Trash & Treasures Tuesday: Thrifted Dresses Turn Couch Cover

My stylin' friend Jess has been a big influence on me, my love of thrifting and my obsession with all things vintage. Jess always snags the best items and has a great eye for "what could be." Not many people would see a dress and think, "Hm, this would make a fabulous sofa cover!" Jess did and she made it happen to boot!

From the crafting queen herself:

"I bought two women's plus size velour dresses (well, really more like 'stretch velvet') in the same shade of chocolate brown - I looked for ones that didn't have any adornment/ pockets/ buttons so that all of the material could be usable... I used a scrap piece of cotton (rectangular shaped) that I already had as the center..."

Jess then cut the dresses into the largest symmetric strips possible (all the while keeping them even) and sewed them (right sides together, of course) to the cotton base.

"Then, since it's a cover and can be tucked, I just eyeballed how to finish the sleeves of the couch cover... I ended up just tucking in a lot of the uneven seams, and it appears to be working well."

The results, pretty amazing.

She hit a few snags here and there, but since the material was inexpensive and the end product didn't need to be "perfect," she kept rollin' with the punches and ended up with a great repurposed cover. Love the drapping of the velvet over the arms.

Jess recommends hitting up a store like the Salvation Army or Goodwill for the best deals. Much less expensive then buying new fabric (or buying a new cover).

Thanks to Jess for letting me share her awesome dress-to-couch cover project!

Peace & thanks,
Kaitlin

Trash & Treasures Tuesday: RNEST Upcycles

I mentioned last week I've really been into upcycling lately; many hours have been spent looking through Etsy's listings of all things upcycled. And, our RNEST team has some pretty great listings! Here are two of my favorite upcycled treasures posted by two creative RNEST artists, Buenahelena and Creative.Hodge.Podge.

Cigar box perpetual calendar by Creative.Hodge.Podge. Sarah has repurposed a vintage cigar box, wooden blocks and cardboard into a one-of-a-kind calendar. The numbers can be arranged for each month and can be used for years to come. So creative and clever. 

I have been Etsy stalking these earrings for a little while now. How sweet are they? Primavera Button Earrings by Buenahelena. Carol repurposed an embroidered vintage hankie into a pair of earrings. She has a few other sets of these cute earrings in her shop, so head over there quick (before I buy them all!).

So, from cigar box to calendar and hankie to earrings, these items have a new life thanks to some creativity and inventiveness by two very resourceful artists.

I've been tinkering around with some washers lately, so hopefully by next week I'll have something fun to share of my own.

Peace & thanks,
Kaitlin