Forever in Blue Jeans

Pile of old denim clothing

I had been working with vintage linens for a couple of weeks and made a couple of really wonderful pillow covers to sell in my Deb Upcycles shop on Etsy so I decided to do something different a couple of Fridays ago. I have a small cabinet full of old beat up blue jeans and other denim and I decided to play with that all day.

Well, it lasted a lot longer than a day. I started by making "a pillow or two". Cut a few pairs of jeans and then cut a few more until I had a large pile of blue jean parts.



Then I started making stuff, I cut out a bunch of potholders, eye glass cases and lots of pillows. Threaded the sewing machine with heavy duty denim thread and started sewing.

This was the hardest one to make, but I really like it. I think I'll try to make a couple more. I'm waiting for better weather to take pictures of a couple more to list them and four or five more cut out and waiting to be made. I had to stop for a little while to work on a special order from a local shop (more about that in another post). But watch Deb Upcycles on Etsy for more denim items. For some reason that pile in the first picture is growing instead of shrinking. I keep finding more denim as I go through my bins of stuff to upcycle.

Something Old, Something New

'Something Old Becomes Something New' by debupcycles

A selection of repurposed items on Etsy.

Bountiful Buttons - Vintage ... hangingbyathre... $78	Chandelier 17" or 21&qu... VexDecor $245	paper roses. repurposed book... dragonflies $7.5
Beautiful BLUES. Pallet Wood... terrafirma79 $150	Movie Film Repurposed Earrin... ThatOldBlueHou... $32	Glass garden flower, glass g... RecycleRoom $34
Sunday Comics Necklace - Unu... PaperMelon $42	Recycled Book Journal | Repu... DogearedJourna... $25	Set of 10 UPCYCLED ENVELOPES... LovelyBonesEmp... $15
Yard Art/Metal Art Rooster -... AdamsCraftyCre... $50	Old Nails Necklace, Antique ... GarageCoutureC... $22	Recycled Glass Cuatro Neckla... SmartGlassKP $72
Hankie Sachet, Repurposed Vi... SunDriedLinen $10	Burgundy bag in repurposed d... MadameRenard $30	Just For Roo Pet Bed-Upcycle... MadeForRoo $100

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Reclaimed Fabric

I have a supply shop on Etsy called Deb Upcycles Supplies where I sell fabric, lace, needlework kits and more. In the past I only listed "new" fabric yardage I found in thrift shops, In other words, fabric that hadn't been used for anything else, but I've recently started a section in my shop for reclaimed fabric.  I've collected so many curtains, sheets, tablecloths etc. to make things out of that I need to cut down my supplies.

Since I'm all about upcycling and reusing why not sell it in my supply shop? The fat quarters above started out as a sheet. I was going to tear it up for rag rugs but it was in excellent condition and such a pretty print!

I also have tons of fabric samples like the one on the left. They were bought to make pillows and some of them will make pillows but I just have so many.

The large piece of fabric on the right was a tablecloth, The edges were a bit tattered but the fabric itself was in very good condition. Again, I had bought it to make rag rugs but it was much too pretty to cut up. Anyway, what do you think? I like the idea of reclaiming good fabric from finished items, how about you?

About My --------- Upcycled Potholders!

 I thought I'd write a series of posts here about the things I sell in my shop DebUpcycles. Answering questions like... Why they're upcycled, how they're upcycled, what materials I use, and where I get the fabric. I don't have any big trade secrets so here it goes.

I'm going to start with my denim potholders. People, mostly men but some women (including me) wear their jeans until they're falling apart.

 Most thrift shops don't put these out, although I wish they would, so I go to the Goodwill Outlet here where they sell all the items not good enough for the stores by the pound. I also find some at yard sales where they'll either be very cheap or (awesome!) in the "free" box.

I also find scraps of cotton batting, leftovers from some ones quilt project, at various places.



 In the first potholders pictured I used scraps of denim in another shade to make the hearts and outlined them with machine stitching in red so they would stand out. In the picture above, you can see the outline of the stitching on the back of the potholder. For the ones on the left, the apples were cut from scraps I had leftover from making a pillow out of a mans shirt which was also found at the Goodwill Outlet, the leaves were just scraps I had picked up somewhere.
Everything except the thread is upcycled or used up from scraps, if I run out of something like the cotton batting I don't go running to a regular retail store for more. I just make something else until I find it again.

I love the challenge of finding ways to use the things I buy to their fullest extent. Even the scraps that are too small for anything else end up in pincushions or my compost pile as long as they're natural fibers.

Remember, we only have one Earth, it's time to start taking care of it.

Friday's Finds: Upcycled Glass!

Sure glass bottles are recyclable and some other types of glass are as well, but some, like mirrors are not. Whether it is or not why upcycling works even better. Here are some awesome finds on Etsy of upcycled glass!

This beautiful Chrysanthemum drinking glass started out as a wine bottle! Summer  of PNGDesigns and her family hand cut and etch these beautiful glasses. Check out her shop to see the other wonderful designs.

I love this little wind chime/suncatcher! Made from a vintage cup and glass chimes it would go perfect in my kitchen window! You can find this and other items made from vintage glass at Heritage Dishes on Etsy.

Seven years bad luck? Not if you recycle the pieces. This wonderful whale made from broken mirror mosaics would look wonderful on your wall. Green and aqua whales can also be found at Salvaged Surf Designs on Etsy!

Not only is this twine dispenser useful, it's quite pretty as well! It wouldn't look out of place on a kitchen counter or a windowsill. You can find it on Treater Creek on Etsy along with lots of natural and nature inspired gift ideas!

Playing with (Sewing) Patterns

 I started my Deb's Patterns shop because the patterns were starting to overwhelm the fabric and supplies on Deb's Crafts. At that time I had over 200 sewing patterns and numerous booklets and patterns for other crafts. With the patterns I'll be listing today I will have over 700 items in my store with about 600 of them being sewing patterns, mostly women's clothing but men's, children's and craft patterns too.

 Some patterns are newer, like this evening gown from 2006, which would make an awesome bridesmaids dress.

 Some are much older like this men's pullover shirt pattern. I love finding the older patterns. I try to only buy and sell patterns that are uncut so finding an unused older pattern is sometimes difficult. I think I may have one pattern in my shop that's been cut.

 I've found some really awesome craft patterns on my search, I would love to keep a lot of them, like the one on the right. But I can't, I have to be realistic, I'm probably never going to actually use them and I want them to get into the hands of someone who would.

 I've also found a lot of costume patterns recently and sold a few. Halloween is in a couple months so I guess people are getting ready. This one will allow your child to be turned into a crayon or tube of toothpaste. I would have loved it when my kids were little.

Like I said earlier, most of what I have is women's dresses and separates. These patterns languish in thrift shops waiting for the person the right size with the right tastes in clothing to take them home.

I feel like I'm doing them and their eventual owners a service by taking the time to buy, scan, write and list them on Etsy.





Use the coupon code BUY15GET2 in my Deb's Patterns shop for you to get $2 off any $15 purchase or more. For readers of this blog I also have the coupon code BLOG4 to get $4 off a $25 purchase until August 31, 2013.

You can also win $25 off any of my shops by entering my Birthday Contest!

My Weekly Thrift Shop Run

 I find my "second chance" craft supplies, fabric and patterns, as well as my clothing and linens to upcycle in all kinds of places. Thrift shops, yard sales, estate sales, auctions, friends and family and more. The thrift shop pictured above, though, is a weekly stop. They have patterns and fabric for sale on a very regular basis. They bag up their fabric, yarn and other craft supplies in large bags and it's often a guessing game as to what is in the bag. I can spend several minutes per bag trying to determine if the bag is worth buying.

They have a system of coding everything by color. After a number of weeks they start reducing the items. I don't wait for the fabric and patterns to be reduced or I would miss out on a lot of good stuff but when I'm looking for items to upcycle, I look for the items that are 75% off for two reasons. One, because it's a lot cheaper and two because it's had awhile to sell and hasn't. These are usually the items that are worn, stained, have buttons missing or other problems and this makes it a prime candidate for upcycling!

And this is the haul for this week, lots of patterns that I'm listing now on Deb's Patterns. A bag of fabric and another bag of buttons that I still have to go through and take pics and list on Deb's Crafts. A couple shirts for pillows or whatever, a beach wrap with messed up fringe and a stained damask tablecloth, all candidates for upcycling, watch Deb Upcycles for the results once I figure out what I'm going to make.

Quick Link - Upcycling and Upcycled Baskets

From one of my Etsy teammates

15 Ways to Upcycle Baskets

Works in Progress and Other Sad Tales

I have a problem with a pile up of works in progress, it's not that I start a bunch of stuff that I never finish. Everything eventually gets finished. The problem is I start working on more projects than I finish in any given week.

So I made a vow to only work on those projects that were already started. Most of them were gift bags and plain pillow covers from decorator fabric. Those are just so easy to cut, I cut a lot of them.

The problem with this is;
A - I'm easily bored.
B - I keep coming up with new ideas

                                                                                                                

 The pillow cover above was one of those ideas. I finally decided that I needed to work on my ideas before they get stale. I was losing too many of them to trying to finish the "pile" of work. I know everything will eventually get done. I had several of these potholders in the pile

Finished the ones on the right the other day and posted them this morning.

This is actually a pile of  pillow covers I finished yesterday, all they need is to be turned right side out, ironed, put in the insert and take the pics.

So I do get things done, I need to stop "waiting" to start on new ideas and just do them.




What's the other sad news? Well, I need to give Fuuko her medicine and she hates it. Poor kitty.

Happy news is my birthday contest is still on, tell me about your works in progress on this post to be entered and see the contest post for other ways to enter.

Upcycled Pet Beds - Brand New Etsy Shop - Dizzypets

 Look what I found when I was cruising around Etsy today! Pet beds made from sweaters! Now there is some serious upcycling. They're all different of course, this is one of the great things about upcycling.

 This is a brand new Etsy shop called DizzyPets, she only opened three days ago so she doesn't have a whole lot in there yet but I think she's going to do well.

The beds are made out of old but carefully selected sweaters and stuffed with poly-fil.

 Fuuko could probably use one, since she's taken to sleeping in the one place I really don't want her to be.

But Horatio is the one really having problems. He seems to have outgrown his bed. You think he would like one?

Tweet this blog post for a chance to win my Birthday Contest! Check out this post for other ways to enter! Please leave a comment on the contest post if you do, not here. (You can still comment here of course)

Nature Becomes Art

Into the Trees is another Etsy shop I love! This is what this wonderful artist has to say about her work and her shop.

"I am a self taught artist native of Florida in the land of sunshine and palm trees. I create my original fun art on my found reclaimed palm frond wood for about 14 years now. Never know what that new found frond is going to turn into."


I'm not going to yadda yadda yadda here. I'll just let her art speak for itself!