Friday, August 28, 2009

I'm alright, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth !

I had a friend email me yesterday to make sure I was still around and doing OK. I guess that means I haven't blogged in a really long time. It has been about a week and a half. I shot back a quick email to say all is well, we have just been really busy.

My last post was about cleaning out the cupboards and I didn't mention that we were preparing to be gone a week and who wants to go grocery shopping right before a trip. Not me. We just got back from visiting Chuck's family and attending his cousins wedding. We had a great time and I do have many pictures to post and sort through my thoughts about our time. I have to get my pictures uploaded and I just haven't had the time. We came home on Tuesday and I wanted to jump right back into school and get a few really good days of work into the week.

This year with the girls being in 4th and 5th grade, our school day seems much longer and is even more of a full time job. I desire to give the girls the best education I can and that means I don't have as much free time as I used to.

I have been meaning to share some pictures of a little project that we did not long ago. In my constant longing to reduce, reuse, recycle as much as I can, I came up with this cool idea.

Tally had been given a pair of jeans that didn't fit my friends daughter. Tally wore them for several months before she sprouted up and was too tall for them. We needed more shorts for the summer and we found a few pairs of pants that we trimmed down and turned into shorts. This particular pair has such cute trim on the cuff of the leg that I just couldn't throw them out. I wanted to use them for something. Came up with the idea of making a little purse out of them.Here she is wearing the shorts and the purse. I used the cuff at the bottom the pant leg as the opening of this purse. Then just sewed one seam on the other end (while it was inside out) and added the ribbon as a shoulder strap. My mom added the cute green bow. I thought they turned out adorable. I just love them. The girls each got one from the one pair of jeans. The ribbon as the trim was on the leg of the jeans already.



They are big enough to hold a book and a toy or a bottle of water while we are out running errands. Aren't they just too cute ???

I will post about our trip once I get our pictures uploaded. ~~~ One quick little request, please pray for us as we are making some decisions. Praying for wisdom and guidance. Thanks !!!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear from you!!!

The jeans purse is so cute.

I know what you mean about homeschooling. Every year it seems we need to take it up a notch. This year, we're getting into more hard-core science, as well as instituting a heavy-duty writing curriculum. These first few weeks are easy (as the first lessons of the year are review), but I'm guessing as the year progresses, the majority of our day will be spent in school. So long to the days of being done by noon!! But I think that's what's necessary to keep the kids competitive with their mainstreamed peers.

Annie said...

Adorable little bag! I'd never even have recognized it as being from jeans....(I mean re-used, as opposed from simply made from denim.)

Prayers...

Tonya said...

I love that idea!!! I am going to go and raid some closets right now to look for some clothes that are too small. I don't think I have ever been so excited for clothes to be too small. Thanks for sharing!!!

Gabi said...

Wow, those bags are super cute! What a great way to re-use. Maybe I can make some cool bags for my boys, but will need an alternative to ribbon... :) Prayers of guidance for you...

crispy said...

I was thinking you could easily make these bags more boy friendly. Camouflage accents or even sports team colors. It really is more of a tote, than a purse.

Unknown said...

Very cute!

Lisa Alles said...

We made the same bag out of some of my girls' jeans - cute picture of her modeling it. You always were a creative gal!!

Ginny said...

awesome purse idea!

Karen said...

Emily made some... not as fancy because it was her first attempt with the sewing machine :) The girls still use them. I love the idea of using denim... we are always cutting jeans into shorts.. what a great way to use the legs :)

I know what you mean about school.. the older they get the more work it is to do it right! I hope you all have a great school year :)

Praying for your decisions... I know that they are big.. ( if it is what I think it is)

Blessings~

K-Sue said...

I agree - it would be a crime to lose those beautifully decorated bottoms.

I was a teen in the 70's, and I still love recycled denim! And Crispy, I lvoe the recycled camo idea, except most of those camo pants are totally trashed by the time you can pry them from their owners.

This was the type bag we made at American Girls last year - the mom in charge got a bunch of jeans for $1 each at a thrift store, each yielding 3 purses - the little girls decorated leg purses like this; the teens got top-of-the-jeans purses, and added scarf belts.

Anonymous said...

Very cute and practical idea. You are one of the most creative young women that I know.

Orlene

carrie said...

Welcome home! I'm glad you guys had a good trip.

The purses are adorable - great job on reusing and creativity! And I love how simple it was (at least it looks/sounds like it!).

And I'm praying for your decisions!

Tim and Susan said...

These ARE adorable. Your ARE super creative. Love that the trim-ribbon was already on the jeans so that it's more sturdy and won't come off easily. Great.

Super cute niece too!!

Cristy said...

You are sooooo creative. Will you make me one?

We have started to take longer in school, too. Being done by noon is a thing of the past, I guess. Worth it in the long run, though.

Great post.

Chuck Peters said...

Sounds like you have yourself a nice little business/fundraising idea. You SHOULD make a bunch of them. =)

Always proud of your ingenuity! You are amazing!

~cp