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I recently completed a flurry of art projects. After congratulating myself on my productivity, I turned around to look look at my home studio , and wondered, "Who made this huge mess? Upcycled art studio shelving unit. Project and photo by Susan Borgen. I know very few mixed-media artists who create...
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What a week it has been. As I write this, I am in my home studio and can hear television and social media reports of the manhunt for those responsible for the bombings in Boston. Many years ago I worked in a building just above where the bombs were set off and later I covered the Boston Marathon as a...
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Recently I have been upcycling burlap coffee bean bags into café curtains for my kitchen. (Get it? Café curtains?) Burlap coffee bags ready for upcycling. When I started out, I thought I was just going to use the main part of the bags with the cool graphics. I cut apart the first bag in...
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Today I'm sharing a little project from Kristen Robinson for making sweet bag for your jewelry or to hold a special little gift. Kristen makes these bags out of wool felt or linen; you can use purchased felt or make it even more personal by upcycling a wool sweater into felt or upcycling your fabric...
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Beginning a new year often means rethinking the spaces we occupy. Whether it's your home, office, or your studio, the new year frequently inspires change. Or maybe it's the cold weather and staying indoors that makes us want to spice things up a bit . . . add color . . . add spirit . . . You...
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For years, now, I have collected vintage linens with the plan that I would enjoy some as is, and upcycle others into useful and decorative projects. I've made a few things, but mostly, I have just accumulated a lot of pretty linens. I've finally come to the conclusion that one of the reasons...
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After literally tripping over my stash of fabrics, papers, and found objects recently, I am on a mission to downsize. And so I'm looking for ways to use and re-use items I already have, upcycling them into art or useful objects. 'Domestic Bee' by Cas Holmes. Upcycled fabric, newsprint, and...
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Mixed-media artists are a tribe of collectors, always picking up shiny (or grungy) odds and ends that might become useful someday. But what once was seen by others as an odd obsession is now a talent we can call creative upcycling, turning trash into recycled art. In this free eBook, Upcycled Art: 4...
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If you follow this blog, then you know I have an abundance of denim pockets culled from my husband's jeans, and I'm always looking for fabric art projects to make with them. One of my favorite denim recycling projects was this Patched Pocket Panel that combines art with storage. Another way to...
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Ever since I made a murder of fancy felt crow softies from Kelli Nina Perkins's pattern several years ago, I've been looking for other easy art doll patterns to make using my fabric scraps. Tweedie Owl Softie by Amy Struckmeyer, from Stitch Winter 2012. Two years ago I made pumpkin stuffies....
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Last night I felt just the slightest nip in the air. Just enough to remind me that fall will, indeed, be coming soon. That school will start in a week. That it's time to check the sweaters. The interior of this Movable Studio book is made from a felted sweater. Art by Jenn Mason. With any luck, I'll...
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Although our oldest child has left the nest and our youngest is old enough to get her driver's license, I still tool around town in a minivan. Upcycled art studio shelving unit. Project and photo by Susan Borgen. Why? Mainly because it's paid for and it still runs great. But also, because I have...
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My husband wears jeans every day for work, and he goes through them at an alarming rate. Several years ago I started saving the pockets for future upcycling into fabric art . Now I have a stack of pockets waiting in search of a project. One day a couple of months ago one of my coworkers, Mary Walter...
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A couple of weekends ago I spent the better part of two days sorting through the stuff in my home studio. By Sunday evening I emerged with a feeling of accomplishment: everything within the room had been sorted and stored in categories and I had two worktables cleared and ready for action. Mixed-media...
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My husband and I have been going through our closets and basement boxes to determine what is useful, what is trash, and what is "junque." The useful stuff we'll keep, give, or sell; the trash we'll toss (or recycle) and the junque we want to upcycle into recycled art projects . My recycled...