Re-Purposed Jean Denim Christmas Tree Ornaments
A short while back I stopped in at the local Salvation Army store to ask if it was possible to purchase some of the jeans they were sending out to the shredder. the employee that I spoke with said to check in on Wednesday.
Later I mentioned my plans to a friend who informed me that the Salvation Army store had 49 cent Mondays so I should just wait until then.
Later I mentioned my plans to a friend who informed me that the Salvation Army store had 49 cent Mondays so I should just wait until then.
My intention for the jeans initially was to use some of the material for denim bookmarks and to use some of the material as a canvas to paint on. The material works fine for making bookmarks ( which would hang on the Christmas tree as nicely) but it is the season for ornaments.
Items needed for making denim hanging ornaments can be seen in the above photo plus some other items not shown.
Once the denim is glued and together I took and cut pieces in a variety of sizes( not a big variety). Then I began painting. The brand of paint being used was thin so this part of the painting process was more ofapplying a base coat. By giving the base coat a chance to dry the next layers of paint begin to build up and give some extra texture to the piece, which is a good thing.
The painted snowman denims were built up with a couple additions of paint to help them stand out. The Merry Christmas denim could use something more to help it stand out as it should. I'm not sure where I put the fluorescent paints but they would work for this. I may have given them away. For your project, you might just want to work with some of that kind of paint to make things pop.
The bottom 3 from the right are 3D stickers I purchased at Michael's a while back. For the younger crafters, these make the project very easy yet still very nice. Some paint can still be used or other sticky things( for lack of a better word). Though the top and bottom denim on the left are fairly basic scenes they provide you with a picture of how a monochromatic painting would be on the material.
Once the paint has dried small holes can be made through the top of the ornament and a hook can be added . The next step is to hang it on the tree.
I apologize for the cloudiness of the photos. The camera lens has gotten scratched to the point it is now interfering with the shot.
Left only background lights on to see how the ornaments displayed.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Another idea would be to take the jeans- cut in rectangles with a liner. decorate outside and sew a cord. Cute Christmas or other idea purse or cell phone holder. Not my idea... I bought a "cell phone holder " in Hungary with embroidered beadwork decorating it. Gets lots of compliments
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Love this technique! I might try sewing several pieces together after painting them to make a tree skirt. Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
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