Another creative t-shirt upcycler!!

Live Learn and Improve

Recyling artist Emily Kircher of ekra creates and array of beautiful rugs that display more than just a shade of Green. Try every color in the rainbow.

Since dyes are not used, Emily of ekra says that one of her biggest obsticals can be finding certain colors. 

I think that one thing that makes these upcycling projects so challenging is the fact that you are at the mercy of what you have. Without a doubt Emily has a strong-hold on how to make her rugs stand out with the colors available to her.

I love making rugs. I love just about everything about it, shopping for fabric, designing, combining fabrics to create effects. - ekra

  My motivation for making rugs from recycled fabrics is two-fold. First, to take a tiny bit of fabric waste out of the waste stream and remake it into something useful. Second, to educate people that unwanted fabrics can have a second life as something else and that if they don't want them, to please donate them to a thrift store so they can be used again. -ekra

Emily began selling her rugs in 2004 after years of perfecting her technique. 

These are available for purchase in her etsy shop, and consignsment shops which she has listed on her blog.

Upcycled Vintage Lace Transformed to Elegant Jewelry

Live Learn and Improve

No one can seem to really pin-point the origin of making lace but they will all agree that it has been around for a very long time.
 

During the Middle Ages, a ...
period of renaissance and enlightenment, the making of lace was firmly based within the domain of fashion. To be precise, it was designed to replace embroidery in a manner that could with ease transform dresses to follow different styles of fashion. Unlike embroidery, lace could be unsewn from one material to be replaced on another.

Hey! Imagine that, they were already thinking about reusing this stuff!!! This is exactly what Courtney Spivak and Christina Spivak of White Owl did. The two sisters have found a love for re-purposing vintage materials and collect a great deal from flea markets, estate sales, and even family. The result of their approach upcycling lace has an absolutely gorgeous and unique outcome. I adore their necklaces!

  

 Photos are courtesy of White Owl. Their jewelry can be found on Etsy

Upcycled Dinner Napkins Don't Ever Have To Leave the Dining Table

Live Learn and Improve

Another project of my own...

I've decided we need seat cushions for the kitchen chairs. So this is what I've come up with using old dinner napkins including the tye-strings and buttons from my old cushions. You will finds stains on these from time to time. None on these but there is always the option of dying the fabric if it is mildly tarnished.  

Pioneerthinking.com has a neat article on dying fabric the natural way with things found frequently just outside your door.

You could keep this simple and use two of the same napkins (same print front and back) or you can explore with a different fabrics on each side of the pillow. This will allow you to stretch your pattern throughout the house a little bit farther and my personal opinion is that the end result is often more creative.

One thing I love about projects like this is they have the potential be so personal when you use material you have had for years!