Dining with Denim

This week, I took Susie's challenge to transform

old jeans from blah to TADA!

I admit, I made mostly things to wear.
Today, let's take the denim into the dining room!

After a thorough washing,
turn the denim into coasters!

For double fun, use denim on one side and a printed
fabric (your fabric scraps will be willing volunteers)
on the other side.

It's a cute way to avoid beverage stains
on your precious tables!

I wish you all a happy weekend!

Inspiration: Denim

Denim, no matter how old, is a wonderful canvas
to create something TADA!

An article in Elle Magazine inspired me to make
a few Tada! accessories out of blah denim.

Some delicate, dangly earrings.

A sweet, sublime necklace.

A courageous cocktail ring!

I hope I've inspired you to make your
own denim accessories!

Denim Decor

It's all about old denims this week on my blog!

An old, blah pair of jeans can be turned
into something new and Tada!

Like this denim corsage...created by cutting the denim
into petals, sewing them together and
adding a pin to the back.

Use it to spice up any hat you own...

Or add some flavor to a plain jacket!

Delightful Clutch

One of our readers, Susie, challenged me to re-fashion an old pair of jeans.

Blah: a tired old pair

TADA!: cut it up, sew it back and turn it into a classy clutch

Perfect for an afternoon with the girls
or a night on the town!

See you tomorrow!

Blah to TADA! Challenge: JEANS

Happy Monday Everyone! This week on my blog, I'm up for a little challenge. Susie sent me this e-mail:

Hi there! I just discovered your blog and I just love it, you inspire me so much and I love the fact that we're helping our environment at the same time. A few ideas I would appreciate your creativity on: (1) Old jeans/denim and (2) plastic grocery-type bags. Thank you for your blog!

Thanks Susie for your kind words! I'll first share some ideas on reviving those jeans and I'll tackle plastic grocery bags in a future post, okay?

Blah: an old pair of denims

TADA!: Turn them into cut-off shorts and
dress it up in different ways:

Image from J.Crew

Image from J. Crew

Image from Forever 21

More ideas tomorrow!
Have a great day!

Oh blah!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I hope you are having a good weekend celebrating the Day of Hearts and watching the Winter Olympics. I sure am, but I'm very bummed out that some computer problems have come back to haunt me...blah! I hope to fix this right away so I can get back to blogging. Thanks for understanding! Have a TADA! week ya' all!

High Five!

Gloves, like socks, happen to lose their pair too.

So if you've got only one glove, give it some love!

Tada! Turn it into a hand puppet!

Turn each finger into a family member,
a cuddly animal or favorite
storybook characters.

Take it with you on a road trip or
flight to keep the kiddies entertained.

Have a fun weekend everyone!

Take Care of Your Shoes

Today I've got another idea to re-purpose old socks.

Like these ankle socks suffering from elasticity issues.

Just stuff each sock with fiber fill.

Then sew the ends shut.

Embellish with ribbons & loops.

And use them as shoe trees to preserve their shape!

The loops are especially helpful to pull out the
shoe trees from shoes like oxfords & boots.

Enjoy your day!

Toys for Tots

Socks don't suck even if they're studded with holes or look old and abused.

Instead of tossing them away,
turn them from blah...

...to TADA!

Cut the socks in different shapes, hem the sides
and stuff them with fiber fill.

Then create some wacky new friends...

Coozai never leaves home without a bow tie.

Geordine looks like a jelly bean.

Sparkee loves being silly.

And Lola Loulou loves to wear a tutu!

Go ahead, dream up some characters & stories with your little ones.
If only to save those socks!

Socks & Gloves

Hooray! I'm blogging again after a virus found its way into my beloved computer. Oh the agony of not being able to post! But all is well now, or in my favorite words...yesterday was a blah and today is a TADA!

It's for this reason that I brought out these festive banners. Plus I've got another reason, too: my blog is now one year old! And what a fun ride it's been to "meet" all of you through your thoughts and most of all your encouragement. Thank you for stopping by to see what I've been up to and for generously leaving comments. Starting this blog is something I don't ever regret!

With a new year comes a new look and the promise of many beautiful, practical, doable blah to TADA! ideas that benefit our pockets and our planet. "Saving", in all its forms, has never been so good!

I hope you can join me and hold my hand as I begin another blogging year.

Socks & Gloves are this week's blahs. The ones at the back of the drawer. The ones with holes in them. The ones who've lost a pair. The lonely & neglected.

This blah pair was never used. They came in an amenity kit on an airplane ride I took a few years ago. But when you roll it up...

Tada! It turns into a cupcake!
A pin cushion cupcake to be exact.

Simply roll the sock and secure the ends by hand stitching. Place it in a colorful cupcake liner (secure bottom with hot glue) and add some "sprinkles" (sewing pins).

Keep one for your sewing needs.
Make more and give them out to your crafty friends
who love to sew.

Have a happy, happy Monday!

Today is TADA!

Hello Everyone! I am back after several weeks of computer failure...totally blah! I missed you guys! I missed sharing ideas. I missed posting. But I'm looking on the bright side and crossing my fingers that my computer stays in good shape.

I'm so happy to be back, I brought out some balloons to celebrate!

I owe you a few TADAs! featuring branded bags -- those free carryalls with not-so-subtle corporate logos. Here they are:

A little purse that's quite blah.

Cover the logo with felt and fluffy pompoms...

...Tada! So much more purse-sonality!

A navy blue tote that needs a make-over.

Take away the logo by adding a pocket.

Not just any pocket, but a pocket made for pencils!

Fill the bag with coloring books for toddlers or
a sketch pad & drawing pencils for older kids.

And finally...

A blah lunch bag that tells you where it's from.

Dress it up with some ribbon, and...

Tada! Lunch is cool inside & out!

Hope you are all having a great weekend!
See you Monday!