Just How Many Pumpkins CAN You Get From a Sweater?

Have you seen those cutie patootie sweater pumpkins rolling around Pinterest?  Well I have and I love 'em.  So I decided to give it a go.  Look at how cute they are:

I decided to go nuts with this sweater, chopping off any useable tube shaped area I could find.  This one sweater yielded SIX pumpkins; one big one from the main part of the sweater (armpit to the waist), two from each sleeve and a bonus one from the turtle neck area of the sweater.

I was pulling the final pieces of this project together while I had the TV on last night.  There was a new show on called Extreme Cheapskates and I had to laugh because I didn't pay a penny for anything to make these pumpkins.  Of course, I do it for the environment and not the pennies, but still I had to chuckle.

So, how did I do it?  I started with this fabulous no-sew tutorial from the Country Chic Cottage. I did make a couple of adjustments to suit my needs but here's how I spent ZERO dollars and ZERO cents:

-  Used an old sweater that was sitting in the back of my closet since who knows when
-  Used fishing string to "sew" with, I always have that laying around for drying my paper beads
-  Grabbed a few corks for the stems from the collection that my sister-in-law gave me 
-  Created leaves from corn husks that I actually dried from the summers BBQs
-  Finally tore apart those lumpy, bumpy pillows and reused the stuffing (you know I saved the pretty fabric for later use, too)

And there you have it - a cheap and easy yet super cute way to decorate the garden, porch or kitchen table for Halloween.

What a Fabulous Sewing Month

September was a fabulous month for sewing some upcycled goodness, wasn't it?  We had eight fabulous entries into two separate contests.  Thankfully, I didn't have to choose the winners because it was a tough one....well, two.  But in the end our two winners were:

Punky Trash Goddess from Annie

Fold 'n Go Tote from Melissa

All I have to say to my readers is that you are SO lucky that I didn't attempt to post my own projects for this month-long celebration of  sewing because, well, I just don't enjoy it.  Don't enjoy it so much that I can't even bring myself to hem a pair of curtains that separate my craft room space from the rest of the basement.  Not even after I tore the curtain rod hardware out of the wall TWICE because I stepped on all the extra fabric that was pooling up on the floor.

So last week, just as I was posting the last project, I got all tangled up in the fabric again.  I must have done a good job reinstalling the hardware last time because here's what happened this time:

So embarrassing!  But a great reminder to be grateful for all those who participated.

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 :)