Not Bad For A Pair Of Old Jeans

It's always a sad day when your favorite pair of jeans decide to give up on you.  I'm someone who finds a pair of jeans that I like and then I wear them every day until they start to fall apart.  When my latest pair of jeans decided to rip, I was about ready to find somewhere to recycle them.  But then I stopped and asked myself if I could use them for something else.  

I briefly looked at Pinterest for some inspiration and saw lots of clever ideas out there.  One idea that caught my eye was a tool belt.  Archer would love a tool belt!  I just cut around the waistband and back pockets.  The original waistband was obviously too big, so I trimmed off the excess and just cut a new button hole.  I didn't worry about finishing off the edges or anything.  

It was a hit with Archer!  He was so excited and couldn't get his tools in there fast enough.  He's worn it all morning and wouldn't take it off for rest time.  Not bad for a pair of old jeans!  

Of course I couldn't leave Lyla out.  I decided she would adore a purse, so I got to work piecing together the rest of my old jeans.  I didn't follow a tutorial or pattern; I just kept sewing random things together.  I used the denim from the legs to make the bulk of the purse and sewed on the little coin pocket to the front.  I braided some long strips together to make the handles.  Then I used some scraps of denim to make some cute flowers using this technique.      

While it's far from perfect and a little wonky, Lyla was delighted by it!  She told me it would be the perfect way to carry her night night (the blanket she sleeps with) so it wouldn't drag on the ground.  

Finally, I wanted to find something to do with all the leftover seams.  This idea caught my eye and I thought it would be perfect to use as a hot pad for hot pots and pans on the counter.  I only ended up with enough seams to make a coaster, but it still turned out pretty cute!  

Creating some new items for my kids was the perfect use of this rainy day!  And it was the perfect use of a pair of old jeans!  I really do enjoy doing crafts and putting my creativity to the test.  Doing these projects reminded me I need to make more time to do stuff like this.  It's important for Archer and Lyla to not only see me doing things I love, but to also model how to use our old items in new ways.   

I was also able to find another pair of my beloved jeans on Poshmark!  Poshmark is an online marketplace for secondhand items.  I found another pair of my exact jeans that had only been worn once and cost a fraction of what they would if I were to have bought them new!  Not too shabby.