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!

Monster Mash! Easy Peasy Monster Halloween Costumes & Accessories

This year, I had the honor of collaborating with Opposite of Far for a monster themed Halloween photo shoot done by the lovely Qiana K! Opposite of Far launched her Monster Masks, which are fun, colorful, and when paired with basics from Primary.com & monster trick or treat totes or stuffies from my shop – make the cutest simplistic monster costumes ever!

Aren’t these little monsters the cutest you ever did see?! Hurry to place your monstrously awesome Halloween orders – it’s spooky how soon it will be here!

 

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!

What’s a Mon-stor? Plus Six Places to Use Them!

I’ve been making Mon-stors for 7 years now. I’ve made THOUSANDS of Mon-stors, and as vain as this sounds, they are probably my most favorite thing ever. I actually use them EVERY DAY in EVERY ROOM in my home! I’m definitely not someone who pushes a product I wouldn’t use – as a mom, not the maker, dude, these storage solutions are such space savers and so easy to get my son & the kids I baby sit to use! That is WHY I started making them all those years ago, when we lived in a tiny basement apartment. That’s why I’ve loved making them for so long & why I know other moms will enjoy them too – fun toy storage kids like using? Heck yeah!

As my audience has grown, I thought it would be fun to do a refresher for everyone who is new to Mon-stors! So I put together this post with some examples of their uses & lots of fun fan photos (to prove I’m not the only mom who loves these guys!).

Mon-stors are made entirely from textile discards (fabric that would otherwise end up in a landfill), so they’re sustainable storage solutions that are mega cute & fun for kids to use! I’m pretty sure you could find a purpose for one in any room of your home, whether you have kids or not! But here is six quick examples of Mon-stors in action, ready to gobble up messes and keep your home clutter free!

kid’s room

Laundry, toys, books, stuffed animals, dolls, costumes & blocks can be gobbled up by Mon-stors! They can hang from the door handle or bed frame, so even toddlers can have easy access to them, or they can be hung in the closet! Kids will love to “feed” their Mon-stor each night before – and parents will love that their children are actually enjoying picking up each night!

bathroom

No more wet towels or dirty clothes on the floor! Kids can “feed” their Mon-stor their laundry and then it’s easy  to haul the Mon-stor to the laundry room to empty! Small Mon-stors can also be filled with fresh shampoo, soap, towels and toiletries for house guests and hung in the bathroom as well to make entertaining overnight guests even easier!

hallway/mudroom/entryway

Use a Mon-stor to hold mittens, hats, scarves, umbrellas, jackets, bathing suits, outside toys or even shoes right on the back of the door – no more tripping on clutter on your way out in the mornings, plus all your outside gear is right by the door!

kitchen

I would say to hold plastic bags but I know you are going to go green & use this cutie to store your reusable bags instead, right? 😉

living room

No more losing the remote! You can also use them to store video games, controllers & charging cords, as well as coloring books and craft supplies so that they are easily accessible – and quick to put away! They are also great for storing diapers and wipes in the living room cause moms, let’s face it, we rarely venture all the way back into the nursery to the changing table to change every diaper, right?

car

They are great to contain small toy, books, DVDs, a change of clothes for the kids or diapers & wipes in Mon-stors to keep car clutter under control! They can also be used to keep bottled water and snacks hand during road trips, or bathing suits, sunscreen, bug spray and hats handy in the summer!

Where would you use a Mon-stor?

500 Monsters in 2016: End of January Progress Report!

I’ve decided to start posting my progress reports on Saturdays because the year ends on a Saturday, so woooooo! Here we are! I finished a lot of monsters this week and I am stoked to announce I’ve reached 10% of my goal in just one month! Yippie!!! Here is a mega photo gallery of the latest monsters that equal 50/500. Which is your favorite??

Check back next Saturday to see what my progress is! Any bets on how many you think I can get done this week??

500 Monsters in 2016 – Update!

So I totally failed at the weekly updates, oops! So here is my 3.5 week update, haha! Between custom ordered Mon-stors (get yours here!) and working on lots and lots of stuffies for a huge promo launching next week, I am up to 24/500 Monsters. Not where I want to be but I do have 20 stuffies and some Mon-stors on my table in various stages of production – waiting on tags so I can complete the majority of them! I’m at just about 5% of my goal which is no where near where I want to be right now, so here’s to the hustle! I’m hoping to get to 15% of my goal by the end of February. Wish me luck!

And for a visual update – a goody-goody gallery of monsters!

There is ONE surprise mini monster missing from this count because I didn’t photograph it before I sent it off to it’s new home. Oops! But other than that, there’s the cuties from this month!

I’ll post another update soon! (hopefully, in one week, lol!)