Today I have a selection of things that I've saved by giving them a second life.
The first is a leather bag of just the right size, shape and colour - and it was only $5! Unfortunately it was a bit grubby looking, but for $5 I thought it was worth the risk to see if it would clean up.
I used a little detergent in warm water (as googled), which made a good improvement. Once it was dry I applied a beeswax shoe conditioner that I already had. The colour changed immediately - as it stated on the jar that it might - but I love it. It is now usable. 😊
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| Fabulous op shop find of the year |
The next save was Katie's broken umbrella. The cover was unsalvageable, being a clear plastic that came off in pieces - but the frame.....
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| Airing our (clean) washing |
Sadly I bumped my favourite mug and the handle broke off 😞. It was one that Derek had bought me when away in Australia. You know how some cups are just right to drink out of and nothing else feels right?
Well I came up with this solution and I love it - it feels so right - lovingly repaired.
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| Hand sewn felt sleeve for the broken cup - and it's replacement |
Before I did this Derek secretly ordered me two replacements online for my birthday (they are pretty special - IIttala brand), so now I have this repaired one to travel with me and not worry about it and I'm so happy to have the others.
My final piece is a refashioned linen/rayon dress, New Zealand designed and made, a $5 op shop find. The material is buttery soft and I love the colour .Some imagination was required - see the original! But all it took was shortening of the length and the sleeves.
I just love saving money, saving things from the landfill, not using up more of Earth's resources. Don't you?
I love the way your purse turned out. I risked a whole dollar on a leather one last summer and it cleaned up beautifully, too. Your dressed turned out great, too. I think once you get into the mindset you can see something in a charity shop and picture it being something lovely in a new life. Anyway I sort of go through the shops that way now!
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued with boro stitching right now and I am working on an old denim shirt. I love the process and how you can keep adding to it until it's "just right". Here's a link in case you don't know the technique. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/50595195792305347/
Yes i love boro stitching too Cynthia, but haven't tried to do any yet. I hope we get to see how yours turns out :-)
DeleteThat is fantastic! What wonderful imaginative ideas, well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cheryl :-)
DeleteThat's so funny because I have just been googling ideas for how to repurpose broken umbrellas so I can repurpose my son's little umbrella that he used to go out into the rain with when he was small. I found it when doing some decluttering today. Love what you did with yours, I could use something like that for the washing line downstairs to dry clothes in wet weather. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteHappy to be an inspiration Meg. I hope it works well for you.
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