From here to the moon in 5 days…… Guest Post by Sarah in Dubbo

Twig decoration and paper decoration.

Special Report from Guest Poster Sarah Kelly……

Did you know that we make enough Junk Mail in 5 days to get to the moon?
A team of ladies from Dubbo Presbyterian church organised a showcase of
Up-cycled Christmas decorations and ideas for women to bring their friends
along to.

There was time to eat (of course) and look at some of the displays
– advent calendars from baby socks or paper cones or matchboxes; nativity
scene from pop top juice bottles; junk mail wreaths, balls and Christmas
trees… as well as a whole host of different tree decorations made from
plastic bottles and buttons and cardboard rolls.

Matchbox Advent Calendar from reclaimed materials.

There was time to make your own decoration too!

There were four crafts to choose from – a junk mail ball, icosahedrons (20 sided ball made from Christmas cards), a twig star and a cardboard star.

We also got a chance to think about the gifts the wise men gave to Jesus on the first Christmas – a far cry from being up-cycled!
These gifts of Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh reveal the wisdom of these men and
their understanding that the baby in a manger was in fact their King, God in
the flesh, come to die…

A note from me: Sarah tells me all the instructions for the different crafts can be found online. Might be time to take a look! …and thanks for guest posting this one. It’s very exciting to think that upcycling is becoming a movement! Thanks Sarah.

Sydney Design Upcycling Workshop Guest Post by Taire Wilson

Image from the Sydney Design 2011 site.

As I write this The Powerhouse Museum is hosting Sydney Design 2011 .

A fortnight of exhibitions, activities and workshops all around the theme Is old new again.

I am planning to pop into the Powerhouse Museum tomorrow (with two preschoolers in tow) and now that  Zoe’s Place is not there anymore (sniff sniff)…..might get to see some of what they have on show. If anyone would like to  join me…. yes once again no previous notice…. I’m making a habit of that (or is it a personality type D for disorderly)…. I would love to have some adult company. Turns out I will get some adult company…. just remembered I have a coffee date tomorrow so won’t get to go this week. If anyone wants to go next week shoot me an email and maybe we can work out a day.

Disclaimer: I do not guarantee that you will see any of the exhibitions with me. You will however see the toilet more than once and the outdoor playground….both beautifully and thoughtfully designed, and be entertained by two delightful characters.

Someone who did get engage in the fun…. the lovely Taire Wilson for Maitland (and her Mum) ….. agreed to write a review for the blog, after attending an upcycling workshop last weekend.

Thanks Taire.

She blogs (when she feels like it)…. at The Black Crow

Purple button up shirt/dress made from 3 button up shirts.

Woollen poncho made from two wooly jumpers

Last Saturday my Mum and I ventured from Maitland to the Transparent Seams Upcycling Fashion Workshop, held at the gaffa
in Sydney as part of the Sydney Design Festival. We were told to bring a handful of unwanted/un-used clothing, this was surprisingly tricky considering the stupid amount of clothing we have between us. 

The Gaffa is a funny space, separated into mini galleries and work rooms shared by artists, designers, business people and even a ping pong society. The ladies who lead the workshop were incredibly creative when it came to finding new uses for clothing, they could see potential in anything. Kelly Elkin and Betany Dirks are the designers of A.L.A.S (http://www.alasthelabel.com/index.html), a socially and economically responsible sleepwear line sold throughout Australia. They have been working as a team for a few years now and have recently been in the UK producing upcycled clothing for the vintage line of Top Shop.

Some of the pieces Kelly and Betany had made for our inspiration. (click to enlarge)

Knitted stretch skirt made from jumper. Shirt made from tracksuit pants

Some of the tips they gave us were:

• When combining pre-existing garments, in order to produce something new, try to use garments of the same fabric type.
•  If at all possible use a friend or dummy to experiment on. Often finding a new design within something pre-existing requires allot of experimenting. When you have someone to put your item on, you can see how things drape and gather, as well as potential uses for that extra arm hole etc.
• When in doubt, turn the garment around. A T-shirt sleeve makes a great turtle(ish) neck and a head hole can be used very easily as an armhole etc.
• Try and use the fixtures that are already there. If your pre-existing garment has a zipper/buttons/Velcro try to incorporate that into the design rather than making more work for yourself.

Skirt with back feature made from much longer straight skirt.

inspiration sketches

The workshop itself was very laid back, after a short intro we got to work on the items we had brought while Kelly and Betany walked around and shared their wisdom. I chose to use an old purple singlet that has a big hole in the front and no sleeves (I hardly ever wear anything without sleeves) and a grey and white striped t-shirt that I don’t even like and have no idea why I bought.

maroon singlet with a hole

grey striped t- shirt

Finished product.....front

Finished shirt from the back.

I have always been interested in adjusting clothing to suit me or using an awful piece for its great fabric etc. but the workshop encouraged me to reinvent rather than being limited to just shortening the hemline or fixing the zip. After all, it will save you money, you will need to consume less in your lifetime and it’s fun!

Have a go.

The quote of the day certainly goes to Mum with, “I love this! I’m no longer a hoarder…I’m an upcycler.

Well done and thanks again Taire.

The Three Keys.

9 year old guest post

 

Book Cover

 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I went to a writing workshop.

The writer Chris Morphew was there, to help us write a story. The story was called THE THREE KEYS. You can read it here.  

On the first day we came up with the idea and the story line. Then we went home to work on the story alone.

On the second day we got the scorpion chapter and made it longer. It was great fun.

His first book

 

 

Chris Morphew