Here is a cute and easy tutorial for upcycling spare buttons, beads and baubles. You could use your Grandmother’s button collection or even some of those extra buttons you get when you buy new clothes.  I personally have every extra button I have ever received. I think some of the fabric covered floral buttons that I rocked in elementary school would look great on some bobby pins. Now you finally have a way to upcycle your tin of treasures. A Homemaker’s Journal has the complete tutorial. Happy Upcycling, …

Turning an old pair of pants or jeans into a skirt is an easy sewing project. With a sewing machine and very basic skills, you can complete this project. A few months ago, our oldest daughter decided that she was only going to wear skirts and dresses. No more pants for her. I don’t always let our kids follow every whim of form or fashion but she was already wearing mostly skirts or jumpers and was rather convicted. I think we can blame her favorite television show …

Do you want to look like an artist? Then start shopping at the Etsy shop Decomp. This artistic shop is filled with creative and nature inspired clothing, jewelry, and accessories made mostly from recycled and upcycled materials. Meet Nicolette, the creative mind behind Decomp. Each of her organic pieces are planned in great detail. They are visually interesting with a perfect combination of texture and color. Her love of nature shines through in each of her designs. Her favorite material to work with is leather scrap that …

What does a former forensic scientist do when she stops dismantling meth labs to raise her four children and take care of her family? She starts dismantling T-shirts to create adorable dresses for little girls! As a child, Carrie Poniewaz’s mother gave her some good advice: “learn to type and learn to sew then you will always have a job and you will always have something to wear.” While her love of sewing and creating started at a young age growing up with a family of creative women, …

(We hope you enjoy this article. It is the first of many we have lined up to showcase creative Etsy artists. Etsy is an online marketplace for buying and selling handmade and vintage goods. A large number of Etsy artists use upcycled and recycled materials.) These sweet little slippers are made from upcycled sweaters and leather jackets and skirts. What does a manufacturing engineer do when she can’t find the perfect slippers for her baby daughter? Design and make her own of course! Josie Marsh spent 12 years …

Men’s dress shirts are a great source of upcycled fabric. My husband usually wears out the elbows in his shirt and the rest of the material is in great shape. I made this twirly skirt from two of his shirts. It is basically just three loops of fabric sewed together with an elastic waist. Pretty easy for a novice seamstress such as myself. To salvage the fabric, use either scissors or a rotary cutter and cut along the seams at the back and sides of the shirts. I was …

I love the look of these ballet flats.These upcyled shoes are made from Chinese language newspaper that are woven together and then dipped in plastic for durability and weather protection. Each shoe is unique and very chic. This makes for a perfect combination of upcycling and fashion. The style of these shoes also remind me of the totally awesome and rad jelly shoes that I used to wear in the 80s. These are like my grown-up version of jellies. Happy Upcycling, Jill