Altered...

...but not exactly art LOL

As crafters we sometimes worry about acquiring too much clutter and I have to hold my hand up and say that apart from being stash obsessed I am also a hoarder - I don't like to let things go...

However, in an effort to cut down on the clutter we sometimes overlook potential.

This little case started life as a childs version of a picnic basket - you know the sort of thing...dolly size cups plates & napkins etc so that Dolly and friends can have a picnic or tea party. This wicker case was destined for the bin because the contents had been lost or broken. Mum saw it and knew that I liked baskets and stuff but to be honest...whilst I loved the case my first thought was "what am I going to do with that!". It could sit on the shelf in the sewing room and gather dust or I could actually do something with it.
So I did something with it...

Some leftover Christmas fabric and a bit of braid & wadding and the outside of the basket was covered - if I made another, I think I would spend a bit more time on the base and make it look a little more 'tidy'. Okay, so the outside was 'tarted-up' but what was it going to be used for - it was going to live in the sewing room so I made a sewing basket.
A piece of stiff card cut to fit inside the lid was covered with fabric and some elastic stitched in place to hold things like the tape-measure, a needle case, scissors, thread and yes...the dreaded thimble LOL There is just something in me that can not have a sewing basket/box without a thimble (even though I hate the things) it just wouldn't seem right.

I'm not sure what you call them but I think they have a specific name...a pin cushion that combines with a thread storage...I made a hexagonal one. I think I was paying more attention to getting the shape right and could have done with a bit more stuffing in there - never mind.

The base of the basket was lined with fabric and there are a couple of pockets round the sides to poke stuff into.

I was surprised just how much I could actually put in this little basket.

So "Waste not, Want not" is a good motto - the basket found a new purpose in life, I used up some bits of fabric/braid/wadding that would probably have sat in the drawer for ever & a day and I now have a cute, handy little sewing basket..........................result!!!!