Old Jeans, reusing .. let's get started.

I always hear of people who have been saving old blue jeans in their basements because they just KNOW someday they will drag them out and make them into something. Yup, I'm one of those people too. Time to start sorting and choosing ... the next few posts will deal with jeans.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it: is to get out those jeans and find a large space to work in.

You'll want to get rid of any part of the jeans that has paint, oil, grease or a stain that is too difficult to remove. I'm not THAT much of a junker... you do have to throw somethings out. Look over each pair, backs of legs tend to get less wear and tear than knees. If the knee is blown out or worn so much that you can see the shape of the knee in it .. that can go too. Decide if you want to work with jean bums or not. Throw them out if you don't want them. If you're not sure... then set them aside in a separate pile.

Best cutting tool I know of is the rotary cutter. For this job you want a new blade, a self healing mat and a straight edge of some kind.

First cut off all the legs.

Cut up the crotch, so the legs will lay out flat.

Cut below worn knees or yucky parts . Keep backs of legs if the fronts aren't worth redeeming.

Make piles of jeans according to weight. Thicker jeans, stretch jeans, light weight jeans.

Once you've done this... you can start filling trash bags for the rag bin. The good pieces of fabric you'll have to find boxes to store them in until you've picked one of the projects. It might seem like a lot but it's going to take alot less room and be easier to store than when they were whole and in a big pile.

Keep an eye open for the blue genes post.

Tea cups to Bird feeders

Free standing Bird feeder on any kind of post, support for tomato plants or even a fence post.

The hanging version seems to attract the most birds for me. I'm not sure if that is because the birds feel safer in the tree or if they actually like the swinging.

Real Junkers know that you don't throw anything away. You either find a new use for it, take it apart and use the parts or give it to someone who will. So begins my story of how I'm working through my lack of funds for making my home more comfortable.

Our backyard is a lovely place, or it will be. We're just working on landscaping and finding that the cost is more than we imagined.

My Grandmother left me a box full of mismatched tea cups. They are lovely but I could not find a way to sell them or find them good homes. I think a little of me wanted to keep some around ... so here is my solution.

We needed bird feeders for the various birds who visit our yard. Kind of a "Tweet-cup" solution presented itself to me. Plus they're a hit as gifts.

In the first picture you see that the bird feeder is on a stand, in the second you see we've hung it from a tree. Choices are endless really.

To Make a Tweet-cup

You'll have to find some tea cups made of china that don't cost too much. This is a good time for garage sales or your mother's basement.

You need a hole through the bottom of the tea cup and the saucer that allow the rainwater to drain out. I also make a hole near the bottom of the cup on the side (in case the bottom one gets blocked). Also a hole in the lowest part of the fancy part of the saucer.

To make these holes you need a electric drill and a Dremmel tile/ceramic bit. I found dremmel drill bits worked best and I had less breakage when I use them. You will need to press down on the cup to drill, however you don't want to be pressing with the hand that steadies the cup because the counter pressure may break the china when you make the hole. Some drills and bits will heat up alot, so blow off the dust and let it cool if needed.

Once the holes are made, you're almost there. I have still to find the perfect adhesive but Crazy glue works very well for the short term. Other adhesives I've tried are either too messy or stay too sticky. Crazy glue will let go after several months of weathering but it will not damage your cup.. you can store it for winter and reglue it in spring.

For Hanging cups you need a few more holes. You'll want to purchase or make some kind of hanger. I've choosen what I found at my Dollar store. These are made for hanging pots and is made of chain and hooks. For me, that means 3 more holes. These holes I spaced evenly around the edge of the of the saucer. Be careful to leave enough room from the edge that you won't weaken the china. Now you can insert the hooks, tighten them so they don't come out and hang up your newest creation.

Congratulations on reusing instead of tossing those old tea cups.

Get creative... Please do let me know how your creations turned out and what other dishes you tried.