You must be lucky....jeans

My newest obsession is reading recyclart.org, a blog for those who don't like to read....looking at pretty pictures is good enough for them.  I saw a purse made of old pants and fell in love.  Unfortunately when I clicked on the link to said pants purse...the instructions were in Swedish.  At least, I thought it was Swedish.  It looked like something that belonged on an IKEA box.  So I decided I would wing it and just start making the purse.  I'm sure any true sewers would be gasping at me right now.  I began with a vague idea of what I wanted and let the rest spill out of my brain as I went.  How did I start?  With the jeans, of course.  We have a huge box of old jeans in the dungeon of our house for my Mom's jean quilt (which she will begin when she finally has time...busy woman that one.)  I nabbed the only pair of Lucky jeans I ever owned (hand-me-downs for one of my sisters).  Although I haven't worn them in years, it was hard to cut them up.  I love all the personality of them...like inside the zipper "Lucky You" and the clovers all over the inside of the pockets...but I bit the bullet and did it.

I started this making this purse with the idea that it would be simple and a nice afternoon project.  It turned out otherwise...full of decisions and frustrations. But I finally got it done...after ripping out the liner once, recutting the length of the purse, taking a day off because the fabric was making my brain feel as thought it was dissolving, settling for black thread on white and red fabric because I was too tired to search, deciding half way through I didn't even like the idea anymore, questioning my hippie-dippie ways and finally laughing at myself and finishing the dumb thing!

 

I wanted it to be fifteen inches long....

Eventually, I figured out that it needed to be shorter.  The jeans need to be cut close to the crotch to actually work and even then can be difficult to maneuver.

 

The simplest part of this project was sewing the bottom of the jeans together.  I tried to figure out out to easily make the bottom of the purse flat...then gave up deciding it wasn't worth it.

 

In some of the inspiration photos I looked at, they didn't line the inside of the purse.  I couldn't let myself not line the inside.  It would always seem unfinished.  Because I used the Lucky jeans, I wanted the lining to match the red tag in the back of the jeans.  Mom just happened to have this red and white checkered fabric laying around the craft room with no use.  I lovingly gave it a use.  It used to be a liner for a laundry basket before Mom demolished it to use it as a pattern for a new one.  I was very lucky that it was just about the perfect size for the purse.  I only had to trim a little.  

I'm a messenger bag kind of girl.  My favorite purse is a messenger bag and i wanted this purse to have that same feel to it.  I used the legs to make straps.  I cut the fabric at five inches with one inch seems so the actual straps are three inches wide.  

Originally i wanted to put a ring on the end so I could have adjustable straps but because of the legs not being all that long...damn my stubby legs....the straps weren't long enough to accommodate the ring.  As an after thought (after the rest of the bag was completely done), I hand stitched some extra Velcro on the ends of the straps.  

 

Here's what the inside of the purse looks like with some stuff already thrown in there!

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Please forgive my wardrobe...hello crafting, Sunday lounge clothes

Hello purse, Angelala's butt, and what appears to be a cleaning product/door stop.

I would love to be able to give a play by play on the steps to complete this product but to be honest, I totally made it up as I went along with very little measuring.  For instance, I have no idea how long the straps how.  I used as much as I could from what was left of the legs.  At some point, I lost the ability to sew in a straight line and it's rather crooked.  I'm not even sure if I like the purse yet but I plan on using it until I grow to love it.  If you chose to try this project, try things out.  You could make a clutch, messenger bag (as I did), regular two strapped purse, or even (if you are brave) a little backpack. 

In the end, the purse cost nothing and is a good upcycle project! 
Supplies needed:
Old jeans
Fabric scissors
thread
sewing machine (optional...you could do this by hand...frustrating but doable)
fabric (preferably cotton) (again optional...you don't have to line it)
velcro (optional)

The Evolution of my Engagement Ring

I remember high school...sitting in study hall with a few friends at a computer ogling large, princess cut engagement rings. Rings that had fake personality. By fake personality, I mean they were busy enough to be interesting but seemed empty and manufactured.

As I grew older, my hippie-ness and love for all things old/vintage evolved as well.  But for some reason my picture perfect lifeless ring never changed.  As Nick and I started talking more and more about our future together and an eventual engagement, I did more research into rings.  This is when my perfect ring became tainted.  All of a sudden, it was critical to me that my ring not be a "blood diamond".  I informed Nick that I wanted a Canadian diamond, which are ethically mined, or a moissanite.  Moissanite is a lab created diamond which in my head is perfect but if you had suggested that to me five years ago, I would have looked at you appalled.  "A fake diamond?  Not on my hand, thank you very much."  The fact of the matter is that moissanite diamonds look exactly the same and why should that even matter....why do you even need a diamond engagement ring in the first place?  Because the Man tells you that's what you need...but I digress.  If you want to learn more about moissanite:  go here.  Because of the nature of the mining, Canadian (or any other ethical mining areas) diamonds are more expensive.  Moissanite is cheaper than natural diamonds.  I also informed Nick that I didn't want a very expensive ring.  I would be afraid to wear it.  What's the point of a huge ring?  To show everyone that you have money?  Thanks but I'm not that materialistic.

There are other types of rings that would have fit into my category of ethically appropriate rings which I always kept Nick in the loop of. An antique ring would be wonderful.  I started learning more about the categories of rings and the era they were created in.  I fell in love with art deco jewelry in general, not just the engagement rings.

At one point, I had seen and learned just about everything I needed to know on the jewelry I would even consider.  I had told Nick all the things I would like and why they were important to me.  In the end though, it would be his decision and I must say, he done good!  When Nick proposed, .I was so excited to hear that it came from an antique/estate jewelry store in upstate New York. 

Today I have been engaged for over four months.  I have yet to lose my ring and still regularly try on the matching wedding band, not so patiently waiting for the day when I can really wear it.  I still look at it with excitement and hope I will always feel that rush of glee when I look at it.  I often find myself thinking of the woman who wore it before I did, wondering what her story was and hoping that it was a happy one.  Since I got it, we have had happy and sad moments, moments where it was dunked in paint, fawned over my family and friends, and lovingly slipped over my finger by a wonderful man.

Here is the ring the night he proposed. :)

Beauty au natural

     If you look at any typical college campus, you will most likely see girls wearing sweat pants, uggs, and too much make-up (or in some cases none at all).  I have never been a typical college girl and in the last year I have gotten even more different.
     I am not a big make-up chick but I usually wear foundation.  Recently, I decided I wanted to switch to organic make-up because of all the things they put in make-up.  Unfortunately, I'm still a poor college student who doesn't want to spend $45 on foundation.  Luckily, I found Physicians Formula organic make-up at target for about $13.  I also use their powder sometimes as well.
     Baking soda is your friend!  I use a baking soda/water paste for pimples.  Baking soda also makes your skin silky smooth.  In the last few months, I stopped shampooing and conditioning my hair (in the traditional sense).  Here is my nightly ritual: I take a small container (reused from my mom's tupperware drawer) put a tablespoon of baking soda in.  Mix in two tablespoons of water and stir.  This is a paste and should be sort of thick.  Then I take my apple cider vinegar, one tablespoon, and put it in a squirt bottle.  I mix in around four tablespoons of water and shake, shake, shake.  Once I'm in the shower, I just massage the baking soda mixture into my scalp.  I typically leave it in for a little while then rinse well!  Then I just squirt the apple cider vinegar into my hair and run my fingers through.  FYI, if you don't throughly rinse out all the baking soda, you will have a volcano effect on your head.  The reaction to the vinegar will cause bubbling.  This won't hurt you...I've done it a few times.
     I am trying to eliminate all harsh/unnecessary chemicals from my (simple) beauty regiment.  Need some different ideas?  I also find Planet Green: Fashion & Beauty so helpful.  Try some natural beauty treatments.  My next project is a sugar exfoliator.  Does anyone have some natural beauty treatments they'd like to share?  I would love to hear them!!