I was back with Color Wheels this weekend helping kids to decorate Halloween trick or Treat bags in Gold Star Park in South Philly. We had quite a crowd! It was nice to see people out and about on a beautiful Autumn day.
The Fire Mountain Gems website describes upcycling as taking something that is destined for the trash bin and transforming it into something of value and beauty. … This can be as simple as taking a piece of waste paper and transforming it into beads or other useful jewelry-making components.
This is a project from a while back that I made while I was waiting for hand surgery and couldn’t do any projects that involved a lot of banging or prolonged fine work.
First, I ironed some screen printed fabric onto fusible interfacing and sewed it into a tube,
I cut up an aluminum can to the proper size for a cuff bracelet, wrapped it with masking tape, and slipped the fabric tube over it. Then I trimmed the fabric and tucked in the ends.
I sewed the ends shut and attached another piece of screen printed fabric for contrast.
I wrapped the bracelet with some gorgeous vintage rayon embroidery floss and searched my stash of scrap metal and glass for additional embellishments.
And here’s the finished product. That’s a fabric necklace in the background, also made from upcycled materials.
The Center for Creative Works serves people with intellectual disabilities by helping them to achieve their creative potential. CCW started as a sheltered workshop model in the 1970’s and evolved into an arts program where participants could gain art skills, and sell their art.
You can support this wonderful organization by making a purchase from their online gift shop.
I must confess that I am feeling particularly uninspired as of late. I’ve been making ceramic mugs in the pottery studio and decorating them with underglaze, but even this seems forced.
The Penn Archeology and Anthropology Museum has been a great source of inspiration for me in the past. Flea Markets are a great source of inspiration, too. If those don’t work for you, the Huffington Post offers a few suggestions to stoke your creativity. I find that the best thing for me is to take a long walk and to try to look at things differently.
So last week, I revisited a Philadelphia neighborhood I lived in years ago which happened to be hosting a vintage flea market on a beautiful fall day. Even if the walk didn’t open the inspiration floodgates, I figured that at least I would get some exercise since I walked to Powelton Village and back from my South Philadelphia neighborhood. And got to look at Center City Philadelphia architecture from the west rather than my usual eastern view. Architecture can be another source of inspiration.
I’m not feeling inspired yet, but when I do, you’ll be the first to know.
Ornamento 