Tag Archives: upcycling

A shirt with three bug patches sewn onto it

DIY recycled denim patches

I’ve discovered a new project, a way to use all of the scraps of denim that I’ve been saving! If you remember these cute denim bags that I made, you may remember that I made my own patches to sew onto their flaps. This made me think…couldn’t I create my own patches for (and of) anything with this same method??

The answer, of course, is yes.

And after seeing a few inspirational photos on Pinterest, I had a ✨vision✨

BUGS.

(because I’m clearly still firmly in my bug era)

I thought it was kind of a nice synchronicity that I made these right around the time that Noah Kahn came out with his new album The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs. I really think some Noah fans should find and appreciate my work


These came out exactly how I imagined, but better.

If you don’t know how to sew, you can now buy these in my Etsy shop!

If you do know how to sew, and you’re interested in making some of your own, here’s how I did it.


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upcycled denim book bags

One of my YouTube subscribers (and repeat customer) threw out the idea for me to design a bag that he could toss a few books into; something simple to throw over his shoulder, made from upcycled denim, with a touch of birds (yes, this subscriber found me through Riley Mae’s beloved bird channel).

At this suggestion, my brain instantly went 💡

these bags look small and compact, but are big enough to comfortable fit an 11″x9″ notebook into, as well as a few books!


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january

I can’t believe that January is already over. I know it drags on endlessly for a lot of people (and I’m often one of those people), but it really seems like it was here and gone this year.

And not only did I succeed in making all twelve monthly wraps last year (you can find the whole playlist of them here), I started all over again for 2026. It’s too much fun to watch the changing year through them all!

I’m happy to report that winter has been very wintery here in New England. Multiple winter storms have arrived, and the last storm we got (Storm Fern) dropped a good 16″ inches on top of us. We now have snow-blown paths winding through the yard leading to all of our important destinations (the barn, the wood shed, the compost, the birdfeeders…).


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bird merch (launch day)

Exciting news: I’ve partnered up with Riley Mae and Mom to design some bird merch for Riley Mae’s YouTube channel, and yesterday we official launched it 🎉

I was excited to get to design some simple, straightforward birds that are now being printed on t-shirts, mugs, pins, hats, and more.

All of these designs were drawn directly from some of Riley Mae’s photographs, and then painted with black acrylic paint before I scanned them onto my computer and turned them into transparent PNG files that can easily be uploaded to all of our projects.

carolina wren, ruby-throated hummingbird, sanderling, blue jay, northern cardinal, northern flicker, turkey vulture


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