Recovered Stools

i recovered a couple stools a few weeks ago

i used a vintage pink, grey, and gold bark cloth on this one

a bit of mid century modern for you

on this one i used a vintage kids curtain panel

it's circus and it's fun

the seat lifts so you can truly use it as a step stool

this third stool got recovered a year or more ago

it has a very art nouveau look and i'm over it

the seat lifts too but i will be recovering this one very soon.

what have you recovered lately?

thrifting in chelan,

xoxoxo

jennette

Floral Geometric Velvet Bag

i made myself another bag from a vintage skirt

i used an unused belt for the straps

i lined it with material from a skirt i used to wear

i like the shape of bags made from skirts.

and i like the "bigness"

here is the skirt layed out, unaltered.

the skirt came with a matching fitted jacket that i kept

i love the floral and geometric goodness/combo going on here

another, in different light.

love it!

i sew, i sew, it's off to work i go,

xoxoxo

jennette

All Are Welcome Screen Door

for months now this screen door has been hanging around.

the screen's coming out.

it's not perfect.

but i thought it might be a nice shabby vintage earring/jewelry display, leaned up against a wall.

well i never did hang stuff from the screen.

and day after day i was moving it outside to lean against the wall.

all imperfect and falling apart.

then i remembered seeing somewhere that you can essentially embroider on screen.

hey, why not?

i have admired this slogan that shanna murray sells as a decal

so i just started stitching and it turned out alright.

i could go over it and make the stitching thicker and more bold....but for now it will be sold as is

hope you all have a great weekend and dont' forget about the time change. 

so happy it will stay light past 7pm now!

ironing, hanging and pricing tiny handmade doll clothing,

xoxoxox

jennette



Boots!

these are the finished boots, the vintage plasticy ones i scored at the thrift last week that are in primo condition, after i took a crack at them with fabric and glue!

see that panel down the front?  i figured i could just trace a pattern for that and snazzy these babies up.  so i did!

once i got the pattern cut out i was originally hoping to cut out this gorgeous peachy vintage velvet that natasha gave me.  it used to be her grandma's curtain panels!  can you image?!  how divine!

the color looks much more pink here.  but after i got these cut out and tried sewing the vintage black and white striped seam binding around the edges, it was a disaster!  the binding didn't have enough width to really grab the velvet how it needed to so it just kind of peeled off.  disaster.  so on to plan b.

those of you who have known me for a while know that i LOVE me some wood grain print!  i have made a BUNCH of stuff with this fabric: a bag, a jacket, card holders, tissue pouches, etc.  well i have just scraps left so i figured what the heck.  some wood grain boot panels edged in black and white striped binding.  good, yes?

here are the supplies: boots stuffed with bubble wrap and fabric to keep them stiff and give them form, elmer's glue, paint brush, fabric and clothespins.  easy peasy.

and a finished boot!

i think i will try wearing these with some rolled up jeans and a silk shirt next week.

i like my flashy "new" boots!

working on a cover for another fold out cot.

gotta have cute cot covers, you know!

will show you soon,

xoxoxo

jennette

Velvet Cuff

made myself a vintage velvet cuff.

i had this old gorgeous faded blue velvet from the lining of an old silverware box.

and i had this old silver cuff that used to have a string of sequins glued to it, (but i ripped those off!).

so i traced the size of the cuff, rolling it from one side to the other, to make a pattern for the velvet before cutting it out.

then i got some elmers glue out and used a paint brush to glue the velvet to the cuff, one inch at a time.

when i got to the other side and there was a bit of fabric left. i just trimmed of the excess.

then i set it near the heater to dry so i could wear it the same night for going to a show in ballard.

now i am working on adding some vintage bias edged, vintage velvet panels, to some awesome vintage boots i just scored at the thrift.  yes, i will show you when i am done!

always and forever loving me some vintage velvet,

xoxoxox

jennette

Victorian Amethyst Tassel Necklace

i made this victorian amethyst tassel necklace from a victorian tassel and a chunk of pointy amethyst!

the tassel was hallow in the upper middle part, like a small woven cup or basket.

and i had this beautiful piece of amethyst that used to be on my alter.  but it fit so snug and perfect into this little tassel cup that it got super glued in!

here you can see it just sitting in there and this is before i ironed the tassel ends.

i figured once i got the mineral set, i would add jump rings to the sides and just attach a simple vintage chain.

and so i did.  and i am really loving letting the hardware show on the sides lately.  so when i put it on i just swing the chain around and attach it on the side there.

this is definitely not the shirt i would normally wear it with but i wanted to see how it looked on.

so i do love it.

and when i can come to terms with letting it go, it will be for sale in the shop.

we all know i have a hard time with this...

but for now i think i will wear it like it's my new favorite necklace!

off to see Breathe Owl Breathe and hang with my buddies,

xoxoxox

jennette

Paper Mache Bee

i did some paper mache recently and thought i would share a nice way to give new life to old plastic crap!

like this plastic crap!  i found this at the thrift.  and as i am attracted to all things honey bee, i had to nab it.  but alas, i hate the plastic-ness of it!  so i figured i'd use it as a base and paper mache over it! 

smarty party much?!

just joking!

(kinda!)

since i have been "going gluten free" i have all this wheat flour in my kitchen i need to use up somehow.  so why not mache paste?  It turned out a bit bumpy and clumpy but it ended up ok with this extra texture.

working away

gettin somewhere

completely covered and starting to dry

after it dried i gave it a coat of thinned out white acrylic paint.  i wanted some of the print from the newspaper to show through like you see on Ann Wood's boats

a view from beneath

so the semi-opaque white honey bee is just hanging out in the shop.

not sure if i will try to add color or detail.

but i am happy to not being looking at the plastic-ness of it anymore!  it's been transformed, upcycled, and repurposed!

what are you all crafting lately?

gifts?

me too!

going home soon to play with boxes, wrapping paper and ribbon!

xoxox

jennette

p.s.

don't forget the shop will close at 4pm on Saturday December 24th and will reopen Wednesday January 4th at noon.

Thanks for all your support!

 

Metallic Gold Leather Bag & Pouches

here is the metallic gold leather bag i made from an upcycled and repurposed metallic gold leather skirt i found in nashville!

this photo makes it look more silver but it really is gold.

here is the back side and showing you the attached lining that i took out.

here i am just seam ripping, and seam ripping and seam ripping

here is the skirt inside out, no lining, and waistband detached

and here is another photo of the finished bag!

i made it with short handles, reusing the waistband, so it can hang off my arm or over my shoulder

it's lined with two different vintage fabrics and has a huge inside pocket

i like how in some light it looks more gold or less gold, but always metallic! i'm going to use it for a while. yeah, a new bag for me!

with some of the left over pieces i was able to make a few small zipper pouches!

one has a red zipper and one has a green zipper

both have the same vintage fabric lining shown here and both are for sale!

these would make adorable gifts!

get them while they last!

sewing, sewing, sewing,

xoxoxo

jennette

For the Birds!

finished another bag and it's for sale!

this one is made from a buttery soft brown leather skirt and some vintage embroidery of a bird and cherries!

here is a process picture of skirt and pocket placement

this is what the lining of the outside pocket looks like

the crochet trim is original to the embroidery.

the bag lining is a vintage calico type print.

and the strap in repurposed from an old army duffel bag!

Smashing Rubbish

Studio & Vintage General Store

15922 Main St

Duvall, WA  98019

Autumn hours:

Wed-Sat noon-6

Sun noon-5

closed Mon & Tue

off to buy more interfacing,

xoxoxo

jennette

Sew What

reclaimed, recycled, repurposed, upcycled

fur and leather clutch

reclaimed, recycled, repurposed, upcycled

70's airliner-blue mini skirt made into a nice big

tote-bag with vintage sailboat fabric lining

reclaimed, recycled, repurposed, upcycled

step stool recovered in vintage canvas and leather

from an old army duffel bag

reclaimed, recycled, repurposed, upcycled

step stool recovered in vintage

linen with a gardening print

reclaimed, recycled, repurposed, upcycled

and a new "painting" bag

made from this painting:

all this and more will be up for grabs on

Nov.4 at our Shop-n-Sip event, 7-9pm.

along with all the new reclaimed, recycled, repurposed, and upcycled loot, there will be all the treasure i can haul back from Nashville!

so come check it out and have a fun with us!

sawing wood for shop signs,

xoxoxox

jennette

New Boots- Sorta

altered rain boots!

found these old Helly Hanson rubber boots at a tag sale recently.

loved the orangey brown and yellow.

but the rubber was so vintage that it had started to crack down the back.

can't have cracked rubber y'all!

so i took my trusty heavy duty scissors to them and did away with the top cracked part.

hmmmmmm....what to do with some short rubber hacked up boots?

add fabric trim.

of course!

i had, in my massive stash of fabric, textiles and scraps, some cashmere and silk.

who wouldn't want to pair rubber with the finest of natural fibers?!

my most excellent and awesome new industrial sewing machine was able to help me get the majority of the fabric attached to the rubber.

but because of the shank in the boots foot bed, i was not able to bend it in a way that allowed me to sew entirely around the top cut edge of the boot.

no worries!

fabric glue to the rescue!

i found, also in my massive stash of trims, ribbons and bindings, this perfect green bias tape.

add a little glue, get out your paper clips(!), and get to work!

i love how these turned out!

my "new" luxurious winter rain boots!

j'adore!

what are y'all repurposing, altering, upcycling these days?

do tell!

rearranging Smashing Rubbish World Headquarters for the umpteenth time this week,

it's a good thing!,

xoxox

jennette

Peacock Bag

hi friends!  long time, no post! 

sorry for the bad photos here.  bad lighting.

this is a short, squat, square bag i made from an embroidered peacock runner.

close-up of the peacock embroidery.  there was on one on each end of the runner so i intended to make them into pockets on a bag.

this is the table runner

here is a photo of the inside of the bag.  i used a vintage floral to line the bag and a linen napkin for the inside pocket.

silly self-portrait of me sewing the bag

inside view

i placed the pockets on the end of the bag.  one on each end.  and used some of the left over fringe from the runner to go across the top of each pocket.  i just used some old canvas for the main bag body.

i used a woven fabric strap for the handle.  for some reason i always seem to find these at sales and now have quite a collection to keep using for straps.  you might remember i used one here for the oil painting tote bag.  anywho, this will be for sale soon.  either in my Etsy or down at the shop.  have at it!

off to a dear friends moving away party and trying not to cry,

xoxox

jennette



We Are All Connected

so i stenciled some text on this old paint by number i had down at the shop.  i have seen these, like the plates, on Etsy and elsewhere and thought i'd give it a go.

work in progress

i have lot of old prints, mirrors and odd paintings that i plan to add some text too.   most will be for sale down at the shop.  come check it out.

dreaming of tucson...9 days and counting,

xoxox

jennette



Corn Bag Cushion

here is the finished chaise lounge cushion i recovered for my friend Kathy.  it turned out even better then i had hoped and Kathy loves it!  i love it too! 

here is the original cushion:

the cover i made slips right over this and opens in the back for easy removal.

here is a close up of one of the vintage feed sacks i used.  I used three in all.  Kathy had bought them especially for this project and she gave me a cotton curtain panel to use for the back fabric.

here are the sacks layed out in the initial stages.

trying to show you the red double top stitching i did on the top to tie all the pieces together.  i will show you the overlapping "pocket opening" in the back.  it's just like you might see on a euro sham pillow:

so there you have it.  another cover up!  Kathy is using vintage ticking pillows to go around the back side of this, where your head, neck, and back would rest.  i bet it looks really good all together.

off to work on more painting bags.  i know i've said it a hundred times but i am trying to get several bags done so when i get back from Tucson i can list a bunch of stuff at once in my Etsy shop.  wish me luck.  fingers crossed.

xoxox

jennette



Bite Me

i found this plate at the thrift a few weeks ago.  i have been looking for pretty plates to write silly messages on like i have seen on Etsy.  this one has pears and cherries so i figured, "Bite Me" was appropriate!

here is the plate without the words

the back already had a hanger on it

i do not own a porcelaine pen yet so this time i used adhesive letter stickers and then varnished with clear matte shellac to finish it off and make it last and be durable for longevity.

i have a few other blurbs i want to try out on plates and dishes but i will wait until i have the porcelaine pen since you can paint or draw whatever you want, bake it in the oven for a few, and then have a new creation made.  lots of exciting possibilities with this!

the "bite me" plate is down at the shop for sale.

skiing the Cascades,

xoxoxo

jennette

Sheep Bag

this is the bag i made out of a vintage feed sack i found at an antique show in the fall.  the bag has been done for a while now.  i was trying to wait to post about it until i had my Etsy shop all up and running so i could list it there.  but alas, nothing in the Etsy shop yet.  yet....  but there will be!

the folks i bought this from said they found at an estate sale on the Colville Reservation here in Washington state, on the east side.

a close up

here the pattern is being layed out.  it was important to me to use up every single bit of print i could.

this piece ended up becoming a big divided outside pocket

i threw in this photo to show you the double row of top stitching detail i do on all the pockets and edges.  it gives a nice finished look.

i used a vintage print dress for the lining of the bag.  the square part cut out of the bust turned into this:

one of the inside pockets! with original seams and tip of v-neck, etc.

here is the back side of the bag with the wide strip made into three separate outside pockets.  i used the back of the sheep feed sack for the back of the bag.  and like i said, i was trying to use up every bit of print the bag had so i got some on the handle too.  i really like the worn look and all the markings of age and wear and tear.  some people look at them as blemishes.  i look at them as character.

a look inside the finished bag

so there you have it folks!  the sheep bag has been a big hit with my friends, three of which say they want it.  i will certainly publish a little post about it when it's up for grabs on Etsy.  stay tuned!

deciding on a new tattoo design,

xoxox

jennette



Medals

i found these vintage swim medals at Second Saturdays for $1 each!

as soon as i saw them i knew exactly what i could use them for.  i was thinking about my revamped military jacket.  i was thinking about the millions of little drawers i have here stuffed full of cool little treasures.  and i started to think about what i could replace those medals with before attaching them to the coat.

here are a few of the items i had in mind:

a tiny scope.  see below:

gotta have a scope for outdoor adventures!

and a little tiny harmonica!  can't leave home without one!

an old sterling silver and red glass watch fob.  cuz it's cool.

and for the 4th one i wanted the arm and hand, because don't you always need an extra hand?!  but in the end i went with the key.  because keys can be helpful too.

here i am in all my glory with my cool "McGiver" medals.  clearly, i am ready for an adventure of the epic sort.

bring it on!

paying bills,

xoxox

jennette



Silver Bag

i found this silver tote bag while i was thrifting last week.  i had been coveting this one:

from Fossil

which i still may have to get. probably not, but a girl can wish.

and to spice up the thrifted pleather tote, since its not nearly as cool as the real leather Fossil one, i thought to add this fabric as an outside pocket.

well this is the piece i remembered, eventually, anyhow.  the tote was begging for an outside pocket, since it had none, in or out, but i had to go through half of my pile of embroidered pieces to rediscover this piece of some kind of hooked or crewel work on silver!  perfect match.

so i lined the soon to be pocket with muslin and pinned it in place and sewed three sides and behold, a pocket!

personally i Love shiny, silvery, sparkly things, even if it looks like a bag an old lady in florida would use, it makes me smile.

off to the smashing rubbish studios,

ta ta,

jennette



Military Coat & Buttons

i found this awesome, amazing, wonderful old wool military jacket at value village, way back in november.  it was $10!  for a perfect wool coat!  although it was rather very large on me and the arms were way to long, i had visions of altering, de- and re- constructing it, and making it my very own.  the photos make it look much more gray than it actually is.  it's the perfect military, olive, drab green that i adore.

i thought i had before pictures so i could show you the jacket how i actually found it, with all the original military buttons still attached.  but no, there are no photos, or there are but i am not organized enough to find them now.  anyhow, imagine the jacket with big ugly plastic and brass military buttons and that's what it look liked when i discovered it.  i immediately thought of changing out the buttons, actually that was the whole point of having to have it, that it would be a super easy upgrade and simple way to make the jacket my own, if I could figure out how to alter the fit.  when i got the jacket home i started to get out my vintage button stash.  originally i was going with a combo of vintage blue, green and red buttons, all mix matched, all over the coat.  in all the jacket has 10 buttons.  the belt that came with the jacket had a heavy brass buckle on it.  cool, but didn't go with my buttons.  so i am digging thru a tin of buttons still on cards and low and behold, i come across two, yes 2!, vintage red belt buckles.  that settled it right there.  i wanted all red buttons, to go with the buckle and because the color just pops right off the green background.

the tin of buttons still on cards where i found the buckles

i keep all my loose buttons in old glass and silver coffee servers.  one is all shell buttons, one is all other white buttons and the other two are missed colors.

the unused belt buckle and the original price tag on the back.

above you can see one the remedies i came up with to make the sleeves work for me.  originally i thought i was seriously going to have to remove the entire sleeve, alter it, and reattach it to the coat body.  it seemed daunting and that's one reason it took me a couple months to actually start dealing with the coat.  but then as i was looking at it, i thought, why don't i just turn a bit of the sleeve under and hand stitch some embroidery thread around it and call it good.  o.k.  so i love how this stitching turned out, very "hand done" looking.  i was happy with the stitching but the arms and sleeves still fit weird, like way huge and bulky on me.  

 

inside view.  not fancy.  but fine.

 so then i figure i might as well try taking out some of the shoulder pad stuff that was in between the jacket and the lining so i ended up trimming away as much of that as i could get my hands on.  i got a lot of bulk out but the sleeves themselves were still big and bunchy so then i had a brilliant idea and said to myself, "hey, just wash it.  in really hot soapy water. and dry the hot heck out of it. it's wool.  just see what happens." 

i figured the worse that could happen is the sleeves would shrink and felt down too short.  in which case i would just undo the crooked embroidery thread stitching i just did and let it out.  turns out though, that washing it was just what it needed.  it shrunk perfectly and i love how it fits now.  it is slender and narrow through the torso yet the arms are full enough to allow me to really stretch and feel comfortable, yet not huge and gigantic.  the red buttons are fully functional and that darn buckle just sets it off! 

I love my "new" coat!

the only thing i might still do to it is put a bunch of patches down one arm.  when i first got the jacket it had a military patch on each shoulder at the top of the sleeve.  over at Honestly...WTF i had fallen in love with this look and thought the idea might translate well to this coat.

here are some patches i have that may, or may not, end up on the jacket:

  this is a large vintage patch i bought from my friend Marie at the antique mall for like $2.

and here are a few smaller.

i will post more photos if i add the patches but for now i think i will just go with it as is and see i decide to tackle all the detailed work of attaching patches.

working on a silver tote bag,

xox

jennette



Carpet Bag

Finally finished the carpet bag!

I found this rug piece in Tucson last spring and hauled it home with me.  I also found a full size rug, perfectly worn, that I hauled home too.  Thank you Southwest Airlines for letting us each check two bags for free!  I was able to bring home a massive ton of loot!  Anyhow, here is the rug piece, as found:

Here is the piece, as found, layed out on my floor.

Here is a closer-up detail.

I used dark brown linen, from an old dress, to line the inside side.  Its hard to see but I made a pocket too.

This photo shows how I just guesstimate about where and what size I want a messenger style bag to be.  I line the entire piece first then play with bag/flap size until it looks just right to me.  Then I pin in the side/strap piece.  This time I used the brown linen for one side of the strap and some army green linen from and old pair of shorts I picked up at the Lopez Transfer Station, Take It or Leave It, over the summer. 

Here is the strap before I began pinning it to the bag.

In these two photos I am trying to show the pinning of the strap to the bag in a way that you can see how I construct it.  But these photos don't do it justice.  I basically pin the bottom of the strap to what I want to be the bottom of the bag and then sew it up the sides to the top.  In this case, I made the strap too long so I need to go back and shorten it.

So with the carpet bag finished I can move on to other projects that have been left unfinished and half started.  Still working on my jacket from a vintage pattern.  Still working on a few other bags in progress.  Still have a few dolls being embroidered.  Still have mending and tweaking on several garments to finish.  Still, still, still.  And most of it will have to wait until I am back from vacation because that is fast approaching and I have many little ends to tie up before we fly off.  I plan to show you many of the finds I have discovered in the past couple weeks.  Stay tuned.  Normal programming will resume in the New Year. 

xoxox

Jennette