Thursday, July 30, 2009
Moving!
I've decided to move all future recycling/reuse related posts to my personal blog, Painting Bunnies. Please visit me there for more crafty recycling fun!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Made by hand: napkins
Thank you for your patience as I get back to life in the blog-o-sphere post-wedding! Everything was grand and we had the lovliest time. Here is one of my favorite shots by our incredibly talented photographer Kelly Lorenz:
Now that I am back at work, its on to the very exciting world of making books, crafts, and re-use...
I thought I'd start by posting about a few of the handmade projects we worked on for our wedding. We wanted to be as environmentally responsible as possible, do a lot of reusing, and keep throw-away stuff to a minimum... so we decided to hand sew napkins for the table settings, and then make an extra set to give away to guests as a gift. That way we wouldn't be throwing away a lot of paper napkins, and people would have a nice memento from the day (that in turn would encourage everyone to choose cloth over paper).
At first I thought I'd recycle fabric from thrift stores, but couldn't find enough of any one fabric for the job, or a mix of patterns that went well together. So instead I did some searching around online and ended up falling in LOVE with Amy Butler fabric. Her color palettes vintage inspired patterns are so so lovely. I ended up buying a yard of about 30 different designs (though I wanted a whole apartment full).
I estimated about 6 napkins per yard for a 13 x 16" size when hemmed. Finished and folded the napkins looked like this:
How did I have time to do all that sewing before the wedding you ask? I didn't! My mom pitched in and did the bulk of it, thank goodness. She is a much better and faster seamstress than I will ever be.
Once they were done I assembled my lady friends and we put them all together, tied with a bit of ribbon.
It was fun to see them all laid out- our color palette for the wedding was shades of yellow and blue and green...
Most of them went into a basket for the gift table.
And the rest went on the dinner tables (the runners were sewn by hand too, with fabric from Ikea).
They were a big hit; the basket was emptied and most of the table napkins went home with folks too! But we do have a nice set left to use and remember the day by.
Now that I am back at work, its on to the very exciting world of making books, crafts, and re-use...
I thought I'd start by posting about a few of the handmade projects we worked on for our wedding. We wanted to be as environmentally responsible as possible, do a lot of reusing, and keep throw-away stuff to a minimum... so we decided to hand sew napkins for the table settings, and then make an extra set to give away to guests as a gift. That way we wouldn't be throwing away a lot of paper napkins, and people would have a nice memento from the day (that in turn would encourage everyone to choose cloth over paper).
At first I thought I'd recycle fabric from thrift stores, but couldn't find enough of any one fabric for the job, or a mix of patterns that went well together. So instead I did some searching around online and ended up falling in LOVE with Amy Butler fabric. Her color palettes vintage inspired patterns are so so lovely. I ended up buying a yard of about 30 different designs (though I wanted a whole apartment full).
I estimated about 6 napkins per yard for a 13 x 16" size when hemmed. Finished and folded the napkins looked like this:
How did I have time to do all that sewing before the wedding you ask? I didn't! My mom pitched in and did the bulk of it, thank goodness. She is a much better and faster seamstress than I will ever be.
Once they were done I assembled my lady friends and we put them all together, tied with a bit of ribbon.
It was fun to see them all laid out- our color palette for the wedding was shades of yellow and blue and green...
Most of them went into a basket for the gift table.
And the rest went on the dinner tables (the runners were sewn by hand too, with fabric from Ikea).
They were a big hit; the basket was emptied and most of the table napkins went home with folks too! But we do have a nice set left to use and remember the day by.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Gettin' hitched!
I'm headed to get married this weekend, will be back blogging shortly thereafter!
Cheers!
-Anna
Cheers!
-Anna
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
SHOE for summer reading
Wat Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe? was just recommended for summer reading on this Education Hobbies blog, thanks guys!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
More recycled goodness
Thanks for your patience as I settle into my new digs. Just a quick note today with some fun recycling ideas from Etsy...
Bottle cap jewelry!
Marble cuff links!
A teacup lamp!
Bottle cap jewelry!
Marble cuff links!
A teacup lamp!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Moving moving moving
Hi all- Please forgive my lack of posting this week, while I am busy moving out to Northampton, MA. Back with more recycling fun next week!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
What can you do with a 50 Cent T-Shirt?
I recently visited an after school program in Roslindale, MA to read from Old Red Shoe and do one of the activities in the book. Each kid brought in an old T-Shirt and sewed it into a pillow. I loved how at first they were all "I thought sewing was for old people!"... and then these tough inner city kids got totally involved in making their projects. 50 cent pillow anyone?
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