Saturday, April 1, 2017

This is no April Fool's Day


Every year in April, I like to share ideas about how to rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle, re-invent, recover, restore, rebuild, revamp, or repurpose something in order to save it from the trash, and ultimately to save our planet.  Which of course, leads to respect: respect for our planet, respect for trash as art, and respect for what you as an artist can achieve.   This all leads up to Earth Day on April 22, or as I prefer to call it, bEARTHday.

Today I began with a project that goes against my better judgment.   I don't want to spend more than THREE hours creating something each day, so I still have time to visit all my blogging friends.  However, this one took nearly three days, or more precisely, 36 hours to create.

At some time or other, we've all had one or more of these wasteful metal hangers.   Dry cleaners send laundry home in them, and people use them when they have garage sales.  They are the same hangers Joan Crawford allegedly beat her step daughter for using.

When people make wreaths, they often use purchased wreaths as part of their supply list.  They can be metal, styrofoam, or even grapevine.  That may be one of the reasons I don't make wreaths during April.  But all that is about to change.

No bits and pieces of fabric are too small for me to save, so I grabbed some of my hand dyed or hand painted fabric left over from previous projects, and tore the pieces into strips.

If there's one thing I don't like, it's to measure precisely.  I also don't like to cut fabric, preferring instead to tear it.   So you can see these are about the size I tore my pieces into.  Each square on the cutter is 1/2 inch.


Fast forward three days, and, although I can barely straighten my hands, here is what I created.

I got the idea from my friend Corrine.  She made a similar project, and the concept stuck with me.



Unfortunately, I didn't like that my front porch was so dirty, 

so I decided to move it inside to the door of my guest bedroom.

I think it will make a good addition to my decorations I plan to make for Easter.

For Day 1 of 22 leading up to bEARTHday, I recycled a metal hanger, and repurposed some of my bits of hand dyed or hand painted fabric.

Thanks for joining me on this journey.  I really appreciate it.

20 thoughtful remarks:

Valerie-Jael said...

What a gorgeous rag wreath you created, it really looks like you put a lot of hard work into it. Have fun with your bearthday projects. Hugs, Valerie

Helen said...

I think it looks great. have a creative month!

chrissie said...

It looks terrific Elizabeth and will last for years and years so worth the 36 hours you spent making it. I love to see anything recycled and this is very inspiring

Love Chrissie xx

pearshapedcrafting said...

This looks fabulous! Hope your hands are recovering! Chrisx

Sami said...

What a lovely Easter project Elizabeth and a nice way to recycle metal hangers and bits of cloth.

CJ Kennedy said...

What a lovely idea! Perfect colors for Spring/Easter, too. Looking forward to more of this thread.

My name is Erika. said...

That wreath came out amazing. I love the idea of using an old metal hanger and all the fabric. Its cool to see the wreath after seeing all the various dyeing projects! Perfect way to start your days or recycling and reusing. happy April. Hugs-Erika

froebelsternchen said...

Wow.. this really looks fantastic ! Worth the hard work! I love the colors - they are really good for spring!
Thank you for the nice inspiration Elizabeth!
Happy Saturday!
I am sorry for not having set the correct link to Hazel's blog.
I saw you found her meanwhile!
Thank you for all the support you always give to AJJ! You are an angel! Much appreciated!
I am looking forward to your bEARTH month projects!
I am sorry not to participate in tomorrow's Second on the 2nd - we are out and about and I have so much to do right now - we get a new electric garage door next week and hubby has to make some preparations for that - and when my husband works at home I have nearly no time for blogging - he needs assistenting the whole time.
Happy weekend !
Susi

Gibby Frogett said...

What a great idea Elizabeth - it looks fabulous!
Looking forward to seeing all your recycling projects this month for some more inspiration...
You remember my messy craft room the other day (which is a little bit better now) well, one of the reasons its not very tidy is because I save all sorts of things to try and recycle.. some is made use of ..and other bits are sometimes hard to find places to live until they are needed... i.e I have a box with an old mini musical keyboard...I keep thinking there must be something creative I can do with it mmmm but what?
have a great weekend.... Gill

kathyinozarks said...

I love this Elizabeth and never would have to use a coat hanger-I try to reuse and repurpose as much as I can too. when I got into quilting I got to thinking that our ancestors did not go out and buy expensive fabric they reused from clothing etc. so I buy allot of all cotton mens 2xl long sleeve shirts from the resale shops. I do that with wool, linen, and silk as well. feel better about the project afterwards.
I look forward to seeing what you share
Hugs Kathy

Jo Murray said...

WOW ! That is such a cool idea. Hope you don't mind if I copy it.

Meggymay said...

Its a gorgeous hanging made from your small bits of fabric. This is a great idea, I made something similar a while ago, using wire.
It looks lovely on the wall easy to add something to the centre for many occasions.
Yvonne xx

nanskidrewski said...

That is really fun! I love to reuse and repurpose..It is a creative challenge

Rita said...

Very cute! I don't have one wire hanger in the house anymore. Just plastic. Hadn't thought about it till just now--LOL!

Cindy McMath said...

Wonderful project Elizabeth.

sheila 77 said...

How very inspiring, Elizabeth, and yet another excuse not to throw away the smallest piece of material.
I laughed when you said you were going to spend not more than three hours on it and it took three full days. That's happens with everything I do! It's the usual conundrum - visit our blog friends or make more art, then we try our best to do both.
I'm mega impressed by your plan to make a recycled etc. piece every day. I'm looking forward to that.
I love your fabric wreath - we've got a new fence which is just asking for some artwork so thanks for the idea.

Linda Kunsman said...

how pretty is this? And what a great way to recycle-but then, you are the queen after all!

Jeanie said...

I hate those hangers. And I can't believe you made something so wonderful from it~! That is just adorable.

Rick and I fight about those hangers all the time. He actually likes them! I tell them they mess up his clothes but he doesn't think so. Periodically I will sneak into his closet with plastic hangers (they multiply like rabbits) and take out a few! Now I might take out a few and make a cute wreath! (I often say that if this is the only thing we really fight about -- and there is no Joan Crawford angst to it -- then we really must be doing something right!)

Thanks for the nice comment on the Four Freedoms. I'm like you -- I tend not to discuss religion in most cases. But I agree about that painting. The detail and the thought behind it is exquisite. Seeing it up close -- every detail and yet it didn't seem disjointed like so many things do when you see them close. It was lovely. And very large!

Happy new week!

Divers and Sundry said...

That looks lovely! I need a new wreath for my front door for Spring, but I'll admit I'll end up buying one at Michael's.

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

Your wreath is lovely, Elizabeth. The colors are perfect for spring and Easter. I especially like that picture with the wreath reflected in your beautiful gilt mirror.

I still have a few more of those wire hangers hanging around. (Does anyone still make them?) They come in handy for a lot of household tasks ... as well as crafts!