Eco-Friendly Earth Day Giveaway!

Hello everyone! I decided to have another giveaway contest, featuring upcycled plastic bags in honor of Earth Day. The grand prize winner will receive a custom Plarn Button Bracelet, and three runners-up will each receive a custom Plarn Dish Doodad!

You can earn entries in the following ways:
1.) Become a follower of this blog
2.) Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/designsbymc
3.) Become a fan of my facebook page - www.facebook.com/designsbymisschris
4.) Heart my etsy shop - http://www.designsbymisschris.etsy.com/
5.) Heart your favorite item in my etsy shop, and tell me what it is!

Please leave a separate comment on this post for each of your entries. Be sure to put your email address in one of the posts, so I can contact you if you win! If you are already a follower/fan, don't despair - you still get entries for that. Winners will be chosen through http://www.random.org/ on Earth Day, April 22, 2011.

Thank you, and good luck!
~ miss chris

from the hands of miss chris

What have I been up to? Well, I've been making Ribbon Dish Doodads like crazy! Instead of going with random combinations, I hand-selected the bags to coordinate with the ribbons I have. Here are some of the results!

Sunbeam Bread Bag from Lancaster PA. This one makes me smile!

Gallery 141 bag - great colors for Valentine's Day! (Downtown Lancaster, PA.)



"go green" with a Dollar Tree bag from Harrisburg, PA.



Lose those winter blues, courtesy of Lowe's (grey) and Best Buy (blue), both from Lancaster, PA.

And last but not least, a little purple from Stop & Shop in West Springfield, MA. (thanks, mom!)

These and more are available for purchase in my Etsy shop - http://www.designsbymisschris.etsy.com

Want me to make some for you out of your OWN bags? Please let me know, because I would absolutely love to!  :)

happy creating,
~ miss chris

New item - Dishwashing Set!





What a pretty way to display some kitchen essentials! This set includes a bumpy dishcloth, flower dishcloth, and a scrubby plarn dish doodad in a striped green ceramic container.

The dishcloths are made with USA-grown cotton yarn, and are both my own original designs. They are yellow, green, and turquoise. The dish doodad is made with turquoise ribbon and a yellow Dollar General plastic shopping bag.

The dishcloths are machine washable and dryable, and the doodad can be sanitized in the top rack of your dishwasher. 

Perfect for a hostess gift or housewarming present. This set is available for purchase in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/65136321/dishwashing-set-hostess-housewarming 

Looking for a set in different colors? Email me, and I'll create a set just for you! designsbymisschris@gmail.com

 

New Upcycled Item - Vintage Skirt Purses!

The other day an idea popped into my head. Why not try making purses out of vintage wool skirts? They're already lined, and since I'm rather lazy when it comes to sewing, that was a bonus for me.

So I felted some skirts, cut and sewed them - and here are the results! They have pockets on the sides, perfect for your keys, cell phone, or anything you need easy access to. The flower decorations are actually brooches you can take off and wear by themselves, if you so desire.

I really like how they turned out. I have the purses available for purchase at Gallery 141 in lovely downtown Lancaster, and will be carrying them in my online shops soon. 

I would love to know what y'all think of them!

~ miss chris

© 2010 Christina Hofmann. All rights reserved.

Art in the Ballpark

Last Saturday I partcipated in Art in the Ballpark, a benefit fundraiser at Clipper Stadium here in Lancaster, PA. The event raised money for a the Antonio Forte Transplant Fund.

It was a beautiful day, in spite of how chilly it was when we set up at 6 am. :) And it was fun to fill up my tables with my new product lines.

Bracelets and hair clippies,

One table was almost completely filled with all my plarn creations.



dish doodads, a wallet, and even a market bag -



all made out of plastic shopping bags!



It's also fun having more color on my tables. I love seeing such bright colors. Don't the face scrubbies and cotton balls look cute in their mis-matched pyrex bowls?

 

Usually I hang scarves and market bags on the frame of my tent for some vertical visual interest. However, sincewe were set up in the baseball stadium concourse, I didn't have my tent. So I hung them on a drying rack instead. People can't seem to resist touching the scarves!





It was a great event for a worthy cause. Thank you to everyone who came out and gave us their support!

Another new creation from the mind of miss chris!

So, I've been having a blast making things out of plastic bags lately - bracelets, dish scrubbies, wallets, and hair clips. Today I ventured into a new realm: art with plastic bags!

I had an idea to try making a big flower with lots of petals, and I think it turned out really well! It has 18 curly petals, and a big gold button in the middle.

I think it would look great on the lapel of a coat or jacket. What do y'all think?

I made some holiday dish doodads too. Stop by my etsy shop and give them all some love!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/56887244/recycled-red-plarn-flower-brooch

http://www.etsy.com/listing/56848528/plarn-dish-doodads-christmas-holiday

My Recent Treasuries on Etsy

Several months ago, Etsy opened up one of the treasury sections for people to create lists anytime they want. This pleased me, since I never seemed to be able to be online at the right time to create one before.

Here are some lists I've created.

Clean up your act!

Lots of yummy soaps and related accessories

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c375d4fa90a6d9150c37b03/clean-up-your-act

Me and My Gang
Selections from fellow members of the wonderful EtsyFriends Team
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c31eb440a006d9183166f6f/me-and-my-gang

Better the 2nd Time Around

An eclectic collection of recycled, upcycled, and repurposed items

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bec7f9d58976d91bed8e5d3/better-the-2nd-time-around

Paper or Plastic?
Recycled paper and plastic creations
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bec842f2d6e8eef0e8154b3/paper-or-plastic





In case you can't tell, I had a blast putting these together! It's amazing what people can make by hand, don't you think?

Thank you to the following Etsy artisans who allowed me to feature their items in this post!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LilacAve
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sosorosey
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Trigo
http://www.etsy.com/shop/bellavioletta

~ miss chris