You've already seen my up-cycled, second-hand curtain, sheet and shower curtain creations so whatever next? Regular blog readers will know that I just can't bear to let a single scrap of unwanted household fabric go to waste.
I salvaged this frayed 1960s psychedelic hand towel from a charity shop clearance bin last month but it's languished on my fabric pile ever since as it seemed far too groovy for such a mundane purpose.
Using another top as a pattern I re-worked it into a cropped vest and pimped it up with some gold fringing salvaged from a jumble sale lampshade.
Now it's not just visitors to my bathroom who can admire it's technicoloured glory.
Whilst on a mission I thought I'd tart up a couple of things we'd recently liberated from skips (for non-Brits I mean large open-topped containers householders hire to fill with their old junk).This galvanised watering can had a hole in the bottom, useless for it's original purpose but perfect as a funky planter.
This chimera is cracked to buggery but some strategically planted greenery detracts from the damage.
Sorry about the crabby expression, it must be pre-England match anxiety!
I'm linking to Lakota's Ta-Dah Tuesday.
See you soon.
 |
| Reworked bathroom towel (50p, Cancer Research) worn with Mexican maxi (courtesy of fabulous mystic La Dama), 1970s Madeira souvenir shopper (£1.95, Acorns Hospice) and a stack of second-hand brass bling |
Now it's not just visitors to my bathroom who can admire it's technicoloured glory.
Whilst on a mission I thought I'd tart up a couple of things we'd recently liberated from skips (for non-Brits I mean large open-topped containers householders hire to fill with their old junk).This galvanised watering can had a hole in the bottom, useless for it's original purpose but perfect as a funky planter.
This chimera is cracked to buggery but some strategically planted greenery detracts from the damage.
Sorry about the crabby expression, it must be pre-England match anxiety!
I'm linking to Lakota's Ta-Dah Tuesday.
See you soon.
81 comments:
Vix! I love how you made that out of a towel! So funky & groovy!
I sent ya an email btw!
xo
That is so fab! And perfect for the beach to sling on over your bikini after a dip.
Your upcycled planters look great too.
xx
I don't think ANYONE else could pick a towel out of the bargain bin in a charity shop and do something so wonderful with it!
I got a bucket just like your watering can out of a skip - what are people thinking of when they chuck these treasures! xx
talented as well as beautiful...what a great re work and i completely appreciate its beauty as would never have seen it in your bathroom, it really makes a wonderful top on you. xxx
You are such a F*cking legend! Your posts are always a ray of sunshine, even on a grey day! xxx
I love it, it's so colourful and screams Vix. You really are the most creative person I know, I think. You really do have a gift for spotting the alternative uses of everything, I find that really difficult to do, although I'm getting better. I think it's your inspiration. xx
That's fantastic work!! You are awesome :D It's so .. YOU! :)
-Sara
Ladylike Delicacy
I really love it!! The vintage orange print is lovely and you did a brilliant work! I'm going to hunt for some great fabrics too, you are always a great inspiration!
Many many kisses !!
xxxxx
I wish I had both the style and the creativity to pull off that beautiful pattern! I love it! And I am a big fan of using unusual containers for potting plants, they just look so much prettier than in boring old plant pots.
Xxx Maddie
Upcycling is a calling- and you do it so well in so many ways- LOVE that vest- so amazing and I love that you "liberated" that pitcher and chimera and gave them new purpose! xo. -Bella Q
No friggin way! A hand towel you turned a had towel into a top!!! Everything is reborn at your house and I love it!!!! Your creative energy keeps me wanting to sew but I am so lazy when it comes to breaking out my machine. I think this top is precious, now go on and shimie :)
Loveyoubabe!!!!!
Krista
I'm yet to jump into a skip to take anything but my guy grabbed our leather computer chair way back from the side of a bin. It's comfy as anything!
Hi Vix!
Catching up with all your posts!
Good God you do get a lot of stuff from bloggers, it is bloggers love indeed - All his super cool!
clever the towel turned into a top!
About move day here in Quebec - a vast majority of the leases for rentals in Montreal end June 31 -
so this is why July 1 is chaotic -
Take care lovely
Arianexxx
That vest is too awesome!!! I love vintage fabric and trims and am always scouring thrift bins for them. And I am not ashamed to admit I have picked stuff out of curbside trash!!
You should write a book - recyling has never looked so glamourous.
cool, just love it!
:)
http://wardrobexperience.blogspot.de
Your amazing...who knew a towel could look so great...love the fringe!! xx Heather
I never ceases to amaze me how you can make old 70s tat look SO GROOVY!
I worship you and I love you!love love love
you continue to kill me vix everyday! i adore that top. all these old 60's fabrics bring back so many memories for me. xo
Omg, you are a towelling top making genius. LOVE IT!!!
Great use for the towel, its a perfect summery top - all we need now is the perfect weather.
I'm all for skip diving and have found great bits and bobs in them. I remember embarassing my Mum in the centre of Cirencester once whilst I hauled an old mirror out of one. She walked away and pretended not to know me! xxx
Hi there!! Loving the upcycled watering can and chimera-they really look great with those lovely plants! A really cute top too, you're soo creative, well done! xxx
You crafty devil you! I don't think I would ever have looked at a hand towel and saw a cropped top, but that's why you're the queen of creative clothing creation
who know an old towel could look so good? I'm going to have to keep my eye peeled for sheets and towels next thrifting trip.
Ahhh PMT as my brother calls it! (pre match tension!)
Vix I do so love the way nothing is dicarded and your creativity in being able to use items that would otherwise be deemed unusable. Loving the new top so unique!
I love using odd cotainers in our garden if I can put a few holes in the bottom then it gets used! To date i have a few knackered washing baskets, fish tank and my youngests old potty! lol That made the neighbours laugh that one.
P x
What ever next! You really are a talented lady, cause it looks fab.
X x
You really are one of a kind. As much as I love to stretch the ultimate amount of use of an item, your towel-vest beats anything I've come up with. You are officially the Queen of the Come-backs. What a great eye you have!!
Cheers,
Rosemary www.foreveronthecatwalkoflife.com
Wonderful! Just like the dresses I wore in the 70s - just thinking of them makes me feel warm in the heart. No tea-towel will be safe from me now! xoxo
You really do take the cake Vix. Yet another amazing transformation. I love the towel top. Much better in its current form.
I'm taking inspiration from your effortlessly bohemian outdoor space
Thank you for so many vibrant, inspirational and colourful posts xxx
You are so talented. I think you do definitely lead a glamorous lifestyle but you don't spend a lot be to be glamorous which is just fab x
That is a fantastic re-make! xx
I've been a reader of your blog for a couple of years now - and I find myself CONSTANTLY amazed at your thrifting abilities, your fashion sense and your vision at looking byeond the ordinary.
Come on, and old towel into a fab top? Shouldn't work but does - love it!
A hand towel for a top, how frickin cool are you?? Way cool that's how cool!!! I myself would most probably need a spa towel!! If my chimenia ever cracks I now know exactly what to do with it, thanks for your awesome tips!! Is your necklace Labradorite??
You're going to have to go a long way to beat towel ta-dah-ing! Incredibly inventive and resourceful, but completely effective too. I'm the same with paper - I cannot bear to see pretty/strong or interesting paper being binned, even if it's being recycled (it's still waste!).
There needs to be more people like you, who see purpose and beauty in discarded items. The pleasure of breathing new life into something far outweighs the pleasure of buying new.
Hope you're relaxed now the match is over. I know I am. It means the TV can go off, and the music ON.
I still can't get over Rooney's hair. Proof money can't buy tou everything, eh?!
Enjoy the last dry day of June tomorrow!
Lucy x
You're going to have to go a long way to beat towel ta-dah-ing! Incredibly inventive and resourceful, but completely effective too. I'm the same with paper - I cannot bear to see pretty/strong or interesting paper being binned, even if it's being recycled (it's still waste!).
There needs to be more people like you, who see purpose and beauty in discarded items. The pleasure of breathing new life into something far outweighs the pleasure of buying new.
Hope you're relaxed now the match is over. I know I am. It means the TV can go off, and the music ON.
I still can't get over Rooney's hair. Proof money can't buy tou everything, eh?!
Enjoy the last dry day of June tomorrow!
Lucy x
Yippee! We did it, not convincing but at least we have more football to yell at. :)
Love the pot planter, we salvaged a few old gutter drains for some plants, along with a weird plaster cast face.
I admire your knack of finding something that may be deemed 'junk' and turning it into something pretty. :)
xx
You are incredibly innovative! A towel and an old lampshade... et voila! Vix has a new top :-) And a fab one at that. If only the whole world was as resourceful, there would be no waste...
Wow a top from a towel, I love it!
Dx
You absolutely crack me up! Who would have thought an old towel could make such a groovy top!!x
Hi Vix,
you sound like such a bubbly person. I love your nose ring, I also have a nose ring.
Would you consider commenting on my posts? It would be nice to get some true inspirational comments?
You look like you carry so much life and cultures in your dress sense.
www.personalautographs.blogspot.co.uk
Oh wow, I have to try this! I would never think to use an old towel to make something, you are so creative.
You blow me away with what you can do with a bit of material!
PS. thanks for the compliment :)
OMG you are so frickin clever! I adore that fab fringed top - the planters are brilliant and I love that gorgeous maxi. The flamingo shower curtain poncho is an all time fave! I just never think to do anything clever with fabrics... plus my sewing machine is still stuck in reverse and I hate its guts. Love you more than flamingos! Sarah xxx
Your creative skills are OUT OF THIS WORLD! :)
∞ © tanvii.com ∞
What a cute idea! And it can also be used to dry your fingertips if need be. ;)
The colors looks great with what you've layered it with. So creative!
When I was a young kid I use to wish so badly that I could make a skirt from an umbrella frame.
You have such a lovely garden.
The photo in the middle of the collage (the dark green dress) makes me scream. Amaze.
I love my bloggy friends. If you are ever in Australia I insist you come and have a coffee, actually, come and stay with me. :)
Excellent bit of recycling...works a treat and at first glance, what would you do with it? Brill.
I love the planters. I've got a few metal bins and old fire buckets planted up. I can't stand to see anything wasted either!!
Enjoy the sun.
xxxx
Okay, I don't think you've made anything from a bath mat - and please don't!! You are a genius of reinvention, the true sign of an artist, seeing things outside their original design. This top with the lampshade fringe is a perfect match for that fabulous maxi.
Like the top, great pattern.
I actually like the "Crabby" expression. =p
But I love the top you made EVEN more.
Oooh. LOVE!
Oh that is amazing, I just love the patterns on old towels. To good for a bathroom, perfect as a top.
Oh the things people throw out, grrrr!!!! Thank you for saving them Vix, look how they love there new jobs.
Love v
Well done, lovely up~cycling. Its funny this week I did exactly the same thing to my old watering can, it is now home to a few herbs.
Ta Da indeed! I'm not sure which I love more; the funky top or the watering can planter. Fabulous!
xo, Anita
Amazing, you've made a fantastic top using bits of material that needed saving! I love that towel fabric but I wouldn't know what to do with it! Great top for the beach too, not that there's many round your way. La Dama's dress is also really gorgeous, you lucky thing. Skip diving is a fantastic hobby, I suss out every skip I pass xxx
I bloody love you. A charity shop towel and lampshade fringing into a top is genius.
C
xxx
Vix, I am so in awe, and envious, of your talents! That top is amazing. I wish I could make gorgeous things out of random tat I've got hanging around/salvaged. You look stunning x
Niice pictues, and so inspiring!!! Wonderfoul!!!
Kiss Kiss
Anie
Repurposing at its best! That psychedelic towel with gold fringe is dreamy with the Mexican maxi. The use of the watering can as planter is genius. I'm loving your creative garden in the background.
Tah-daaaaaaaaaaaaaah indeed!!!! I love your new top so much and I don't think I could possibly pass up that gorgeous printed towel to refashion either - watering can and chiminera pots? Yes please!!! xxxxx
Damn woman! A towel top! What else can you transform into clothes?
I love the added fringe.
Love you more wearing the lovely Mexi-skirt I sent ya. it matches gorgeously with your towel top.
I always wanted a Chimera pots to hide spiritual things in.
Besotes
you rock that colorful printed top!, love that fringe, and love your maxi skirt!
besos & color
I adore your hippy vibe, you look great.
xo,
Em
Great pictures! I love it!!
Dear Vix, you always have something funky and fab up your sleeve - who would have thought a towel could look so fab x
Hi Vix, you should def have a spot on TV doing your makeovers-your top is fabulous!! I grew up in a house where nothing was wasted and I love seeing one woman's junk turned into another woman's treasure. xx
Ah~ I knew there was another reason I like you! You're a clothig DIY'er like me! I can't wait to show my latest clothing finds while I was junkin~ I'll post pictures soon!
haha I never would have thought you'd like football!
Anyway, my face throughout this post- :D!
Isn't this a gorgeous outfit!! wonderful =) Love the marbled stone and gold.
Argh, you make me aware of all the projects I need to start- it's a good thing!
The new top is perfect with LaDama's skirt and the chimera/planter is ingenius!
Towelling and lampshade trims never looked so good together! Love what you did with your skip finds.
Wow you are so clever you can put your hand to anything. The containers look brilliant and you look fabulous love the top you made ;-) dee xx
You are magical! Mexican maxi + reworked towel = FABULOUS! Bringing me such joy. And I love that purse! :D
Amazing! I love the way this top turned out - the gold tassels are just the right touch!
Wow…this by far has to be your bravest and raddest creation yet! I love the top and the watering can looks just wonderful too xxx
I love your blog. Those simplicity patterns bring back memories. I am buying everything Missoni. I love it and am trying to make it in photoshop. msqueenfashionista.com
I always check skips but never find anything - I'm cursed to live somewhere where people obviously hang onto things! That top is a work of genius x
ps our foster cat is arriving on Sunday... and by chance I have found out he is the same colours at Stephen Squirrel, so now we really are cat twins!
Penny Dreadful Vintage
I love all your garden ornaments - you've totally inspired me!x
Vix, you don't seem to stop surprising me with more and more amazing things you make! So inspiring!!!
another wonderful creation. Lampshade fringing on the towel is a touch of genius! I have almost that exact same towel too! I'm not brave enough to turn it into a top but I do love using it-it clashes with everything in my kitchen but it's so cheery!! xxxxxxxxxx
that is a really awesome top. i love the fringes on the bottom, and love your bangles! love everything vintage, and your style is just amazing. enjoyed your posts, and i am now your newest follower on google. i would be honored if you connect with me, too! :) cheers from usa!
xoxo
jasmine
AdamAlexMommy
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