DIY Life

If you have older denim or blue jeans lying around, why not put them to good use instead of donating them or selling to a thrift store? Instead of hopping over to a local Kohl's or Pottery Barn for Kids outlet, you can make your own denim come alive again in several ways.

Some of the denim transformations will take a little skill, but think of how cool some of these items would be after turning that old pair of Levis into:

• Pot holders
• Quilts
• Backpacks or bags
• Purses
• Jackets
• Even dress that upcoming scarecrow!
  

There are so many uses to old denim that it's hard to list them all. When decorating a scarecrow for my Halloween display last year, I used patches of denim from standard blue jeans plus some old stonewashed jeans to create a jacket for that person made of hay. I'm not sure I'll venture down that road this year again (but I may go pumpkin crazy), but here's an idea that sounds weird (but can be very comfortable): make a sofa slipcover out of those old jeans! It may take some sewing skill to do this successfully, but the look is very unique -- especially if you use many different colors of jeans.