Junk Makeover

We're moving all contents to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com Took less than 5 minutes, this is probably the fastest project to date. No one would've guessed its past life if I don't tell. This was the pair of Nine West shoes I bought at a really great promotion price. Loved them, worn them to death - literally.  But I'm not quite ready to part with them completely yet, and the decorative jewels still look good. So before I binned the shoes, I removed the shoe jewellery from both shoes and turned them into pendants. Yes I now have 2 Nine West - so to say - pendants, and why not?

Since making the  Passport Boarding Pass Holder  from the old Cancer Research bag, my sore fingers have had some good rest so it's time to do something with the remaining material. Using the same method as the  Passport Boarding Pass Holder , I made an iPad case: I've used an old worn out vest (the size was just nice) as the lining,  so that the case will have some kind of padding as extra protection for the iPad. Securing the padding (old vest) with rough running stitch on both ends.   After doing proper back stitching on both ends, fold into half and stitch on both sides. Turn inside out. Unused hair rubber bands stitched under buttons to make loops, then stitch 2 buttons on the other side. In our memory, but now serving even better purposes: The Cancer Research canvas bag before the make over

I bought a really nice canvas bag from a Cancer Research shop some years ago. Love it but don't use it enough, mainly because it's a little too flat (no gusset) and I'm a girl with many things. I've been trying, but can't seem to make it more useful than just fitting a couple of thin folders in it. So I had 2 choices: force myself to take it out regularly and let it get dirty, OR, don't use it and let it get dusty and mouldy. Such a dilemma. During my recent travel, I was rather annoyed by the fact that I have nothing in the right size that can house both a passport and a boarding pass. They are either too narrow for the passport or the opening is too short for the boarding pass, and I'm quite skeptical about folding it. After some window shopping/market research trips to the shops, all I could find are either very expensive leather goods, or the cheaper PVC version that won't last a year. I decided that I'd put my little fingers to good use an

We're moving all contents to a new site If you've come here through an old bookmark, please update accordingly.  Looking forward to seeing you at the new  rooting basil edible plant URL   😊 😘 Basil can grow up to quite tall but it needs to be harvested regularly, otherwise it will start to flower and then die. I try to keep mine growing for as long as possible by cutting long stalks and replant them. It's really pretty easy. All I do is pluck off all the leaves (for cooking or drying purposes) at the bottom, leaving top most 2 or 4 leaves of each stalk, then place them into a glass of fresh water. Over the period of a week or 2, they will start to root. Once the roots are about 2" long, I will transfer them into soil. I also do the same when the bottom of the basil plant start to turn woody. This would be the time I prune it all down, root the upper part that is fresh and green, and uproot the woody part to refresh the soil

We're moving all contents to a new site If you've come here through an old bookmark, please update accordingly. Looking forward to seeing you at the new  URL   😊   😘 This is what I often get left with, and I'm certainly not going to let them go to waste. So I'm going to have a big melt down - for the wax 😀 It's not a very complicated process, just a little tedious and hot. What I need are: A big pot Some used disposable chopsticks Some parcel string (as I haven't any wicks readily at home) Glass containers/candle holders - to clean up glass candle holders: boiling hot water   First is to melt the old wax (different colours separately) in hot water in the pot, with the string tied to the chopstick placed over the glass container. The string can be fiddly. To make it easier to work with I'll dip it with some melted wax then straighten it whilst the wax dries and hardens up. That way it will stay down to the bo

We're moving all contents to a new site If you've come here through an old bookmark, please update accordingly.  Looking forward to seeing you at the new Handmade Beaded Handbag URL 😊 😘