Be, continued

So, clothes.

Especially, vintage clothes.  And thrifted clothes.  Well-made, well-crafted clothes.  The perfect canvas for bits and pieces of beadwork, lace, flowers, fabric.  The chance to make something new from something, essentially, thrown away.

Be Plentiful - funky hi-lo sheer floral dress, 2016

The chance to have some fun.  Oh, yeah!  Fun!

Be Graceful pink tee, 2016

So much fun to dig through my bins of goodies, pull out bits and pieces, and create a "clothes collage."

Be Fearless - Frida tee, 2016

When I sampled printer fabric paper, I was even more excited.  My collection of digital images is pretty extensive.  Now, I have one more way that I can use them!  It's so easy to create the images and, because the fabric is fray-proof, it's easy to sew image patches onto clothing.  (I have yet to try to work with iron-on appliques, but will soon.)

Be Boundless - denim jacket, work in progress

Patches, oh patches.  The embroidered sari patches I use in my felted belts work equally well in upcycling.  And look really good mixed with other fabric and textiles and lace.

Flower nuno scarf, 2016

As I looked around Etsy and Pinterest at other upcycling creations, I felt like I'd found a new niche.  But.  

I still wanted to connect the new adventure with women's history, with words, with my spirituality.  And I wanted an approach that might set me apart from other upcyclers.