"Pin"spiration - Denim Recycling

My "Pin"spirations are things I have found on or through Pinterest that inspired me to try something new, whether it's a new craft, a new project or a new recipe.

The Boy has a way of growing out of jeans faster than I can replace them. He has already sprouted a good 3 or four inches in the last year and now wears a size 16 slim (go out and see how difficult it is to find size 16 slim jeans). His older brother didn't wear size 16 pants until he was...well...16 years old!  I found myself with a huge pile of outgrown jeans ready for donating or crafting. I chose the second, though I really had no idea what I would do with them at the time. In enters Pinterest...

I found a cute tutorial for a girl's denim skirt made from an old pair of jeans from TeaRoseHome.

I had been on the lookout for a denim skirt for The Girl but never could find one I liked. Everything I found was either a miniskirt or a long pencil skirt. This one had possibilities. Since the skirt in the tutorial was for a girl considerably smaller than The Girl, I needed to tweek it a bit. I also chose to add a ruffled underskirt for additional length and frill.

I then turned one of the old jean pockets (and a few other scraps) into a little zippered bag for The Girl to use.

I plan to make a stencil from freezer paper and make a bleach print on the pocket of the bag.

Then I saw a photo of a denim patchwork pillow from GreenBearCub.com. That's all it was - a photo...no instructions. I decided to create my own using more of the leftover denim. I had a 12" pillow that needed a cover so I only did a 9-patch front. I also made an envelope back so I could easily remove the cover for washing. I'm hoping that with time, the fraying will increase. I've discovered that some jeans fray better than others. I think if I were to make another one, I would leave a smaller seam allowance between the patches, too.

I was doing great turning those jeans into new things! I wound up with several additional pockets. I thought they would be neat on a large quilt, but there were a LOT of pockets. A couple pockets on a quilt would be cool. Pockets everywhere would be overkill. Then I saw this:

Great ideas for a backyard barbecue from Lady Behind The Curtain

Ideas for a backyard barbecue from Lady Behind The Curtain. There were not only great decorating ideas, but recipes for your backyard barbecue as well! Fabulous! And as for the denim pockets? Problem solved. I trimmed down the pockets and placed them with the rest of my outdoor dining pieces.

I do have one other "pinspired" denim project I'm working on, but it is pretty labor intensive so that one will have to wait for another time...