The T-shirt Bag

Happy Holidays!

This is an awesome winter project I'd like to share with you all. It was not my original idea. I found it in a book which I can't for the life of me remember the name of. Anyway I did add a small original touch of my own. I changed the handles a little. If you know what book this project came from pm me, so I can give proper credit.

And now for the fun stuff!!! Here's one of mine.

Grab a big t-shirt you like but don't want to wear anymore or is too big. OR go to a thrift shop and grab a cheep used T.

Instructions:
So you have your t-shirt. Turn it inside out and lay it flat. Side seams together.
Cut off the seam on the bottom of the shirt and save it for later.
Sew the bottom together with a straight stitch.
Turn right-side out again.
Cut off the sleeves at the seam-leave the seam on the shirt.
Save the sleeves. You can use them for rags or on another altered shirt. :)
Next Cut the neck line lower.
Cut straight down--parallel with the arm hole. Then straight across making a new square "neckline".
Remember that seam from the bottom of the shirt? Did you save it like I told you?
Grab it now and cut it open. Then cut in half.
Now you have two stripes. Wind that around the top of one of the arm holes, tie at each end. Leave a little of the seam free to dangle. Repeat with other arm hole. These are your handles.
Boom! You are done! Now go show off your new bag!!

Bag handles image below.

Dolls from the past

As a child I was not allowed to have fashion dolls like Barbie only baby dolls. Well, I didn't like baby dolls. All the adults in my life thought that was just plain strange.

I think that's a main factor in why a few years back I got into remaking old fashion dolls. I couldn't get enough of them. Some of my friends and especially my mother-in-law would bring me more dolls every time they saw me. I was thrift shopping all the time. At one point I think I had 125 cast-off fashion dolls and few new ones too. People thought that was strange too, and I felt a little strange. What was this obsession?

I didn't want them for what they were...a fashion doll (and nude and filthy). I wanted to transform them into something more. OOAK's as they say in the remake biz. That's one-of-a-kind to the uninitiated.

I would wash them, take off their face-paint, redo it, make new fantasy outfits, sometimes re-root new hair (hours of work!), give them "accessories", etc. Now when I look back at that time, I realize that I was transforming the inside of me and it was reflected on the outside of the dolls.

Hubbs and I started this short film in 2005 just to document my work, but then it turned into something more. Hope you enjoy it! I do have images of some of my art dolls for sale as greeting cards in my Etsy shop. Be sure and check it out.
I need to eat too. ;)