Saturday, March 15, 2014

Things I make

I had to compile an overview of what I make to apply for a juried Arts and Craft show, so I thought I would  share a bit of what I have been up to recently.

It all started with cans.....Aluminum cans.  I quill them.  Long ago (in the 70's) I got a kit to make chairs out of tin cans.  I retained the skills I learned and started creating other things.

I also started exploring using Plastic Grocery bags.  It is called Plarn for plastic yarn.  I have to cut many many bags up to create just one of these items  I make purses, rugs, and baskets from it.


I have also added recycling cotton sheets I get at yard sales and Thrift shop.  I  make pie cozies and cake dish cozies, and toothbrush rugs.  


If you are wondering what a toothbrush rug is, I will explain.  They were popular in the olden days, when money was tight, and fabric was hard to get...like in the depression and during the world wars.  Women would make these rugs with a "needle" made from the handle of a toothbrush.  They are also called Amish rugs, although I have never seen any sold here from our Amish.  They were wonderful, because you could create them from material scraps, and you didn't need to knit or crochet, but rather knot a rug together.  They would last years and year.  I have heard from many of my customers that they still use the ones their grandmothers made.  They are machine washable, and dryable, and reversible, so you get twice the wear.


As you can see I also use recycled bed sheets to make baskets

Lastly, I finally started to make the original chairs out of tin cans...soup, and veggie cans.

All of these can be found in my Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftyPA