Upcycle Mania!

It's been a while since my last post, but boy have I been busy! I have begun what I call Upcycle mania! To Upcycle something is to take something intended for one purpose and change and improve it in some way. It's not complicated ... cutting up old Christmas cards to make tree decorations can be called upcycling. You get the idea.


My current upcycle projects include recycling t shirts into dresses, hoodies, mittens, hats and whatever else I can think of. Today I added a new project - making mittens from recycled sweaters. Here are some pictures of the t shirt dresses and hoodies:

I also made some cute twirl skirts out of recycled t shirts:

I'm working on a few other upcycle projects - I'll post them and a tutorial soon! Drop by again!

Vist my etsy shop: www.SewCraftyRobin.etsy.com to see some of my finished projects.

R

10 minute Mouse Cat Nip Toys

Alicia and I have been getting creative with our cat nip toys. This is Alicia's cat nip mouse. It takes about ten minutes and is simple enough that both Alicia (8) and Holly (6) can do it ( with a little guidance)

First cut your triangles whatever size you want your mouse to be. We mis-matched so the top and bottoms were different prints.

Next cut your tail and ears from a different fabric. Tail is a long skinny triangle, ears are a circle with one flat side.

Now it's time to sew the ears on. Place them where you want them and pin. Go to your sewing machine and sew them on, going back and forth a few time to reinforce.

Place one triangle ( mouse) on top of the other and sew two sides together, leaving the base open. This is good practice for pivoting for the kids! leave a little bit of a seam allowance if you want to apply a decorative effect at the end.

Next cut up a plastic shopping bag into small pieces. This is your filler. The plastic stops the toy from getting soggy with kitty drool and allows it to dry out between play times.

Stuff the mouse half way with crumpled plastic ( right down to the point and fairly full)

now add your cat nip (be generous) and top up with more plastic pieces. You are now ready to finish your mouse. Pin the tail in place and sew along the base of triangle, going back and forth over the tail a few times for reinforcement.

To finish off, trim edges with pinking shears (if you wish) and draw eyes and whiskers on with a permanent marker. 
You mouse is ready for it's kitty play date!

Pocket Wallets

I have always been a crafty person. Imagine my joy when my two young daughters started asking to make the things I was making. This is how we started Sew Crafty.

The time we spend together is quality and the projects we make are also quality. They learn, I learn and above all we have fun creating items to sell.

We are currently selling at Alberta Beach Farmers' Market, Sundays 12-3 at Alberta Beach Agriplex. We will also have a table in the street sale for Onoway's Heritage Days Festival June 5. Come watch the parade and drop by afterwards.

Right now the girls are practicing making summer shorts and we are debating what items to create to sell for the summer. We are looking at adding some clothing to our line of cat nip toys, hot pads, baby blankets, scrubber cloths, barrettes and clips. We might try wrap skirts, shorts and possibly some market reusable shopping bags. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

As we go I'll update you on what we are making and where you can find us. I'll even be posting some crafts and projects you can do yourself or with your kids. Stay posted!

Look for us on twitter under sewcraftyfun

Robin