RetroFit

Just because I recently graduated from the Institute of Fine Living doesn't mean that I'm finished converting old relics into new fall favorites.

For instance, do you remember this sweater? I blogged about it here.

As you can see, it has gone through a transformation.

Because this is what it looked like before. Perfectly plain, which is all fine and well. But boring. Very, very boring.

Boring, that is, until the stripes happened.

And the buttons.

And a snip-snip down the center (I'm quickly on my way to turning every sweater I have into a cardigan...).

This is perhaps one of my favorite fall projects thus far. And it cost me $3.00 (for the buttons). If you recall, this is a $96 savings from the J.Crew sweater that inspired this design. With the added bonus of being a) good for the environment (reUse!) and b) a fun and creative challenge.

Furthermore, this latest success in converting what I already own into trendy new fashions has me eager to keep searching my resources for buried treasures just waiting to be discovered. Because this process is more than just an attempt to stay in style. It is part of a lifestyle of mindfulness and innovation.

Naturally I have more to say on this latter point, but I'll save that for another post. Right now I'm going to go enjoy my new sweater.

Previous Related Posts:
A Dollar Saved
Mine, Only Better
Redux

Day 15: Redux

It's official. I have caught the "what-stylish-thing-can-I-make-out-of-my-existing-wardrobe" bug.

Personally I blame Mrs. Marple.

It was her class yesterday that got me contemplating the many ways I could transform my old clothing into new things.

Like this plain ivory tank top that I've been wearing for years. Sure, I like it alright, but I think I would like it even more with layers upon layers of polka dot ruffles. Wouldn't you?

Polka dots from this skirt, for instance, that I've had stuffed in a drawer for about 5 years. Once upon a time I loved this skirt. But that time has long since passed.

The truth is that converting old things into new things is virtuous for a number of reasons. The first is obvious: it cuts down on unnecessary consumerism by making good use of things we've already purchased.

Naturally this is good for our wallets and the environment.

But it is also good for other, less conventional reasons. Like exercising our problem solving skills, for instance.

The practice of seeing old things with fresh new eyes is a universally flattering skill, and can be applied to areas outside of fashion. Like work, for instance.

Challenging our creativity is also far more rewarding than simply gratifying someone else's inspired items. Sure I can buy the latest and greatest from Michael Kors or Mark Jacobs (well, I can't because they're too expensive, but you get my point...), but creating something with my own hands from the vision in my mind is Much More rewarding. Frankly, it boosts the ego.

Furthermore, it gives us a reprieve from the consumer auto-pilot that we often find ourselves on. You know the one--like when we (okay, me) walk into Target for toilet paper and walk out with 100 dollars worth of unplanned merchandise (this has happened to me more than once...).

So often we (okay, me) use our purchasing power to make us feel better after a stressful day or fight with our husband/boyfriend/friend. And then the shopping buzz wears off faster than our tension headache.

What we (okay, me again) often don't realize is that creative expression, and the process of making something from hand (aka actually interacting with the production of the "stuff" in our lives) provides us with a fulfilling outlet that trumps a shopping-high any day.

Plus we still end up with fancy loot.

Gee--this Mrs. Marple is certainly wearing off on me! Here I am going on and on about the virtuous of old-stuff-turned-new when you already know all of this.

So I'll stop talking. After all, I have a plain ivory tank top to convert into a fabulous ruffled number that my husband will undoubtedly glance right over without noticing the design genius.

But he might appreciate the financial savings...

Previous Related Posts:
Day 14: Alterations
Fall Project Preview (making a graphic t-shirt)
Nesting: Nurturing my Maternal Side (making a baby-quilt)

Day 14: Alterations

Today in Mrs. Marple's class we learned about transforming the old and boring into the new and fun.

Otherwise known as taking my bland cable sweater that I purchased five years ago from Wal-Mart and converting it into a chic new cardigan.

When Mrs. Marple started the lecture by asking us to think of something that we already own that had perhaps lost its luster, I immediately considered this sweater.

And my recent obsession with ruffles.

She then encouraged us to start envisioning that item as something else. I saw a cardigan with three-quarter sleeves. So, casting fear aside, I took my fabric shears and cut this sweater right down the middle.

Then I rather unceremoniously chopped the sleeves off at the elbows.

And then it was time to embellish. I rummaged through my fabric stash and located this soft gray checkered remnant that I salvaged from Habitat for Humanity's thrift store.

I knew it would be a perfect fit for the ruffles.

After some brainstorming, I decided that the best thing to do was fold under the raw edges on each strip, making sure to sew a zig-zag stitch along the sides to prevent fraying.

Then, after finishing four strips, I tucked and pinned each ruffle into place, which doesn't take as long as you might think. Plus I was simultaneously watching previous episodes of Glee while pinning (have you seen that show!? It's probably my new favorite. And yes--I once was a choir geek.)

I wasn't too worried about perfection here, because really--is someone going to measure my ruffles to make sure they're all the same width? I think not! And if they tried, I'd probably have to harm them, because that's just plain weird.

Consider yourself warned.

Once the ruffles were pinned and stitched onto the cardigan, I sewed the sleeve cuffs back onto the sleeves (cleverly making sure that they could fold up--this took some problem solving and lots of second guessing...) and then I sewed hooks-and-eyes along the middle to close the sweater.

Finally, I finished it all off with a slender belt.

And now that I've finished prancing around the house in my old-now-new cardigan, and bragging gratuitously to my husband about how I didn't spend any money on my newest fashion find, I should pause and thank Mrs. Marple for having such a good idea.

Frankly I can't wait to hunt through my closet to see what other cast-offs I can find!

See you tomorrow!

Previous Days at the Institute:
Day 10: the balancing act (as told through vintage advertisements)
Day 9: pink, pink & pink
Day 6: premade hostess

Setting a Depressing Example

When I was in college, I spent one summer working at a dude ranch (yes--that’s right--a dude ranch, complete with cowboys, horses, and a bubbling brook running through the property) as a waitress for ranch guests. The family that owned and operated the ranch had lived there for multiple generations, and the oldest member--an elderly woman in her nineties named Tillie--still came down to the kitchen from time to time to visit. And to make sure that none of the food was going to waste. I would watch her collect the leftover bread and recommend to the cooks how they could reuse it for another meal. Or see her scrape the unused ranch dressing out of the serving bowls to put back into the storage container (much to the cook’s--and the FDA’s--chagrin). She couldn’t help herself. After growing up during the Depression, she was used to making every ingredient and household item stretch to the last inch.

Admiration
Although admittedly a bit sketchy when it came to operating a commercial kitchen, I had to admire her resourcefulness and ingenuity. And naturally I reflected on how far we had come since her days managing the ranch, with our disposable paper cups and plates, ketchup packets, and soda cans.

No Nostalgia Needed
No one wants to wax poetically about the Depression, or seriously propose a return to those hard times. Instead, we much rather prefer to climb out of this recession as quickly as possible before it does any permanent damage and we, ourselves, start licking the plates clean and saving the leftover salad dressing. But one thing worth noting is the example set by the generation that knew all to well what it was to have the bottom fall out of the economy. The ladies of that time were the first Recessionistas, and they were clever indeed. They remind us that:

Good Reminders
* disposable living is not something to esteem if it translates to meaningless consumerism and waste. “Waste not, want not” could stand a revival, minus possible compromises to health and safety, of course, and sluggish economies are good opportunities to practice the mantra.

* resourcefulness leads to resilience. There are few from that generation that are not revered for their persevering spirit. Their steady discipline of artfully appreciating and utilizing the resources around them helped sustain their ability to stay hopeful, productive, and even prosperous during hard times.

* and the best defense to calamity begins at home. We joke now about their quirky habits of saving things like newspapers and cardboard for “just in case,” but they know that when difficulty arises, it is good to have supplies on hand and to not trust absolutely in the back-up plans of commerce or government. We are fortunate to have a few safety nets that they did not, like FDIC insurance and credit cards. But we would do well to remember that even well meaning systems can fail to fill in the gaps that only a home can fill.

Acknowledgments
I, of course, want nothing more than to avoid walking in the shoes they walked in during the Depression. But I also want to acknowledge the important example they set, and the lessons we can learn from them as we walk through our own economic turmoil.

I might even reuse the heels of my bread to add some crisp to tonight’s chicken. Tillie would be proud.

Previous Recessionista Posts:
Thinking Outside the Box
Three Contingency Plans
Homegrown Resilience

Thinking Outside the Box

The Teva sandal made its debut right around the time I entered junior high. Of course everyone who was cool had a pair. And naturally my parents weren’t the type to buy a sandal just for the sake of my popularity. So I was out of luck. Of course there were some available knock-offs at the stores, mainly in solid black. Which was okay, I guess, but they lacked the tell-tale colorful stitching of the originals.

So what did I do? I bought a pair, and using some embroidery thread, I hand-stitched my own pattern onto my generic sandals. True, they weren’t exactly the real thing, and I doubt I was fooling anyone. But I wore them to school every day in the spring with a certain pride that is very difficult to find in junior high.

A Habit is Born
Why do I share this story? Because thinking outside of the box is a Recessionista habit I’ve come to love. A habit that I started practicing back in junior high just to fit in with the cool kids.

Thinking outside of the box (aka creative resourcefulness) is the ability to look at something old or generic in a new and fresh way. And it can be applied in almost infinite situations. Like turning a handful of leftover ingredients lingering in the fridge into a new entree that is surprisingly good. Or covering old cereal boxes in decorative paper to use for storage. Or re-imagining a pile of scrap wood as canvases for art.

Practice Makes Perfect
Probably the best opportunities for out-of-the-box brilliance come from repurposing what you already have, but seeing old things in a new light can be difficult at times. It is easier to glimpse the potential in something when it is packaged and labeled. Practice can go a long way to unveil hidden potential, though. For instance:

* taking an inventory of what you already own may reveal some pleasant surprises. I wrote about this recently during my spring cleaning bout. It is very easy for me to forget about the stuff I already own, but uncovering it from the backs of my closets or under the bed can give me a jolt of inspiration.

* getting into the habit of asking “what else can I use this for?” can go a long way. Can the decorative cup holding your toothbrush be used as a small vase? Would your old sweater make a nice pillow? Can you grow strawberries out of that rusted watering can? Even if you would never turn your CD’s into a shiny hanging mobile (please, please don’t!), it still helps get the creative juices flowing to think about it.

Why the Trouble?
Why go to all this trouble? Well, the benefits seem fairly obvious to me. You can continue to adorn your home and wardrobe without spending a ton of money. You are practicing one of the three R's of conservation: re-using. You are practicing innovative thinking, which leads to invention and breakthrough. And--last but certainly not least--you are giving yourself a chance to be friends with the cool kids.

What is your best thinking-outside-of-the-box story? Share by posting your comment below!

Previous Related Posts:
Vintage Green
Swap Meet Style
Creative Salvation
Modern Benefits from a Vintage Chore

Before & After: Part 2

In January I shared some pictures of my first Nesting project, which was my office makeover.  And although I'm not finished yet with my office, that didn't stop me from starting a whole new project on the spare bedroom, which resulted in the following Before & After pictures:

When thinking about what I wanted to change in the room, I knew immediately that the curtain rod had to go!  The wrought iron (okay--so maybe it is black plastic resembling wrought iron...) rod with the scrolling finials had served it's design purpose long enough.  I was going for a more modern look, and scrolls just don't cut it. 

  

So I did what everyone does--I shopped around for a new rod.  And I found tons of them at fairly reasonable prices.  I also found a lot of other things that I wanted too, and my budget was getting too fat.  So I ditched the new rod and contemplated plan B: new finials.  And that was when it occurred to me that corks really are under-appreciated design friends, and wouldn't they make perfectly nice, functional and free finials?

Indeed they do.  It took me all of two seconds to twist on a couple leftover corks from my favorite New Mexican sparkling wine and my curtain rod troubles were fixed.

Next was the headboard.  Formerly the bed rested anchor-less on the wall, much to my chagrin.  I knew I needed something substantial behind the pillows to complete the room.  So I did some research.  My options included 1) purchasing a new headboard at the furniture store, which would have run me $100-$300; 2) create one with paint on the wall, which is a great option, but one I wasn't interested in; 3) create one with mirrors--another great, affordable option, but a little too glitzy for me, or 4) find a thrift store headboard and refinish it.  

Those of you who read Monday's post know which option I chose: #4.  I was lucky to find a headboard with style that was still in good shape (even my husband was impressed, and he Hates my thrift store finds).  The headboard cost $10, so in addition to refinishing supplies, I only spent about $50 total, which is not bad for furniture.  

So after sanding and staining, I am thrilled with the way it turned out.  And as predicted, it completed the bed perfectly.  

I share all of this with you because a) I love design, and can't help but writing about it.  And b) I think that creating beauty in our homes (and the world) is a worthy pursuit, especially if you can do it with some money-and-resource-friendly (aka cheap and recycled) savvy.  

Previous Related Posts:

And Then It Happened...

Putting Things in Order (or at least in pretty boxes)

Nesting: the Pursuit of Beauty

Before & After: Part 1