Antique White Mink Fur Coat - what can you do with it?

Who doesn't feel like a princess in a mink coat.  Fortunately this was a coat given to me by The HOB because the coat was damaged and the would have to have thrown it away.  The HOB is a great Thrift   Store which all of the proceeds go to the Vancouver Hospice Society to support hospice programs and services. 

So what to do with a full length coat??  Make bears! Cute, but let's try something else.

These cuties are made out of a a different antique grey mink coat and the paw pads are the lining of the coat.  This just gives you an idea of what mink teddies look like. They we're a custom order and have left our house.

How about a soft 20x20in pillow!  I used the original lining of the coat too.  

Visit my Etsy Shop ~ Re-Classified Purses etc.

Black satin with velvet trim.  Oh so nice.  I have some left over furs from my Moms bear making..What a great way to use up these old fur coats. 

I had to make another one!  It is like hugging a teddy bear. 

Hand Bags made from Old Couch Cushion Covers

My first commission...  This fabric was off of a friend's family sofa.  The family had such wonderful memories of the sofa that she wanted 3 hand bags made out of the covers so that they could carry the memories with them.

These are the 3 lines I used, blue shirt, teal lining, and bright pink knit I found.  

These are the 3 hand bags I created.  

Be Like a "Dear" Caught in the Headlights

What should I do with this t-shirt?

Just a plain summer camp t-shirt turned into a fun purse. 

 I added some jewels to the deer's sunglasses and fun bright pink fabric...I found at a garage sale and a pair of my old jeans.  Voila 

Also added my new label.  What a day!

 

My new model, mom.  It is a very large purse/ bag, great for the beach or any outing.  It will hold a blanket, extra clothing and a bottle of wine, what more do you need?

Custom Made Re-Classified Purses Etc.

Send me your inspirations

Do you have a favorite shirt? or jeans that you just can't part with!!!  Well have you thought about Re-Classifying your items into something else: purses, pillow cases, quilts, etc.  I'm your gal who can create something new out of old.

Send me a message and pictures of your ideas and I will give you a quote. 

Stock Pile from Off Prints t-shirt Company!  

Very Ugly Painted Farm Scenery Pillow Cases...now a Purse

Unfortunately I didn't get a before picture, but I found these hand painted farm scenery pillow cases at the thrift shop.  The fun thing was that these were actually made for a store and someone bought them!  Really ugly!!!  

To give it a bit more pizzazz, I added beads, a cow (which is a beaded coin purse that I sewed on the front), embroidered flowers, and furry gold trim.  So much fun.  

Next I packed up and shipped off for my Aunt who use to live on a farm.  Just a little something to remember the cows and the chickens.  Moooooo

 

Marilyn Monroe Gone Bad

I love this t-shirt!  Marilyn Monroe rocks with her oozy and the Statue of Liberty outfit.  "Diamonds are a girls best friend" so I added diamond earrings.  Gave the smoking oozy some shinny beads.  She needed just a little bit more glimmering so I found this shinny black and silver fabric which once was a table cloth.  Topped it off with fun black and white mini leopard print lining...which came from the retiring teddy bear shop!  Thanks ladies!!! 

There are two inside pockets and a key chain loop in one of the pockets.  I can never find my keys so I added just a little something to keep my keys in one place.

Back View

   This was such a wild shirt and a bonus there was a lighter copy on the back of the shirt. Fantastic!

Ugly Christmas Vest Meets ME!!

Ugly Christmas vest, great find at the thrift shop.  It is a little off season but I just had a blast making them and wanted to share.  

I can't believe how difficult it is to find the Ugly Christmas sweaters in the junk shops.  I guess it is the fad right now.  The funny thing is when I asked my friends in OK...they didn't know what an ugly Christmas sweater was?!  Hum...but I know they wear them...Many moons ago, I too worked in the public schools.  And I saw them!! 

So if you have an ugly Christmas sweater and you are tired of it, I will take them off your hand. 

This baby made 2 purses!  

I used red crushed velvet for the trim and I top stitched the straps in silver embroidery floss.  The front and back have the same ugly Christmas look.  What else?  Red and green trim around the velvet.  It need just a bit more...pearls and red bells.  The lining is cream with holly and red bows and of course a pocket.  The closure is a magnetic clasp.    

I used funky shiny green upholstery fabric and topped stiched in gold on the straps and top trim. I added pearls to the ugly sweater part...love pearls!  Lining is a green Christmas scene with a crushed red velvet pocket followed by a awesome magnetic closure. 

One side of the Ugly Christmas sweater purse

The other side of the Ugly Christmas sweater purse.

The lining...really hard to take a picture of.  Maybe I should ask the 5 year old to take it.  Merry Christmas everyone.  

 

Very Large Red T-Shirt: Definition of a Flight Attendant

Very bad picture of me!  My 5 year old took the picture so I going to have to say she didn't get my good side.  And I had to wade through at least a 100 pictures of me asking if she took the picture yet.  This was the best one.  I had to cut my head off...just a really bad picture.

This very large t-shirt I found at a friend's house, who was a flight attendant and no she isn't this big.  Not sure why she had such a large shirt.  Well she was going to give it away...so I grabbed it.

This was one of my earlier creations.  Both sides have different definition of a flight attendant.  At one point I had pictures of both side, but not sure where it went to.  

The lining was an IKEA duvet cover...lots of fabric left from the duvet and the t-shirt.  What to make next with these fabrics?

Leopard French Faux Fur Purse - Left Over Fabric from Teddy Bear Days

I love this Faux Fur!  Soft and wild.  On a buying spree across Europe, Mom found this fabric in France which was used for the Fashion Industry, but Mom saw teddy bear all over.  Since the teddy business has slowed down and we had so much left I thought it would be fun in a purse. 

The lining was reclaimed lining from the thrift shop ("Helping Hands", in Hope, BC).  The straps are new!  Sorry Earth! 

Another use for the leopard French Faux Fur...a bear.  

T-Shirt Scraps From Purses

One of my goals is to use up all my bits and pieces of left over fabric.

I had an epiphany looking at my Mom's crazy patch quilt.  (Will add the picture of the quilt later.)  I took some left over fleece interfacing and ironed on some bits and pieces of t-shirt fabric.  Here is the result of the first part:

T-Shirt Bits

Now the fun part....adding embellishments!!!  

So far I have only hand embroidered the bling.  We will see how it develops. 

 

Another day and an hour or so of sewing.  I can't wait to add the beads and the diamonds.  

Another day....another few stitches 

Silk Embroidered Quilted Strips Purse

This was a fun one to make... Fabrics I used: the brightly coloured fabric was once a nurse's shirt (I even used the buttons from the shirt), blue jeans, and light green and orange was upholstery fabric. The lining was a blue silk shirt...so nice.  The silk embroidery and beads were left over from mom's crazy quilt craze, now just sitting around the house. 

Front

Back

Inside

Cute and Canadian - Old T-shirt to fun Purse

This is my prototype T-Shirt purse.  I used one t-shirt and remnant fabric pieces to create "Cute and Canadian".  Too many small pieces of fabric sitting around the house  

See my Esty Store

  

 

I used fleece interfacing to give it a softer look.  Love this stuff.  Had to buy the fleece interfacing new.  Everything else I bought at the thrift store, people had given me, or had it sitting around my house from previous projects. 

The inside of the purse, I used remnant red lining fabric (sorry no picture) for the lining and one inside pocket, lastly added a magnetic closure. I have made some adjustments for my next lot of t-shirt purses.  Can't wait to finish them.

Jean Skirt - Pillow Case - Antique Fabric Purse - Spring Garden

This spring time purse was once an ordinary jean skirt, pillow sham, and antique mohair upholstery fabric which have been lovingly upcycled.  On the front pockets I embroidered with floss and silk ribbon, free hand.  I left the back 2 pockets of the skirt...they are functional and snap shut.  The inside of the purse has two pockets and is fully lined with green antique mohair upholstery fabric.  It has a zipper closure, so you won't lose anything. 

The only new item that I bought was the zipper and interfacing.  My goal in making purses etc. is using materials I already have lying around the house or thrift store finds. 

  

  

I love mohair!  Soft just like a teddy bear.