Today I am heading to Los Angeles for the Winter Craft and Hobby show. It's cold and snowing here, but I am heading to 80 degree weather and sun! Yipee! But before I go get some rays, I wanted to share with you this weeks thrifty finds and a DIY project I know you are going to think is wacky but pretty fun! lol
My first set of finds are totally random I know. One is a fun summer dress (brand new mind you).. that was too small for me.. but would make the most adorable set of pillows for a fresh spring makeover or a fun gift for friend for her birthday! I picked it up for $2.00. The next is a vintage china plate.. that is great to use in a bathroom with scented candles on. It was $.50. The last piece in the picture is an old wooden plaque featuring two adorable little girls in vintage attire. I originally got the plaque to recycle. I was planning on painting over it and doing my own artwork on it (a cheap alternative to buying a new piece of wood). But honestly the print on it is so cute, I think I might have to keep it and maybe spruce it up a bit. It would make a really great baby shower gift!
here is a closeup of the dress and plate.. yum!
okay.. so as you probably already know I LOVE LOVE LOVE vintage clip-on earrings! I love using them in a lot of jewelry I create. I am going to be teaching a mini workshop at Donna Downey's Inspired event in May!. and we will be making the leather cuffs I showed you last week in this post. So I am collection vintage earrings now.. so my students will have plenty to choose from! I got these little baby's off ebay! Gotta love ebay! Most of them ranged from $1.50- $2.00 a pair.
I don't really wear striped sweaters.. and especially ones in these wonderful patterns.. but when I saw these.. I KNEW I had to have them for a DIY project I was dying to try out! I have posted it below.. but these babies cost me $3.00 each.
So speaking of my DIY.. Here is a fun little project you can try using old sweaters you might be thinking of giving to Good Will.
I made this cute little Hand/Arm gloves out of the sweaters featured above. They are perfect to keep me warm while I am working at my computer or working in my garage while creating my art.. or even just going out with!
The first thing I did was cut the arms off each sweater. I cut mine about 8-10" in length (depending on if I will roll up the ends or not). Kids sweaters are PERFECT for these, because you want them to be a little tight. Not Loose. If they are loose, you can simply sew them on your machine, to make them fit better.
Next I gathered thread (you could also use yarn or embriodery thread) and a needle..
and stitched around the outside edge of the cut side.
ANd that's it! Simple DIY project you can do in literally minutes! You can also add buttons, ribbon or even a flower to the arm mittens to pesronalize them!
PLUS you have the entire body of the sweater left that would be perfect for a handbag, a pillow, or even a matching scarf!
So the next time you are thinking about getting rid of some old sweaters. Think again! They are so fun to re-cycle and make new again!
Happy Friday!
