ExtremeCraft.com call for "1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse" book submissions

Garth Johnson of ExtremeCraft.com announced the deadline for submissions to his new book "1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse". Deadline: January 5, 2009. The first announcements have come in in the end of October.. Why do I always hear of these projects so late?! WHY?? Below the details for those of you that are able to enter in such short notice:

"We are seeking submissions for 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse, an upcoming book by Garth Johnson of ExtremeCraft.com, which will feature 21st Century craft and design, all made with recycled, upcycled, repurposed and reused items. We are looking for the best examples of paper and book arts, jewelry, clothing, home and personal accessories, furniture, art, and miscellanea for possible publication. We invite designers, artists, visionaries and crafters of all stripes to submit their work. High quality photography is essential. We are looking for photographs of the finished work, not step-by-step shots. All images must be AT LEAST 1400x1750 pixels at 300 dpi. There is no entry form for the book--all we need is the Grant of Rights form and an image list in Microsoft Word or PDF format. Please upload them with your images."

For submission instructions, please visit www.creativereusebook.com.
DOWNLOAD THE CALL FOR ENTRIES
UPLOADING INSTRUCTIONS (PDF)
GRANT OF RIGHTS FORM (PDF)

Found via CRAFT blog.

Fashion Conscience online store

Fashion Conscience is one of my favorite online shops. It´s like Net-A-Porter for us green fashionistas with clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry and underwear. They offer green designer labels and a stylish and chic selection of fashions. I love the site because you are able to shop by eco-category, you know if you´re loking vegan, fair trade, sustainable or just recycled. Many of my friends could not tell you the difference of these terms so they just call it all "eco". Nothing is just black or white so when one starts a greener life in shopping for fashion, understanding these terms is vital so you are able to make out the various shades of gray and determine your ethnic fashion values. How green fashionista are you?

Organic bamboo and hemp tuxedo jacket by Julia Smith.


Fair trade silk and lace dress by Minna.


Organic high-waisted pencil skirt by Camilla Norrback.


Recycled leather bag by Ashley Watson.


Vegan heels by Beyond Skin.

Trashion crafts resource - fabric and color sample books

We bought a new sofa this week ("made in Finland" to support local business of course!). While running through the upholstery samples at the store to pick out the color and look we wanted I was reminded about this wonderful craft resource - material sample books! If you have interior design boutiques, fabric shops, architech offices and similar companies that use color and fabric sample books for their businesses, go and ask them if you could have their old color samples. Many shops throw them away when new ones arrive which is a shame because the materials are often high quality and expencive interior fabrics. Perfect for quilts, hats, bags, belts and other small sewing projects. I´m calling the sofa-store tomorrow to find if they would give me some of their old fabric sample books. I could use them for making pillowcases and such. Plus it would be great to have a fabric strip from my new sofa to bring with me when I go thrift hunting for matching curtains.




Photos from Namolio and Muffet.

BurdaStyle New Years patterns

BurdaStyle has released several free patterns and quick sewing projects with instructions for New Years party outfits! As to the "Open source sewing" policy, the patters and sewing instructions can be downloaded from the site free, saved on your computer and printed out with a homeprinter. You can also make your own patterns and upload them to the site for others to use. The site has a community forum and gallery which allows you to upload photos of the creations you have made. Check out th BurdaStyle Best Of 2008 gallery and vote for your favorite!

Rose fascinator (how-to here)


Ruffled Party Necklace (how-to here). Kind of KaPowWow styled neck piece isn´t it?!


Mock Tuxedo Bib (See the Video HOW TO of the instructions on Threadbanger!)


Quick Party Skirt (how-to here). Perfect pattern for sewing novices.


Celeste dress. Free pattern #8132B


The Marie skirt. Free pattern #9177. I for one have been looking for this styled skirt pattern for a while now because I think it looks very highstreet! (Why don´t pattern magazines have more pattern like this!!) Here is also a version from Minttu which just shows how versitile this pattern is. Brocade for winter festivities and patterned cotton for summer days! This pattern can also me made to a dress if you combile it with a corset top pattern.



Kasia pencil skirt. Free pattern #6012. Office chic!


Esther knit cardigan. Free pattern #8027. Beginner level project.

Keeping up withyour favorites in the blogosphere

After finding BlogLovin my life has just gotten a whole lot easier in regards of finding new intresting people and stuff. It is a service that enables you to follow all your favorite blogs daily. When ever a blog you "follow" is beig updated, it lists it as a "new post". I have many fashion blog that I follow, but this also helps me to keep up with craft artists that I´m intrested in and not to forget anyone.

Blogs are an exellent way to advertise your goods and your fans to follow up on latest items! If you have an Etsy shop or a craft label you should have a blog (put the bloglink to your shop profile) that shows all your latest and sold items and maybe write about your inpirations or working techniques. I love to read about what inspires the people that inspire me! Customers can also send you pictures of them wearing your things to be posted in your blog.

BleachBlack studded DIY projects

This girl has a serious fixation with studs. Something similar to how I feel about zippers... Kristin Valerie from BleachBlack has studded everything, shoes, shirts, caps.. And it looks great. I´m especially fond of the moccasins stud restyling. It reminds me of the Jeffrey Campbell "Oakley Fringe Stud Ankle Bootie". And she buys her hardware from Spikes And Leather on Ebay. Punk never dies my friends.





Jeffrey Campbell "Oakley Fringe Stud Ankle Bootie".

Destroyed denim inpiration

Looking for some inspiration to destroy denim for next spring? Me too! Check out Sri Threads' photogallery.

Thriftstore trend NOW: The Marching Band Jacket

Balmain SS09 collection

In this age of extreme individuality, sometimes the situation just calls for a uniform. The Marching Band jacket is back! The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Adam Ant, My Chemical Romance and Coldplay have all pulled out variations on the style at various points in their career. Will the marching band jacket make it to the streets, or will it remain the momentary fashion statement of overpaid musicians? At least the designers at Balmain (see SS09 collection) and a few fellow fashion bloggers seem to think so. If you see one at your local thrift store I recommend buying it. It will be an worthy style investment. Finnish schools don´t have high school marching bands so my only shot in finding one is on Ebay or making one myself..







Photos from Sea of Shoes fashion blog.


Photo from TheCobraSnake.


Photo from Garance Dore.


Picture from Nordstrom.


Jacket from ShopNastyGal online vintage shop.


Coldplay

Fashion scrapbook inspirations

Collages by SToppin.

I´m all for cutting up fashion magazines. Pick and choose only the things you need for your inspiration books and make collages from the rest. Buying many magazines a month is not something I encourage since I´m sure most of us could manage with a lot less and it´s not a very ecological thing to spend on. You could also ask around if friends have magazines they are finished reading and would give you to shread. Collage technique looks great in invitations, as your website illustrations and interior decor projects. Here are some of my Flickr fashion collage favorites. Enjoy!

Collage by Saint Barbie.


Collages by Meriluni.



Collages by Alexcano.



Collages by Marie-Lisah.