Creativity - Wood Whimsy

I am having too much fun with these laser engraved birchwood beads. I think it's great that this wood was repurposed into a beautiful creation to work with. I made an adjustable ring.

Zodiac Birchwood Ring

New cufflinks

And post earrings. I made these for Wandering Gypsy Soul and her hubby as a sweet romantic idea she came up with.

My favorite is the Balance Necklace made with a beautiful Kanji engraved wood pendant.

thanks for visiting.

Creativity- salvaged fun

Don't you hate when you are listening to your favorite song..esp for those of you who use ear plugs when after a while one of the earphones dies on you? It starts out slow..with one speaker volume getting lower and lower, then it shorts, until finally it goes dead;-P


I have always wanted to do something with my old ear plugs but back then I just took cleaned them and took them to an electronic store that recycled such gadgets for the other working parts of speakers(magnets, wires,etc)



I was playing with my adjustable ring bases and remebered my daughter had an old set from her Ipod she stopped using because one of the plug wires got snagged in the doorwa and popped before she could even use it...

So I took off the foam covers sprayed it with Lysol for good measure and with some good jewelry glue and a few strips of thick black faux leather cord for a simple embellishment and to cover fill the gap between the piece and the ring base:
A little buffing here and there..and there you have the Upcycled Earphone Ring . The ring fits from a size 6 to 8. Simple and eco-cool;-) What do you think?

Thanks for visiting

Creativity: Lost and repurposed

Back in May, I found this silver object on the park bench where I usually take my shots. It's perfect for a pendant or ring I think.


The first thing I thought of was this would be a nice addition to the leather scrap I have left over from the belt I made for my little one.

So I cut a piece for backing and added a wood ring ....them my idea got stuck there....


Then,.last week I bought so super odd, even super rare black seaglass..this kind is called bottle top glass since it was made from old glass and metal bottle from a loong time ago.



I added the half piece on top of my pendant idea... I think this would be a great pendant for a man or maybe a mixed media/"keep it weird "piece?? Hmmm, what do you think..should the glass stay on or off??

I'd love your input..thanks for visiting.

Creativity- Trying something new

Hey there;-)

You know, I have always wanted to try my hand at hair accessories. I love flower hair clips so I decided to experiment. with an old fabric flower from a handbag that fell of years ago and a vintage button that's been sitting in the sewing box for years!



Here she is. , the very first hair clip I have ever made.I think she is a sweet little shabby chic darlin;-) I am still on the fence as to whether I will sell her or keep her as an example for future inquires. When I started my SRS shop I always wanted to make more than just jewelry....so it's time I start crankin out something different.



So what do you think for my first hair clip???

Thanks for visiting;-)

Ashante.

Balance : Supporting Sweatshop Socials

Sweatshop Socials are amazing free events presented by BagsforthePeople.org that teaches participants how to use a sewing machine and how to construct a reusable bag made from repurposed materials.

"The goal of Sweatshop Socials is to have at least 1000 New York City residents make their own reusable bags as well as donate to a local Greenmarket over one calendar year. If the goal is met, this will greatly help reduce the carbon footprint of plastic bags usage and waste in NYC, salvage wasted scrap fabric from local landfills, and help continue the timeless, energy efficient skill of sewing".


Next Saturday, I plan to attend the May 22nd Sweatshop Social at 3rdWard. But in the meantime I posted this widget on my blog to remind me to donate to the June Sweatshop event. each Sweatshop Social Project is funded by public support and hosted by Kickstarter.com You can donate yourself or go to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/892860272/sweatshop-social-make-plastic-bags-a-thing-of-the-0 to learn more about them and cut and past the widget onto you website or blog to spread the word about this is great group of eco crafty folk!

The Balance: It makes me feel good be a proactive part of helping the environment by crafting something for others and supporting organizations that do the same as a collective.I will blog about this event again next week. If you are in NYC, maybe you could stop by , make a bag or two and party on! ;-)

Thanks for visiting

Ashanti

Creativity- Something Old Made New

Hello;-)

It's been a WHILE since I have blogged -serious writers block going on. But one thing I am never short on is creating something!

These poor old oven mitts! I have had them for 15yrs and they are finally coming apart. But they will not go to waste I have big plans for them


The ring holder popped so I made a pair of Earrings out of them

See.....

This insulation of these oven mitts is great. Other than the hole that have generated in the finger portions, these mitts are still in excellent condition.

I am going to cut them and repurpose them into cozies for hot /cold drinks



The fingertips I will probably use for a purse or part of fingerless gloves..not sure just yet.These crocheted coasters were made with some old cds of my mom's that she didn't want and were too out dated to resell. So I made them the base of the coasters and used recycled crochet yarn from a purse project that I never finished,


I have them listed in my Etsy shop right now. I look forward to making some more. Better on a table then in a landfill;-)




Thanks for visiting,

Ashanti( Thank you/Blessings in Swahilli)

Creativity-From Bulge to Belt-DIY

Well, since I haven't lost the weight bulge I wanted to before the Spring came, I decided to make some good use of an old belt I had to give to my toddler- Repurpose!





My little sweetie is growing straight up like a weed BUT is slim for the clothing sizes of his age- 2t is too short but 3t is tooo big and wide. So I took a standard pair of scissors and cut the belt from 35 inches to 20 inches.

The leather was kinda thick which was good for durability. I carved some tiny holes about an inch apart with an exacto blade.


Tried on the belt for size with my baby wearing size 3T shorts.

Perfect fit--not too tight or too loose;-) With room for him to use up to 4T size;-)..Eco-friendly and FREE;-) what frugal mom doesn't love that! Let me know what you think and feel free to share the link or another cool way to repurpose clothing for children.

Oh yeah, what am I going to do with the leftover strap..you'll see....;-) Tune in next wee & thanks for visiting.

Green Creativity - DIY Sock Gloves

Here is a quick tutorial on how I turned a pair of size 9 knee high socks into arm gloves for my daughter. These are a pair of cotton stretch socks that wore down at the toes and heals. The rest of the sock was in perfect shape and quality..why throw them away.Repurpose!


First: I washed the socks,then measured the length of my daughters arm from her elbow to the midsection of her hand.

Then, I cut off the toes section of the sock, and cut out the section of the heal that had worn down.




Next, I slid the sock up over the length of her arm to her fingers. With a permanent marker,I placed small marks on both sides of the sock material in between the fingers.


Next, I removed the sock , took a standard sewing needle and thread, pinched the clearly marked points together with my thumb and forefinger and carefully sew both pieces together to make a finger hole.

To make sure the holes fit properly, I slid the sock back to test the fit of each finger hole then proceeded to the next finger , repeating the sewing process until I reached the heal section-this is where the thumb section was saved for last. I didn't sew the thumb whole closed so the material around the thumb rests nicely.

That's it!


If you want the thumb hole to be tighter you can sew a little piece of the heel hole closed- I also I found it easier mark the fabric sections of one finger at a time to make sure each hole fit just right without bunching up.I am sure this can be done with a sewing machine but the pieces of fabric are so small I thought it would be a waste of electricity & much faster to complete by hand.


Let me know what you think. Have you done be before? Are you going to? Post share with me with a link to your blog, Flickr(if you posted them there)

Thanks for visiting.