Piano desk

This is such a great way to recycle any old piano

Sewing machine arbour

How gorgeous is this use of three old singer sewing machines. I would love this arbour in my garden

Jeans Cushions

Cut the pant legs and open. Place one over the other, right with right. Draw your pig templates . Fold the template in half from head to crease and position on the crease of his jeans. To make the ears, draw two  in the fabric and cut.

 buttons in place for eyes and nose

position eyes in place above nose

Join the ears and tack

sew the haed and stitch in the ears but leave opening in the bottom of the cushion

fill your head with stuffing ans stitch closed

make a bow or buy one to use on the next of the pillow

how cute is this cat

or this Teddy Bear

Recycled infinity scalf

I have become a fan of the  which allows you to easily wear a scarf without it flying away in the wind, or slapping you in the face accidentally. Instead of going out and buying a bunch of new scarves, I decided to revamp an old scarf to function like the infinity scarf.

For this Do-It-Yourself you'll need: scarf, buttons, scissors, needle & thread.

1. Sew the buttons on one end of the scarf spaced out evenly.

2. On the opposite end of the scarf, cut button holes with scissors. Make sure you line them up correctly so the buttons fit in easily.

 

 3. Wrap the scarf around your neck, and button the end. 

 

 

American circle scalf and shawl

The hardest part of making these circle scarves is finding the right fabric.  You need about 2 yards of soft, stretchy knit material

Super cute, right?
And super easy!!  Essentially all you are doing is sewing the ends of a large rectangular piece of fabric together to create a circle.  The trickiest part of sewing the scarves is cutting the fabric.  Because it requires such a large piece of fabric, you need a large even surface to spread out the fabric, measure and cut it.  The floor works great!
I think for the scarf to look good, you need to have a really wide piece of fabric so that it is extra plush and voluminous. The scarf doesn’t look so hot if its skinny and limp.  Most knit fabrics come 54″ wide which is perfect for these scarves!  And the added bonus is that you don’t have to cut the edges of the fabric, just leave the selvage as it is. (see how easy this is?)  If your fabric is wider than 54″ (the pink knit fabric was 66″ wide) and you need to cut it skinnier, don’t fret.  Knit fabric doesn’t fray, so you can cut it and not worry about hemming the edges.   Just cut as straight as you can and the edges will roll up instead of fraying.   Since the scarf is so puffy, it’s pretty forgiving if you don’t cut out the perfect rectangle.  The beauty of these scarves though is that you don’t have to cut the lines perfectly.  There is lots of room for error and different variations.  I also experimented with different lengths of fabric, making some scarves shorter than others.  The yellow striped one is on the shorter side at 60″ long.  The light gray scarf with the skinny blue stripes (top left corner photo) is the longest at 74″. The others fall somewhere in between.  The length can vary, its really up to your own preferences.  When you are fabric shopping, make sure to get at least 2 yards of fabric so that you have enough to at least double loop it around your neck.
Once you cut out the fabric into a rectangle,  fold the scarf in half so that the top edge is aligned with the bottom edge, right sides together. Pin together well. Since knit is pretty stretchy, its important to pin the layers together so that it doesn’t stretch or move when you are sewing it. Then sew the edges together with about a 1/4″ seam.  I sewed over the seam twice to reinforce it:

 You can leave the edges raw because they won’t fray. They may even curl up and hide the seam. The American Apparel circle scarf is woven to be seamless but the seam doesn’t bother me. Just adjust the scarf when you are wearing it so that the seam is at the back of your neck. If you are using striped fabric, make sure to align the fabric so that the stripes line up:

 These scarves are so versatile, too!! You can wear it with a double loop around the neck like in the photos above or you can also just wear it with one big loop or as a shawl:

Spoon me

I come across a lot of pretty silverware in different patterns in my travels as an antique dealer.  I've taken an assortment of old spoons in various sizes and shapes and combined them with old costume jewelry bits to make pendants.  This project is really easy and fun, so you might want to give it a try!

start with assorted spoons:

 The spoons can be put in a vise grip and partially bent, then cut with a hack saw.  Finish bending after cutting to make a loop for the chain:

 The proper way to use E-6000 is to apply the glue to the area, then slide your item onto the glued area.  It creates a better bond to slide the item rather than simply placing it onto the glued area.

 Some of the items I glued into the spoons were earrings with the backs removed.  Some of the other bits were small brooches.  The pinbacks can be easily removed with wire clippers.

 I had so much fun picking out the jewelry bits from my stash:

 The pendants would look fine on a simple black cord or silver ball chain.  A more elaborate beaded chain could be used too.  The possibilities are endless!

Thanks Mitzi for the tutorial and photos 

Use the tops of the spoons as key rings.
Bend the ends over a ring and preto 

 

Crochet buttons

Now these are sooooo gorgeous

Have you ever thought that a little thing like a button can have a story behind it? Yes, over the years, each time that a shirt or a jacket was abandoned  sooner or later, for some decoration or chore of creative recycling. So I have accumulated a number, and every time I open the boxes in which they are placed, I recall memories and feelings that are related to them. With the 'crochet was easy to do colored flowers, I would not have stopped, one pulling the other ...

Needed:

Buttons, crochet, cotton, August

How to make Decorations with Creative Recycling of Buttons

 

 By doing crochet thread through one of the holes in the button and pull a loop.

 

 

Work 4 ch and a sl st (for bigger buttons to do the chains are 5)

  A sl st in the next hole, * 4 ch, sl st * repeat from a '*' to '*' for another 2 times, 4 ch, close with a sl sl worked on at the beginning of a turn.

A sl st in the next hole, * 4 ch, sl st * repeat from a '*' to '*' for another 2 times, 4 ch, close with a sl sl worked on at the beginning of a turn. At the end of the tour you will have made ​​5 bows.

 Within each headband works: A sl, half treble, 4 meshes tall, half treble, a sl st. Close the round with a sl st. Stop the thread on the back of the work.

You may wish to refine the mesh very low floret working around a wire mesh with a contrasting color. 

 

 

 Inglese Version

RND 1: sc in the 1st hole of button, ch 4 (for bigger button ch 5), sc in the 2nd hole, ch 4, sc in the 3rd hole, ch 4, sc in the 4th hole, ch 4, sc in the 1st hole, ch 4, join with a sl st to the 1st sc.

RND 2: * sl st, hdc, 4DC, hdc, sl st * repeat 4 times, sl st to the 1st sl st, finish off.

Thanks to craft and fun for the great tutorial