Thrift Store Refashion: A Fish Bowl Vase Update

Ah, the thrift store!  An upcyclers dream come true, junk piled upon junk.  One such piece of "junk" is a very common find....the fish bowl flower vase.  You know... the "throw away" type that florists send bouquets out in every day.  I made one over with a little bit of sisal rope, which coincidentally was also an upcycled find.  Check it out:

It's a pretty easy project to complete and requires only a bit of sisal rope, hot glue, paint and a button.  But just in case you're interested in seeing it done here's the video tutorial.

Here's another option, using a large soup can:

Happy upcycling!

Wordless Wednesday Featuring an Upcycled Surprise

My nine year old niece visited this weekend and brought with her and upcycled bird feeder that she very proud of.  I dare say I might have rubbed off on her a bit since the whole playing with trash is kinda "my thing" in the family.

While the engineering may not be an exact science on this one, the creativity is pretty awesome.  In her mind, when the bird lands on the spoon it acts as a funnel initiating a pour response filling the spoon with seed!  Cute, huh?

My Fabulous Fleamarket Finds

Today was the first day in a long time that I actually had a day off; well sort of.  It's not a normal full time day job work day and I didn't have a fair, festival or farmer's market so I kind of got to do what I wanted to do today.  After a beautiful morning swim, I hit a ton of yard sales and found some pretty cool stuff!

I am quickly learning that I have a little obsession with shutters.  I found these great little shutters that I plan to make a tabletop display out of them.

...found lots of great little containers for candle making, too.

And look at these pants!  There are some worn out spots but look at that gorilla, my favorite animal!  I think they'll make really cute bags or maybe a pillow.  Not sure, what do you think?

 
These old Christmas tree wooden "cranberries" have some pretty beat up sections but there are still tons of good beads for the takin'.

 How about you?  Any great flea market finds lately?

It's Newspaper Month!

 It's true, a whole month to celebrate newspaper!  A whole month to celebrate the knowledge gained from centuries of headlines.  A whole month to celebrate laughter generated from the reading of the "Sunday Funnies."  A whole month to celebrate the loss of millions of trees annually and the pollution generated from the production of said paper pulp. 

Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't believe in extremism to get an environmental message across.  I do believe in finding fun easy ways that anyone can take small actions to make improvements to their own environments.  So for the purposes of this blog, that's what I'll focus on.   

While the internet has promoted a huge decline in the number of print newspapers, I think some form of newspaper will be around for a long time to come.  Here are some fun ways to reuse the newspaper that lingers and in the process cut back on the products you consume that are made from virgin materials.

1.  Need a gift bag?  I used this video tutorial to make bags for my customers to take their purchases home in but the are also great for gift giving.  I did make one adjustment on the handles; instead of using rope try braiding strips of old grocery shopping bags.


2.  Newspaper even makes great wrapping paper.  Try the comics section of the Sunday paper for a little color.

3.  And who knew what beautiful jewelry newspaper could make?

4.  Roll up sheets of newspaper into small tubes and use them as seed starters.

5.  Compost it!

Do you do anything interesting with your extra newspapers?  Post below and share your ideas with everyone.

So Many Uses for Those Used Dryer Sheets!

For the times when line drying your clothes just won't do, it's likely that you toss a fabric softening sheet into the dryer along with your wet clothes.  When your clothes are all dry, you likely toss that used sheet into the trash (well except for the ones that stick to your clothes in somewhat obtrusive places).  What else are you going to do with it, right?  Believe it or not, there are a ton of options!

Here's a great list of things you can do with old dryer sheets to keep your home spic and span and smelling fabulous.  To that list, here are a couple of other crafty things you can make with them.

1.  Make a ghostly plant stake for Halloween.  Simply place a ball shaped bunch of batting (or, as in this case - dryer lint) and tie it off around a bamboo skewer. 

2. Handmade Mamas has another really cute ghost craft using gauze, but I think you could easily substitute a dryer sheet.

3.  Sew up a sachet for the lingerie drawer and toss in some dried up buds from the garden.  If you use scented dryer sheets you won't have to worry about adding your fragrant flower buds as the dryer sheet will still hold on to some of its own scent.  Add a little scrap of fabric and viola!

 

Do you reuse your dryer sheets?  Tell us how below in the comments!

Paper Beads Out of Just About Anything

A few months ago I started to experiment with making paper beads out of packaging material; from frozen food containers to feminine hygiene packaging, you name it I've tried it.  And it's created some really cool pieces, like this necklace made from a Tampax box.  However, I often found that the pieces of the cardboard would separate making the rolling process more of a challenge than I like.  I decided one day to stop fighting it and happy that I had because I ended up with a finished product that looked like this bracelet.

To achieve this sleeker look I had to peel the layers of the cardboard apart which means that I have a mass quantity of cardboard shreds sans color that I was going to have to chuck into the recycle bin.  I did not like this idea, so I came up with a better way to use those bland cardboard strips in my paper bead making endeavors.  Check out this two part tutorial on YouTube to see what I did.



First how to get your cardboard strips and roll those beads:

And now to add a little color and glaze those puppies:

Have fun and post below to tell me how you used your paper beads!

Soy Candles in an Upcycled Jar

As promised, I have part two of my tutorial for making soy candles in upcycled jars to share with you.  If you missed my recent post on all of the benefits of soy vs. other candle waxes or part one of this tutorial please be sure to take a look before you begin. And the disclaimer:  I am a crafter who loves to play with trash, I am not a expert candle maker so please do your research before attempting to make your own candles :)

When I first started to experiment with different ways to incorporate upcycling in the candle making process, this is what my set up looked liked: 

This make shift double boiler set up worked and is fine if you're making a few candles for yourself or friends. Each of the tin cans is intended to hold a different scent wax.  I've since ditched the double boiler setup and opted for the microwave.  SO much easier!  We'll still use the individual cans when it comes time to add scent, but the wax will be melted in a larger quantities in the microwave first.

Now that you've gathered all of your supplies listed in Part 1 of this tutorial we are ready to begin:

1.  Grab all of your upcycled containers and start attaching the wick/tab assembly (be sure to read the wick instructions for choosing the right size) to the inside of your containers.  You can use hot glue to do this or glue dots work pretty great, too! If you have a tall jar that is too narrow to reach inside to secure the wick, I found a wooden skewer works well.

2.  Start melting your wax:  Simply fill your glass measuring cup (you could use a glass bowl, however, the cup comes ready to pour without making a mess) and pop it in the microwave.  "Cook" it at 50% power at two minute intervals, stirring each time.  It usually only takes me 4-5 minutes to melt a completely packed 4 cup measure.  NOTE:  Do not be tempted to melt it quicker by microwaving on full power.  Soy has a low melting point and therefore flash point (the point at which your wax could ignite).  My soy wax is about 150 degrees when it comes out of the microwave, different sources quote the flash point between 395 and 500.

3.  If you don't intend to add scent to your candles, skip down to #5.  If you do plan to add essential oils you'll want to start dividing up your melted wax into your tin cans.  Keep in mind that you'll need to add 1 oz. of scent to each 16 oz of wax so measuring out by the pound might be easiest.  Fill enough cans for all the scents that you intend to use and let them cool.

4. When the wax cools to about 100/110 degrees add the essential oils.  You don't want to add it when your wax is too hot or it will burn off some of the oils and weaken the scent of your candles.

5. When your wax starts to look grainy (at about 95 degrees) start pouring the wax into your containers.  If your wicks haven't been pre-dipped in wax you'll need to center them and keep them from falling back into the melted wax.  Toothpicks and skewers work well for me:

6.  Now just wait for your candles to cool, I like to leave them overnight for safe measure.  If there are any imperfections in the tops of the candles you can heat it up with hair dryer and let it cool again.

7.  Clean up is a cinch with soy wax.  Just use some hot soapy water to clean everything out.  Just be sure to dump any large amounts of wax in the trash, don't pour it down the drain.  Then you can snip your wicks down to 1/4" - 1/2" and you're ready to enjoy! 

Upcycle This!

Tell me the truth....how often do you skip to the end of the saying reduce, reuse, recycle and forget all about the first two calls to action?  We are all guilty of it from time to time but I urge you to stop now and consider the benefits of reducing and reusing.  The economy is rough, right?  So the reducing part is a no-brainer.  But what about reusing?

I like to think of reusing a product as a subset of UPcycling.  Being able to shop at consignment stores, yard sales and the like is the easy way to reuse.  But taking it a step further to upcycling, repurposing a product or a piece of a product that is headed to the landfill, is just as good if not better.  Many even think that the inherent charm of these often unique and one of a kind pieces adds even more value to the finished product.  In fact, large companies are even jumping on the bandwagon and creating NEW products that mimic upcycled ones.  I have to say, all the charm is lost in these products using virgin materials. 

I love the story of the fifth grade girl who started her own business making bottle cap jewelry.  Check out the video to see how she got started upcycling. 

Now take a look at what I found in the craft store:

One of the items that I have really enjoyed making, if for no other reason than the reaction that I get from shoppers, are my light bulb bud bases:

 And now the eyesore in the craft store:

 

 

And I adore all the wonderfully artistic creations that the "zipper lady" makes out of previously used zippers  

  I guess big business loves them too, it's just too bad they use virgin materials!

How about these bunches of jersey knit material that I found in the craft store?

And on Etsy, the upcycled product:

You tell me, upcycled or brand spanking new?  I think I'll stick with Upcycled Stuff! :)

Five Other Uses for a Starbucks Cup

I know it's terrible, but my dirty little secret is (cue the scary music)...I have more disposable Starbucks cups than any one human should ever collect in a lifetime!  Of course, I've rectified the problem by now with reusable beverage containers.  But every now and again when I don't have my cup with me or I just have to have a VENTI when my reusable will only hold a grande, I add to my collection.  So what's a girl supposed to do with all those left over cups?  Here are five ways to upcycle those cold cups:

1.  Make a bird feeder. 
2.  Use them glues or to mix paints in.  They are great for crafting!
3.  Plant an herb or succulent garden.  You could even wrap scrap fabric around them and tie it in place with some raffia or hemp to jazz them up.
4.  Make a wreath for the mantle or the door.
5.  Make a canopy...Okay so you won't make much shade with the clear Starbucks cups but you'll start a conversation or two.

And don't forget:  If your local recycling program doesn't take #5 plastics you can collect them and deliver to your local Whole Foods, Target or other retailer with a collection box.  You can find your closest location on the Preserve website.  And now, you can go enjoy your favorite iced venti whatever with a little less guilt.

Wordless Wednesday Featuring a New Product From Soda Bottles

Soy vs. Other Candle Waxes

For the past several months I've been collecting glass jars from friends, family, strangers....just about anyone.  While I have some plans for all those clear jars, my mom gave me a bunch of really great brown jars that I can't do much with in the way of decorating.  So I had this wild and crazy idea that I would just throw together some candles.  I have never made candles before but I figured, "I'm crafty, how hard can it be?"   So I walked the isles of my local craft store and bought a bag of soy wax and then I did some research.  Yeah, I know that's a little backwards but I realized then that I had a lot to learn.

While I work out the kinks of this latest upcycling adventure I thought I should definitely share what I learned because what I learned convinced me to never BUY another candle.  I'll share my upcycled candle making tutorial another time.  For now please use the following information as guidance only.  Like I said, I've never made candles before now but was shocked by what I learned and thought others would benefit from it.  So without further ado...

There are some health benefits to soy versus other waxes such as paraffin, which is the most common type of candle wax.
1. Soy is a natural substance derived from the soy bean.  When a soy candle burns it burns clean.  Other waxes are likely petroleum based and release carcinogens into your home.  Need proof?  Take a look at the glass around any of the non-soy jar candles in your home.  See all the black stuff around the rim?  That is soot produced from the burning of petroleum.

2.  Often candlemakers are aware of the health benefits of soy and look to make all aspects of their candles healthier.  The wicks of non-soy candles often contain led or other metal cores.  On the other hand, soy wicks are likely made of cotton.  If you choose soy, be sure to pay attention to this detail.  There's no sense in burning led in your home when there are healthier alternatives.

3.  Soy wax has a low melting point so it doesn't need to get quite so hot in order to melt.  If you accidentally get it on you, either while you're making or burning candles, it won't burn your skin like paraffin would.

Some environmental benefits:
1. Soy beans are grown mostly in the United States so the environmental impact of shipping is reduced as opposed to other waxes that come from oil producing countries.

2.  Cleaner burning candles means less carcinogens in the air.

Better ingredients make better end products:
1.  Watch any of your non-soy candles burn and you'll see a hole burrow through the candle around the wick.  That's because you're burning just the wick.  In a soy candle when the wick burns it burns off the  candle; the wax. As a soy candle burns it leaves a beautiful wax pool that solidifies to a nearly even surface when the wick is extinguished instead of a hole in the center of the candle.

2.  While you may suffer a moment of sticker shock, in the long run soy will save you money.  Pure burning soy will last at least twice as long as a paraffin candle.

So there's what I learned.  Wish me luck, I have my first batch cooling!

The Upcycled Craft Closet

It's definitely been too long since my last post, but I've been busy preparing for it!  My collection of stuff to upcycle seemed to be taking over my entire home.  Since I not only craft from home but also have a full time job working from home I figured it was time to get it under control before I totally lost my mind.  I thought it would be fun to share my upcycled craft room/office/spare room with you. AND, I would love to hear the different ways you organize your craft spaces, so be sure to leave a comment.

After removing the closet doors in my spare bedroom I was able to start really organizing.  Here's what I ended up with:

It all started with a repurposed IKEA shelving unit that once served me beautifully in the living room of my last apartment.  After a few years of use and a cross country move, it definitely needed to find a more discrete use. So, into the closet it went!  While storing the lesser used item in the back of the closet, it's a perfect fit for my newspapers and magazines that will one day become paper beads and so much more.

As you can see, I have cats!  I put several litter buckets to good use; simply slapped on a label, filled 'em up, and neatly tucked them away.  Then when I'm ready to work on a particular type of project I just grab the right bucket and get to work.

Also on the shelf, you'll see some cookie tins that I have labeled and stored things like magazine pages and aluminum that I've already cut but not used in a project.  Those cookie tins were in my basement from the last tenant and they sat there for over a year.  I just couldn't toss them!  They were in pretty good shape but two of them were starting to show signs of rust. Here's the solution I came up, because you know I wasn't going to toss them:

Craft bond is my new best friend, I used it for a few things in this reorganization project.  Here, I took a plastic grocery shopping bag and cut it up to fit the inside of this cookie tin.  I sprayed some craft bond on about a third of the tin wall and attached part of the bag to it.  Then repeated the process until the entire inside was covered.  Now I can store my craft items without worrying about rust transfer.

If we zoom in a little closer, you'll see that I reused the hanging plastic, zippered packaging from some previously purchased bedding.  I stored all my jewelry making tools in one, small patterns that I cut from cereal boxes in another, fabric scraps in still another.  The fourth one is perfect for storing everything that I need for rolling my paper beads.  When I'm headed somewhere that I know I'll be able to get some made (hanging out at mom and dads, waiting on the vet who is NEVER on time, carpool line, etc), I grab the bag and go. They have a built in hanger and I had some empty space where I had removed the clothing bar to allow enough room for the shelving unit so I improvised!  I took some strips of plastic grocery bags and braided them.  This makes for a surprisingly strong rope!  I made a loop at each end and stretched it across half of the closet using the preexisting clothing bar hardware to hang it.  I love these bags!

 Once I was happy with the closet, I turned my focus to the desk area.  This is were I work during the day too so it has to accommodate two jobs.  So here is what I did:

The first thing I did was find the desk!  It was so cluttered over the past few weeks that I was actually working from the dining room table. Once I found it, I got rid of the tchotchkes.  Over the years, I have collected some really beautiful ceramic cup style pieces that were mostly gifts.  They always made it to my desk to hold things like paper clips and rubber bands.  I just knew that I would enjoy them there the most.  But it had become more of a hindrance to productivity so I found new places to enjoy them throughout my home and upcycled something a little more functional.

Using some scrapbooking paper and an empty hot chocolate container, Christmas light boxes and paper towel tubes I created these fun and CHEAP desk/wall organizers.  Those paper towel tubes (hanging on the bulletin board) really helped me get the little trinkets off my desk and house things that I use sometimes but not every day, like rubber bands.  To make these, simply find the appropriate container and spray with mounting glue. Then work your pre-cut paper around the container.  If you'd like to jazz them up and make them last a bit longer you could add a layer of Mod Podge and adorn with ribbons and other jewels.  Check out the desk top organizers in my Etsy store.

Hanging on the wall next to my paper towel tube organizers, I used more of that braided plastic to organize my ribbons and trims.  While my original intention was to just store it in such a way that I could see what I had, it turns out that this is also an easy way to dispense the ribbon.  It just rolls right off the spool when you're ready for it.

And, finally, I added a craft mat that I made from fused plastic bags.  I use a ton of glue and different adhesives with my work so I needed something easy to clean that would protect my work surface.  To stop my beads from rolling off the mat, I sewed down a trim to catch the li'l renegades.  I simply cut up the mesh that my clementines came in and attached it with a zig zag stitch.  Then I used some of that spray mount to add a cork round to the mat.  It is a great place to rest my hot glue gun and to punch my aluminum without poking holes in my desk.

I don't feel like I'm done, but I am in a much happier place and am at peace with my craft room/office/spare room.  I hope you'll find some inspiration to upcycle some organization for your little corner of crafter's heaven.  Don't forget to post your ideas below.

Celebrate National Wild Bird Feeding Month

It's that time of the year!  Food sources are scarce and your local birds are looking for food much harder than they do throughout the rest of the year.  During the month of February the National Bird Feeding Society encourages citizens to not only feed their feathered friends but to provide shelter and water to help them survive one of the most difficult months of the year.

What better way to celebrate this event than with an upcycled bird feeder that you can get the kids involved in too?  Here's a quick tutorial for a homemade bird feeder that will reuse some of that plastic headed to the trash or recycle bin.

For my feeder I chose to start with a grande sized Starbucks cup; always in constant supply and currently not recyclable in my community.  Keep in mind that you can use just about anything that you can get your scissors through (soda bottle, milk jug, etc.).  So be creative, rescue some plastic and some birds!  To get started, cut the vessel of your choice into strips.  Be sure leave a couple of inches at the bottom to form the bowl that will hold your bird seed, like this:

Once you've made your strips you'll bend each strip back individually and secure it to the bottom outer edge of the feeder bowl.  Be as creative as you'd like!  You can punch some small holes in the both the bowl and the strips then  thread through a length of raffia or twine or you can simply use a glue gun like I did:

If you use a glue gun you'll have to hold each piece in place until it is dry before moving on to the next.  Once all of your strips are secure you'll end up with something that looks like this:

Now you just need to feed two pieces of twine or other decorative string through two of the loops that are equal distances from each other:

Tie off the strings and fill the cup with bird seed that will attract your local wildlife:

...and hang it outside, preferable near a water and/or shelter souce.

These cute little feeders are so easy to make and you have so many different containers to choose from you could make a whole garden filled with them!  At least it'll add a little color to the brown (or even snow covered) winter garden in your yard.

Here's another version that you can make from an aluminum can pretty easily. This colorful bird feeder is made out of an Arizona Iced Tea can. I added some beads and decorative wire for the hanger.  Use your imagination and dream up some fun feeders.  Leave a comment and let me know how you designed yours!

Plastic Plastic Everywhere!

The very first true plastic, Bakelite, arrived on the scene over a hundred years ago and today it is everywhere!  It brings amazing benefits to our daily lives but at a high environmental cost.  While some plastics are recyclable, others are not.  So, in today's post we'll look at some alternative uses for the plastics that we consume on a daily basis.  While you are reading, be sure to keep in mind the verse Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  All to often, we head straight to the Recycle part and forget about the Reduce and Reuse part.  While recycling is a great alternative to the trash can it also has some economic and environmental costs associated with it.  Here are some ways that I reuse the plastics in my life and hope that you'll post other great ideas below.

In the opening photo, I've chosen some plastics that are not recyclable in my community.  We are a little behind the times with plastics #1 and #2 being the only types of plastic accepted at our local facility.  I have stacks of plastic food containers (typically #5) that I use for a variety purposes.  Once they have been cleaned they are ready to store leftovers, craft supplies and much more.  Most of these smooth plastics can even be written on with a dry erase marker to label whatever is stored inside.  And when you're ready to store something else just wipe it clean and relabel it.

Pill bottles make great storage for little items.  For the jewelry that I sell in my Etsy shop I make beads out of newspaper, magazines and plastic bags and I store them in these pill containers until I am ready to use them.  While I lack the patience and talent for it, some artists make beautiful art with them. Here are some beautifully beaded pill bottles. As with all of your reused plastic containers, you'll want to be sure to wash out those bottles very well.




Another really great bead (or any number of small items) storing container is this one. It had Ferrero Rocher chocolates in it and I've used the containers both with and without the insert.  The one shown has the insert and is used to group similar beads that I want to keep together.

 How is this for a fun, messy and upcycled kids craft?  My niece and I  worked on some papier mache projects together.  We obviously used newspaper and balloons for the form.  But she's a little older and we wanted to add a little sophistication.  To accomplish this we added a base to each piece.  For the small ones we used milk and soda caps and for the larger pieces of art we used the bottom of Starbucks cups.  Add a little papier mache over the plastic pieces and viola - upcycled decorative bowls that stand upright!

 My passion for "doing right by the earth" surely stems from my love of animals.  Anyone who visits my home can make no bones about that statement when they are greeted by 5 cats, a dog, a bird and a tortoise (all rescues)!  You can only imagine the kitty litter that I go through with 5 cats.  I buy one 35 pound container EVERY week!  I can never bring myself to get rid of those amazing containers and have found so many uses for them. I use them for everything from christmas cords and decorations storage to collecting garden scraps whilst pruning and weeding.

They make pretty awesome recycling containers as well.  Check out this recycling container with swagger in my Etsy shop.  I have a feeling there are more where that one came from!


Please post you're ideas for reusing or upcycling your plastic below!