Transformation Tuesday: Pajama Top into Toy Storage!

I always think it is fun to showcase what Mon-stors Toy Storage Bags & my monster toys are made from! This week, I’m throwing back to a Mon-stor I made in January from this fun blue on blue zebra stripe pajama top I rescued from the salvage center.

It was discarded for some fraying hems, I think, but was in great condition! I cut the sleeves and hems off, and cut it open at all the seams, to turn that discarded top into this fun Small Mon-stor Toy Storage Bag!

All those board books in the floor? They fit neatly inside to tame the never ending slippery sea of baby books around the house – plus, toddlers love to “feed” their Mon-stor their books and take them back out, making reading time even more fun!

This Mon-stor is currently available for adoption in my shop, along with several other Small Mon-stor Toy Storage Bags!

Tell me: what would your kids feed to their Mon-stors? Books, blocks, toys, dress up clothes?

 

Transformation Tuesday – Pretty Pink Robe into Magical Unicorn Mon-stor Toy Storage Bag & more!

Last week, I snapped this hilarious shot of my son in this pink robe before I cut into it to make Mon-stors.

(sidenote: this photo is misleading. He only looks less than enthused because I interrupted a match of his video game, not because I asked him to model the robe – if you can’t tell by his hair, he loves the color pink & actually asked me if he could keep the robe!)

This was an adult size large robe that found it’s way to the salvage center because of a little spot of something sticky on it’s hem that washed right off after one round in the washing machine! I still have a bit of it left to turn into stuffed monsters, but my main upcycles from it were….

One – This pink haired small Mon-stor toy storage bag, where I used the front panel of the robe to add additional pocket storage to the Mon-stor.

And 2 – this unicorn themed Mon-stor, lined with a vintage wild animal sheet & also rocking the second pocket from the robe!

Here is a shot of the amazing vintage sheet I used in this one!

At the time of this posting, both Mon-stors are currently available in my monster shop! I will update this post when I use up the last bit of the robe to make stuffed monsters to show the full transition!

Where do Mon-stors come from? Tacky jammies!

For today’s magical transformation, I’m sharing this funky leopard print nightgown turned radical and adorable Mon-stor! Yup, I converted this discarded nightie…

Into this mega adorable Mon-stor toy storage bag! How cute is she?

This month, I have been hard at work turning other textile discards into cute monsters, and I am stoked to be turning my textile recycling efforts into a fun keepsake monster project launching soon, called Memory Monsters!

I still need to make a few more prototypes from various materials (Tee shirts! Receiving blankets! Sweaters!) before I am ready to launch, plus figure out what sizes of clothing I can feasibly turn into monsters (just in, newborn sized sleepers are too small to cut monsters from!). But be sure to follow along on Facebook or Instagram to check out the prototypes as I post them, and sign up for my newsletter to get an email when they launch, so you can send me your child’s special article of clothing or lovey blanket to be converted into a monster!

What Mon-stors are made of – how many monsters can I make from a robe?

It’s been a hot minute since I did a transformation post! I’ve been stockpiling before and after images but with baby on the way, sewing non-stop, babysitting 2-4 days a week… I just haven’t had it in me to sit down and work on blog posts. But this morning baby Z woke me up around 5am so I thought I’d get some blogging done!

So, today I’m sharing my latest transformation! From salvaged robe into…

A big AND a small Mon-stor! Oh, and…

A trick or treat tote/library book bag! AND!

Two mini stuffed monsters!

I was actually really surprised with how many monsters I was able to make from this one robe! Generally there’s some stitching, stains or holes that get in the way but this one was perfection!

I used the smallest scraps from it to make horns and features for other monsters, too.

Keeping textiles & scraps from monster production out of landfills is a challenge, certainly more work than just heading to the craft store and buying fabric off the bolt – but it’s so much more sustainable and rewarding to give new life to textiles! Saving the world, one monster at a time!

All of these cuties are currently listed for sale in my monster shop – since I do only use upcycled textile discards, that means each monster is one of a kind – so pop over and snag one before they’re gone!

Transformation Tuesday – From Baby Sweater in Sweet Baby Monsters!

I haven’t done a Transformation Tuesday in a while and just had to share this awesome upcycle – from this cute baby sweater…

Into this cute medium stuffed monster with with so much sass I can barely handle it!

And this sweet baby mini monster!

Plus the scraps from it made appearances on other stuffies, like the horns on this cutie here.

And can you believe all of THAT came out of a size 6-9 month baby sweater?!  Even though I’ve been doing this for six years now, it still amazes me how many monsters can be made from textile discards sometimes!

All this week I am working like crazy on making Small Mon-stors like this cutie – because they make awesome stockings, and I’d love to have some up in time for the holidays! If you want to get your hands on one, please be sure to visit my shop & sign up for email notifications. I always send out alerts of new listings there first but this time I am doing something a little different, and all the details will be released there next week – I anticipate this batch to go super fast!

 

She turns pajamas into….

This is another post from the archives as all my current Transformation Tuesday projects aren’t quite done yet (coming soon, what I can make from a twin sized fleece sheet).

Anyway, this behind the scenes look into Mon-stor making is from just last year right around this time. It shows a peek into some of my favorite materials to turn into Mon-stors – pajamas! Plus this in particular is some of my favorite materials ever that I paired together – such a fun combo!

If you have any gently used jammies you are no longer using, feel free to send them my way! I comp materials by returning a mini monster made from the materials sent! Email cody@luanded.com for more info & eligibility requirements.

From blanket to…

Happy Tuesday! Welcome to another Transformation Tuesday, the day where I show you a peek behind the scenes into my eco-monster-making process! Today I’m sharing what I made from this thrift store find blanket!

It was apparently gifted to a newborn baby named Sarah in 1993 – I wonder where Sarah is today? I wonder who made this blanket for her? It’s wild to think about the history behind some of the materials I use to turn into Mon-stors!

Now, before you scroll any further, guess what I made from that blanket. One Mon-stor? Twelve stuffed monsters? Some Mon-stor tote bags?

Got your number/product in mind?

Okay, scroll down & prepare to be wowed!

One big Mon-stor, one small Mon-stor & a medium sized stuffed monster! And since I strive to make sure there is no landfill waste from the production of Mon-stors, all of the scraps I had left over that were too small to turn into monster horns or use for mouths on stuffed monsters,  I diced to blend with polyfil for stuffing. Cause don’t you know, I’m trying to save the world here. One monster at a time.

Banner by Everglow Handmade – click to view her shop!