bye 2008 and hello 2009-part 2

Done! 

I completed another pouch with the back pockets of Andrew's jeans. I used my favorite gingham fabric for the lining and for the little button in front. That lace triming? From Daiso, at just two dollars a metre. The belt loops were not "spared" too. They work so well with the gingham strings. The strings are detachable and adjustable. 

It's not difficult to make. Just follow the seam lines and cut out the individual back pockets from your old jeans and sew up 3 sides, leaving the top open. I hand stitched the loops and the lining onto the pouch. You can add anything you like onto the pockets: buttons, beads, embroidery..I did the felt corsages and stitched them onto the pockets. 

How the jeans look like in 2008 before the "make over".

Maybe I shouldn't spare the "legs" too. 

Bye 2008, hello 2009

Happy new year!

I'm back. Haha! After such a long break. I had a wonderful Christmas. 2008 was good, thank God for all the blessings. Something not nice happened on the second day of 2009 that kind of dampened my spirit. But I shall leave the unpleasant matter in God's hands. 

Since it's the beginning of a new year, I shall talk about something more exciting. I made a little pouch by recycling my son's old jeans and a $1 red top from a flea shop.  

The mixture of modern and vintage buttons are from my mum's button jar. She used to make her own clothes so some of these buttons have been recycled a few times. She has been collecting buttons since the 70's. Precious!

A new jeans pouch for 2009! I love batik fabric because of its asian origins. I hand sewn the batik lining onto the jeans. The material was so thick that I pricked my fingers a few times. I sewed two strings which were snip off from the top onto the inside of the pouch so that I can tie up the opening nicely. 

This was how the jeans looked like in 2008. Simply snip off the legs, cut out the front piece, fold half at the center where the zipper is, and sew the side by hand. Or machine sew it if the machine can handle very thick material. 

I cut out the back of the jeans as well so I'm now working on it to make another pouch. 

scary ride

I did this movie clip on imovie. If you haven't tried imovie, you have to, it's fun! You can edit your video clip, add your own music, text, and sound effects. No, I don't work for Apple and I'm not getting any money for saying this. But I'm definitely an Apple fan.  So Apple may wish to sponsor me? Haha 

home and deco magazine

Some interesting recycling ideas using corrugated cardboard and newspaper in the december issue of "home and decor".
If you don't have a tree, consider the idea on the left - hang christmas lights on the wall to create a tree. Or use strings to tie twigs together to create a tree or a wreath.  

save the turtle

It's already 2 weeks before Christmas and I've only completed 2 gifts. I just made a sea turtle for my two year old godson. This is one of the rare times when I didn't have to unpick anything. I cut out the patterns many weeks ago and it was just left there on the table until 2 nights ago, I finally sat down at the sewing machine and completed it at one sitting. It's just a problem of procrastination. Once I get down to doing it, it'll be done very quickly. I couldn't find any turtle pattern online that's why I had to draw my own. I thought it'll be nice to do a turtle because it's endangered. 

For the material, I used this sea creature fabric that has been stashed in the cupboard for the longest time.  And I also recycled Adrian's black T-shirt. The turtle is about 50cm long. It's soft and comfy.

Save the turtles, don't eat them, don't buy products made from turtle shell and don't poach their eggs.