Meet Abby! She’s helping out with our Outreach Program until May 2022. We sat down for a quick Q+A to get to know her a little better. Where are you from, and what brings you to St. Louis? I just moved here from San Antonio, Texas, to go get my master’s in Art Therapy Counseling… Read more »

Green Neighbors is a quarterly Perennial outreach event that began in 2021 with hopes to grow and evolve. Each Green Neighbors event features a reuse craft, education on a local environmental justice topic through guest speakers and demonstrations, and food from a local vendor. The 4 part series is open to residents of Perennial’s surrounding… Read more »

During December we invite the women from our partner agencies to visit our ReUse Studio and Wood Shop at Perennial. We set up three different stations for crafting, so participants can create gifts for themselves and others. This year we made Wood Scrap Jewelry Hangers, Woven Coasters, and Bottle Cap Pins. Participants got to explore… Read more »

During November we showed the women at our partner agencies how to turn worn t-shirts into stylish neck ware! We taught them how to cut t-shirts to create many thin loops of fabric. Then we showed them how to use a “gathering knot” to bind all of their colorful loops together to create a one-of-a-kind… Read more »

During October we took worn and shrunken wool sweaters to our partner agencies and showed how to transform them into darling mug cozies! Participants had a lot of fun designing a cozy for their mug, water bottle, or travel mug. They learned how to sew buttons and some learned a few new decorative stitches. Materials… Read more »

During September we showed the women at our partner agencies how to reuse all types of different materials to make colorful and unique jewelry with a Fall theme! We taught our participants how to cut materials into simple shapes by using templates. Then we showed them how to punch holes and set eyelet grommets to… Read more »

In August we collected cut corks, scrap paper, wire, and small pieces of scrap wood from Perennial’s woodshop.  We brought hammers, nails, hand drills, screws and other tools and hardware to our partner agencies so we could teach our participants how to make fun and functional notepad/bulletin boards. After the women sanded their piece of… Read more »

In July, we added Macrame to our ever-growing list of skills we teach the women in our outreach program! Each month we pair a creative skill with a material that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill. This month, we taught our outreach partners how to tie a few simple knots over and over… Read more »

In June, we showed the women at our partner agencies how to turn a worn t-shirt into a fun and fashionable market bag! Using just a pair of scissors, we showed how to cut the sleeves and neck of the t-shirt to make handles for the bag. Then we showed how to cut the bottom… Read more »

Think twice before tossing your plastic bottle into the recycle bin: reuse it to start your garden seeds! In May, we taught the women at our partner agencies how to turn a plastic drink bottle into a self-watering seed or plant starter. We showed participants how to cut and punch holes in the bottle to… Read more »

In April we taught the women from our partner agencies how to create a simple woven bowl. First, we taught how to make a circle-shaped weaving loom out of cardboard.  Then we showed how to warp the loom with string then weave on the loom using colorful t-shirt yarn scraps. A participant form St. Pat’s… Read more »

The next time you sip your favorite drink from a can notice all the bright colors and shapes that are in the label design! In March, we taught the women in our outreach DIY workshops how to cut cans to make a flat sheet of aluminum that can be used to make all kinds of crafts. We… Read more »

There are so many ways you can reuse a t-shirt. One of our favorite ways to reuse t-shirts at Perennial is to cut it just so to create a ball of yarn. T-shirt yarn can be braided, crocheted, woven and knitted into just about anything! In February, we showed the women at our partner agencies… Read more »

The wood shop at Perennial has been busy! With all the the great woodworking classes offered and folks using the wood shop to create their own projects during Community Workshop, there has been a lot of scrap wood generated. For this month’s outreach project, we decided to gather up those little bits of wood to… Read more »

Our End of Year Celebration provides an opportunity for all of the women at our partner agencies to visit our space and create in the wood shop and re-use studio. We provide instruction and assistance for participants to make 3 different crafts they can keep or gift to others. This year our outreach women made… Read more »

During November,  the women at our partner agencies learned how to turn worn t-shirts and scrap fabric into little eye pillows filled with scented rice. The women learned how to machine and hand-sew the little pillows. They loved creating their own blends of essential oils to scent the rice they poured into their pillows. The… Read more »

During October, we showed the women from our partner agencies how to creatively reuse copper from the electrical cords of worn out electronic devices! Perennial’s teaching artists taught how to harvest copper wire from common household appliances. Then they taught how to use the copper wire to twist materials together to make earrings and pendants…. Read more »

At the end of September we started to prepare for chilly fall days by turning worn sweaters into versatile fingerless gloves. One of the women from Lydia’s House told us “I learned don’t rush your work.” A few women from the Bhutanese group from Bilingual International Assistant Services said making the gloves gave them fond memories… Read more »

In August, we celebrated the colors of Summer by creating fabulous fabric flowers! We showed the women at our partner agencies how to tear, twist, pin and glue scrap fabric to make cheerful floral pins, head bands, or belts. When we asked the participants what they took away from the workshop, a woman from Lydia’s… Read more »

In July, the women at our partner agencies learned how to re-assemble worn out children’s books into colorful mini personal notebooks. A participant from Center for Women in Transition told us that she learned that “crafts are fun and also how to give items a second life.”  A woman at St. Patrick’s Center told us… Read more »

During June, we gathered cardboard and yarn scraps and headed out to our partner agencies to show the women how to create tiny little weavings that can be worn as pendants. Perennial’s teaching artists taught participants how to create a simple weaving loom out of cardboard. Then, they showed how to warp the loom with… Read more »

Thanks to a great article about what we do at Perennial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last month, we ended up getting a ton of donations from great folks who wanted to see their unwanted objects transformed instead of taking up space in the landfill. We had quite a few frames donated, so we decided… Read more »

In April, we decided to brighten up a dreary, rainy day by transforming worn t-shirts, wire hangers, and wood scraps into cheery little floral displays! We taught the women at our partner agencies how to create pom-poms from t-shirt yarn. Then we showed them how to cut and bend wire hangers to create stems for… Read more »

During March we showed the women at our partner agencies how to create a handy sewing kit that can be taken anywhere! We talked about gathering simple items that are easy to find – like cardboard from cereal boxes, and fabric from worn clothing. We showed our participants how to put those materials together to… Read more »

In February, the women at our partner agencies learned how to use mandala making as a way to relax and self-soothe. First, participants learned how to use a hand drill to make holes for hanging their scrap wood pieces, and then used different grits of sandpaper to smooth their wood blocks. We mixed up several… Read more »