The Narrative Within

Why not plant something?

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Art for Housewives

Boskke’s Recycled Sky Planters Create a Fantastic Suspended Garden

Recycled Sky Planter.

Recycled POTOGREEN Planters to Uplift Paris Streets + Da Morto A Orto: Redundant Furniture Recycled into Abundant and Gorgeous Planters + Potogreen et le Jardin hors sol de l’Elysée Ménilmontant.

Envi: Composting Trash Can Provides Urban Greenery.

Photobucket Gartenkultur planted books

Book planters: Decorative Planters Made of Old Recycled Books.

Vertical gardens: I feel it in my fingers + Growing UP – Vertical Gardening, Roof Gardens and Veggie Walls + Eco Architecture: Singapore to soon flaunt a vertical farm incorporated skyscraper + Dragonfly vertical garden + How to create a Vertical Garden, plus Gallery of Quirky Green walls, Tokyo + Vertical Park: Stackable Solar Skyscraper for Mexico City + Pyramid Farm is a Vision of Vertical Agriculture for 2060.

VERTICAL GARDEN RENAISSANCE + VERTICAL HERB GARDENS.

Green roofs: How to Shop for a Green Roof + Edible office garden: Map coffee break time + Green roofs for healthy cities + Vintage Green Roofs and New Seeds.

Green streets in my neighborhood Moscow.

Container Gardening: container gardening + Eggshell Flowerpots.

Edible yards: my edible yard blog + The Incredible, Edible Front Lawn.

soda can markers, via http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/03/aluminum-can-plant-markers.html Aluminum Can Plant Markers

Guerilla gardening: dina-tokodi street artist + GUERILLA GARDENING: Flowers Beautify Abandoned Flyer Box.

String gardens.

Garden art: Chihuly Exhibit in Arizona + These lush, vegetation-covered furniture.

Plants have feeling, too: Clive Backster‘s Ground Breaking experiment + French Physicist Creates New Melodies – Plant Songs, Remember those song birds we used to hear in the fields? The sounds of animals in nature singing a symphony of soft and subtle sounds as all things flow together to create a living and vibrant concerto? Science is now showing that these sounds actually do influence the growth of plants. Researchers have demonstrated that plants respond to sounds in pro-found ways which not only influence their overall health but also increase the speed of growth and the size of the plant.

Scroll down for Stress Management through Music + The use of sacred sound for spiritually-healing purposes is known the world over, from medicine songs to chanted mantra, from calls-to-prayer to Gregorian chant and Protestant hymn + Sacred Sound Vibration.

The Sound of Music and Plants.

Other: Clothes Dryer Chicken Coop + CraftSanity on TV: Making leaf presses.

Posted in Plants & Gardening | Tagged Container gardening, Edible yard, Garden art, Green roof, Guerilla gardening, Sky planter, Vertical garden | Leave a comment

Patchwork is not just for quilts!

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Art for Housewives

Why not put some pieces together?

Jenny Postle, patchwork fashion Source: Fashionising.com

More Jenny: Jenny Postle + In a riot of patchwork, haberdashery, embroidery and crochet, Postle’s graduation collection is an intricate reflection of today’s multi-faceted culture; these exotic millennial silhouettes are colourful and complex compositions that ignite the kind of dynamism that can establish our contemporary folklore + Tufty totem pole outfits + Future Beauty + Jenny Ellen Postle Knitwear + More Jenny + Womenswear Confidential | The Masters: Jenny Postle A/W11.

A Cut Above, Anita Steinwidder. She works with pre and post consumer clothing, cutting them up and reconfiguring them into a brand new context.

Custo Barcelona.

FASHION $$$$ TIP OF THE DAY: RODARTE DRESS

Other: Regine Rack – Patchwork Overalls + DIY Needle Arts Now an “Insignia of Chic” + Patchwork scarf + scroll down for patchwork of mini dress by MiuMiu.

Detritus- The Forest Floor, scroll down to see patchwork scarves.

Women’s Oscar de la Renta Beaded Patchwork Dress + De la renta patchwork dress con’t + Scroll down for another Oscar de la Renta patchwork dress + Oscar de la Renta Resort 2012 + Patchwork jacket.

Patchwork scarf + In the Studio with Gabriel Russo, hipari jacket, boro patches.

Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork Bag + Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork Bag + Beyonce’s Louis Vuitton Patchwork Tribute gifted?

Scroll down to see Christian Lacroix patchwork + DESIGUAL MEETS CHRISTIAN LACROIX + Christian Lacroix Teams Up With Italian Mosaic Maker Sicis to Launch a Furniture Collection.

JEANS: Make it (patch)work! + Copripiumone patchwork jeans duvet cover + Redingote in jeans stile patchwork + New Patchwork Jeans + Sexy Jeans Alert: Isabel Marant Reveals 5 New Denim Styles We Didn’t Even Know We Wanted + Custom Denim Tiered Vintage Patchwork jeans Hippie Boho + Marc Jacobs patchwork jeans purse + Dolce & Gabbana patchwork jeans + Isabel Marant Leo Patchwork Jeans.

Jeans…Mended + Turn your jeans into earth friendly sandals.

Photobucket Chanel patchwork clutch

Scroll down to see my plastic bag patchwork purse.

Art from Necessity + Foreclosure Quilts – Amazing Series by Kathryn Clark.

PATCHWORK FURNITURE/decor: Modern Patchwork – First comes the furniture then the fashion + Stephen Burks’ Patchwork Missoni Vases + A Russian Artist’s Fashionable Flights.

Squint Limited

Sofa patchwork + Patchwork sofa + Patchwork sofa + Bokja, Have you ever heard of the word “Bokja”? It is an Arabic word for Money box. Recently, I have been introduced to a Lebanese line called “Bokja” a line of reclaimed chairs, sofas, and benches, where each furniture piece is in a rich patchwork of fabric and textiles. BOKJA designs.

In Italiano: Mobili e oggetti con suggestioni libanesi di Bokja + Interni mediorientali + Bokja design.

Patchwork decorazione.

AND ONCE YOU’VE GONE THROUGH ALLTHESE LINKS, GET UP AND DANCE!

p.s.: Patchwork curtains + more patchwork curtains + and even more + Vintage Patchwork sheet cutains + curtain from hankerchiefs + Melanie asked me to make curtains for her room using embroidered linens from John’s mother and grandmother + Martha quilt as a curtain + delicious Teatowel Curtains.

Nesting baskets from scraps + Me, My Scarf, and I Submission: Selvedge Ruffles + 18.02.2001 – my head’s better than any software.

Posted in Fashion | Tagged Bokja, Jeans, Patchwork, Patchwork dress, Patchwork furniture, Sexy jeans | 2 Comments

Peace & Hats

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Art for Housewives

Nobel Peace Prize Winners 2011: Tawakkul Karman, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, peace activist Leymah Gbowee, and human rights activist Tawakkul Karman have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Prize Committee lauded their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and women’s rights to fully participate in peace-building work.

Leymah Gbowee promoted a “sex strike” among efforts to end Liberia’s civil war. No sex until the wars were ended. Leymah Gbowee on Jon Colbert explains why Liberian women organized a sex strike.

Interesting how all 3 women wear some kind of headdress. Southern Angola headdresses.

2 Minute Scarf-WrapTutorial

Why not make a hat? Especially for the winter since wearing a hat can help keep you warm.

Here’s a foto of the artist Janet Cooper in my studio. Look at her delightful hat. It’s a pill box type hat that she made herself with recycled materials.

Judith Boyd of The Style Crone seems to have a passion for hats similar to Janet’s. See her at Advanced Style.

Greta Garbo and How to Make a New Hat + Welcome to How to Make a Hat + How-to Make a Ruched Hat, Threadbanger video + How to Make Hats from Recycled Sweaters + 10 Free Hat Tutorials & Patterns + How to Make a Newspaper Hat + How I make an aluminum can hat (or two) in one day – Part 4 + How to Make a No Sew Fleece Tied Hat+ Head caps.

Amélie Nothomb wearing a Mad Hatter Hat. Amélie Nothomb is Belgian (tho’ born in Japan) writer well-known in Europe. The sudden transition from a Japanese culture whose elevated sense of aesthetics demanded beauty in everything to a Peking saturated with ugliness during the Cultural Revolution has informed both the themes of Nothomb’s writing and her personal worldview. And, if you want to disguise yourself as Nothomb, you will need this tutorial on how to make a Mad Hatter Hat.

How to make a smart, waterproof rain hat.

For City Slickers, Backpacks Made From Recycled Umbrellas, Fabric by Annika Blomberg

UMBRELLAS: Recycled umbrellas, Riciclo creativo, vestiti e borse da vecchi ombrelli + Recycled Umbrella Shade + Umbrellas as light fixture + Scroll down for link to umbrella repair.

Food: “Cook Yourself Thin” Recipe Guide + Cauliflower with Nuts and Cranberries + Almond Quinoa Pilaf + RISOTTO WITH PUMPKIN, ROSEMARY AND TALEGGIO CHEESE or RISOTTO DI ZUCCA, TALEGGIO E ROSMARINO.

Posted in Fashion | Tagged Hat, Hats, Headdress, How to, Sex strike, Tutorial, Umbrellas | Leave a comment

Rag Balls

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Art for Housewives

Rag balls can be just decorative (ex. for your Christmas tree) or practical – turning old clothes into “rag Yarn” that can be used to crochet, for example, rag rugs.

Rag ball, made from old clothing, vintage 1930s, used to make a rag rug…

Rag balls

Tutorial: Rag Knitting + Make Cottage-Style Rag Balls From Up-Cycled Sheets (And Then Use Them!) + Knitting with fabric + Knitting a Rag Nest: A sort of Tutorial.

Rag rugs: Rag Rug Tutorial + My favourite type of matting + Rag Rug + Braided rag rug foto + About Rag Rugs + Spotlight on rag rugs + Rag rugs, mats & carpets.

Rugs of a different Era

Toothbrush rugs: recyled that old toothbrush by turning it into a rug hook + How To Make A Rag Rug (Toothbrush Rug) + Toothbrush Rug Making + Toothbrush Rug with foto indicating how toothbrush becomes rug needle + MAKING RUGS WITH OLD TOOTHBRUSHES.

Toothbrush hook at Toothbrush Rug revisited

Crochet Hook Construction Trial 1: Plastic Toothbrush + Clover Reflections + So Sparkly Crochet Hooks with Twinkie Chan!

You can also recycle your toothbrush by turning it into a bracelet.

Rag balls for juggling.

Stinky Rag Ball 101

“No-join” method of cutting fabric strips for rag balss + Real rag balls and what to do with them + How To Tie Rag Strips With Neat Knots + A tutorial of sorts: Rag Balls + Rag Ball Tutorial + Rag Ball Wreath Tutorial + What is the story behind the Ball Project logo?

Petit devient grand, rag rugs sewn together.

Upcycled Home Decor.

Posted in Crafts | Tagged Knitting, Rag balls, Rag rug, Toothbrush rug, Tutorial | 2 Comments

Bookmarked under “F”

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Art for Housewives

Floratube is for urban people who have little time available for buying fresh ingredients for their meal.

Folk Art South Africa – Recycled products with a mission.

East Meets West in CeramiX by CTRLZAK, Fragments

Recycled flip-flops + Stacks of newspapers turned into sculptures + a Francis Marshall painting.

Fused plastic bag at Moon<Sun

Fused plastic: Makeup bag made out of fused plastic shopping bags + Long Overdue Fusing Plastic Bag Tutorial + Make a Messenger Bag Out of Trash Bags! Video + Quilted plastic bag + Plastic Bag Crafts + A piece I made in Textiles. It’s plastic bags, melted together by an iron (make sure you protect your iron with greaseproof paper!) then machine sewn onto a piece of velvet, before being finally embellished with glass bead work + The Pretty Bean Upcycles baby bibs.

Repurpose plastic bags by making them into Pop Art-inspired carrying cases + “21st Century Fusion” Fused plastic bags coat + Fun with Fused Plastic + Tips for Painting on Fused Plastic + Fused Plastic Purse + till Wild: Fusing Plastic!