Repurposed Vintage Sewing Tote
Do vintage fabrics just call to you, like they do to me? This happy floral caught my eye this spring at one of my favorite church sales {“Church Sales 101“, “For the Love and Comfort of Church Sales”}. No, I don’t really need to have a sewing/knitting tote with my “handwork” sitting on the floor next to my rocker, while I watch Hee Haw:) But I did want to use this fun, floral piece of yesteryear somehow! Let me show you what I added to this repurposed vintage sewing tote to give it a whole new life!
I not only fell in love with the bright, happy fabric, I loved the bakelite orange clasp. It’s like a little bit of jewelry tucked on the pretty wood. Obviously whoever last owned this sewing/knitting tote, still had some projects or mending in mind. Guess I just gained a needle and a pin for the $2.50 price; bonus!
I gave the wood a simple wipe down with some dish soap and the fabric a once over, too. Then I went and grabbed some late summer florals. I picked up the fun chartreuse palm the other day at Hobby Lobby and had the other “face” flowers in my stash. I simply chose warm colored flowers that would coordinate with the pretty floral to provide a late-summer vibe.
Next, I grabbed a couple of my red vintage books {“Decorating with Books 101 and Beyond”} that I knew I wouldn’t need for awhile. I wanted to stabilize and weight the arrangement, but not in a permanent way. I left a space in the middle for the long stem of the palm.
On top of the books I placed 2 squares of some foam, so I could stick the flower stems in. This is not going to be an arrangement I’ll have up all the time; I can easily rip this apart once the autumn decorating begins.
I plopped my new, bright green palm right in, sticking it’s long stem between the books and the styro. I like it already! But, I wanted a little more late summer color for it all to pop.
I stuck the sunflowers and gerber daisy stems into the styro so they wouldn’t flop around. Instant pop of late summer color for this vintage sewing tote! It would have looked cute for spring, too, if I would have remembered I had bought it! Am I the only one this happens to?
I think this floral accent looks totally Boho! What the heck is Boho, you say? It’s kind of the new rage in decorating right now, not that it’s that new…but it’s being talked about. A fellow blogger, Jessica, has a great explanation. She put words to the concept I had imagined in my head. Check out her, “10 Simple Ways to Add Boho Style to Your Home”. And then let me know if you think this re-purposed vintage sewing tote qualifies to be labeled “boho”.
Have you ever come across these vintage sewing/knitting foldable, fabric totes? They can be found in a variety of different fabrics from a span of eras. Instead of using or selling them for their intended purpose, why not add some pretty foliage and turn them into a great feature in your home decor? Whatever decorating style you choose, a repurposed vintage sewing tote is an easy DIY floral project, and can add some pretty texture to any corner of your home!
Sharing at these link parties:
Thanks for the love Lora! And yes that tote could definitely be labeled as boho, especially if you added a little macrame fringe to it!
Your welcome, Jessica. You did a such a great job explaining, I figured I didn’t need to recreate the wheel! I like the macrame fringe idea…
Lora, I have my late mom’s; hers is blue and purple. NEVER would have thought of using it for faux flowers—and I LOVE making floral arrangments in EVERYTHING! That green palm just picks up the color so nicely. Being of the frugal persuasion, I recycle my styrofoam intstead of using floral foam–for semipermanent arrangements, I glue Spanish moss on top as camouflage. Great project.
I’m sure you’ll be scrounging up some blue and purple florals then, Kathy! Glad I inspired a new arrangement:) I never make anything permanent for myself, because I switch everything around so quickly. I did when I was selling, though, because customers wanted their arrangements to stay intact! Happy creating!