So I sent them to Chanell!  Insert big smiley face here.  So thank you, Chanell, for taking on the challenge that I couldn't seem to wrap my head around!

Okay folks, it's that time again!  Time to vote for the winner of a $50 Upcycled Stuff shopping spree.  Simply enter a comment below telling the world what your favorite project was.  Voting will close on Tuesday, October 2 at 6pm EST.  

Was your favorite the:

Register Tape Core Art
Punky Trash Goddess
Decorative Fabric Balls

The Danger of Making Pet Toys

Oooh, that was a dramatic statement wasn't it?!  When mom and dad opened their pet shop a couple of months ago I went to work designing some upcycled pet toys to "fill up them shelves."  Which led to a few new items in my own shop:

Kitty Kick Sticks constructed from Hideous Ladies Pants

Organic Catnip Seeds and Garden Markers from old Spoons

The danger, however, occurs when you are making toys for creatures not unlike those with whom you share your own home.  You see, I also had this listed:

Obviously, I had to delist this item from my shop when Destiny staked her claim to it!  Sadly, there were actually two of these baskets at Goodwill and I only purchased this one as the second had two broken pieces...very small breaks that would have been just fine for my own personal use.  But, alas, I was not using my brain on this particular day and didn't have the forethought to see that I would indeed have a use for it in the very near future!

At any rate, Chance has also taken a liking to my catnip plant...the one that I was growing for display at craft fairs.  Every now and again I let my two most eldest cats out to enjoy a view of the nieghborhood:

Aren't they so well behaved? HA!

Well, I've been growing aforementioned catnip on this very same porch in little pot.  It's still just a baby but apparently just as potent as its adult counterpart.  This is what I saw just a couple of days ago:

Followed by a rather innocent, "what mommy? I was just rolling around in the pretty flowers in your garden.  I didn't take a huge bite right from the center of your plant!

So you see, the danger is that you stand to loose a bunch of product before it can make it into the hands of a customer.  So crafters beware and heed my warning in advance:  Make two of everything and save yourself a little frustration!

Second Chance Sewing Month Challenge #2

Looking to put a little punk in your trash?  Well look no further than this:

Annie from MontanaSolarCreations had me cracking up when I read her blog post about the project she did with the box of trash that I sent her...cracking up in a good way!  Here is what I sent Annie:

Yep, that punk rock idol is constructed of part of an egg crate, plarn (plastic bag yarn) and a little girls top.  Hop over to her blog to see how she created this punk goddess.

Second Chance Sewing Month Competition

Right after I started posting the sewing month challenges at the beginning of the month, there was a very enthusiastic resurgence of interest in participating.  I was oh so happy to have the extra blog posts that were not only incredibly creative but that didn't require me to think.  So, I decided I'd open a second chance opportunity for those who learned of the challenge a little late.  And I'm very happy I did...lots more creativity and a lot less brain activity on my part.  I don't know what I'm going to next week when I have to start to writing on my own again!

Bee from the Wooden Bee submitted a fabulous project utilizing some pretty odd bits of trash.  I sent her several round plastic containers that came from a gumball type machine, old clothing tags and the skinny part of a tie - yep, JUST the skinny part.

Bee made some fabulous decorative fabric balls, check 'em out:

You'll have to hop over to her blog to see how she creatively used the clothing tags.

Fun, right?  Well stay tuned because I'll be posting a couple more trash to treasure projects this week and give you another chance to vote for a winner.  This time, participants are competing for a $50 shopping spree in the Upcycled Stuff shop.

Oh and don't forget, voting for the first round of competition closes tomorrow.  Be sure to get your vote in!

Sewing Month Challenge #5

The final project in the first round of Sewing Month Challenges comes from Genie at the Verdant Violet.  I sent her a thrifted pair of leggings that were a bit pilled, the core from a roll of packing tape and a handful of plastic rings from soda/water bottles. 

And look at what she transformed this pile of whatnots into:

Super cute puppets, right?  I'll let her explain her process:  "I am excited to introduce you to monster puppets Mort and Millie and their 5 monster finger puppets, Max, Mimi, Baby Merv, Manny, and Linda. Poor Linda has two eyes. Mort is multifunctional as he is both a puppet and a drawstring bag that can be used to hide the rest of his family. 

I used the cardboard tape roll as the base for Millie and the plastic rings as bases for the little guys. This allows them to stand on their own if they choose, which is great for their self-esteem. It also makes Millie feel like a bracelet."  

Well, I think I did a pretty a good job selecting just the right pieces of trash to send off to challenge participants!  What do you think?  I know, I know, I really can't take any credit for the awesome projects that have graced the pages of my blog in the last couple of weeks.  So now you have a choice to make.  Which was your favorite project?  Just vote below for your favorite:

Fold 'n Go Tote made from a pillowcase 
Comic Book Garland
Sunflower Puncher
Map Adorned Photoboard
Family of Monster Puppets

Remember, bragging rights and a $100 Upcycled Stuff shopping spree are up for grabs so challengers...call your friends and family and not-so-loved-ones and send them over to vote for you!  Winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 25 at 6:00 EST!

And tune in all next week for a second chance challenge where upcyclers will compete to win a $50 shopping spree.  That'll round out National Sewing Month nicely (or should I say, National Tricia Doesn't Have to Come Up With a Bit of Original Content Month). 

Good luck everyone and thanks for playing along!  

*TO VOTE:  Register your favorite project in the comments below...one vote per person :)
 

Sewing Challenge #4

When faced with a challenge such as this, sometimes it's best to stick with what you know.  And that's exactly what Elaine from ElaineZelkerPhotography did when she created her project from this hod podge of crafting materials that I sent her: 

She received the top half of Goodwill T-shirt, a "junk load" of pop tabs and a couple of pages of maps. And artfully, this trash was turned into treasure when Elaine created this photoboard:

She adorned an an old frame with origami flowers made from the maps, then used and old medicine cup, some of the T-shirt and the pop tabs to create a pin cushion to house pins for future pinning.

The pop tabs were simply hot glued but she did sew some map strips onto the T-shirt which acts as the photo board backing. These strips easily hold pictures in place:

Sweet way to upcycle a bunch of stuff that someone else might just cast aside, right?

Sewing Challenge #3

Envisioning this finished product in use had me in stitches.  Don't get me wrong, Maria from WildChildGardens did a fantastic job but when you envision her punching sunflowers, you're sure to giggle just a bit.  Here's what I sent her:

A bit of fabric left over from the kitchen curtains that I (er, I mean mom made for me) several years ago, a handful of Coke lids and a Starbust package.  Of course my first thought was a sunflower harvesting glove, wasn't it yours?  That's exactly what Maria made.

Maria says that as the seed heads (of the sunflower) dry, they get really tight and sharp. By punching the sunflower seed heads with her bottle cap knuckles, the seeds easily pop out and and she can pick them up with her exposed fingertips. She even included a pocket made out of the Starburst package which had a Ziploc closure.

Also, because the glove is constructed from sturdy fabric and covers the whole and it's good for harvesting squash and okra, which otherwise leave tiny prickles in her arms all day. All of the sewing was done on her vintage Singer, except for the bottle tops. She punched 4 holes in each cap with a nail and then hand sewed them in place. She made a draw string around the top to hold the glove up and used a grommet and piece of lace edging to finish it up.

And because she believes strongly in using all parts of the "animal" (my kinda gal), she used the leftover materials to quilt together a little clutch. She used the two left over bottle caps as toggle closures for the bag.

So what do you think?  Have you picked your favorite project yet?  Well, hold that thought, we're not done yet!  Stay tuned for another fabulous project.

Sewing Month Challenge #2

I have to admit, this packet of trash was a little bit evil.  It didn't have any fabric of any kind...I know, bad blogger and contest hostess! But this WAS supposed to be a challenge right?  Here's all the fun stuff that I sent to Sarah from Sweet Someday.

Yep, that's it...a bunch of plastic Target bags, a comic book that I picked up on a Freecyle and an Arizona Tea can (that I turned into flowers before I sent them).  Here's the fabulous garland that Sarah made.

After punching out 1" colorful circles from the comic book pages she stitched 'em up with brown thread (because that's the color that was on the machine and re-threading it with another color wasn't an option - sheesh she sounds like me).  Just two more challenge materials....

She took the Target bags and cut some small rectangles out of the white portion and tied them onto the thread between every five circles for a little added texture and interest.  Next she took some longer strips from the target bags, braided them and attached them to each end of the garland to easily tie it up.

And finally, those aluminum flowers were used to disguise a couple of cardboard circles that she used at each end to attach the braided plastic bags.  It turned out to be a cute garland that could be used for parties, birthdays, special events, or just every day. She's also the only one who used the packaging in her project!  Everyone received their trash in some sort of food box that I turned inside out for mailing.  Sarah used her oatmeal box as a spool for her garland.  Other than the thread and adhesive - the ENTIRE thing was upcycled!

Here's another look:

Sewing Month Challenge #1

When I put the call out for readers to take a Sewing Month Challenge, I wasn't sure what to expect.  And I know I wasn't the only one who felt that way!  But, alas, I started receiving completed projects this weekend and was pretty impressed with the creativity.  So, without further ado here's the first project.

I sent the following care package to Melissa from Manskers (Upcycled Underwear for Kids!)

Here's her completed tote bag that folds up for easy transport:

Pretty nifty, eh?  Want to see how she did it?   Check out her blog post for step by step instructions.

Now remember, there are several brave souls competing for a $100 shopping spree in my shop.  I'll post their projects on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next couple of weeks and give you all a chance to vote for your favorite or most inventive.