Search Results for: recycled

February 26

Star Trek and Recycled Leather Purse

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BenaeQuee of Craftster just posted this awesome purse. She submitted this purse to an art show within a Star Trek themed con. She had been dying to make a bag featuring real leather, and this was the perfect time. She had an old jacket that she rescued from being trashed and used it’s leather on this bag. She also accented the side pockets with red piping for a little pop of color, and she chose to go with a red zipper to coordinate with the piping. The bottom has feet, and the lining has a hidden galaxy print in the pocket.

BenaeQuee also used this handbag as an opportunity for a look at how they are constructed. If you check out her FB page here, you can see a tutorial on how she made it.

Category: Craft, Geek, Girly, Sci-Fi | 1 Comment on Star Trek and Recycled Leather Purse
May 14

Tutorial: Stargate Glyph Recycled Foam Stamp

Wasn’t Stargate fantastic?! I watched a couple of old SG:1 episodes recently, and suddenly got the urge to do something crafty involving the gate glyphs. I had a rummage in my drawer of hoarded crap, and found some of that really smooth protective foam that comes with some electronics. You know the stuff that has a really fine grain and is probably not recyclable?! Well that’s the kind of stuff I keep hold of just for occasions like this!

DIY Stargate Stamp

How-to: Continue reading

Category: Craft, Geek, Sci-Fi, Tutorial, TV | 1 Comment on Tutorial: Stargate Glyph Recycled Foam Stamp
February 7

Rocket Man: DIY Jet Packs

jet pack by Kelly Crawford

Looking for a fun craft to help combat cabin fever? Kelly at Sewing in No Mans Land has you covered!

Just grab some empty water bottles, foil, electrical tape, streamers, and a few other materials and you too can create these awesome jet packs. (You/your kids must supply your own wooshing noises, but I’m guessing those won’t be in short supply.)

Be sure to hop over to her post for the how-to, plus adorable pics of her little man in action.

Links of Interest:

Category: Craft, Geek, Sci-Fi, Toys | Comments Off on Rocket Man: DIY Jet Packs
February 9

Steampunk Valentine Fabrics and More on Spoonflower

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If you haven’t heard of Spoonflower, it’s this awesome marketplace for indie fabric designs that feature everything from this week’s contest theme, Steampunk Valentines, Doctor Who, Firefly, and just about every other fandom and theme you could think of.

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So, if you’re looking for some cool fabric for your next project, give Spoonflower a try! They print all their fabrics on demand, and you can order as little as an 8″ sample for $5.  They have over 30 different types of fabrics to choose from.  And, you can also order many of the designs on wrapping paper and self-adhesive wallpaper too.  How cool is that?  What’s even better is that Spoonflower is an American company that uses eco-friendly inks and printing processes.  In fact, they just introduced a new fabric made from 20% recycled materials, their eco-canvas.

Category: Craft, Geek | Comments Off on Steampunk Valentine Fabrics and More on Spoonflower
January 4

Jewelry for Band Geeks

Clarinet key earrings-140848-BOA by Hangups in KC

Any Band Geeks out there? My husband played trumpet in his high school marching band, and continued as a member of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. Now my daughter is following suit, playing his horn in her school marching band. Over the past 20+ years, I have attended and cheered at many a band performance, and developed a definite soft spot for those musical type geeks.

So I am pleased to toot the horn (couldn’t resist the pun) of a local Kansas City duo who is making some pretty cool things out of retired band instruments. Hangups in KC has created the Band of Angels Retired Instrument Jewelry Collection, crafting unique handmade items such as clarinet key earrings (pictured above), guitar string bracelets, and a necklace from repurposed violin wood.

These ladies are passionate about their craft and their commitment to using repurposed materials. I love their brand vision and message, and that they are giving new life to retired band instruments in a unique way. And bonus –  they give 30% of every sale from the collection to Band of Angels, a non-profit that collects used music instruments and makes them available to kids in need so they can join band and orchestra programs. Nurturing future generations of band geeks is something I can get behind!

For Christmas, I gave my daughter one of Hangups’ ornaments made from a retired trumpet mouthpiece. She thought it was pretty cool, then when she heard it helped other kids get started in band, it became an even more meaningful keepsake. Band mom win!

Trumpet ornament by Hangups in KC

Are you a Band Geek? What instrument did/do you play?

Category: Craft, Geek, Girly, Music | Comments Off on Jewelry for Band Geeks
May 4

Bride Wears Dress Made From 10,000 Bread Tags

How about this project for the ultimate in recycling? And the best part is, is that her wedding dress is truly OOAK!

“One bride in Australia wasn’t going to just walk down the aisle in any old thing. Using 10,000 bread tags she collected from friends and family, Stephanie Watson spent months creating her one-of-a-kind dress from recycled tags and hand-me-down fabrics.

“‘I always liked the idea of a design challenge and thought a wedding dress would be the ultimate test! Besides, when Will (my husband) and I started seeing each other we started collecting bread tags. We decided that when we had enough tags to make a wedding dress we would get married. Ten years later I felt it was time to give it a go,’ Watson wrote in an email.”

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“The dress only cost Watson $38, since she used fabric salvaged from other garments and tags donated from family and friends. This doesn’t include the countless hours she spent planning and stitching, which she documented on her blog, Constructing Nadine.

“‘One of the tags I found had the name ‘Nadine’ printed on it. I thought it might be nice to give the gown a bit of personality by naming her, that way people would not have to ask me ‘How is the dress going?’ but rather ‘How is Nadine?” wrote Watson. ‘I later realised that Nadine is a variety of potato and the tag was probably used to close a bag of spuds! It makes sense as there are lots of potato farms in our area.'”

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Category: Craft, Girly | 1 Comment on Bride Wears Dress Made From 10,000 Bread Tags