upcycled leather jacket tote bag

 

Watch me on the Martha Stewart Show when I show Martha how to turn an old leather jacket into a cute new tote bag! 

I use two tools that every crafter should have at their work table: a Dremel Stylus and an Awl for All.  The Dremel has unlimited uses—it's that friendly power tool that tends to come in handy when making many different things. The Awl for All is basically a hand-held sewing machine—perfect for any sewing project a standard machine can't handle and useful to have around for repairs. When you get in the rhythm of sewing with it, it begins to feel therapeutic, similar to knitting or crocheting.

On the show I demo how to turn a single jacket into a tote, but you can be creative and make any style bag you like.

I found this green 80's moto style leather jacket at a local thrift store and used its leather to make a cross-body purse. The lapel lent itself perfectly to becoming a flap. 

Home Depot carries some interesting hardware, like the Stainless Steel Anchor Shackle, which I used to attach the braided strap on this purse.

It's clever to take the material from one item and transform it into another—it's a great way to recycle—upcycle actually.
 A great reuse for an old fur coat is donating it to Coats for Cubs!

The Humane Society set up this amazing program of giving fur back to the animals.
Buffalo Exchange participates and are collecting coats right now!!

If you miss the show, watch the segment online here.

A & K

Necklace I made for Ashley for our 9th anniversary & of course Valentines.

 

nail in a hole.

mmmmuah!

kisses for V day!

wool anchor

A couples weeks ago, we celebrated the impending arrival of the soon-to-be newest addition to the Martha TV Craft Dept at a sweet baby shower in Jersey City. I have spent the past 8.5 months sitting next to Kirsten, anticipating baby boy's birth, and he is now just 2 weeks away from breathing air! Yay!

For the little guy, I felted a blue anchor in a wool baby blankie. I drew the shape onto the corner of the blanket and started felting the outline, filling inward. It went pretty fast and came out super cute. 

Dani made the most adorable sailor-themed cookies for the shower, so I wasn't alone in throwing down the anchor! I think we are all just so excited to meet the little man!! 

carpets

Never thought I would be into carpets as much as I am. I don't really have any more floor to cover, but I am constantly finding new rugs I want. What a strange object to yearn for... rugs.

Since we're on the subject of rugs... we make carpets create compelling works of art out of all different materials forming a motif that resembles a rug—intricate patterns out of plastic forks, noodles neatly lined up to form repetitive shapes, little soldier figurines spirally around, all arranged to perfection. Pretty crazy.

Another interesting concept for carpets comes from Augustina Woodgate—she makes rugs solely out of teddy bear skins patched together. 

The Campana brothers make bizarre art/objects/furniture from odd materials—clustering and repeating them together. I want to lay with the people rug. It's amazing.

just spotted these Tibetan tiger rugs and I am obsessed!

oh, rugs!

crin

Crin is the old Chilean folk craft of mini basketry using horse hair!

 I first read about it in a post by Chilean textile designer Karen Barbe. Any art involving hair just completely fascinates me. It is such an interesting material to work with and I can't image the time and intricate hand work it takes to create even a single flower. Exquisite.

X's & O's

Today on the show, Martha demoed a sweet little Valentine's craft. The segment was the last in the show so it got cut short––we always seem to lose time towards the end. The craft didn't get the full attention I thought it deserved, so I shot some pictures afterwards so that I could share it again with you—if by chance you didn't catch it :)

Well, do you ever think to save your wine corks? They make the most perfect little stamps!! With V day just around the corner, a simple XO on a cocktail napkin is a sweet homemade touch for your special someone when you sip on a nice glass of wine on the 14th, wouldn't you say. Jazzes up some Ikea tea towels too!

What I love even more about the X's and O's is if you cut 9 corks, you have a forever tick tack toe board.

I stamped an XO on a muslin pouch and put the 9 corks inside for Agnes to take home for her kids—a fun Valentine!

Cutting the corks is super easy if you have a craft knife. Remember you are cutting the negative space and not the X or O itself. The O is a little tricker because it curves, but if you take little scoops of the cork at a time and clean up the edges afterwards, it comes out just fine. Use one side of a cork for an X and the other for the O. 

This is easy enough to do before V day so START DRINKING!!!

xo

oversized Valentine

A very fun how-to on the Crafts Dept Blog on making the most out of control Valentine heart!

Doesn't your love deserve it!!!

explosions of life

Incredible. i love this.

via ZooBorns

snow blind

Couldn't help but post these photos by Matthias Heiderich. He captures snow looking completely clean and sterile, opposite to what it looked like in Manhattan today. I wish it would never get dirty—its so beautiful solid white.