Poke Hole Art and a T-Shirt Recon

I am cheap. Let's face it. Lately, I have been interested in making things out the vast collection of odds and ends that I already have laying around the house. I have always been a collector. My mother recalls me being a garbage picker all the way back from first grade. So, instead of buying things to make, I am diving in to the piles already in my house to fulfill my craving to make things. I find it is most fulfilling to make things and then give them away, but this time, only one of these will make it to a new owner.

Yesterday, I finished up an art project that my youngest daughter and I made together. I found on old, glass-less brown frame in the basement. That, plus glossy black spray paint made the frame look brand new. I printed a pretty botanical coloring page, and laid it over a sheet of printer paper, and began poking holes along the coloring lines, when my youngest daughter came over and took the project away. She completed all the holes in the lines, and when you peel it away and flip it over, it looks like a pretty, lacy print. I put it on foamcore to back it, and while it may be hard to see in the picture, it is very pretty. Next time, perhaps we will use colored paper. The fact that she made this herself, makes this an extra-special project. I love it more for that reason.




And, I attempted my very first t-shirt recon! I had a man's 2X gigantic Violent Femmes concert t-shirt that I used to sleep in. I laid it out with a form-fitting t-shirt over it, and drew a chalk line where I wanted it taken in. I also took up the sleeves (with my mom's help!) about 2 and 1/2 inches. The whole thing still looked pretty plain, so I cut a V-neck into it, and pasted it down with heat-n-bond. Now, while the shirt itself is faded and still sort of junky, IT FITS LIKE A GLOVE (pardon my pathetic attempt at a photo).

This was my first test for a shirt recon, so that I can do this on some of my other shirts. Saving money, and getting new clothes out of the deal sounds good to me. 2 art projects in 1 day out of things laying around the house. I call that a successful day!