Recycled Jeans - Tote Bags & Backpack (includes chocolate)

Being almost religiously cheap has it's advantages. Like the saved money... But it also has it's disadvantages. Like the piles. Piles of things that might come in handy. I have seen many cautionary tales lived out on this subject, but I couldn't part with the pile of jeans that my eleven year old boy had blown out the knees on without wearing out another inch of. Still a mystery...
But I've found that if you cut off the legs below the knee (gruesome no matter how you say it!), take out the middle seam and sew them at the raw edges you have a tube the perfect size for a tote bag! Add a bottom, handles and some pockets and you have a rugged grocery bag. Or you could put a bar of really yummy chocolate in the pocket and make a gift out of it!

So, you know that feeling of serenity that comes after creating something that you know you will wear, use, or enjoy gazing at hundreds of times from here on. I know you do. I had that feeling when I first made these earrings over three years ago. They're made from paper that my Mom had used to write me a card. Then, about two years ago, they broke because I'd worn them at least five times a week. Last week, two years, one baby, and many tries later, I fixed them! And I had that same feeling all over again. Aaaaah...