We are all big children

Last weekend we have celebrated the birthday of my oldest son. We have chosen for him and his friends the birthday party with workshop in the museum for children  Villa zebra in Rotterdam.
Every kid have made the birthday cake from scratches of fabric, polyester blocks, papers.
It was funny to see them ''baking'' own strawberry, chocolate or cheesecakes.
They were very happy to leave a party with their crafty piece of cake.

Today I came through the site of Jennifer Collier who makes amazing goodies from paper and other unnecessary materials.
''We are all big children'': I thought about our adults hobbies reminding us our childhood.

Few art works of Jennifer Collier

And the amazing Paper cuts creation of Etsy crafters:

Cardboard sheriff hat and 6 shooter by Mark O'Brien

Cardboard hanging lamp by Uquworkshop

Cardboard wall clock by Oupas Design

Vintage caravan paper broach by London Handmade

Cardboard swiss pastry by Art on the menu

Enjoy your hobby and upcycle too!

Show must go on

After almost 6 moths of designing, sewing, setting up my new shop Cabassole I am back to the up cycling part of me. Back to Moi Aussi activities and my main product - apron from upcycled jeans.
I have received positive feedback from my Etsy friends who are also constantly busy with the improvement of their shops and products. One of the comments was about sides of my apron, which are not covered with fabric.
In the beginning I was using only front of the old jeans.
Then I have decided to use the back in order to propose the bigger size.
The back of the same jeans is always larger.
It is funny, but women choose only aprons made from front.

The main purpose of the apron is to protect our clothes during cooking.
One evening I did not want to work and just browsed blogs of couture, recyclers and eco-fashion designers.
Without any purpose, just to pass time. Suddenly new idea highlighted my mind - how to improve my design.
Here it is my apron from upcycled jeans with the side parts from new fabric.
Cook in style and upcycle toooooo!

Playing with the wind

Today again about Netherlands and curious things we discover here.

Windmills and tulips are well-known symbols of this country.

And this is an old model which you can see is you visit ''open lucht museum''

And this is an example of modern windmill. They dissolve in the landscape and do not shock anymore even if there are still debates about good and bad part of this installation.

As any other installation some of them comes to the end of their life cycle.

What men creative and eco-consious engineers and architects can invite now-days! 

Wind turbine upcycled to create the children playground by 2012 Architecten

Sec

If you leave in Holland you probably use a bicycle very often. The infrastructure in this country is developed in such way to allow the usage of bicycle almost everywhere. Standing in my car on the stoplight and watching all cyclers passing by I was always wondering: how crazy would be the traffic in Netherland without bicycle. Many world cities try to rearrange their roads to incorporate cycle  corridors. It is not always safe! In Holland the safe cycle route safely separated from main car steam exist already for years.
But when the sun is shining you will not hesitate to put your mini-skirt, high hills and go on your bike. Unfortunately there are more rainy days in Holland and you need to protect your body if you do not want to be completely wet.
The former student of Design Academy Eindhoven Kyra Meilink launches the fabrication of the stylish coats that can be transformed into practical rainwear just in one second.

Slow living

I am trying to continue to pick up new ideas about upcycling from enormous sources of internet.
While reading many blogs I come across another ideas which are connected to my favorite subject.
One of it - slow movement and slow living.

Our life became so hectic!
Metro, boulot, dodo (french expression) - stands for ''metro, job, sleep''.

Running, running, running hole day and week trough. 

Slow movement it is everything about good life, healthy food, enjoying every simple moment of your life that can make you happier!

It is friday! Stop running! Enjoy your weekend!

One of my Etsy treasuries connected to this post

Clothes obesity

People are suffering from 'clothes obesity'. Now-days many of us have  cupboards full of clothes, books, shoes and other stuff which is just laying on the shelf being never used. Storage has no difference with premature death. Why don't we use them any more? Most of the time not because we do not like color, or model. It's just because we do not have time to use them. The design of  Isabel Valdes Marin's dress allow you to wear many of your unused clothes at the same time.
'Matter of time'  - one of the master projects of Design Academy Eindhoven 2011.
'Matter of time' is the artwork f social design which connects human needs with the real needs of our time.
/via Textiel plus number 219/


A Matter of Time: Black from Isabel Valdés Marín on Vimeo.

Tie me up & tie me down

 The men tie attracted my attention while typing the previous post about Guerra de la Paz.
This essential attribute of business men dressing code went through the experiments of eco-fashion designers because of it's enormous color and pattern palette and I suppose quite good state after even years of usage.
Here is the examples of upcycling ideas picked form internet and collection of great Etsy-designers working with this material.

Alabama Chanin takes recycling to funky, stylish new heights with ladder-back kitchen chairs from the 1920's-1970's, reworked and artfully woven with vintage men's ties

Recycled tie necklace by Laura Skelton

New year tree via NYC daily photo

Etsy eco-fashion designers