Tubes for Now....and Later

Whenever we go to the beach, we always have to stop and get the giant tube to play with in the waves.  But after all the fun and the summer is done, what do you do with a deflated tube?  After a bit of research, I discovered that a woman named Alaya Froindlich, who exhibits in the Tel Aviv market area, sells bags made from old encyclopedias, comic books and inflatable pool floats as an effort to make new from old and protect the environment. I am thinking that we may try to make an Auburn bag, as Nikki chose the navy and orange. Not that we would keep it, as we are Tide fans through and through, but maybe to give as a gift.

Halloween Hijinks!

I am getting so excited.  Only 126 days until official Halloween decorating begins.  (That's October 1st according to me, though Pam has been known to start in mid-September because she can't stand to wait.  Gotta love that.) 

Preparations for our first annual Halloween Hat decorating party have begun.  We have ordered our first set of hats (see a standard on Nikki) and are accumulating ideas and materials.  If the hats are truly worthy, they may join the ones that annually grace my mantle for the glorious month of October.  Your ideas are totally appreciated!

Used Uniforms=Upcycled Inspiration!

During this past week, our school held the annual used uniform sale.  Though you typically don't come out that much richer (most things go for under $7), it's a great way to recycle uniforms to the most receptive audience----always important if you want your efforts to be the most effective.  So, I dutifully cleaned, pressed, pinned and priced 34 items- ranging from pants to crested shirts to plaid skirts to ties.  When it was over, I was not ready to retire on my proceeds, but had some fun summer money and some great finds of my own.


In keeping with the tricked out tees that I have been creating for Echo (see "Couch Potato" on left), my daughter and best friend decided it might be fun to do the same with the Eagle spirit wear that they get to wear to school each Friday.  (Also a great way to stand out from the crowd. ) Perfect timing!  At the used uniform sale, I was able to swoop up some tees, skirts and ties, all for under $12.  Adding some other trims and what not to the mix, and we are ready to create masterpieces.  Stay tuned.  When they are done, we will post them with a loud...."Go Eagles!"

Where's Hermoine's Time Turner?

I recently watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban again.  In the movie, Hermoine keeps amazing Harry and Ron by appearing to be at two places at once.  In the final scenes, she and Harry actually go back in time to change events--and preserve others.

So I started thinking, today as my 14-year-old graduated from 8th grade, do you ever feel stuck between two times?  (I think I am coming around to the idea of parallel universes.) Would you turn back the clock if you could?    I can look back to Kindergarten (the pic is him just the Halloween before as Peter Pan)  and it seems like many, many years ago that he was that little.  Yet, it seems like yesterday in another way. 

With Coach Kaiser - B'ball NAML champs!

I am very proud of my graduate- here's to Ryan, who is now officially a high school freshman!

Sterling Roses, Anyone?

 Here's my second gossamer find to be added to the Echo holiday collection.  I paired it with another gem- a sterling silver velvet shirt that produced oodles of trim, including these wonderful cuffs.  I wish I had taken a picture of both the contributing garments before, so you can see how far this has come. 

Indigo, Lavender, Periwinkle-- Can you say Purple?

 I've got to admit that I am feeling a bit like a princess with school almost out- less than 2 full days before we can begin to sleep later, forget the books (unless it's a great page turner) and dawdle a bit.  Came across two interesting tops when thrifting the other day.  Both appeared to be made of a gossamer fabric.  Thinking about Echo's upcoming holiday orders, after they were squeaky clean, I grabbed the scissors and went to work.  The first, Indigo Night, is my favorite.  It's this lovely shade of purple that reminds me of all the times I wanted the grape flavored....sucker, drink, soda.....you name it.  The black velvetty trim perfectly highlights the black outlines in it.  Since it is really polyester, the beauty of it all is......it's washable. Might have to take this little wrap out for a spin---some inky, indigo night.  (Stay tuned for my other creation tomorrow--- it's called Sterling Roses.)

Halloween Thrift Extravaganza!

Only 4 more days of school.  So, as the kids went out the door today, I headed to one of my favorite thrifting meccas, Valu Village, to stock up on "raw material".  (Valu Village writes on their website that
" ...our recycling program prevents 500 million pounds of unsold merchandise from ending up in landfills last year.") Not a bad service for the community, and a great treasure trove for me-and the crazy quilter I met in the check out line.  But onto the goods.....

I am really excited about creating some Halloween-themed "tricked out tees" and needed a little inspiration.  Enter these fabulous images---each for $1.29.  As they sway in the suds and circle in the dryer, I will be plotting and scheming---- keep an eye out for the finished products coming soon.  One thing for sure---the parody of American Gothic above will have to be added onto for a shirt for Nikki.  She was entranced by larger than life version on the Miracle Mile in Chicago.  (She appears as the pixie guarding their luggage below.)

A Trip to the Tasty Freeze

The "raw materials"

It's finally getting to feel like summer in Atlanta.  Today, the temperature crossed the 90 degree mark, making me think of all things summer: 4th of July, picnics, swimming, heat waves and ice cream cones.  Time for a frothy fashion concoction!

Starting with a V-neck white burn-out shirt, a gently used 4th of July retro shirt,  and some pieces of trim from prior "experiments", I have created just what I need to celebrate the beginning of summer (and end of exams--- can I get an AMEN to that?!?)------it's the Tasty Freeze. Just like ice cream and a sugar cone, this tricked out tee should go well with a pair of jeans, shorts or even my favorite "poser" tennis skirt.


(A quick shout out to two friends- Marjy who stunningly has completed her first marathon at the Great Wall of China and Pam, who has guided Child #1 thru high school.  Amazing feats by inspiring women!)

The finished "treat"

Welcome to Atlanta Upcycler!

Thanks for joining me for my inaugural post.  Driven by a desire to share new and unique ways to reinvent the wheel, I have started this blog. No doubt, I will also be sharing some ideas on how to reinvent our city, community, state, nation and world as well.  Chime in!  The best ideas are the ones that are shared, built upon, discussed, discarded and reinvented.

A couple of years ago, I came across the surprising statistic that the average American discards 68 pounds of clothing per year.  68 pounds!  A number of items that flood the garbage and thrift stores still had the tags on.  Surely there had to be a way to reinvent and reinvigorate such "waste".  After all, one man's trash is another man's treasure, right?  With this in mind, I started Echo!, a small clothing company that upcycles gently used sweaters into creations better than ever before.  I hope to share some of those creations, as well as other ideas, in the pages of my blog. The creativity of upcyclers and artists consistently amazes me, and hopefully will inspire you as well.