Recycling Shoes? Why yes of course!

Why am I wearing two different shoes?

Well, I'm actually not! I made the one on the left out of the partner from the other one! Not that I didn't like the blue polka-dotted ones, no - in fact, I liked them so much, that they ended up looking like this:

Yikes!!
Turn something bad into something good? Yes, of course!

How to make (lined!) Espadrilles: Full Tutorial!

Finally, home-made Espadrilles - DONE!

...and it really wasn't a difficult thing at all! I had the soles already made - see my post HERE, and my video-tutorial on YouTube.

These are definitely more than house-shoes, since I added some rubber soling to make them durable.
All the tools/materials you need are these:

Shoe Shortage! Making Soles for House Shoes

Finally, here comes my next post about learning how to make shoes! In case you have missed my previous ones, I am using this great old booklet from around the time of the first world war, it's German and called "Die Schuhnot", which can be translated to "Shoe Shortage".

Upon great request from my YouTube subscribers, it can now be downloaded as a pdf file from the side bar on my blog!

The booklet is in German, but I am going through everything, step by step, so you can also just follow my blog and you won't miss a thing, I promise!
I am also going by a second booklet, from around the same time, which is almost identical, except for a few extra things, which I am also including in my posts.

1950's Hand-Sewn Leather Gloves

As you might already know, I have been away from my home and my sewing machine for a great part in the past two months. While I used some of my spare time improving my drawing skills, I also made sure I always had a little hand-sewing project along. This was one of those:

I know, I know: We are all ready for summer, but when I started them, it was still chilly. And it seemed like too much fun to pass up...

I found the pattern in one of my 1950's magazines:

Embroidered Cuffs!

Welcome to a new category on my blog: The no-sewing-machine projects!
I am away from home for a few weeks and don't have a sewing machine at hands. While I try to improve my drawing skills, I still can't quite survive completely without some kind of fabric or yarn between my fingers... :-)
So I made this cuff:

The base is a kind of wire mesh I got at the DIY store, I don't know what it is really called in English, nor what it is originally meant for...  You will need metal shears to cut it in shape:

Slashing that Stash: Bathroom Rug Tutorial!

Ta-Daaaa, here is a great project to get rid of a bunch of fabric in your stash:

It's a rug made from fabric braids, I made mine for the bathroom. It's really quite simple to make, and what I love about it is that you can incorporate fabrics in your stash that you wouldn't know what else to do with anymore otherwise. You know, the sales-bin fabric that upon closer inspection is a really nasty synthetic fiber, not suitable for a garment. Or the one that looks different in daylight, or the left-overs from a garment, for which you bought twice the amount than you actually needed. You get my point.

The only thing you should think about is that you can wash it in the end - so no fabrics that bleed heavily or that aren't washable. Make sure you pre-wash all the fabrics, too.

Slashing that Stash...: Envelope Cushions How-To

Welcome to my new Guest-Bed/Sofa:

Well, the actual guest-bed isn't new, but I finally got around to making pillow-covers for it. I decided I needed to do some drastic diminishing of my fabric stash, and that is the first of a few projects that I came up with for that purpose.

Quick Beauties - Perfect Gifts! Full Tutorial

Have you seen the cool new button in my side bar? Yes, I will hopefully be contributing a couple ideas to the Crafty Christmas Club next week! I'm also posting my projects here, but you really should go check it out for all the other great ideas. It is not too late to hand-make some really special gifts.

My first contribution are these fabric necklaces. Yes I know, they aren't exactly a new idea... I made my first one of these about two years ago, and almost simultaneously similar ones kept popping up everywhere, so I didn't feel like sharing my obviously not very unique idea - yes, I was sulking! ;-)

However, I decided to show you my version anyway, since it is really quick and even has an upcycling factor to it.

Pet Purses! Recycling How-To

As promised, here is a super quick project you can make for almost no money. And aren't these Pet Purses and Top Boxes just super cute?

I can think of a million different uses for them.

• office supplies like rubber bands, an eraser, even a mini stapler for your day bag (paper clips in the top box!)
• a creative package option for wrapped chocolates and the like
• sanitary napkins and other ladies things
• sewing supplies for on the go... (top boxes for buttons and little hooks)
• small toiletries and make-up
• even a fresh pair of undies...?

This is a super quick project, 30min. to an hour.

I found this idea in the same little book as the home-made cookie cutters:

It comes in English and Spanish and you can order it HERE. There are also lots of upcycling videos on that site, so go have a look!

HOW-TO: 

How-To: From Bland to Bling in one Hour!

A Shoe-Make-over Tutorial

Sewing a garment can be a lengthy process sometimes. Yet I am up for instant gratification very often, so a quick project it has to be...

I love shoes, and I would like to wear amazing high heels on a daily basis, yet I move around a lot and I like to walk fast, so all too often I grab this pair of dull, dreary, bland boots...
But wait! Do they have to be bland? No!

I turned them into "Bling" within one little hour. 

Look, it even has a little gemstone in the heel!

Here's how I did it:

Cookie Cutters - Tutorial!

Here comes one of my few non-sewing/non-illustration posts!

Especially around the holidays I start taking out my crafting supplies and tools, be it for presents or decorations. Yesterday, I made these cookie cutters:

Being able to make your own cookie cutters could be so cool - even if it's just numbers and letters, maybe for somebody's birthday, or an anniversary. But I'm sure you will come up with all kinds of ideas - instruments, logos, animals. All kinds of stuff that maybe you won't find in the store, or you just don't have the time to go looking for it.

I have recently become somewhat obsessed with recycling instead of always buying and buying and throwing things away... and I was thrilled to find this book a while ago:

It comes in English and Spanish and you can order it HERE. There are also lots of upcycling videos on that site, so go have a look!

I will try out some of their projects and post them here, but that will only scratch the surface. It's definitely an inspiring book and worth the money. I paid only 5 Euros and was told that the money goes towards making this a bigger, nicer book, maybe with better pictures... (hint***hint***).

So anyway, it's not my own idea, but it is a "creative commons" project, which I am allowed to share as long as I mention the source.