March 2012 | the ReFab Diaries


This is the story of a feathered girl
with a clockwork heart. 
And her magician love who, 
at long last, fashioned the key 
that allowed her to fly.

As promised, a little steampunk pendant doodle for you.  I made this on a whim, after finding the available tutorials a little thin on the ground.  This little key pendant is now, hands down, my favorite piece of jewelry!  I started with an old quartz watch and a key I've had lying around for years, waiting for just this moment to shine. And let me say ... I think old keys (especially little ones) are magical all by themselves.

I didn't really know where I was going until I opened the watch. I've never taken a watch apart before (I know, I haven't lived, clearly had no childhood etc). And when I saw the mechanism, I felt like a magpie!  Much more appealing than I was expecting it to be.
I'm turning the lense on two of my repurposes today.  In case you can't tell, I'm unabashedly sentimental about "stuff".  If it means something to me, I try hard to find a way to keep it around. But I don't hoard (much) - I've moved enough times in my life to be very very scared of my potential inner hoarder.  And, I really like my stuff to have a purpose - not hide in a drawer.  


Towel #1:  One of my oldest friends gave me a hand-painted tea towel / pot-holder gift set about 12 years ago. I love the colors and its Cape Town origins. Ultimately I didn't use it much in the kitchen because all that bright white wouldn't stand a chance. But I hung on to it. When I got a new sewing machine a couple of years ago, I wanted a simple cover and found the tea-towel idea via Martha.  My towel wasn't quite big enough, so I cut it in half and added a strip of bright cotton across the top.  I cut the painted cherries out of the pot holder and appliqued them to the plain side of the cover.  And voila.


Towel #2: When my gran moved from her little flat into a nursing home, my mom selected a few of her things to store for me.  Including a set of 2 thin, oddly sized towels from the 50s.  The fact that my grandmother still had these towels in the 90s tells me something about my genetic predisposition!  I loved the orange detail on them but could never figure out how to use them (odd size).  Then, on a whim some time last year, I chopped one up and turned it into a smock/apron.  Because when I cook, I seem to need to wash and dry my hands 15 times.  I added bright orange ribbon, some hand-sewn detail on the pockets... and now it hangs in the kitchen, actually getting its delicate 1950's hands dirty. 





This post was, of course, inspired by the light fixture above (seen on Etsy- one ugly cord, a bulb and a few old books.  Not so hard to do if you're interested in trying a little bookfolding.  Anyway, it got me looking for other cool ways to hide ugly cords ... and otherwise upcycle ugly old lamps. Five more for you: 


Two awesome tutorials to step you through upcycling those ratty old cargo pants.  The version above is from Noodlehead.  The version below is from Bludor


The term Steampunk is a play on cyberpunk and, according to various Wiki's, was coined in the '80s to refer to a specific genre of literature - think H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and Philip Pullman ... think Victorian-era tech meet cyberpunk vision. I love these fictional worlds (completely captivated by His Dark Materials).  More recently, I fell in love with The Night Circus - magical steampunk-ism (?)... read it if you haven't.  Anyways, I'm a fan of the genre.  And, for the most part, I love the art, fashion and design informed by the steampunk aesthetic. It brings the small, hidden, "inner workings" of things out.  It often gives hard metal, gears and mechanics a softer, magical twist.

I made a little spring mobile for myself.  This would be a fun craft to do with kids - very easy! The complete instructions (including printable template) are via Joann Fabrics. Their craft is all about promoting an embossing machine.  Without that, it becomes cheap and easy:  you need paper/ cardstock, mini brats, a hole punch and string or ribbon.  Now that I've actually made them, I will add a couple of tips.



We bought a home in a late 1920's building on the north side of Chicago. This meant we got a few things that just go with the territory ... a huge entry way, a very long hallway, a fireplace surrounded by built-in bookshelves and insanely creaky floorboards.  And red walls - thanks to the previous owners, not the vintage. Since the entrance "hall" was so large, we actually had to make an effort to decorate it.  And by happy accident, we squeezed quite a bit of vintage into the corner, for very little outlay.  O'Keeffe painted D.H. Lawrence's faraway tree in 1929.  The photograph on the table is of my partner's grandparents, snapped in downtown Chicago in the '30s.  The old check/cheque printer was made by "Paymaster Systems" of Chicago and is ... old.  And apparently cost $112 in its day! And then we threw in a cheap sunburst mirror and old books.  We like it enough that we haven't changed it in almost 5 years.



Ingenious jewelry hanger?  I think so. It's simple. It's smart. It makes an old wire hanger useful. I love it, and it's all I'm featuring today.  Get the how-to from The Letter 4.

When I think neon, I think the image above. A bright, fun upcycle of beer bottles, but it also makes the 80's teen in me cringe... a lot.  Is it really necessary to bring neon back? It's a fairly intimidating trend ... I'm really not ready for another go round with giant neon hoop earrings, shocking socks, hot pink belts and day-glo lipstick. Yes - lipstick. Wow.



Signs of spring are popping up everywhere around here!  Sorry for the super-seasonal focus, southern hemispholks ... but you have to understand that the American Midwest is a place where people are so generally deprived of super sunny weather, we get a little high when it finally arrives. Even more so, this South African transplant right here.  So I cannot resist the fun, whimsical, colorful spring projects and upcycles I'm seeing everywhere.  The globe re-do above makes me a little home sick (hello Cape Town, Durban, Grahamstown) ... get the how-to at My Sister's Suitcase.


Faux bois / woodgrain is everywhere ... adding a little mid-century flair? A little "natural mod" texture? It's cheap, trendy, versatile and easy to use!  So it's a GREAT upcycling material. Here's a round-up of projects I think are graintastic!

Chicago is so warm and sunny right now ... it's summer in March!  I want to string a hammock under a tree and drift through the days.  It will probably snow in April, but for now I'm staring at all the dull, grey/black/teal things in my closet.  Blagh!  So ... the hunt for (re) fresh, floral ideas begins.


If I could take you on a tour of my home, I'd proudly point out every thrifted, upcycled, alley-scoured and hand-me-down item.  I like stories ... so I enjoy being surrounded by things that have some history and tell a story.  BUT, I'm not about to try a blog-style home tour - I don't have the photographer chops for that.  And, a toddler has invaded my home, so there are far too many messy toddler piles everywhere.  However, I would like to share shoes, jewelry, corners and favorites ... things I love that might inspire you... and that I can actually photograph.  So, in tried-and-true blogger tradition, I'm creating a weekly feature. Thrifty Thursday posts will be dedicated to the various thrifted corners of my home and my closet.


I am in awe of the craft, resourcefulness and colors in these products.  The how to (via Supercyclers) is limited ... but I'm featuring it anyway because it's an amazing way to take one of the ugliest objects on earth and transform it.



If you're a tiny, imagined being like Arrietty (or any other "Borrower" or "Little"), you trade in thimbles. Really - where would you be without them??  I stumbled upon this pic on Flickr recently and was entranced.  So I went hunting for Thimbalina re-do's for you.     


I recently featured Mielie, a South African company creating amazing woven art, objects and acessories using old t-shirts and knit-fabric overruns.  The post got a huge response, so here are a few more fun ways to repurpose old t-shirts!  First, the hip chevron mat from The House that Lars Built.


Foxglove Accessories is the brainchild of photographer and artist Betsy Treacy Siber. If you're a regular at Renegade (Chicago), you've seen her beautiful work ... that's where I first encountered her a couple of years ago.  Talk about giving things a second life! Vintage postage stamps become true works of art in Betsy's hands.  I am constantly struck by her attention to detail and the GREAT color combinations in her work. All her items are lovingly handmade in her Chicago studio using found materials. Her fabulous postage collection features jewelry made with vintage postage stamps from around the world (keep reading to find out how to save 15% on her jewelry!) 

Today I get to publish a mini interview with Betsy and a tutorial for her layered teardrop earrings. Yup - she's sharing some of her secrets so you can make them yourself!  First, a little Q 'n A: 

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?  Did you always know you'd have a creative career?
A: I have known since 2nd grade that I would have a creative career. I don't think anything in particular really sparked it, but it was definitely encouraged and nurtured by my family (many kids are not so lucky). I went to school for photography, which I find incredibly useful for documenting my work and our life, but I now enjoy other mediums as a creative outlet. At the moment, I see the most potential in metals and sculpture.

Q: Why postage stamps?
A: My dad collects coins and at some point a fellow collector handed off a box of stamps to him. He didn't have much use for them, and I thought they would be a nice addition to collages (I was in high school at the time). Fast forward 8 or 9 years to 2006. I was moving and organizing my crafting supplies, including my old stamp box. I often employ the "use it or lose it" method with cleaning (I collect, not hoard), and I decided that if these stamps were going to be useful they needed a project, like right now. That afternoon I made my first pair of teardrop earrings, using the quick and dirty packing tape method mentioned in the tutorial. I loved the way they turned out and ended up basing the entire business on it. Using stamps makes every piece unique, so I find it easy to create the same type of earrings 100 times in a row. I really do take a moment to admire each stamp I'm using!

 Betsy has a great offer for my readers!  
Get 15% off everything at Foxglove Accessories and Foxglove @ Etsy 
through March 31, 2012. Scroll down for the coupon code!  
(excludes custom items)



Cardboard inner tubes - they're everywhere: cling wrap, aluminum foil, kitchen paper towel, toilet paper rolls, wrapping paper, yarn tubes, fabric roll tube ... etc.  Head over to Craft Passion for this super-sweet upcycle. 


Check out my new blog bling!


Thanks Craft Corner for the recognition ... Candoodles gets an 
"Editor's Choice" award for being "particularly exceptional" and "visionary". Whoop!

Maybe a desk made of pennies will help generate lots of good, deep thoughts?  Via ManMade DIY (one of my biggest blog crushes).



Board games ... they have their charms.  But if your last Monopoly hotel has filed for Chapter 11... or Ms Scarlet has eloped with Ms Peacock (for her money, of course!) and abandoned the game, don't despair ... no need to be Sorry!  And no need to toss the whole box in trash! The page above is from the "Premiere" issue of Budget Living (10 years ago?) ... I thought the "board game shelf" was a great idea.  I still do. Here are the oh-so tricky instructions given by BL:  "To make each shelf, just screw two 4-inch L-brackets into a wall and attach the board to the brackets using multipurpose cement."  Then display!   (more ideas after the jump)

I'm still thinking about smoothing rough edges ... in this case sharp, metal edges.  Considering the quantities of soda/beer consumed across the planet, it's safe to say we're drowning in the cans.  And the idea of re-using them is appealing, especially for jewelry! But what about all those sharp edges? Apparently, there are ways to smooth them, make them safe.... bring out a softer side.  Here goes ...


Great, detailed how-to for these sweet metal flowers ... not designed to be worn so no worries about those edges, except in the making.


This is NOT a new or original idea ... however, when I saw the instructions I realized I never did find out how it's done.  So, in case you'd like to melt your copy of "Rock me Amadeus", here's how!
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