New (Recycled) Ideas ~ New Challenges ~ New Rewards

January and February offered up a few quiet weeks - a good time to clean and organize my studio and fabric closet. In the blur that was November and December, fabric piles grew in corners; boxes were stacked wherever they fell; ribbons normally organized by color were strewn everywhere; patterns were misplaced.

And then there was the matter of the fabric remnants. You know - those pieces of leftover fabric that were too large to toss (I might need that someday!), but too small to really do much with. I was raised by a wonderful, but frugal Mother who taught me to recycle from an early age. Although it wasn't called "recycling" back then; it was more like "don't be wasteful."

So as I looked at all these perfectly good remnants I knew I couldn't throw them out - they don't decompose in a landfill and besides - I paid good money for that fabric! :) So I found 4 large clear storage boxes and organized my remnants by size and color and stacked them in my fabric closet. And wonder of wonders ~~ I am actually using my remnants! I have patterns for smaller animals; but better than that, always mindful to use remnants has spurred me on to creating some original designs. Granted, this is really new territory for me; but I'm finding it not only challenging, but very rewarding. I'm not a sketch artist by any means, but I'm finding I can draw some basic outlines and create some fun little guys. And I keep in mind that they don't have to be perfect (a new concept for me!) -- that a little quirkiness just adds to their personalities.

So stop by ~ and see what's new. Original critters are popping - or should I say hopping - into the shop more each day!

Heart to Heart...

Life unfolds in interesting and unexpected ways sometimes, doesn’t it?

When I decided about a month ago to focus on one thing – that one idea – in my shop on Etsy, I don’t think I had fully thought out where this could go – what this could become. I’ve had two epiphanies in the last week alone.

One – I’m a big believer in recycling, re-purposing, re-using. Being the daughter of a woman who grew up during The Great Depression, I come by that honestly and was trained by the best! So when my recent creation of Beau Blue out of a remnant of chenille fabric I had left over from pillows became such a hit, I remembered the chenille bedspread that covered my childhood bed. And I had the idea to start searching for old, gently used chenille bedspreads and re-purpose them right into cute little stuffed animals. When I mentioned this idea to my son he liked it (being a recycling guy himself). He added, “You know, you could go to Goodwill and places like that and pick up some cool tee shirts and make little creatures out of them, too.”

Voila! An idea is born. But before I started driving all over town to find tee shirts, I looked to my own closet first. I have several tee shirts that I still like but no longer wear. So I took a couple of those and made a little experiment . And he got good feedback.

So good, in fact, that I started receiving special requests – “I have a tee-shirt that holds special memories for me. Could you make it into a little stuffed animal?” Which I think is very cool but kind of freaks me out at the same time. I have a fear of taking someone’s one-of-a-kind special tee and – oops – slipped with the scissors… Nervous? You betcha’. Still an idea I think I may pursue, though.

My second “aha” moment, as Oprah would say – seeing that there may be a place for me and my friends in comforting sick children. I had an order the other day for the little giraffe, Joey, in my shop. He was going to 6 month old little girl who had just undergone a heart transplant. I have no words… And just the other day a friend told me of her friend’s granddaughter who was most likely going to need a liver transplant. She is 4 months old. Well, I’m giving that little darling a “sugar bear/baby bear” from my shop. Because two of these in one week really made me appreciate that my children were – and still are – in good health. Now, I’m thinking on a way I can make a difference with my little critters – if only for a moment – in the lives of sick children. I know the idea will make its presence known to me when the time is right.

Maybe that’s why from the very beginning I put tiny hearts on every one of my creations. From the heart to the heart…

Recycling Tip # 31

I recycle as much as I possibly can, but had a little lightbulb moment the other day on recycling with a twist.

My sister makes very yummy handmade soaps and body lotions -- http://www.dollyandmesoaps.ibuilder.com/ I know a lot of her overhead goes to her packaging. I've always sent her bottles and boxes and containers to my household recycling bin, but got the idea the other day to wash them thoroughly and start stockpiling them to return to her the next time I see her (we live 800 miles apart). I'm sure she can sterilize the bottles and containers (maybe not the boxes) and re-use them. Hopefully that can save her a couple of buckaroos and in a small way help the environment as well.

Now that's the ultimate in product/packaging recycling, don't ya' think? :)