Recycled Gift Card Wall Hanging

Part of my materials stash consists

of discarded gift cards from a coffee house. 

Every day dozens of these used plastic

 gift cards end up in the garbage.

I saw it firsthand when I worked there, 

and also saw potential where others saw trash.

This is how my collection started, 

and I asked others to

collect them for me too. 

I thought of using them for a mosaic art piece, 

and may do that in the future. 

For now, this is my coffee

star wall hanging. 

I used a strong pair of scissors, some super glue, 

and a hidden loop of fish line in the back for a hanger. 

I do have a few collector

cards that I'm saving for a special

center piece that I can work my design around.

Cane Chair Redo

I picked up these two cane chairs at my favorite local thrift store for $3.49 a piece. 

Nice bargain, right?

Unfortunately, each chair had it's own issue with holes in the caning. 

I wonder how many people have these old 

damaged cane chairs stored away somewhere 

waiting to be fixed. 

I had no interest in getting them professionally re-caned (too expensive). 

Not only that, I wanted to challenge myself to see what I could come

up with in regard to repairing them myself. 

The seats are upholstered so nicely and professionally.

Had I attempted to re-cane them myself, 

I would've had to take the upholstery apart, 

which I dreaded doing. 

I brought out my DMC floss thinking I may somehow 

incorporate it into the fix, but changed my mind. 

I ended up weaving strips of cotton material 

(that I ripped apart, as opposed to cutting) 

through the caning.

When the weaving was complete, 

I strategically placed and sewed on two handmade fabric flowers.

Here's how this first chair redo turned out. 

Isn't it cute?

I still have some staining to do on parts of the wood that need some

extra attention due to wear, but this one is basically done. 

I'm still working on the second chair. 

It had a trickier issue, so I decided to tackle the easier fix first. 

I'll be sure to post an update of the second chair redo as well. 

Happy creating!