Dolls, recycling and saving money!

I've just posted a few of the dolls that I've made - actually, the only ones I still have! - and I thought I should explain how they are indeed recycled. Inside and out really! Here's how it breaks down.....

patterns - online and craft magazine
stuffing - thrift store pillows, washed
clothing - Rose's skirt - shirt given to me to use for material
Rose's blouse - scrap from bedding bought for sewing from thrift store
Rose's headscarf - half an old scarf that had gotten ripped
hair - Rosy- doll hair from dollar store
Mama Earth - thrift store yarn
embroidery floss - thrift store, dollar store and retail (on sale!)
needles etc - retail

Rosy

Another pattern that I modified quite a bit. The original called for the body to be made of printed material that doubled as the dress. I added a gusset and modified a blouse pattern from another doll pattern. The skirt is a length of material gathered and hemmed. As all my dolls do, she has a embroidered heart on her chest.

Completely hand sewn.

Rosy is named in honor of my beloved Tante Rose.

Mama Earth

The original pattern was for a fairy - much smaller and much simpler. I added a gusset in both the face and torso to give the curves I was looking for. I confess she is much bustier than I'd intended! Her arms and legs move and the embroidery incorporates beads.

Completely hand sewn.

Cd holder to craft supply holder

I had snagged a black plastic Cd holder - the tower stand alone style. I snagged it from the dumpster a few months ago. We live in a cluster of apartment buildings and have been slowly furnishing our apartment from the dumpsters. Yesterday I got 9 milk crates - shades of university! - and unpacked a lot of my craft supplies. We have been living out of boxes since November of last year and nerves are getting frayed. I haven't been able to craft, work on puzzles - all my non-computer related hobbies.

But today my husband Tom got the computer desk from next door. They told me when we moved in last March that we could have it. Better late than never I guess! Anyway, it's quite large and I'll be using it as a craft table. Much of what I put in the milk crates will actually fit on the desk. I was separating my colored pencils from the colored pens - and there are at least 3 types of colored pens in my crafting inventory! - and I was trying to think of a better way to store all these things in a way that was more space efficient and user friendly. Then I remembered the tower CD holder.

I removed the base of the tower and laid it on it's back. This way, it is 20 inches long, 5 inches high and 5 inches deep. (I forgot to get a before shot). Using empty CD holders as dividers, I have thus far found a home for my colored pencils, 2 types of colored pens, sponge sticks, assorted paint brushes - and still have almost half left to fill. Some of my paintbrushes were a bit short, so I created a false bottom by folding cardboard into a square bottomed U and inverting it between CD's.

Forgive the quality of the pictures - still learning! I'll be posting pics of the new craft central once it gets more organized....

In the meantime, this is a perfect solution to a problem that I've had for some time. I've tried, and discarded, various dollar store organizers and thrift store re-inventions and nothing worked until now. The size and weight make it very portable. It fits perfectly on the upper back shelf off my new desk! And I love that I was able to recycle something - saved me money and the holder from the landfill. And I'm good with that.