Early bird got the worm on this one…..

I would love to own this awesome piece of work. I’m a fanatic for all things leather. I’ve recently pick up an extra craft(leather purse making) and I think this is one of the most funkiest ideas I’ve seen in a very long time. Michele always come up with the most wildest and fun ideas. There’s nothing more I can say but FANTASTIC.

Thanks,

Vashawn Hyler

Congrats Vashawn!  We’ll be shooting you an e-mail to score your mailing address and will ship this repurposed holiday beauty your way!

Thanks everyone for playing along!  More giveaways to come……..

Cheers to the fun-filled spirit of giving.

michele.

I played around with some leather stockings for the holidays and I must say, they’ve rolled out to be a favorite.  They’re relatively easy to create (just a bit time consuming with the hand stitching on the ones out of the thicker leathers, but certainly a project anyone can tackle and not a lot of tools or supplies are needed, which is an added plus.) Their classic style and durability will make for a long lasting holiday treasure.

The extra version/other option for this project that didn’t make it to the official project page was the repurposed coat alternative.

These stockings took up an interesting turn because you could really play up the features on the coat….buttons, belts, pockets, etc. LOVE the repurposing element and the unique looks that can be created.  They’re also a little less time consuming since you can simply stitch them together on the sewing machine.

You’ll need a long length leather/vinyl coat  (can usually find these dated beauties for little $$ at the different thrift stores).

And from someone who loves to actually WEAR these kinds of coats….I had to think long and hard about which ones I could bear to CUT INTO!

**Be sure to get ones that don’t fit, then you won’t struggle! LOL.

Remove the lining and then strategically place your pattern where you want.  I tried to position it so that the pocket would remain in tact and be usable on the front side of the stocking.  I also made sure I could use the belt loops and the belt as additional elements.

** Remember to flip your pattern over so you get the ‘backside’ of the stocking…otherwise your toe will be facing the wrong way!

You decide whether you want your seams exposed, or on the inside, and then stitch together.  (I stitched wrong sides together and left the seams exposed on the outside for mine)

I cut off the tips of the collar to create my hanger and riveted it in place with doublecap rivets — could also stitch on.

All I can say is….. ‘high style’ stocking, right?!   Fun to make, Fun to hang, FUN TO GIVEAWAY….That’s right, folks…the fun continues because I’m giving one of the repurposed stockings that I  made for the HGTV holiday special away! Just post a ‘stand out’ comment below on why you want to win this sleek beauty, and we’ll pick a winner on Monday and ship it out!

Cheers to doing up your own holiday decor and giving it away!

michele.

Cheers to good health, safe travels, naturally good eats, a bubbly beverage or two, and lots of laughs with family, friends, and anyone else who pops up on your path this weekend. Enjoy every moment and spread it around wherever you can!

All of us at b.organic thank you immensely for watching and sharing in our adventures.

Warm hugs to all….michele.

**Another FREE giveaway tomorrow, whoohoo!

DANG…I love to give stuff away, but I hate having to single out winners.  I wish I had enough made up for everyone, but that’s never how it goes, SOOOOO I let the guys pick our first round of winners.  They’re fresh off a school visit we did a few days back, so it looks like the ‘kids’ comments won out on this one. (remember though…they’re easy to create, so grab the how-to here and you can make as many as you want!)

Green Tie Winner: KRISTINE SCHMITZ

I love this idea. I have an eight year old son who chooses to wear neckties at least 3 or 4 times a week since he was 2! It is almost impossible to find great ties for little boys. I’m going to have to try this out with ties for him.
Thanks for such a great idea!

Grey Tie Winner: JANELLE

These ties are really cool! My 14 yr old son said he would even wear it to school! Anytime I can get him to wear anything besides a t-shirt is a WIN in my book! (Which is why I would love to have one!)
Thanks for sharing this great idea Michelle!

I’ll be shooting you both an e-mail to get your mailing addresses and we’ll pop these guys in the mail on Monday.

CONGRATS, CONGRATS, CONGRATS…Wear ‘em PROUDLY…..and THANK YOU to EVERYONE who played along….LOTS MORE to give away over the next few weeks, so keep playin’ everyone!

Cheers!

michele.

Organic and handmade go ‘hand in hand’, so look forward to loads of handmade projects and ideas over the next few weeks here on borganic.net…..we share spirited ways to repurpose, adventurous ways to play up nature in your gifts, and all kinds of naturally creative schtuff, so keep checkin’ in and enjoy…..

We’re kicking things off today with Etsy and a big “WhooHoo”….Our “Power of Code” Tie project was featured today as part of Etsy’s How-To Tuesday. Thanks to HGTV and Etsy!

That one is ‘fresh off the bench’ as I like to say and all in all it went together quite nicely.

The freezer paper/inkjet printer technique is a fabulous way to get a cool printed look on fabric, by the way!  It’s crisp, clear and pretty amazing.

I’m not going to lie, I’m not a big fan of patterns.  They can sometimes confuse the heck out of things for me and they can slow down progress….On the flipside of that, however, I do usually learn a thing or two from them.

This proved to be no exception.  I had never made a necktie from scratch before, so I planned on going at it two different ways…1. with a REAL pattern and 2. by using an old necktie that I took apart as a pattern.  I wanted to keep the steps as simple as possible, as well as budget friendly by working with things you may already have for part of it, so just using an old necktie seemed like the better alternative…if it would work.

I did the REAL pattern first and ended up ripping out stitches here and there at least 6 times due to stupid errors or improper deciphering of instructions.

The second one I did using the old tie as my pattern went together beautifully, easily and without all the mistakes…(having the experience of the first one I’m sure helped, as did one tip I learned from the pattern re: the ends of the tie)….I think it was because visually, it was just a lot easier for me to see how these things go together. …how the seams were turned, where things were stitched and clipped, etc…

In the end, I’m admittedly proud of the results and had a ball working on them.

I also realized that things are starting to pile up around here, so why not have some fun giving away the different projects we end up having to make for things like this.   WE MAKE it, YOU may as well TAKE it! That’s what the holidays are all about, right?!

That makes one less gift you have to make or buy, my friends.  To make it easy, just leave a quick comment as to why you should win this one of a kind beauty.  The guys will pick a winner and we’ll ship it your way.  I’m giving away both the mossy green one and the grey one!

Cheers to the start of the holiday season and all things handmade!

michele.

There’s nothing cooler than watching kids get all excited about stuff, to watch them be confident, carefree and imaginative.

I always get a kick out of going to schools to give presentations (not to mention kids are so much easier to entertain than grown-ups ha….you get to see what they’re up to, how they interact, hear their ideas, observe which teachers are the most engaged and enthusiastic.  Last Friday was one of those ‘parents and their careers’ kind of presentations, so Jon and I grabbed the crew and went over to visit our daughter’s 3rd grade class to try and explain what exactly we do for our jobs…..not sure I personally have any clearer idea of my  job description but a good time was had by all… Read the rest of this entry →

Just chuckled as I walked past an important conference call taking place in our state of the art (emphasis on the word ‘art’) conference room.  This, my friends is a naturally great way to do bizness!

Cheers to keepin’ it real and workin’ it out in your own unique way.  I’m thankful every day for how we get to do what we do and why…

michele.

Little by little, I’ve been exploring the wonderful world of eating and good nutrition.  Not because my old ways were bad necessarily, but because there is so much more to learn….so much more to taste.   My friend Sheree Clark recently joined me on a b. organic episode and has been sharing some exciting new ways to work with natural ingredients in no fuss ways.  She personally is a raw foodist and is a natural at whipping up the most delicious things in relatively simple, effortless ways. That, in turn has introduced  me to new ingredients, some tasty dishes that didn’t require the stove or oven and some incredible new ways to manipulate my favorite fruits, vegetables and nuts that I otherwise would have never even thought of.  This doesn’t mean I’m going to stop cooking, baking, eating meat on occasion or be any kind of purist at this point….but I am really enjoying all the new tasty ways to use ‘fresh from nature’ ingredients in the freshest ways possible.

Here’s what’s coming out of this ‘new’trition journey thus far… Read the rest of this entry →

Cleaning off the garden beds, I realized that most of my pictures in the garden get taken when everything is vibrant, colorful and in bloom.  But as I looked around this year, (and really looked) at how everything had wound down and died off, I noticed different things and was oddly inspired by the final berries that were still hanging on, the petals that refused to fall, the haggard, brittle stems that still stood proud and tall, the blemished leaves bit by the cold clinging closely to one another, the expired fruit still waiting patiently to be picked…….

Cheers to seeing the beauty that still hangs in there, after the bloom.

michele.