Saint Salvage

It's spring. Trees and flowers are coming back to life. I love spring! The crocus that come back every spring were gifts from my mother years ago. She gave me other plants that are in my my small yard in front of and in back of my townhouse. When I see them come back, I am reminded of my mother's love living on. Even though she's been gone just a little over a year, it still hurts. I look for little reminders to help keep me going.    The cherry blossoms on the cherry tree are a time-honored symbol of the joy of spring. So, when I saw this chambray shirt embroidered with cherry blossoms, I had to find it.  I found the creator of the shirt. It's Judy Rice, of  Satsuma Street (on Tumblr) . She sells cute things on  https://www.etsy.com/shop/SatsumaStreet The refashion I have done is inspired by Judy's design. It is not meant to be a knock-off or copycat.I have this great Levi's denim/ chambray top. It has great notched pockets and "pearl...

I inherited a vintage floor-length dress from my mom when she passed away in April 2015. I've had this dress in my possession for months, not knowing what to do with it. It was in colors and a pattern I love, and it fit. But, it was way too long, and not practical for my life.    Oh, what to do.... I trawled Pinterest for ideas, and I came upon this photo, but with no instructions. Tie-dyed Denim Skirt But, I had my inspiration, and I knew what to do with my dress. I decided to honor my mom, and update the dress to fit my lifestyle.... separates... a top and a skirt. Step 1: Gather the Materials Step 1 is pretty simple... gather your supplies: Dress, jeans, pins, scissors, color-matching thread, iron, ironing board, dressmaker's dummy. I selected the button-fly jeans because I wanted to have a different type of denim skirt. I've seen a lot of them with zipper-fly fronts, and the skirt material just slapped on the bottom. I didn't want tha...

It's stash busting time.... I have a pile of worn out jeans, and I've been pinning "like crazy" on my Pinterest board "Forever in blue jeans" . So, I decided to start small. I wanted to make earrings out of the rivets!     This pair follows the same procedure as yesterday, but it's a pair of torn up black Versace Couture jeans.   (BTW.... a mint pair is for sale by other vendor on  Etsy for $130.)     Mine is below.   Close up on the rivets before removal:   Again, glue: Backs:     Finished product; ready to wear. I made two pair, and have lots of scrap.   Close up of the studs: Here's the donor pair; a torn-up pair from my boys. It was Old Navy.

It's stash busting time.... I have a pile of worn out jeans, and I've been pinning "like crazy" on my Pinterest board "Forever in blue jeans" . So, I decided to start small. I wanted to make earrings out of the rivets!   Here's the donor pair; a torn-up pair from my boys. It was Old Navy.     Close up of the "1994" rivet:   Brand new posts.   Rivet trimmed with a little bit of denim.   Two sets, all prepped for the application of glue:   Here's the final product, on punched card stock, with my business card info. Hey, it's multi-purpose: a display and a marketing tool.   Here's the close up of the earrings on the card.

Today in Fashion History: February 22, 1999 Levi Strauss announced that they were closing 11 of 22 North American plants and eliminating some 5,900 jobs. The job cuts amount to 30 percent of the jeans maker's American and Canadian work force. WSWG

  I was in the Millville location of Hobby Lobby during July 2012, and I saw a foam cube - shaped denim ottoman. The price was on clearance for around $50. I took a picture of it, and it was put on a future project list.       So.... on last week, I stumbled upon an ottoman at the curb. Yes... destined for the trash.   So, I cleaned it...   Then, I cut up some scrap jeans that we've had. This piece was from one of the legs. It's on the lid.   I cut up more, and pinned them to the sides and sewed them to the sides.   I cut off the patches off the jeans, and sewed them to the top, and hot glued them to the sides.   Lastly, I had some goldenrod colored rickrack type of trim that came as part of a bulk deal from an estate sale. I hot-glued them to the edges of the lid, and then to the bottom edges of the sides. Ta-dah.... all done! Saint Salvage strikes again..... For next-to-nothing!