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Archive for the ‘Upcycling’ Category

The ultimate DIY thrift find!

Posted in Crafting, Environmental Consciousness, Home Decor, My portfolio, Travel, Upcycling, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , on August 14, 2012 | 4 Comments »

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Hello, my dears!

As you know, I was away last week for the Goodwill Summer Conference in Miami, Florida! It was hands down one of the best experiences of my life! I got to connect with so many amazing people who value thrift, creativity, and community as much as I do in a city vastly different from anything else I’ve ever seen. It was remarkable! My session was so. much. fun. Jenna Isaacson, Evette Rios, and I chatted about Goodwill, shared our favourite thrifting stories, and sipped sangria with our audience before I presented six easy DIY projects with one good ol’ fashioned thrift store staple: the mason jar. You can check out my post with the project ideas here! More on the trip later in the week…

So happy to be back in the Shire!

xx.

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July Giveaway – CLOSED!

Posted in Crafting, Environmental Consciousness, Free Giveaways, Home Decor, Style, Upcycling, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , on July 23, 2012 | 24 Comments »

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Happy giveaway day!

Two of my lovely sponsors have graciously decided to participate in this month’s giveaway! They’re both wonderful Mainers who understand and appreciate the importance of supporting local and thinking green – two major ideals in my life, too. They couldn’t be more wonderful if they tried! One lucky winner will receive the following from their respective Etsy shops:

WorthyGoods is my go-to place for any new fabric I purchase. Dory carries the dreamiest, comfiest, most unique assortment of organic fabrics that I’ve ever seen and always tucks a little something extra into her orders. She recently sent me a tiny vintage bobbin like these and it makes such a lovely display item in my studio! I’ve got some ric-rac that I scored at a yard sale and I plan to use my bobbin to keep it in line instead of just sticking it in a drawer. These beautiful bobbins could help you organize your yarn ends, ribbon, or twine so you can keep them out and looking nice without getting them all tangled up. Plus, these babies are from old textile mills that were powered mainly by water or steam, so they’re a little piece of American history!

MaineBelle vintage is a fun and friendly vintage shop with colorful items mainly from the ’60s through ’80s and Michelle’s offering the winner their choice of any one item from her shop! Personally, if I were the winner I’d go for the plaid spring rain jacket {good for fall, too!}, but that Marilyn Monroe dress is pretty tempting. And the pastel blouse is made up of my blog colors, perfect or what?

To enter the contest: Leave a comment below telling me your favourite summertime activity, then make sure you subscribe so you’ll know if you won when I announce the winner later this week!

* here’s a little something for everyone: Enter coupon code JEEZEJULIA15 at checkout and save 15% on any purchase at WorthyGoods Textile. This coupon is valid now through 6 PM Sunday, July 29th, and even if you don’t sew there are plenty of ways you can use Dory’s gorgeous fabrics. I use them for backgrounds all the time when I’m taking photos {my Photo Booth Friday heading is one of her fabrics!}, but you could also do something like this or this.

Good luck, everyone!

xx.

P.s. This contest is now closed! Stay tuned to find out who won!

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Upcycling thrifted picture frames!

Posted in Crafting, Environmental Consciousness, Home Decor, My portfolio, Social Consciousness, Upcycling, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , on July 14, 2012 | 2 Comments »

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Mornin’, dears!

I hope this Saturday morning finds you well! This week I spent a lot of time thrifting for picture frames at Goodwill, coming up ideas for repurposing them, and executing said ideas. I always have so much fun challenging myself to think outside of the box, so I wanted to make sure that I passed along the link for you to see, too! Hopefully this will encourage your creative juices to flow. This month we’ve opened up my decor + DIY blog post to include a photo slideshow tutorial with me giving instruction so the format of the post is a little more extensive than it has been in the past – exciting! Take a peek if you’re interested!

Enjoy your day!

xx.

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Functional home decor: clipboard remakes!

Posted in Crafting, Home Decor, My portfolio, Social Consciousness, Tuesday How-Tos, Upcycling, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , on June 16, 2012 | 8 Comments »

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I always like to pass along links to my Goodwill posts,

just in case you missed them. And another of my posts went live yesterday! So, if you are as inspired by office supplies as I am, you may want to take a look at this one. I share a couple of cute ideas of how you can use a clipboard at home for not-so-official tasks and spruce up some wall space in the process!

Hope you’re well!

xx.

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THE SHOP IS OPEN!

Posted in Environmental Consciousness, Free Giveaways, Shop Talk, Social Consciousness, Style, Upcycling, tagged , , on May 12, 2012 | 3 Comments »

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Scurry on over to my Etsy shop now!

The doors have just opened and you could get some very fun freebies if you’re one of the first five purchases! Plus, if you’re a fan on facebook and live in the U.S. or Canada you’ll get your shipping reimbursed – just tell me in the “message to seller”! I do also ship internationally, so don’t let that stop you if you live outside of the country!

All of my products are eco-friendly, using vintage and second-hand materials, or new organic ones. I have purchased all of my supplies as close to home as possible, and have supported other small local businesses while doing so. I’ll share more details about my supplies soon, just know that you can feel good about this purchase!

Don’t miss out!

xx.

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For the Ms. | Product Spotlight

Posted in Environmental Consciousness, Free Giveaways, My portfolio, New In My Shop This Week, Shop Talk, Style, Upcycling, tagged , , on May 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

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Countdown ’til shop reopening: 2 days!

Yesterday I shared the products that I’ll have in stock for Misters, today I’ll be showing what I’ve got planned for the ladies! These items will all be available in my shop this Thursday! All purchases will come with some special extras {more details on what you’ll get when you buy from Jeeze, Julia! tomorrow} and the first five sales will get even more free stuff! So, keep an eye on the internet Thursday. I’ll make the announcement here on the blog, on facebook, and on twitter, when my “doors” are finally open so be ready! Here are my for-the-lady items:

Also, if you’re a facebook fan you’ll get free shipping! Just let me know in the “message to seller” when you purchase, and as long as the names match up, I’ll reimburse your shipping costs if you live in the U.S. or Canada. Check in tomorrow for more details, and be ready for the shop opening some time on Thursday!

I can’t wait!

xx.

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For the Mister | Product Spotlight

Posted in Environmental Consciousness, My portfolio, New In My Shop This Week, Shop Talk, Style, Upcycling, tagged , , , on May 7, 2012 | 5 Comments »

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Countdown ’til shop reopening: 3 days!

Before I opened up shop, I wanted to share my products here for you to see! A little preview never hurt anyone, did it? Plus, it’s been forever since I’ve posted and I couldn’t stay away any longer. These are the things that I’ve been working super hard on lately, and I’ll be carrying in my shop for sirs! Ladies, I’ll share what I’ve got in store for you either tomorrow or Wednesday. Try not to get your knickers in a twist until then – ha!

The stock shelf in my studio space is full of accessories just waiting for new homes. As you know, if you’re in Portland, Maine, you can purchase some of my ties at Find or the Merchant Company, but I’ll have an even greater selection available in my Etsy shop on Thursday! I can’t wait to show you some of the beautiful vintage fabrics I’ve been working with!

See you for more details tomorrow :)

xx.

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Chalkboard Clipboard | DIY How-To

Posted in Crafting, Home Decor, My portfolio, Tuesday How-Tos, Upcycling, Vintage + Thrift, tagged , , , on March 21, 2012 | 10 Comments »

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Here’s an idea: a clipboard turned chalkboard!

Sometimes I need to jot a little note to my honey accompanying the grocery list or some similar document. I decided to paint a clipboard with chalkboard paint the other day so we can quickly and easily communicate on our busiest days. Voila! A message board complete with a clip to hold things in place!

One of my resolutions for Valentine’s Day was to write Ryan more love notes throughout the year, and this will be a fun way to do so. We both work long shifts over the weekend, and it sometimes feels like we only briefly bump into each other from Friday to Monday, so with a little clipboard like this we can remind one another to pay bills, pick something up at the market, or return our movies even if we don’t see each other! Here’s how to make one for your home:

You’ll need to fasten back the clip { or disassemble it } so the paint underneath has time to dry. I used a thick twine to keep it in place, but a lot of things could work. Just make sure that whatever you use is sturdy enough to hold for two days and you’ll be set! I purchased this twine at the hardware store, the clipboard is thrifted from Goodwill and the chalkboard paint is from The Merchant Company here in Portland.

I painted three coats on, letting each one dry for at least an hour in between. Every paint will most likely have slightly different directions, so I’d make sure to read them before starting just in case they differ from the instructions mine gave.

Waiting for it to be completely dry is definitely the hardest part. I was so eager to get this puppy up and start using it today! I can’t wait to see how we’ll use it in the future. It has so much possibility. I’d love to see what you come up with if you should decide to give the project a try yourself! There are so many different colours available in chalkboard paint these days, and there are even instructions online of how you can make it yourself!

Have so much fun!

xx.

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Rolling Clothes Rack | DIY How-To

Posted in Home Decor, Style, Tuesday How-Tos, Upcycling, tagged , , , , , on February 26, 2012 | 4 Comments »

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When I saw Kate’s rolling coat rack DIY, I just knew I had to give it a try.

My honey and I spent longer looking for the parts in the hardware store than we did putting this together as a pre-Valentine’s Day project. It truly was very simple and I was able to take plenty of photos of him constructing it because it turned out to be pretty much a one person job. Once it was finished, it came in incredibly handy — especially when I hosted my ModSwap! Here are some more photos of the rack that I couldn’t keep to myself any longer:

We plan on eventually painting the whole thing one solid colour { like Kate did to hers }, but we’ll probably go with a surf green or a yellow rather than something as bright as is in the tutorial. Tax return time is definitely a good time for this project seeing as plumbing pipe is pretty expensive. Although it seems like it would be, this is not a budget project unless you happen to have these bits + pieces already hanging around your garage or workshop.

As you can see, we’ve already put it to several different uses. I’m not quite sure what purpose the rack will hold in the future, but I love having it around. The wheels make it super easy to move about, and I can’t wait to get this baby painted! If you decide to give the tutorial a try, I’d love to see how yours turns out!

Happy building!

xx.

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Jar Dispenser | DIY How-To

Posted in Crafting, Environmental Consciousness, Home Decor, Tuesday How-Tos, Upcycling, tagged , , , , on January 15, 2012 | 2 Comments »

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Ryan wowed me with this honey jar turned lotion dispenser!

And I immediately knew I had to share it with you all. This is a fun way to fancy up your lotions or hand soaps, and could be made with any jar — jelly, honey, or mason! Don’t you just love the quaint look of it?

The whole process only took Ryan about 15 minutes. And most of that was measuring. Step 1 // He looked carefully at the circumference of the screw-on section of the pump { which we removed from a lotion container that we had at home }, and centered a sketch of that measurement on the lid of the jar.  Step 2 // He cut that circle out of the jar lid and inserted the plastic pump. Step 3 // He used a strong glue to keep the lid firmly attached to the pump.

After that was all set, there was but one thing to do: fill ‘er up! I decided to put lotion in because we prefer bar soap to liquid hand soap. But, it’s totally up to you. You could even use it for hand sanitizer! And decorating your jar with indelible ink or paints isn’t out of the question either! Get creative!

This is also an eco-friendly option for those who buy in bulk. Getting large containers of soap, lotion, and hand sanitizer is not only cheaper in the long run, but you’re also consuming less packaging and making a slightly smaller effect on the planet. Buy a big jug of your choice product, then stash it under the sink and fill up this tiny jar from the big one.

I love the look it adds to my boring counter top, too. I hate this whole tile/faucet combo, but since we’re renters we have little control over the appliances and counters. At least by adding little touches like this, it makes the space feel a little more like home.

Have fun crafting!

xx.

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