DIYthing

Happy Mother’s Day! The joys of being a mom - I have 2 myself that are not so small anymore (15 and 16) and one on the way!

Have you ever thought about recycling daddy’s shirt into a dress for your little girl? The photo above is just that - luvlug on Etsy does just that. She recycles old men’s button downs into little dresses.

The pocket on the front of the shirt has been repositioned on the left hip of the dress for your little Busy One to fill with all sorts of little goodies.

by: Wendy

Well if you haven’t heard - Brooklyn Flea is in high gear - the first weekend was a huge success. Every Sunday from 10am to 5pm—rain or shine you can gather with your best buds and check it out at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and Vanderbilt Ave. You can expect to see about 200 vendors selling vintage furniture, clothing and antiques plus what we find neat - local makers. There’s even a slideshow of last week’s event. With all of these vendors, you will find great items to upcycle for your green projects.

Check out the April 13th Market Layout to see who will be where.

We love finding great art from New Orleans. These shotgun houses are made by some artists that we met via Etsy - Kerry and Heather. They have made them in honor of the Make it Right Foundation’s drive to rebuild homes in the lower 9th ward. And the great thing is that the artists have committed to give 50% of the purchase price to go directly to the organization.That we find just wonderful. You may be familiar with these efforts as The Pink Project which Brad Pitt has been promoting.

As many of you may know, New Orleans is known for its shotgun houses. You can purchase the houses which are made of wood salvaged from 9th ward debris piles and are signed & numbered, at bayousalvage.etsy.com

Check out their shops for more great Louisiana art.

Kerry’s Shop bayousalvage.etsy.com
Heather’s shop nolasalvage.etsy.com

Also, Wendy and I will be launching our 1st issue of DIY City mag on Valentine’s Day so stay tuned. The first issue will highlight New York City - then we will head to New Orleans next. So stay tuned. We will keep you posted.

Create in ‘08 at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn! One of our favorite places for artists, 3rd Ward, has some new resources for the new year. 3rd Ward is adding more benefits to their membership plans to encourage people to “Create in ‘08”.

New Trial members (3-month term at $60 per month) will receive a complimentary 4-hour block of time in the photo studio or day pass in the wood and metal shop. Photo studio time will be great for you to take photos of all of your great work. And don’t worry, new Annual members (12-month term at $30 per month) receive one month of free membership and the same a choice of a complimentary 4-hour block in the photo studio or day pass in the shop.

And if you want unlimited access to all of 3rd Ward’s facilities you should check out the I Heart Brooklyn members ($300 per month) as it offers the best savings.

Find out all the details at www.3rdwardbrooklyn.org.

What Can You Dream Up? “Create your dreamiest quilt block and win big prizes!” Here is another great contest for DIYs. This one is sponsored by Babylock. If you are familiar with, Baby Lock you know that they have been creating machines for sewing, embroidery, quilting and serging for the past 40 years. I think you will love the open-ended design of this contest.

Simply create a NEW 12-1/2″ x 12-1/2″ quilt block — it’s your dream so you select the color, style, fabric, etc.

Fill out the entry form and upload a photo or snail-mail a photo of your quilt block to Baby Lock. This contest is super easy. Deb and I both have done some quilting and may have to enter this one. The 12 semi-finalists’ quilt blocks will made into a quilt and it will be raffled off at the annual Paducah, Kentucky quilt show. And another nice note, donations will go to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. You and your friends will have a chance to vote on the best quilt block and the grand prize winner will win a trip to Paducah to play the I’m Dreaming of a Quilt game with a chance to win $10,000.00 cash! So what are you waiting for, start dreaming now.

goingreen designer on etsy makes these really cool recycled t-shirt bags. these would make great holiday gifts for the book lover, teacher, student, or just anyone that totes a lot of extras around.

“I search high and low for fun, funky, unique t-shirts”…Taylor Ballweg

We found some fun gifts that you might want to add to your holiday list from Cut + Paste . As I browsed through the Cut + Paste store there were plenty of choices for the fun at heart so keep that in mind when searching for that friend who keeps you smiling.

“Dog Lover Mirror” - designer: My Favorite Mirror - $6.50 - This would make a great gift for the girl on your list that you just want to pick up a little something extra for, or they will make great stocking stuffers!

“Horses Knit Scarf” - designer: 31 Corn Lane - $24.00 - I’m sure there must be a horse lover on your list somewhere who would appreciate this scarf this winter.

“Sylvia Ring” - $50.00 - designer: Recycled Rings - This ring is at the top of my wish list - each ring is one-of-a-kind, made from recycled rings.

“Hammertime Tote” - $35.00 - designer: Desira Pesta - Handmade from her studio in Brooklyn, Desira hand screenprints all of her totes. This would make the perfect teacher gift or for the girl on the go!

It’s always fun to add a little info about the shops we feature that you might not know: Did you know that Cut + Paste was started in NYC but now operates in Istanbul, Turkey! The web is so amazing! Jenny started the company while living in NYC, but fell in love with Istanbul and moved there.

DIYthing would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving today! Hope you enjoy the photo above by Etsy seller missbeahaven. All of her designs are handmade out of paper-maché,. When I discovered missbeahaven it brought me back to my childhood with memories of my sisters and me and of course my mom making things out of paper-maché,.

What are you wearing tonight for Halloween? If you are like me, it’s always a last minute thing and I’m up to midnight trying to whip something up the night before, but not these Etsy participants. Check out our post about the Etsy Halloween Costume Contest on Stylehive