My First Round Up!!

Hi Everyone!!  It's another First for Me!!  I'm doing my first "Round Up".

Last year when I decided to participate in the Ready to Wear Fast Challenge hosted by Sarah from Goodbye Valentino Blog, I made my own month by month plan as my own personal challenge.  Well....as a free lance pattern maker, writer and producer, it's not always easy to stick to specific goals I set for myself when I don't always know what assignments will come my way or "Strike My Fancy".  Even with my work load, I was able to stick to my January goal of sewing knits by completing two garments.  In February, I decided to start a new video series featuring the Singer Pro Finish Serger, so my goal of sewing an item made in the shade of the year, Radiant Orchid didn't happen.

It never feels good to me to not follow though with a personal goal I set for myself.  Life happens, though.  So, since this month was shaping up to be busy once again, I chose to fulfill my monthly goal in a brand new way.  By doing my First Round Up!!  A "Round Up" is a collection of similar items that I share from other designers or bloggers with their permission, links and "how to information". My March goal was to create an Upcycled item so I'm featuring some Upcycled items created by some terrific bloggers as well as sharing one of my most popular Upcycled items, the Flower Power Purse, Picture Tutorial!!

I've selected a variety of items for this Round Up.  There were many great submissions from all the bloggers, because so many people are Upcycling and Recycling items these days.  I love the fact that people can look at something unuseful and transform it into something useful!!

Here we go:

This is my Picture Tutorial:  Flower Power Purse.  Even though I designed, created and wrote the picture tutorial over a year ago, it's still viewed over and over again on my blog.  I use it quite often to carry books and my net book back and forth from the library and get complements all the time on it.

The first Upcycled item that I'm sharing is from Julie from Sum of their Stories Blog.  She wrote a tutorial she calls the Stripy T-Shirt Refashion.  She's an avid crafter and comes from a family where many enjoyed dressmaking, sewing and the arts.  To create this garment, she shows how to take 2 t-shirts and upcycle them into one garment.  I think this top is very attractive, current and simply adorable.  Great project Julie!!

What do you do when you find a dress that you love, but is just a little bit too short?  Add a trim to the hemline to add some style and extra length.  Heidi from One Creative Mommy Blog wrote a nice tutorial called, How to Add Length to a Dress or Skirt-Tutorial.  If you're looking for something creative for your kids, home decor or interested in getting organized, please check her out.

The last upcycled item I'm sharing in this round up is a fashion forward accessory that includes a tutorial.  Kara is a crochet blogger over at Petals to Picots Blog.  She wrote a tutorial called, How to Make Wrist Warmers from and Upcycled Sweater.  This is a very nice practical tutorial that can be used to create many different looks by selecting different knit's and colorful yarns.  Lots of "Possibilities".

So there you have it!  My first ever Round Up.  I hope this post gave you some great ideas for upcycled projects and will get your creative juices flowing.  If you need more inspiration, please check out my Upcycled Clothing and DIY Wearables boards on Pinterest.  Many of these pins are tutorials and FREE patterns for great garments that you can make yourself.

If you'd like to learn more about Upcycling, BurdaStyle is offering a Live Web Seminar this Monday, March 31, with Instructor, Beth Huntington.  The course is called, Refashion:  Inspiration and Projects to Revamp and Recycle Your Wardrobe.  This looks like the perfect place to begin if you ever wanted to try refashioning for yourself but didn't know where to start.  Check out the link above for all the details, fees, class schedule and techniques being covered in the online training seminar.

Special THANKS to Julie from Sum of their Stories Blog, Heidi from One Creative Mommy Blog, and to Kara from Petals to Picots Blog for allowing me to share your wonderful Upcycled items with my readers.  Please check out all their blogs for more great ideas and inspiration!!

Have a Happy Creative Day!!

Roxanne