How to Make a 3D Fringed Flower from a T-shirt

I love these 3D flowers made from thrifted T-shirts and I'm going to show you how easy it is to make them!

First, a confession.  I saw someone do a fringed T-shirt flower tutorial a few weeks ago and took a mental note so I could go back and give it a try.  And when I lost that mental note and couldn't find the original tutorial, I tried to do it myself. Needless to say, this is not what her flowers looked like.  They were a great deal flatter and I'd still like to give it a try. So, if you know the tutorial I'm talking about PLEASE leave a link in the comments.

I made a quick little video tutorial to show you how I made these flowers.  You can find it here.  So gather up your supplies; an old T-shirt, fabric glue and a pair of scissors and join me.  And stay tuned because I have an idea or two for using these flowers in other projects.

What You SHOULD Be Upcycling: T-shirts

ELEVEN MILLION TONS OF CLOTHING END UP IN LANDFILLS EACH YEAR! Are you as mortified as I am?  And did you know that two billion T-shirts are sold annually around the world?  Ladies, I think it's time we let the men keep their T-shirts...no matter how many they own.  

There is an interesting history to the T-shirt and it turns out that my favorite movie of all time, The Wizard of Oz, plays a hefty hand in it. While the word T-shirt became an official American-English word when it made its debut in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 1920, it was in 1939 when the first promotional T-shirt made its debut, for the Wizard of Oz.  Its popularity as a outer-wear garment, however, didn't catch on until Marlon Brando wore one in A Streetcar Named Desire in the 1950s.  And now....we're at 2 billion annually!

That 2 billion T-shirts translates to 800 billion gallons of water each year...just to grow the cotton required to make them.  JUST FOR T-SHIRTS, nevermind the jeans that you're going to wear with them!  As an avid thrifter, I can tell you that we waste so many resources on nonsense T-shirts.  Yes, I said nonsense!  Let me ask you, have ever had a large family reunion or company retreat and been given a T-shirt to wear for the day?  I see them all the time at the thrift store and they are not cute, not something that you'll ever wear again. 

T-shirts have quickly (and sadly) become disposable in our society.  So, I'm on a mission.  A mission to free the landfills of the world of the perfectly usable textiles that are smothering them.  And I'm going after the T-shirt (to start with)!  So raid your hubbies closet (or yours) or head out to the thrift store and snatch up some of those beauties and let's get started.

You've heard of T-shirt Yarn, right?  Well, if not, I've whipped up a little T-shirt Yarn Video Tutorial to show you how quick and easy it is to make.  And I've been hard at work developing new craft projects that will allow you to use T-shirt Yarn while never picking up a crochet hook or knitting needle. I just posted my first project and hope you'll check out my Finger Knit, Beaded T-shirt Yarn Bracelets.  

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel while you're there so you don't miss a single project.

The "Trader Joe's Collection"

I can honestly say that I am pretty good at promoting others....other blogs, other products, other whatevers.  When it comes to self-promotion, I suck.  It's true.  This might lead you to believe that I don't actually like my own creations and this is not true. So I decided it was high time that I start sharing some of my favorite things - made by me.  And when it comes to picking my most favorite things I really have to go with Trader Joe's.  More specifically, my Trader Joe's line of paper bead jewelry.  Here are a few of the highlights and of course you can find more in my Etsy shop:

I fell in love with the box from Trader Joe's French Toast!  Well, I actually fell in love with the French Toast - but I digress.  The very first chunky style paper bead that I ever made was from this box:

And this is what I did with it:

Stretch Paper Bead Bracelet

And this:

Floating Paper Bead Necklace

And recently, I rolled up a bunch of paper beads from a Trader Joe's grocery shopping bags for the first time.  I think these are my favorite, I really like the little faces:

Trader Joe's Shopping Bag Earrings 

And, of course, I whipped up a little something for Valentine's Day:

Trader Joe's Shopping Bag Valentine's Necklace

So what do you think?  Do you have a taste for some french toast?

An Upcycled Easel Clock

The New Year has a funny way of reminding us that time continues to pass whether we like it or not!  Maybe that's why there are so many resolutions made at the beginning of the year.  It's like someone lit a fire under our little rumps to spur us into action; to hurry up and get all those things done that we let fall to the wayside last year.  Well, I have projects to get to...many of them.  One of them is a clock for my bathroom to remind just how late I am every morning!  So while I'm not much for resolutions, I figured it was time.  Here's what I came up with:

Is that upcycled you ask?  But, of course it is!  And I'm going to show you both how I made this one with a plank from a pallet and the easel from a thrifted picture frame.  The concept behind this little clock was pretty simple:

1.  Cut the plank from a pallet to size
2.  Glue it to the easel portion of an old frame
3.  Paint it
4.  Add clock components
...and viola, a simple, one-of-a-kind clock for my bathroom!

Anyone who upcycles on the regular, knows that nothing is ever that simple! Be sure to check out the YouTube video to see all the hiccups I encountered AND how I was actually successful in the end!

Thrift Store Refashion: A Fish Bowl Vase Update

Ah, the thrift store!  An upcyclers dream come true, junk piled upon junk.  One such piece of "junk" is a very common find....the fish bowl flower vase.  You know... the "throw away" type that florists send bouquets out in every day.  I made one over with a little bit of sisal rope, which coincidentally was also an upcycled find.  Check it out:

It's a pretty easy project to complete and requires only a bit of sisal rope, hot glue, paint and a button.  But just in case you're interested in seeing it done here's the video tutorial.

Here's another option, using a large soup can:

Happy upcycling!

DIY Valentine Earrings: From Paper Beads and Soda Cans

And we jump straight from Christmas and New Year's to....Valentine's Day!  I'm actually not a fan of Valentine's Day, at least not the over commercialized Valentine's Day that we've all come to know and love.  Receiving highly over priced roses that will be dead in a week's time or waiting in line for two hours to get a table at your favorite restaurant are not all that romantic to me!! I'd much rather enjoy the company of loved one's while making dinner together and sharing handmade gifts from the heart.  To me, that says love! But I digress...

Today, I want to show you how I made these.

I did a video tutorial for this one so hop over to YouTube to get the step-by-step instructions.  You might find the following videos helpful, too, when making this pair of earrings:

How to cut an aluminum can

How to make a paper bead

Have fun with them!

How to Make Paper Bead Christmas Tree Earrings

Well hello there!  I thought I'd stop by my severely neglected blog today to share a little upcycled DIY project perfect for the holiday season.  If you make a habit of stalking my Etsy shop (and I hope you do), you may have seen these cute little country Christmas tree earrings:

If you're the DIY-type I'm going to show you how to make them yourself...right here in this YouTube video tutorial.  Of course, you still have some time to order them from my shop so stop by soon and pick up a pair or two.