trash to treasure

Friday night I spent five hours around beautiful, creative people and a whole room of handmade items that were dreamed up in the mind of their makers and fashioned out of old, found stuff. In other words, upcycled, useable and wearable art. I was giddy the entire time. I made half a dozen recycled jean skirts for the event and a bunch of coffee cozies made from the left-over denim and other vintage fabrics and buttons.


One of the first people in the door bought a jean skirt, which was a thrill. But the real fun was all the dreaming I did that night. Of making fingerless gloves from the sleeves of old sweaters, sweet ornaments from fabric scraps and strands of discarded fake pearls, and beautiful gift bags from leftover white house paint, salvaged ribbon and empty cereal boxes. Nothing new but the ideas.


My friend Liita can do the most incredible things with garbage. Things you would be pleased to own. Things people would want to receive. Things that look like they cost big bucks at Anthropologie (like her necklace - the type that costs $130 at Anthro). Real-life trash to treasure. It costs nothing to make these amazing things but a little time and creativity.

Not only does this kind of "making" help conserve resources and feed the creative soul, it breeds bigger ideas about ways to be kind to the planet, to ourselves and to one another. The sales at this gallery night raised enough money to buy two sewing machines for an outreach program Liita and her business partner Rose are putting into place at the Ronald McDonald Children's Hospital. They are sharing this creative, restorative kind of craft with terminally ill children and their parents, giving them the tools to pour their hearts into making something beautiful out of something that - on the surface - is not. It's transformative. It's rewarding. It's life giving.

I'm really not exaggerating. Before you toss that old sweater, take a second look. Hat, gloves, blanket, garland, stocking...there are so many things it could be. Spend an afternoon at the Little Bits Workshop and be inspired. Be giddy. Be Anthropologie.

Only 12 upcycling days til Christmas.