“I’m not sure if I’ll embellish this art bag.”
Of course I was going to embellish it!
Plus I found a fabulous way to use up my old broken jewelry.
I really love the way it turned out. What do you think?
What Was I Thinking?
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Category Archives: Creatively Recycled
Creatively Recycled: Buddha Bag
It’s amazing what you can do with a few scraps of fabric and a little imagination! As you know I’ve recently been on a mission to recycle and repurpose some of my fabrics and ufos. Last week I showed you the results of turning an old forgotten applique ufo into a beautiful tote bag. Today say hello to the Buddha Bag.
I love to use overdyed silk kimono fabrics; the fabric is beautiful to look at and to touch and I don’t like to waste even the smallest piece. (PS – You can find scrap bags online at Laura Murray Designs.) And they are particularly perfect for Asian inspired projects such as this Buddha Bag.
This is a small tote bag, the body is about 8.1/2″ wide by 9″ high, and it was made from some leftover scraps of silk kimono fabrics and an old inkjet print on organza of the Buddha. I do a lot of test inkjet prints on fabric which often are unsuitable for the project in mind because of size or other reasons, so I throw them into a drawer to use for other projects later on. This image was quite large so it was perfect for this project. If you’re interested in learning how to print on sheer fabrics, I explain how I print on organza in this post.
The fabric on the front of this bag has lovely metallic thread designs woven through it, as has the fabric underneath the image, so the image sparkles depending on which way you look at it. I really like the way it turned out and I think the Buddha looks very serene surrounded by all that beautiful fabric.
The back of the bag is also a piece of overdyed silk kimono fabric. This piece was originally a block in an art quilt that never quite got finished so I pulled the quilt top apart and this piece was just the perfect size for the back of the bag. Don’t you love it when things work out so perfectly? The fabric has a piece of bamboo stenciled onto it using paintstiks, and I also added some gold foil for additional surface design.
I’ve just added the Buddha Bag and some other items to my Etsy Store, where you’ll also find additional photos and information.
I love all this recycling and repurposing and I have various other projects in progress, but this week I also hope I can get back to working with my digital grounds; I kind of got sidetracked with this recycling thing, but I’ve got a few project in progress that I hope to show you soon.
Creatively Recycled: From Tablecloth to Applique to Tote
I get a strong sense of satisfaction when I finish a project to completion, and I’m sure you do also, but in opposition I also feel a strong sense of dissatisfaction when I don’t finish a project. Because of this, I tend to put my ufos away out of sight so I’m not constantly reminded that I didn’t finish them.
There are on occasion, projects that I *really* love and *really* intend to finish one day, and these I pin to my design wall so they are always in view. But like most things in life, if we see something every day it eventually becomes invisible.
As I mentioned the other day here and here, I’ve been keeping myself busy these last few weeks by recycling some of my unwanted fabric into bags and totes and other odds and ends, and unfortunately one of my much loved (but invisible) ufos got in the way of my line of vision this week as my mind was ticking over about other types of stuff I could “creatively recycle”, and this is the result.
Originally this project was intended to be a focal design for a wearable art jacket, and it’s been a good couple of years since I started it. The fabric originally was an overdyed damask tablecloth and a piece of overdyed japanese kimono silk, and the intricate machine applique was painstakingly sewn using a very small zig-zag stitch and decorative machine stitches. I should have taken some *before* photos, but … oh, well. The finished size of this beautiful tote is approx 13″ high by 11″ wide and I have to admit, I think I like it much better as a tote.
Because the applique design was so large, it wraps around to the back – I love it!
Look at those tiny stitches, I can’t even image how I was patient enough to do all this.
You can see the lovely damask design on the background fabric; the design became very subtle once the fabric was overdyed.
This creative recycling has been incredibly rewarding and I have quite a few items completed already, mostly from recycled ufos and unused samples, and I have *lots* of samples and ufos and other odds and ends lying around so I expect this recycling project will keep me busy for a very long time. I’ll be adding these items to my Etsy store some time over the weekend so stop by and have a look.
More Creative Recycling
Do you ever have creative ideas that just won’t let go? I often do, but I also think that they also serve a purpose. Creative ideas can push us to do better, or different, or even push us to explore further; to take our creativity to places it has never been before. They can also serve to distract us in times of stress, and allow our stress to take form and shape in a healthy way.
News of my mother’s recent illness arrived at the same time as I spotted an old dress laying in the corner which subsequently was recycled into this tote bag. And as the days pass as I wait for more news, feeling a little helpless so far from home but knowing that I couldn’t do anything more even if I were home, it eases the anxiety a little to be distracted by simple things like creating something new from something old.
And so as well as the tote, I now also have a new purse made from the fabric of that old dress.
And I still haven’t used up all the fabric!
Either that was an old “fat dress” (all you ladies will know what I’m talking about) or it just had a lot more fabric than I first thought because there’s still more than enough fabric for another purse or small tote.
Goodness knows I don’t need another handbag, purse or tote, so they might make nice presents for someone, or you might even see them in the store very shortly.
And I’m now seeing a lot more stuff lying around my sewing room that could easily be creatively recycled. I hope my mother gets better soon so I can get back to some “real” work.
Creative Recycling
If you’re anything like me, it’s hard to throw away “useful” pieces of fabric, particularly if they’re interesting or beautiful. I have a lot of old bohemian style dresses with lovely decorative embroidery that I just can’t bring myself to throw away or donate and I’ve been hanging on to them for years knowing that “one day” I’d have a use for them. Well that day has finally arrived!
While I was adding links to the free-purse-patterns”>Free Purse Patterns website, I noticed a couple of patterns that I particularly wanted to try out, so this was the perfect opportunity to recycle my dresses into some new totes, and then donate the old totes to charity.
I used the Margaret Sling Bag by Oh, Fransson design to make this tote. The fabric is buff colored rayon and silk so it was very soft and not ideal for a tote, but once I added some interfacing it held its shape much better. I just *love* the shape of this tote design – very upscale.
I used up most of the back side of the dress, but I still have the front so I’m planning to make another tote or purse. Who can ever have enough ?
If you haven’t yet visited the Free Purse Patterns website there is currently over 100 free designs listed and I still have a bunch more to add so pay a visit – I’m sure you’ll find something you like.
