Inspiring Skulls

My Stepson Made This!

I've been making leather cell phone cases for the last few weeks. My 8-year-old stepson loves skulls and was my inspiration for putting them on some of the cases I have made. He LOVES them. Every time I show him my latest skull creation, he wants to keep it.

Today he made his own! He did such a great job, I'm super proud of him. This is only his second sewing project ever. I still have to guide him every step of the way and help with the more complicated sewing but he really did most of it on his own.

He sold this one to his papa for $15. I think that is like a million dollars to a kid. He went straight to amazon to find the Deadpool action figure he has been talking about for weeks. I have no idea what that is but apparently it is REALLY COOL.

We both used upcycled designer fabric that we picked up at FabMo to make our cases. That was another exciting outing for him. I took him to FabMo for the first time last week. He loved looking at all the fabrics, he scored some awesome leather and a sample of jeans that he made into a little tote bag. He now has his own little sewing area set up in the dinning room.

I don't think he will sew forever, but I do think it is an excellent way to get his brain thinking mechanically and to improve his dexterity. I have my fingers crossed that no one will tell him that sewing is for girls. Maybe he will inspire more boys to try it when he tells them he is making money with it!

He is taking orders if you want to purchase one of his creations. Only $20 each ($15 for the iPhone case and $5 for shipping) email us at upcycledbyash@gmail.com to place an order!

My skull and his side by side

My Skull iPhone Case

Upcycled Leather iPhone Case

Upcycled Leather iPhone Case

Felt Owl Inspiration

While browsing Pinterest for inspiration last week I came across a cute little felt owl iPhone case by lovahandmade, she and a handfull of other crafters sell them on etsy. I have been brainstorming on a cell phone case for a while, and looking for a great project for the leather I have from FabMo. My household has a pretty strong latino influence, suddenly a dia de los muertos skull idea formed in my head and it was raring to get out!

I'm really happy with the results! My favorite thing about these cases is that they are 100% upcycled. The leather is from FabMo, the fabric is either from FabMo or my scrap clothing collection and the rhinestones are from figure-skating costumes. I also played with some of the funky stitching options on my sewing machine for the first time.

The black case with the little butterfly is simpler on the front than the skull but I used some super cool metallic blue snakeskin print leather on the back to make a pocket for credit cards and/or money.

I, sadly, do not have an iPhone. I was convinced by the AT&T lady that I should switch to a Droid. I do love the huge screen on the Droid but that is about it. I miss my iPhone! I tried jamming my Droid into the second case I made, but it is actually sized for an iPhone (see picture above).

You can just see the cool flower stitching I tried out on the skull case,
it's at the top in the orange lining and through to the back of the case. 

Blue Metallic Leather Pocket on the Back