Eco Friendly and Recycled Inspiration

What can I make from items I already have on hand? Can I put something together that doesn’t require me having to go buy anything new? That’s always my first question when I start a new project, be it an item for my shop, a gift for someone special or a project around the house.

This month I created two purses from old fabric pieces and  zippers & buttons I already had on hand. For my upcoming mini-market, I needed some packaging for small items , so I made some origami boxes from magazines I intended to recycle.

My two nieces both have birthdays this month, so I created numerous fabric flower hairclips (all of them from various remnants and vintage buttons) a few of which one niece will receive. My other niece wanted a tote bag for schoolbooks. I had her look through my fabric remnants and the old jeans I recycle and I patched together what she chose into a tote bag I’d love to use myself. I even used an old belt for the handles (post pics later -haven’t had the party yet).

Even my husband got on board last week, he built a new step for our shed from some wood we got off a scrap pile over a year ago. He even painted the step with leftover house paint. I’m always pleased when we can make something new and beautiful from stuff we already own.  

Jetson’s Halloween Costumes

I’ve been making Halloween costumes my whole life. Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, probably cause I loved playing dress-ups as a kid. My mom made our costumes when we were little (wish I still had some of those vintage patterns). So having a handmade costume is always preferable to me.

It wasn’t easy trying to decide a best or favorite costume for this blog carnival. I just went though my Halloween photo album and picked one that I enjoyed creating.  It was 1989, so the old scanned photo here isn’t the best. I decided my hubby and I would be George & Jane Jetson. Their clothing wasn’t so hard to design, I even got the rings around the wrists and ankles, and used wire to make the skirt hem flare out. The hair was the hard part.  Since the photo was taken at night it’s very difficult to see, but I ended up getting some cheap wigs and trying to style Georges in that flat swirl across the top and Janes with those winged curls along the sides. I wasn’t perfectly successful with those, but it was better than our real hair.

Our Handmade Wedding

Our wedding was a small family affair in our own back yard. With the help of friends and family, we made most everything for our wedding. We wrote our own vows and we created & printed our own invitations. I restored my grandmothers 1920’s wedding dress (it had major damage to the silk fabric) and my mother helped me sew the rest of the clothes for the wedding party. My sisters & sisters-in-law helped make the bouquets and decorations for the house. Most of our friends pitched in making the food for the reception. It was a lovely intimate wedding, and it sure doesn’t seem like that long ago for us to have celebrated our 20^th Wedding Anniversary just a few weeks ago.

Summer Flowers

This summer I was inspired to finally work on some fabric flowers. I’ve started with some from vintage fabric scraps I’ve had since the 70’s and old buttons. I intend to use them for hair accessories and to decorated some purses & wristlets. Soon I will also try some other flower patterns using knit strips.

April’s EtsyBlogger

This month EtsyBloggers is featuring Pam of Magdalene Jewels another talented member of our team. She has been blogging for a while about crafting and her family life.

She also has 2 different Etsy shops, one that features her beautiful jewelry and the other her incredible knitting. Please give her a look-see.

http://magdalenejewels.etsy.com

http://magdaleneknits.etsy.com

Celebrating Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is almost here. We usually have a huge family dinner here at our house because we have the biggest dining room. For a few years now, my husband has been making a Maple Brine Turkey (it marinates for 3 days) So Good...But our oven has croaked and we are in the beginning stages of planning a major renovation to the kitchen. We only have a microwave to cook in, so we’re still waiting for the rest of the family to make a plan. Perhaps we’ll go out for once. But I’m sure either way my hubby will still be baking the traditional pumpkin pie (from the Halloween jack-o-lantern) and his delicious cranberry pie. Guess his mothers traditional squash casserole will have to wait till xmas.

Photo credit also goes to my talented husband.

P.S. as requested, here's the Cranberry Pie Recipe:

1 double pie crust (Pillsbury crust is good, and easy. It’s found in the refrigerated section at the store, usually near the cans of crescent rolls and cookie dough.)
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
12 oz. Cranberries (one bag, fresh or frozen*)
1 orange (about 1 Tbls. grated rind and ¼ cup juice)
½ cup golden raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg, (optional)
1 tablespoon water (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Fit one crust into pie plate. Mix sugar and flour and sprinkle ¼ cup of mixture evenly over bottom crust. Coarsely chop about half the cranberries. In a large mixing bowl, combine chopped berries, remaining whole berries, grated orange rind, orange juice, raisins, nuts, and butter. Mix thoroughly and pile mixture into pie plate. Sprinkle remaining sugar/flour mixture evenly over filling. Place top crust on pie and seal edges. If desired, brush the crust with a wash made by beating together the egg and water. Cut at least one vent hole near the center of the top crust. Place on a baking sheet in the center of the oven. Bake at 375 F for 50 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbling. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
*If using frozen cranberries, DO NOT thaw them. Use a food processor to chop them or leave them whole.