Thursday, October 18, 2012

Up-Scaling Makes Me Feel Like a Hero!

There's something new going on at our Wyoming Rose Boutique.  Yes, we're still crocheting and crafting but we've added up-scaling to the mix as well.  Have you done any up-scaling that you'd recommend?

If you don't know what I am talking about, let me break it down to two simple steps.

1)     SHOP!  Maria and I aren't too excited to shop the usual way.  We aren't big on going to department stores to find our treasures.  What is the most fun is to shop thrift stores, keeping our eyes (and minds) open.  We really try to see items through our creative vision glasses.  OK, we don't have special glasses.  But we are developing an eye for potential.  We don't always know what we are searching for until we see it.  Things that catch my attention are classic styles or delicate remnants from the past.  Sometimes it is just a unique color or texture that I want to enhance.

2)     LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD!  This is the part that takes the most time.  I take one of our treasures back to my Rose Room and start experimenting.  I can't tell you how many different ideas I worked through on this golden purse, for example.  What I ended up doing is cutting out this piece of vintage lace and appliqueing it to the front of the purse.  The lace itself has some history.  My mother-in-law gave me some of her sewing things years ago (more than 30 years) and I still have some of it.  (Carol, do you recognize it?) This lace is one of my favorites as you just can't find any like it now.  Isn't it pretty?  It took this purse to a new level of of awesome.  But, I still felt like it needed something more.  I cut and twirled and tied and imagined for quite awhile before I realized this purse just needed some bling, so I made a bracelet for it.  I was really quite pleased with the result.  I like the mixture of antique and glamour, don't you?  We have it listed on our Wyoming Rose Boutique on Etsy.


I went kind of a different way with this classic red purse.  I wanted to keep it youthful and fun but it needed some personality.  I pawed through a lot of fabric before seeing how this bright apple print wanted to bring out the best of the red purse.  I put a lot of time into the process but the result was a cheerful, unique and spunky looking up-scaled bag.  What do you think of it?



I am pretty proud of this next one.  We found this chocolatey blazer and I knew right away that it was a candidate for up-scaling.  It was in excellent condition, soft and cozy - perfect for chilly days.  It already had some interesting lines.  Some of the vertical seams actually had encased elastic that gathered it up just enough to give it some drama, but it still wasn't really living up to its potential.  I took  it home and loved it up.  It had perfectly nice covered buttons but the brown on brown just went flat.  I replaced all the buttons with cool white ones that celebrated the fun of shape.  No more round boring buttons!  Then, I started experimenting with color.  I settled on a peachy cotton thread that had kind of a special smooth finish to it.  I hand-crocheted a lace that could peek out at the bottom of the sleeves.  I did not want to over do it but I still felt it needed a bit more.  I then used more of the fun thread to crochet a flower.  I centered the flower on a cut-out of more antique lace (thanks again to my mother-in-law) that was already a daisy-like design.  I centered another of the funky buttons for the center and sewed it all together.  When I attached it to the blazer, a star was born!  To see more detailed photos just click here.  

So, there you have it.  Go shopping and see if you get any fun ideas to upscale something.  I know that it made me feel rather heroic, as though I'd rescued something from boredom.  Have fun!

p.s.  Anyone who orders from Wyoming Rose Boutique can enter the secret code at check-out to receive a 10% discount.  The secret code is:  DISCOUNT 

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