Clothes I've recylced

These are some more photos of clothes that I've created. Some of them are ones I have already posted but an effect I found on my camera make's them look cooler :) 

These are some clothes that I've altered slightly. I love playing around with different ideas and using second hand clothing is the most sustainable & affordable way to do that :) 

I also had a go and selling some of the items in a handmade store so that's why you can see tags (I called the label Framont Ave.) on some of them. 

These were originally a pair of mens Hard Yakka shorts. I cut and sewed them to turn them into a skirt and then added some blue lace to the bottom as the hem was a bit short. I decided it needed something a bit more exciting so sewed together a bow out of some gold scrap fabric and tied it to the centre belt loops. 

Vintage jacket of Mum's; I added a Mr. Men ribbon (that we had as kids) so the top of the jacket cab be tied together. 

A plain brown t-shirt from Grandma; I cut the neck opening to make it larger and sewed black lace to the edges and also shortened the sleeves as they were quite baggy and long. 
I originally ironed on a black Mickey Mouse image using transfer paper but it didn't stick very well so I peeled it off and sewed some tiger print fabric  (from an old shirt of Grandma's that I cut up) in its place. 

This is a black strapless dress that I had hardly worn and decided to give a slight makeover. I bought a mask from a cheap shop and really loved the attached peacock feathers but wasn't sure what I would do with them. When I decided to makeover this dress I cut the feathers off the mask and glued them onto brooch. Then I simply pinned the brooch to the dress. It would probably look great with a dark green belt around the waist to give it a bit more colour. 

I bought this skirt from Vinnies and sewed an old silver watch to the centre of the waistband to give it some unique bling.

My sister bought this dress but decided she wasn't going to wear it so passed it onto me. I just bought some fringing and sewed it onto the neckline. Later on I added some blue glitter fabric paint to the top of the fringing. I still think it needs something else though :s  Not entirely happy with it. 

A pair of jeans I bought but rarely wore because they were way too uncomfortable around my lower back (chronic lower back pain etc). I grabbed some light pink fabric paint and drew the Barbie logo on the bum :) 

Plain black Supre' skirt. I just sewed an old gold watch to the centre of the waistband. It looks like it's hanging off the skirt but as it's stretch material the watch pulls back and lyes flat across your stomach when you put the skirt on :) 

This is a pair of plain black skinny jeans (sorry the photo's a bit blurry) that I hardly wore, again because they were so tight that they just made my lower back pain 10 times worse. My sister was throwing out an old fake Louis Vuitton bag which had a very real looking lock and key attached to it. I attached both the lock and key to the belt loop. They can both be removed easily for washing purposes. 

This is a top I up-cycled years ago for an Australia Day/Hottest 100 party. On the front and back I sewed two Triple J logo's which I cut off a canvas bag that I was never going to use. I then sewed 3 pieces of white and red ribbon starting at each of the three drum sticks and leading to the back of the shirt. I zig- zagged and turned the ribbons back on themself to give a better effect. 

Things that happen when I have a flare up

Dear Blog,

I've noticed that there are particular things that I do when I have a pain flare up.

*Pain flare up: when my pain level rises to a higher level (say from a 3 to a 6) in a short amount of time as a result of doing something that aggravates my pain like sitting or standing for a long period, or lifting something heavy.


So when I had a flare up today after sitting for an hour at a meeting I had with the QUT clothing production service (yeaha!) I came home, went to the fridge and started looking for chocolate. Before realising that my pain was starting to rise I started zooming around the kitchen doing 10 things at once and thinking about the nutella toast I was going to make. 

After eating a spoon of Nutella and looking at the clock to see that it was 12noon and I should probably eat a healthy sandwhich instead of the rest of the Nutella jar I realised that what my body REALLY wanted was some anti inflammatory drugs to ease the nagging pain in my neck.

Why didn't I realise there was a nagging pain in my neck as soon as the nagging pain started?

Instead of thinking logically and taking deep breaths in and out and pouring a glass of milk so that I could take the painkillers my mind instead told me that I needed chocolate and to do things like make a cup of tea, unpack the dishwasher, write up my fashion label business plan and check my phone messages in a fast and efficient manner.

So I attempted to do each of these things and of course the pain just gradually built up and up until a little voice said "hey, your necks really sore, and your back probably is to! You should probably take some pain killers and just rest for a bit until they kick in. Then you'll be able to think clearly and logically." 

But why didn't I hear this voice until the pain was at such a level that I couldn't really focus on anything? 

Who knows. 

And luckily no one was around me when it happened because usually if there is they become the victim of a very irritable and short tempered Amy; which also tends to happen before I realise that I need to stop what I'm doing and stretch or use my heat pack. 

Why pain, why? 

Amy. 

Hey Blog

Hey Blog, 

I went resume dropping 2 days ago to a variety of retail clothing stores and belived it to be quite successful. Most places said that they were in fact looking for casual staff and two stores gave me an interview right on the spot! Cha ching. 

My employmnent consultant (let's call him Jim) actually contacted one of the stores (let's call it "David Roger") before I took my resume there as they had advertised a position on seek. So with Jim's intention of helping me to score a job (and meet his monthly KPI's) he spoke to the David Roger manager and did his best to sell me and explain my suitability for the job. The manager obviously liked what she heard and agreed with Jim that I should bring myself and my resume to the store that afternnon so that she could meet me in person. 

When I met the manager (lets call her Jane) she was very happy with my presentation, skills and personalitly and wanted me to meet with her manager right away so that I could get started as soon as possible. 

Jane called her manager (who was working at another store nearby) and told her all about me and my suitability for the position. When Jane got off the phone she expressed her manager's concern that I was coming from an employment agency and would mena that the store would have to pay the agency a fee to hire me. 

I explained that this wasn't the case as the service is associated with Centrelink and simply guides me in finding work but doesn't actually find the job for me, so there are no costs involved in hiring me. I tried to explain this as best I could without saying that the service is actually a Disability Employment Service that Centrelink had referred me to.

Jane then understood and said that unfortunatley her manager was carrying out stocktake so she couldn't meet with me that afternoon anyway. Jane said that the manager was doing some interviews in 2 days time and that I could meet with her for an interview at 3pm.

So last nigth I laid out my outfit all ready for todays interview. I then recived a call fro Jane at 12noon today telling me very apologetically that even though she knows there are no fees involved I can't be interviewd today because her manager doesn't want to hire someone that has come through an employment service. Jane said that her manager prefers that I apply throught he Seek advertisement like the other candidates and agin said sorry. 

Ooooooo K. I thanked her anyway and we said goodbye. 

I then lay in bed for a few extra hrs. 

So now to tell Jim that his best efforts kind of backfired and for me to go back to the job hunting board....when I find a reason to.

I guess as they say "when one door closes, another door opens." So with the number of doors that I have already seen close I must be getting closer to the last door on the planet that has hidden behind it an incredibly large house (with cleaners included), a miniature pony, a large block of land, 3 cars, a massage therapist and enough bedrooms for my closest friends, family and pets.

So I guess if I pull together the motivation to continue on this seemingly pointless (job finding) journey I will get closer to the bright blue door with the gold knocker. 

See you soon door ;) 

Amy x

Too tired to think of an interesting title

Dear Blogmeister, 

If i was aladdin and i had a blue genie i'd ask for these wishes today; stop my cramps, massage my back and neck and give me energy! 

I'm soooo tired and have cramps and can't stop eating chocolate. i had things planned today, like getting a massage but i was too tired to get out of bed and get myself there. my muscles neeeed to be massaged and thanks to being a woman i am just too exhausted at this time of the month to do the things i need to do. Eh. why must our bodies be so complicated. 

remember when you would run and jump and skateboard with ease? now you can't even get out of bed to get a massage! (WTF?) to relieve the knots in your back that are caused by your need to make me feel like i've carried out a 10000000km marathon triathlon weight lifting tournament that i didn't even get acknowledged for!!!!! 

anywho i am also over job hunting. 
i found a job that would have been suitable except that the 4hr training left me in pain for 2 days. woo. the training involved sitting at a desk watching slide shows and filling out forms. again WTF? 

this makes me think of 'your mumma' jokes..."your mumma's so inept she gets tired from blinking!"   it's funny cause it's basically true. 

well in light of struggling to find 15hrs of work per week (to meet my Centrelink requirements) that doesn't result in me having to take more pain killers and get more massages just to do the job, I can still use my imagination and eyes to be inspired by things that give me ideas for clothing designs, yay!  All I need to do is sit down (ahh fu*%ing sitting.....maybe somehow stand and draw..) and put all of my ideas into a practical clothing design.  And then pay someone to make the design which I can then sell to people who are as outgoing and excited about fun, colourful, quirky garments as I am :)  If I didn't need money to pay off my loan and buy food I would give them to everyone who liked them as a thoughtful gift for being a cool person (i.e you would be classified as cool because you like my designs :) 

Ok now I'm rambling and I can't remember the point of this post... 

Oh I also saw on A Current Affair last week (thanks to my lovely friend Claire for pointing it out to me) that there is a NEW AMAZING surgery that will ELIMINATE back pain FOREVER. 
I don't know how true that is. 
But the girl having the procedure is in a very similar situation to me. Can't sit or stand for long periods and has tried yoga, physio, pilates etc to no avail. 

BUT they didn't mention if she had tried Radiofrequency Neurotomies (which I've had 5 times until it was no longer effective) or Epidurals (which I have now had 2 but they're not as effective as the RF's were because I can't sit comfortably for more than 30 mins, and of course can't blink without needing a massage; exaggeration). 

Anyway she had a surgery which replaced one (or both, not sure) weakend discs with a metal object that works just like a disc. 
The surgery sounds great but I'd like to contact her and find out if her pain is still reduced and if she has had any side effects. The doctors contact details were posted on the website but not the girls. I would contact the Dr myself but that requires SITTING DOWN and scanning my MRI results and writing a long email detailing all of my past treatments etc. 

So if anyone know's a 20 yr old chick in Sydney named Annabel Barrett (spelling) send her my way and we can discuss this surgery. 

Ok time for a break from sitting. Why did I eat the last of my sisters Wonka chocolate last night?? I really want some now :( 

Bye Blogman x 


P.S If anybody reads this; apologies for the bad grammar and spelling mistakes. My body doesn't have the energy or patience to correct such things. 

Dear Bloggie

Dear Bloggie, 

I haven't used you in a very long time and only really set you up in the first place so that I could post pictures of my most favourite and inspiring fashion images. 

I have decided now though, to use you not only as a way to share the visually appealing items that make me feel enthusiastic, excited and happy about life; but to also use you to communicate how I manage my chronic neck and back pain each day and the progress and setbacks that I experience. 

Well I am now going to take a break from the computer as I have been sitting here for approx. 45 mins (using Facebook, checking my email and working out how to use a Blog again) and the pain is starting to set in despite having a heat pack sitting between me and the chair.  This could mean that my entries will be short, but that could be a good thing. 


Well until next time, see you soon Bloggie. 

Amy.