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!

What Mon-stors are Made From: Stop! It’s Snuggie Time!

Am I alone in thinking that Snuggies are absolutely fabulous, if quite impractical if you aren’t 6’5″? I think part of the reason I adore them so much is because I frequently get these in donations & find them at salvage centers and I can make sooooo many Mon-stor toy storage bags & stuffed monster toys from them! Today, I’m showing off a few from a recent upcycle of this beautiful blue Snuggie!

To make Mon-stors, I also use things like curtains, sheets, pajama pants, dresses or skirts for the lining. Here, I used this curtain that had a some stains from bleach splashing it.

I combined those two, to make this huge Mon-stor toy storage bag! (He’s still available in my shop, too!) My big toy storage bags fit a LOT of toys – 9 Build-a-Bear sized stuffed toys, almost an entire load of laundry, 11 pairs of jeans, or a butt load of MegaBlocks, haha! They are ideal toy storage for play rooms or kid’s rooms, or make great hampers for pre-teens! Smaller children especially love “feeding” their Mon-stor toys – it makes cleaning up fun!

Now, like I mentioned above, I can usually make a LOT from an adult sized Snuggie – here are two other Mon-stors I made! This one is lined with vintage fabric that was donated to me – it was going to get thrown into a box on the curb for the garbage man, and a friend scooped that box up & brought it to me instead!

This one is also lined with some vintage material – a table cloth another person’s grandmother was going to throw out, but they rescued and put in my hands! This small Mon-stor toy bag is also available in my shop!

I also made a few stuffed monster toys from this awesome, vibrant blue, but unfortunately it was right before The Big Crafty event I did in July in Asheville, so I sold a  lot of them before I snapped photos because of the pre-show chaos! I did snap this photo on the 4th of July, which has two of the four or five I made in it! I can’t remember exactly how many I was able to squish out of that Snuggie.

If I were pressed to say, I may say that Snuggies are my favorite textile discard to work with. Unfortunately, they were a “trend” item and a TON of people bought them during the hype… to later throw them into donation bins or worse, just into the trash bin. But due their popularity, I do receive them in donations or find them at salvage centers frequently, often in mostly usable condition. If they are stained or worn out in places, I just cut around the stains and use those bits for dicing into stuffing.

Saving the world – one monster at a time!

 

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’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: Week 1 Progress

My monster making goal for 2016 is to make at least 500 monsters total. Last year and the year before, I made just over 350 each year, so it’s quite the inflation from previous years – but also as my first year relying 100% on my monster making income to pay rent, bills and buy food, I felt like I definitely needed a much loftier goal. (Muchly much more loftier).

To hold myself accountable and visually record the process, I decided to upload photos each week of the year showing what I completed! Unfortunately, since this was the first week, not much to show besides a custom-ish monster (get your own here!) for Elva E. and a purple Mon-stor I’ll be listing in my shop next week.

That’s all for this week! Check back on the 14th to see how many more monsters I’ve made and how much closer I am to my goal!