UPDATE 24.06.2010: This article made it to She Inspires Australia!

This past week has been a whirlwind of a week with Christmas right around the corner and Paul & I leaving for Savannah super soon I feel like I have not had time to do things for me.  OTHER then buying a brand new Singer Advance sewing machine (which is an early Christmas present from my parents!)

I came home one day after work this week to find out that Paul spent the whole afternoon rearranged the apartment to make his office into our workshop! So that I can sew and make my creations near him. What a sweetheart of a boyfriend I have, he really does spoil me.

With this new sewing machine it has brought on a lot of great upcycling ideas, hence this edition of vintage fashion Friday! I wanted to show you some of my favorite pieces from great Etsy artists who are doing upcycling right!

My first piece is from Little Ocean Clothing where all items are made with vintage and recycled fabrics.  She has a great collection of dresses and skirts for women but also a great baby clothing section as well.  My favorite item in her shop right now is this beautiful plaid flannel strapless dress which is reconstructed from an old flannel plaid shirt and wow does she make it work. I love the hip pockets and the sweetheart neckline just give it that touch of class.

My second piece I have chosen is from Days Long Gone where she uses vintage watch components to make beautiful jewelery.  I have chosen the Steampunk Owl necklace which is made of a copper plated engraved floral brass oval pendant, a vintage jeweled watch movement, and a brass wing stamping in a coppery color. This is my favorite necklace out of her Steampunk collection but there are so many to chose from it was hard. Have a look at the rest of her creations!

I chose this ‘Balls Out’ Necklace not only for the look of it but for the very cheeky name. This great piece can be found at Jewelry By VeraVague along with a bundle of other great upcycled creations.  This Balls Out Necklace was created with mounting vintage ephemera (art magazines from the 40′s) and circuit board pieces on sturdy card stock and viola you have an awesome necklace.

Oh what a sweet little ring this is from Ugly Kitty ReDeux where all her handmade jewelry, housewares, and stationery are made from recycled and reclaimed materials. Check out her other shop Ugly Kitty where she makes beautiful wedding invitations and is raising money for an animal shelter which is inspired by her own cat that she rescued from a shelter! I love when people are selfless and give back, it’s like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

Call over the waitress I’m hungry! Oh she’s not really a waitress shoes are awesome!!!! With bacon and eggs on one side, coffee and pie on the other and you need a fork and a spoon don’t worry they are on the back of the shoe (Click image to bring you to more pictures). These awesome shoes can be found at Kitsch Kicks, she’s just starting up but I think she is on the right path to having her fun creations on many feet!

Round Trip is a great shop really doing upcycling right! They specialize in up-cycled handbags and luggage and only use waterproof, heat set paint which they seal into their pieces to insure long life. They have a large selection of handbags and suitcases as well so needless to say it was very hard to chose my favorite piece from their shop. It was a toss up between the love bomb suit case or the Shady Tree Suit Case, but love concerns all.

This next shop I am not to sure how I stumbled upon it but when I did I was so happy! Brooke makes the cutest owl coin purses, wallets and purses fusing using recycled plastic bags. This is genius in every way not only is she saving resources and avoid contributing to inhumane industries, she is very passionate about what she does you can tell by the little details in her work. Have a look at all the great items at So She Sews.

I am a big sucker for plush toys, I think it has to do with the fact that my boyfriend has a large designer toy collection that I have kept my childhood love of toys alive. Art Tales knows where it is at with all things plush and upcycled. All their plush items are made with found fabric from yard sales, thrift shops, or their family members. They are stuffed with recycled plastic shopping bags and are unique in their own way.
Their good eyes are made from layered vintage buttons.  So many cute things in this shop again super hard to pick a favorite but I have settled on Frosted the Dragon.

Fun Fact about Frosted the Dragon: She isn’t happy unless temperatures are below -40F. She enjoys eating Christmas trees and couch cushions.  So she would be perfect for someone living in Canada!

Well I hope you have been able to draw some inspiration from these talented artist and make sure to check out their shops for more amazing upcycled items.

Have an awesome weekend and a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!