• Alternacrafts: 20+ Hi-Style Lo-Budget Projects to Make
• Martha Stewart
• Handmade Modern: Mid-Century Inspired Projects for Your Home
• Ready Made: How to Make [Almost] Everything
• Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects: Creative Projects, Simple Techniques
• Bracelets from the Savannah College of Art and Design
• Pretty in Pink

Alternacrafts

Things that get saved often have a way of eliciting mixed emotions. Your favorite sweater from when you were a teen? You love it, but not enough to suffer the embarrassment of wearing it now. Those interesting bottle caps you got years ago in Europe? They're neat and remind you of a fun trip, but they're taking up some important bathroom shelving.

You could just throw these things out, but wouldn't you be tossing some precious memories out with the bathwater?

Why not introduce your inner Martha Stewart to your inner MacGyver and see if you can find a creative new use for something old?

Through inventive recycling, everyday objects and unwanted clothes can be made into accessories you won't find in any store.

"It's fun to look around your everyday environment and see objects in a new way," says Jessica Vitkus, author of the new book Alternacrafts and craft developer for Martha Stewart shows and magazines.

In Vitkus's own home, few things are used for their original intent. T-shirts have been torn up and woven into burlap to make rugs; she's placed small photos and drawings into resin-filled bottle caps to create fridge magnets and cameo necklaces; dozens of chopsticks have been placed side by side to make place mats; old cashmere sweaters have been snipped and sewn into hats. These are just a few of the kinds of projects she demonstrates in her book.

Home-design enthusiasts can look to such books as Handmade Modern and Ready Made to learn how to use old belongings to create aesthetically pleasing furniture. For jewelry lovers, projects can be found in last year's book Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects.

(Or, you can just buy pre-made fabulous jewelry made out of materials not originally intended for jewelry, such as these bracelets made by students at the Savannah College of Art and Design).

Vitkus, who's been recrafting her wardrobe and accessories since first seeing Molly Ringwald's character make her own prom dress in Pretty in Pink, believes just about anything can easily be transformed into something new.

"Anyone can take something ordinary and turn it into something customized and beautiful," she says.

 

Posted on April 24, 2006