Repurposed Magazine Envelope Tutorial

Stitched Online Workshops

I am excited to be one of the 20 teachers teaching an online workshop!! 

They are all Fabric Based Projects and who doesn't love Fabric!

I'm teaching the Bohemian Bag workshop in which we will transform Acrylic Sweaters into a Fantastic Bag! So get your sewing Machines out and grab those Ugly sweaters and go Register!

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Here is the Bohemian Bag

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Plus the First 20 to Register through me get a FREE Kit!

Kit Includes:

Roving to made Felted beads

Bead

Wool Sweater pieces

Felted wool piece

webbing

Custom Embroidery pattern made by Jen Osborn just for this Bag!!

All will come wrapped up in Upcycling Packaging of course!

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Here are pictures from all the workshops!

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For the Love of Tee's

I have been obsessed with T-shirts lately! I am making this cute hats which are great for the fall as they aren't too warm yet keep the chill off your head! Gender natural as well! 

My Stash of Tee's

a Sloo of hats ready to go!

Betty in her hat! (This was my display at a craft show)

My Son not happily modeling a "world of warcraft" hat!

So I have now added Flowers to the mix! I love these so much they can be used in your hair or as a clip on your shirt, purse or even shoes! 

A mess of them ready to be posted for sale!

My with my new flower!

Nope doesn't stop there! Fingerless gloves now are added to the T-shirt goods list! they are great because they aren't too warm but just right for those cold office days!

You will just have to wait to see what I have brewing next.....................

Tutorial, Give Aways & More!

Contest/Giveaways/Just plain good stuff!

On my other blog I have a tutorial, give away and just some great info on a new eco friendly kid's program. Click the link above to check it out! be sure to leave a comment on my other blog for a chance to win!

(RadicalRecycks.com click on the blog section!)

Giveaway coming up!!

I am going to be giving away a Signed copy of my book along with some goodies starting in August so stay tuned..................... (you can become a follower on my blog to be the first to  know!)

Traveling for Trash

I talk a lot about my upcycling - for instance while I am getting my trashy roots dyed at the salon I ease drop on conversations and insert myself not because I'm nosey but rather because I'm bored (this looking beautiful thing is long hard work lol) and of course I somehow get to talking about how I make things out of trash. well on this particular occasion the lady I was talking to had a trunk full of games that she had tried to donate to salvation army but they wouldn't take them because they didn't have the time to make sure all the pieces where there, really? yep really! So guess who has them now? Yep me! So I have taken what I can use and recycled what I can't.

Now I also meet someone who is quality control for a company that makes tractor kind of seats so they get rolls of vinyl in then test it and if it's bad well they don't have anything to do with it because the recycling company only takes small pieces and the company they buy the vinyl from doesn't want the defective vinyl back so I was more than happy to volunteer to take it off of their hands! Heres my first roll! Now what to make?






And so it goes on.....I got an email last week from someone who works at Dow Corning and seems they orders these shiny silver bags from 3m but they were the wrong size and didn't meet their standards for some reason so to the trash they were headed but this wonderful lady got the go ahead to give them to me! Now what to make with them? Oh I think there's at least 250 in each box!








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Plastic Bottle Flower Key Chain

My heart belongs to Michigan

I was asked to make some RePurposed totes for gifts that would be given at our Girl Scout Encampment this year. I wanted to make them a little bit more special & since our Girl Scout council is Heart of Michigan I thought I needed to put those two things together!

I love the idea so much and to be honest I've seen it before but it never really make me even think about applying it to my fused plastic until I was presented with the task above. I know my Heart is in Michigan so I know others must be to and maybe they want to wear it on their tote! Here is the link to get one ( I only have one up but I can make a custom one if this one isn't tickling your fancy) http://www.etsy.com/listing/75168095/my-hearts-in-michigan-repurposed-fused






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Dog food tote

I have had an idea to make totes out of food bags for a long time now and then donate part of the proceeds to "a Place to Bark" but it just never made it to the front of the list, sad I know right! Well I am happy to say I finally got it to the top of the list with a little inspiration from a pattern I found at www.keykalou.etsy.com . Her patterns always inspire me! So this is the first one -I need to whip up some more and get them for sale so I can give some money to "a Place to Bark"!




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Inspired Workshop

I taught at Artist Inspired Workshop in North Carolina this past week/weekend and I can't even express in words how much fun I had. I met so many fun people and laughed so hard I am pretty sure I peed my pants a couple of times! Everyone loved it and made the most amazing bags ever! That is one of the things I love the most is seeing what people come up with everyone is so talented! Ruffles I do believe was the theme that was to have been started by Stephanie Stacy Ackerman! I hope to cross paths with all of the folks again one day!. I was so excited to come home and start making some stuff myself but I had to catch up on sleep first then work this week but I managed to bust out a tote tonight!

Here is a picture of every student with their creation~ Well I hope I got everyone!

Mosaically - Inspired workshop by RadicalRecycks

oxxo,

Tracie

Middle School Eco Club

Today I was invited to a Rochester, Michigan Middle School Eco Club! I told them how I got started with my obsession of Upcycling then we fused some plastic! It was mostly boys which surprised me but they were so much fun, very creative and out going! Teachers & Parents came as well. I would love to do that everyday just go around to schools and talk with the kids then make stuff.
This is what they gave me when it was time to go!

Recycled Plastic Bag Flowers

I use to make these a lot and it's actually a mini project in my book but just like everything you grow tired of it so I sold out of what I had and then just a few weeks ago I lost interest in everything else except sitting on the couch with my hubby and making these! I made some Pins and some Barrette's. I still have one on my purse and it's been through hell but is holding up. Some of the girls in my girl scout troop bought some from me at a local craft fair and they wear the barrette's on their headbands~ clever girls!

So get your flower looms and plastic bags out and weave away to a new brooch from your spring coat!

you can find them for sale at www.RadicalRecycks.etsy.com

scraps

When you fuse shopping bags you end up with a lot of scrap from the bottom of the bag and the handles of the bag. You can't throw them away that defeats your efforts but you can use them to stuff thing like this hanging heart.

for purchase at www.RadicalRecycks.etsy.com

But when I store my scrapes I line them all up and the a piece of scrap around them this makes it look like a pom pom! so I have all these plastic pom poms around my sewing room. Well I have been wanting to put them on a stick and glitter them up~ today was the day I finally came thru! I used an old chopstick~ not sure where they come from but seems I always have a ton of them in my silverware drawer! I hot glued the chopstick up in the middle then hot glued around the base so that it stays put! I trimmed up the pom pom to make it look its best then sprayed it with glitter spray! this would be a cute, quick, cheap & eco friendly way to make some pom poms for those sporting events! oh I will have to make my friend some for football season since her son plays and she of course goes to every game to cheer him on! I think I can even spray paint them to match the school colors! 

Holiday Waste

So now that the holiday's are over (with the exception of New Years) what are you going to do with all those cards you received from thoughtful folks that were thinking of you this Christmas? throw them away? I think not! at the very least recycle them but maybe first you should tear then in half and flip them over and use the black sides for notes, list, to-do's! then when your done recycle them!

Did you remember to recycle all that wrapping paper & boxes?

Party time

I am sure you know that I work at a place that sells swing sets and because we have a hugh indoor showroom we had two party rooms built when we built the building so on weekends there are up to 8 parties! well I put recycling bins in the party rooms, a sign on the wall guilting them into recycling for their children and even a sign on the party room door but to my dismay only a few of them actually recycle! I ask the employees to leave the trash from the sunday parties so I can sift thru it on Monday pulling out all the plastic bottles, returnables, plastic silverware, juice pouches and any wrapping paper that hasn't found the food! The saturday parties trash tends to start smelling by sunday so the employees  feel them must toss it so I figure I have to let it go and know that I am doing something by saving those who had parties on Sunday~ damn those Saturday folks!lol!

Well a lot of people out there make all sorts of stuff from juice pouches and I really don't feel I need to travel that road since it's so well traveled (I like to take the road less traveled & bumpy) but everytime I have a show I get the "oh you make stuff like those juice pouch bags" No people I don't! but to stop them from saying that & the fact that I do come across a poop ton of pouches I decided to make these juice pouch Pockets! everyone loves them and at $2 a pop who wouldn't!

Craft Appeal

Someone on Etsy suggested I check out this site called Craft Appeal so I did and posted something and I won!! Sweet huh? here's my Award.

Eco-Friendly Award | Art & Crafts Awards | November 2010

Recycle~Upcycle

One of my items today made it to someone's Treasury! So when I went to check out the Treasury ( which can be found here http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ce5d0d1aeef8eefdd137a8b/trashed-up-for-real?index=0 )
I found these cool Newpaper bags~ I have wanted to make these but just haven't had time and now I don't have to at a great price for 3 of them! and she even uses that strapping that is around newspapers for the handles~ very clever!  Check them out~

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62273870/handmade-set-of-3-newspaper-gift-bags?ref=tre-4ce5d0d1aeef8eefdd137a8b-8

Happy Accident!

The other day I was getting all the Gift Cards cut up for assembly when I made a circle but it didn't get all of the image I wanted so I decided to cut out more of the center~ it didn't come to me right away ~ it was as I sat organizing the circle into the combo's I wanted when it hit me to use the "O" and I couldn't be happier with the results! not this open's up another world of possibilities!

New Purse

I have whipped up a T-Shirt purse this weekend~ well two of them so far but only one made the photo shoot! It's made from a Wolf T-shirt and I love how it came out! you can find the pattern here if you want to make one yourself or you can purchase one in a few days when I post it on my etsy site!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/56482797/bucket-bag-pdf-sewing-pattern

It's a great way to use up those old t-shirts!

Project's in Work

Well I got into a Nov show and waiting on word for the December one but I do have a truck show in December so that should be good for some Christmas Cash!

Today I got all my Wristlets prepped and ready to be assembled! My friend cuts my patterns for me and I pay her so wait that means I have an employee! I'm moving up to being a real business!