Crafty bartender and all-around Seattle legend Mary McIntyre has just posted an amazing upcycling project story on the new Rake and Make website: a mini-dress and trousers, all made from Crown Royal whisky bags!
Every day, we see stuff get junked that, with a little bit of crafty know-how, could be saved from a landfill. There's even a term for this sort of recycling, specifically for stuff your local government's not interested in taking care of on its own: upcycling.
Upcycling is turning stuff that's past its prime but still usable - umbrellas, truck tarps, bedsheets - into new and sometimes even better swag.
Crafty artist and bartender Mary McIntyre of Seattle, Washington, recently posted a project on the cool new Rake and Make website that takes upcycling to a fashionable new level.
She got sick of throwing away the purple velvet bags that pricey Crown Royal whisky comes in - but then she had an epically stylin' brainwave. A few crafty maneuvers later and she'd cobbled her entire supply of Crown Royal bags into - get this - not just a pair of rockin' sailor trousers, but also an amazingly cute mini-dress.
Mary takes us through all of the steps (including thanking a fellow bartender who supplied some extra bags with a very cool reversible Crown Royal scarf) of making these fetching new velvety ensembles. They're perfect for tending bar and kicking it on the dance floor!
What would you upcycle, if you had the chance? What's going to waste in your community? Share your re-use themed thoughts in our handy comments section.
