"If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud." ~ Emile Zola
After months of being unable to sit and create, I was able to start some sewing projects this week! Working on some new bags for an upcoming show I am doing, the Craft-O-Tron All Fools Ball! this Sunday. This will be my first show since before the holidays, and only my second show since early last summer. I feel both nervous and excited! To maximize time, I've adopted an assembly line approach to make a bunch of totes and pouches made entirely from vintage, antique and thrifted fabrics and trim (many of which I've found at Creative Reuse Pittsburgh). Almost all of my threads and zippers are recycled, too. Most of the fabrics have been hand dyed by moi. :) 
Sooo, I start by choosing a fabric, cutting pieces, then laying out bits of embellishments to plan out the design- each one is original and one-of-a-kind. I do this for several bags at once, then iron all pieces and sort. Step two involves pinning and sewing the embellishments on the front panel of each bag. After sewing the front and back panels together, I get to any hand sewing of buttons or various delicate pieces onto the front. Next comes cutting, pinning and sewing straps. I cut and sew the lining, fit it inside the outer panels, then add the straps. Voila!
Hope you're able to come out and see my new goodies this weekend! Happy handmade, and happy spring!
My first real sewing project- kitchen curtains made from vintage fabric in a bright pattern of veggies and pansies, which I found at Creative Reuse Pittsburgh.I thought the vibrant colors of the fabric were much too loud on the white background of the original fabric, so I put my new tea-dye skills to work! After washing and drying the material, I dropped it into a lighter tea using only half of the tea bags as in my previous dye sessions, letting the fabric soak half the time. The results are perfect, dulling the colors a bit and giving the white background a slightly worn look. They work great in my kitchen, which I prefer mostly neutral with little pops of color in towels and cookware/dishware (I love reds).
As a brand newbie sewer, I have to admit that I find the measuring and cutting of the fabric is much more difficult than the sewing part and figuring out the machine! I feel pretty good about my machine work during the project, actually, and ran into only a few challenges: thread coming out of the needle while sewing, keeping a totally straight seam line, and finding my stitches were very loose. My Mom helped me figure out that I was threading the machine slightly wrong and that I needed to increase the machine tension to make my stitches tighter.So how'd they turn out? You judge for yourself! Some slightly lopsided seams, a few loose stitches, but overall I am quite happy!
I spent part of yesterday afternoon in the hot, dirty, dusty warehouse of Construction Junction yesterday after dropping off a donation to Creative Reuse upstairs. Don't let those adjectives scare you off, as they do not outweigh the awesomeness that is CJ's ginormous building filled with recycled construction and building materials, tools, architecture, and other mysterious treasures. :) I poked through boxes and boxes and more boxes of random collections of hardware bits and pieces, my hands getting grimier by the minute (it's so fun, though) looking for interesting metal shapes to use in my jewelry. I found lots of new inspiration! I don't know what 95% of what I found actually is or does, but I know it will all make for great new upcycled jewels!
I am so inspired by other artisans of all types who can look at a random piece of something and figure out how to make it into, well, something totally unique and different. And I love metal and the way some artisans reuse raw and rough industrial-looking metal-ly stuff in their work and make it into fabulosity and loveliness. Sooo, I've been working on figuring out a way to do the same thing in my own way. I think I've done it! Think delicate swirls and sparkles and flowery-fluttery things blended with stark, cold utilitarian metal. I'm working today on some new pieces, so keep an eye out! :)
This is the latest little something I've made and really loved. This necklace is made from an antique (old) sterling silver cuckoo clock charm. In the center of the clock I glued a glass rhinestone from the 1940s and a tiny vintage (from the 1960s) copper stamping of a bird in flight.
The necklace sold the very day after it was made (actually, like 4 in the morning the same day- those all-nighters get me every time) at I Made It! Market at WYEP's Summer Music Fest! Yay!
So back to the tiny copper bird stamping... the Etsy seller I purchased them from had not only tiny birdies, but tiny butterflies, hearts, and leaves. So freakin' sweet! So sweet, in fact, that I contacted her after my initial orders and bought her entire supply of them! *evil laugh* I must have all! :P
SO anyway, look for more new jewel designs using those little coppery treats! And some fantastic antique chandelier drops like the one in the necklace I wear at shows (I made it for myself) and get so many compliments on!
Last Wednesday, I and three of my best crafty pals and fellow Steel Town Etsy admins headed to the awesomely eco-friendly Creative Reuse Pittburgh (Pgh), a local green organization that accepts unwanted materials for reuse and sells them uber cheap to the creative public! According to their website, Creative Reuse Pgh, which was founded in 2007 and became a project of the Pennsylvania Resources Council in February, is a nonprofit organization that seeks to "keep perfectly good stuff out of the landfill, provide opportunities for people to put it to good (re)use, help forward the movement toward a greener globe, and encourage folks to explore." Sound too idyllic? Maybe... except for that they actually make all of that happen!
A haven to those who can make something out of anything (or anything out of something), the project's brick-and-mortar stash-shop is located within Construction Junction (who donated the space) on Meade Street in Point Breeze. Creatively cluttered, the two-level space is packed from floor to ceiling with everything you can imagine that could be re-used in making art and given new life. Exploring the nooks and crannies, boxes and piles is really an artsy flea market/thrift store shopper's dream, and during our trip revealed wooden dowels, vintage fabric and notions, office supplies, containers, vintage art, books filled with fabulous wallpaper and fabric samples, random hardware, rubber toys, paper of all types, glitter, hardware, old lab beakers, and so much more! Creative Reuse Pgh's stock includes not only unusual things you may not find anywhere else, but items that sell at craft stores for 20 times the price! The fact that these wares are priced unbelievably dirt-cheap ("starving artist" anyone?) just adds to the already-high bliss factor, as does the fact that each item purchased keeps landfills from growing and leaves the earth a little cleaner and greener. :)
Tamara of Barker's Herbs and Heirlooms, Lynne of Charmed By Nature, Niffer of 19 Moons, and I (Kylie of SilentLotus Creations) had a fabulous visit, all coming away with finds from there and Construction Junction downstairs. Some of us even left feeling a bit "lighter" after donating our own materials to Creative Reuse Pgh- Nif donated "nif"ty payphone and typewriter hardware and Lynne donated -uh- a big box of rubber poop (don't ask). All of us are big on repurposing vintage or discarded materials in unique ways, me just in the last year or so and mostly from their influence. :) Check out their shops linked to above to see what craftastic creations they come up with, and check out my newest items as a sampling of what I have been making!
Creative Reuse Pgh gets new donations regularly, making it a potential new treasure hunt each time you visit. But despite all of their current finds, they can always take more! Next time you have a box or stack of something ready to be discarded or taken to Goodwill, consider stopping by to see if what you have is something they can use. Donating your discards is easy, and much appreciated. And while there, browse for some new goodies. Need creative inspiration or some obscure piece of something that will make your art piece or craft just perfect? I highly recommend making a trip to Creative Reuse Pgh to purchase materials- what you are wishing for just may await you there. :)
Just keep in mind that shopping is open to the public only on Wednesdays from 12-5. Other hours are available by appointment only, so if you can't get there on a Wednesday, make sure to give them a call at (412) 202-4036 or email them to set up a different time to go. They are quick to respond and very accomodating. :)
A section of Creative Reuse's upper level.
Fabulous vintage prints.
A view of the first floor from above.
Lynne's poop was put right out on the floor (front and center)!
The view that greeted us when we arrived: fabric, notions, and so much more.
More upper level goodness.
