Category Archives:DIY

04
Mar

Spotted: Upcycled “Hunting Trophies”

Hunting Trophies from Old Bike Parts

I am not a fan of hunting. At all. Call me one of those hippie vegans, but I feel ill when I walk into a room and see the head of a dead animal on the wall. That's why I kind of love these awesome faux hunting trophies made from reclaimed bike parts!

Bicycle Parts Hunting Trophy

Austrian Artist Andreas Scheiger makes these trophies out of bicycle parts that he salvages and repurposes into beautiful pieces of art. All of his work focuses on the surreal, and I love that he's taken an artform that I find nauseating and made it playful and fun!

You can find these and the rest of Scheiger's work on his website.

Posted:   |   Categories: Andreas Scheiger, Concept+Design, crafty reuse, creative reuse, DIY, hunting trophies upcycling, Innovation
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28
Feb

5 DIY Home Decor Ideas Straight from Nature

5 DIY Home Decor Ideas Straight from Nature

Are you dreaming of spring like I am? Bring a little bit of the outdoors in with these simple home decor ideas made from natural materials.

Spring weather has been teasing us here in Atlanta. We've been oscillating between cold and gray and straight up shorts weather. If the weather can't make up its mind, at least we can bring a little bit of spring indoors with these DIY home decor ideas!

1. Flower Wall Garland

Collect some lovely wildflowers and string them up to dry. I love that this wall art changes over time from a fresh flower display to a dried flower wall hanging.

2. Driftwood Candelabra

Head to the river and collect a few pieces of driftwood for this simple, natural home decor piece.

driftwood candelabra

3. Tree Branch Lamp

Have winter storms downed some tree branches in your neighborhood? Grab a nice sturdy one and create rustic DIY lighting.

4. Branch and Birds Decor

Those longer, more delicate fallen branches are perfect for this branch and bird decor. This is almost an altar to spring, isn't it?

5. Tree Stump Card Holder

Display cards or photos using found wood with this simple tutorial.

Image Credits: photos by Bonnie Getchell & PS I Made This

Posted:   |   Categories: Craft Recycled, DIY, DIY home, home decor, home decor ideas, Home+Decor, Living, natural home decor
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28
Feb

5 DIY Home Decor Ideas Straight from Nature

5 DIY Home Decor Ideas Straight from Nature

Are you dreaming of spring like I am? Bring a little bit of the outdoors in with these simple home decor ideas made from natural materials.

Spring weather has been teasing us here in Atlanta. We've been oscillating between cold and gray and straight up shorts weather. If the weather can't make up its mind, at least we can bring a little bit of spring indoors with these DIY home decor ideas!

1. Flower Wall Garland

Collect some lovely wildflowers and string them up to dry. I love that this wall art changes over time from a fresh flower display to a dried flower wall hanging.

2. Driftwood Candelabra

Head to the river and collect a few pieces of driftwood for this simple, natural home decor piece.

driftwood candelabra

3. Tree Branch Lamp

Have winter storms downed some tree branches in your neighborhood? Grab a nice sturdy one and create rustic DIY lighting.

4. Branch and Birds Decor

Those longer, more delicate fallen branches are perfect for this branch and bird decor. This is almost an altar to spring, isn't it?

5. Tree Stump Card Holder

Display cards or photos using found wood with this simple tutorial.

Image Credits: photos by Bonnie Getchell & PS I Made This

Posted:   |   Categories: Craft Recycled, DIY, DIY home, home decor, home decor ideas, Home+Decor, Living, natural home decor
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25
Feb

Spotted: DIY Ladder Bookshelf

DIY_Ladder_Bookshelf

Got an old ladder hanging out in your basement? Have just a few too many books but not interested in buying shelves from IKEA? Well if you're like me and love to read but live in a city where space is limited, then this cheap and quick storage solution might be just right for you. Also, using reclaimed materials isn't just good for your wallet, it's good for the planet.

Naturally_Cre8tive_Ladder_Shelf

3 Suggestions for Upcycled Ladder Bookshelves 

1. Dandelion Express: A simple 5-step DIY guide to making your own ladder bookshelf, all you need is an old ladder and a few building materials (listed with instructions).

2. Old House Crazy: A couple from Atlanta provides an alternative option with deeper shelves. Check it out!

3. Pre-made Bookshelves from Naturally Cre8tive: This not-so-cheap corner-shelf option is great for our less handy readers who want to support the use of reclaimed materials and a small business. Hailing from Bangor, Maine, Naturally Cre8tive has a few different ladder shelving options for sale on their Etsy page. Check out their other goods as well!

Ladder_Bookshelf

 

Posted:   |   Categories: bookshelf, bookshelves, DIY, Home+Decor, ladder, reclaimed, reclaimed materials, upcycled, wood ladder bookshelf
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19
Feb

Spotted: Hidden Storage from Wood Pallets

Hidden Storage Pallets

Isn't hidden storage the best? You can have the appearance of tidiness while drawers, doors, and boxes hide the clutter that maybe you just haven't had a chance to get to yet.

I'm a big fan of those storage boxes that fit snugly into a bookshelf. We use them to store things that just don't look pretty, like board games, video game controllers, and workout gear. I'm also a fan of reclaimed pallet crafts, so you know I did a double-take for these sweet storage boxes made from old pallets.

The page doesn't provide a tutorial, but building boxes is pretty simple. I am betting that you could just add a side and scale down this raised garden bed tutorial to make your box. If so, here's all you need:

  • reclaimed wood pallet
  • drill
  • screws and drill bit for pre-drilling that screw size
  • rope or drawer pulls of your choice

To make your box:

1. Measure your space.

2. Use this tutorial to figure out the wood sizes that you'll need, then cut them.

3. Screw them together.

4. Add the hardware. If you want to do rope, just drill two holes, string the rope through, and tie knots on the inside, so they don't pull out.

Posted:   |   Categories: Craft Recycled, DIY, hidden storage, Home+Decor, how to make storage boxes, Living, pallet crafts, storage boxes
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13
Feb

Spotted: Upcycled Milk Jug Rings

Upcycled Milk Jug Rings

Do you buy milk or juice in a plastic jug? Instead of tossing the empty bottle in the recycle bin, clean it out and make these sweet upcycled milk jug rings instead!

Leslie at Pink Stripey Socks shares a fun tutorial for how to make upcycled milk jug rings. Her rings are based on a couple of other similar projects: one used reclaimed cardboard to make the rings and another used shrinky dinks. Leslie's project is an upcycled take that has a similar look to the shrinky dink version without using any new plastic. BOOM.

These rings are simple to make and a fun addition to your kid's dress-up box or your own costume jewelry stash!

craftRECYCLED logo

You only need a few simple tools and supplies to make your own cute plastic rings:

  • scissors
  • Exacto knife
  • scrap paper
  • pen or pencil
  • permanent marker
  • plastic milk or juice jug
  • cutting Mat
  • tape
  • Q-tip and nail polish remover (optional)

Got your supplies ready? Let's make some rings! Click here to see Leslie's complete tutorial.

Posted:   |   Categories: Craft Recycled, crafty reuse, creative reuse, DIY, milk jug crafts, upcycled milk jug
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11
Feb

Cork Crafts: The Wino Cork Board

Cork Crafts: Wine Cork Board

If you're a wine drinker, cork crafts are a great way to use those leftover stoppers instead of tossing them into the trash! This clever project uses hundreds of salvaged corks to make an awesome 3D cork board.

Allison at Reduce, Reuse, Redecorate shares how she made this epic wino cork board. It's almost a massively scaled-up version of our mini wine cork board, and I love the rustic look and practical functionality of this project! Allison did an awesome job making a sturdy board. She also lined up the corks to give her board a finished look.

craftRECYCLED logo

To make your own giant wino corkboard, you'll need:

  • wine corks - I tried to estimate how many corks Allison used. It took at least 400 corks, so ask your friends, family, and maybe a local bar to save up for you!
  • particle board or other reclaimed wood - Go with whatever you have on hand or can salvage.
  • hot glue or wood glue - Allison used hot glue, but I might opt for wood glue instead. That's what I used for that mini cork board, and it's still going strong four years later.

Ready to get crafty? Get the tutorial here!

Posted:   |   Categories: cork board, cork crafts, Craft Recycled, crafty reuse, creative reuse, DIY, wine cork crafts
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04
Feb

Green Cleaning: How to Make Infused Vinegar

Green Cleaning: Infused Vinegar

Do you love homemade green cleaning supplies but hate the smell of vinegar when you're done? Infusions to the rescue!

When I switched to making my own green cleaning supplies, my husband used to complain about the vinegar smell a lot. The smell fades within a few hours of cleaning, but if you're sensitive to the smell of vinegar like my husband is, that's kind of a long time. I started adding a few drops of essential oil to our vinegar-based cleaners, but Julie Finn at Crafting a Green World has a different take on vinegar cleaners that I thought you guys would like!

Disclosure: I work at CAGW with Julie and am sharing her project here because it is totally awesome.

Julie shares packaging and ingredients ideas to make your homespun green cleaning recipes smell and look as good as the store-bought variety! You can check out her instructions below!

DIY Home + Garden: Make Infused Vinegar for Cleaning (via http://craftingagreenworld.com)

If you make your own cleaning supplies, do you ever get jealous that you can’t have all those fancy-sounding, clean-smelling orange and lemon and pine cleaners? If you buy your cleaning supplies, don’t you wish that you were using products with…

Posted:   |   Categories: all purpose cleaner, DIY, DIY cleaner, green cleaning, infused vinegar
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30
Jan

Upcycled Denim Basket

Upcycled Denim Basket

An upcycled denim project that helps you organize your shelves? Yes, please!

I love using little bowls and baskets around the house to kind of wrangle some of the tiny clutter that seems to sneakily pile up on every surface. We have a bowl in our foyer to keep keys and sunglasses and baskets on our shelves to organize our kid's toys, video game controllers, and my craft supplies. This upcycled denim basket would be the perfect addition to my ecclectic organizational system!

The Renegade Seamstress created this tutorial to use as an Easter basket, but I could see it working well for my son's little sets of blocks or in an entryway to collect keys, wallets, and other random pocket items in a more organized way.

craftRECYCLED logo

Her tutorial is over at eHow, and you only need a few simple supplies:

  • upcycled denim - Old jeans work best for this project
  • fabric scissors - Cutting denim with dull scissors is no fun, and it's hard to cut a straight line without nice, sharp shears.
  • hot glue gun - A crafter's best friend!
  • ruler or tape measure

Got your supplies in order? Click here for the upcycled denim basket tutorial!

Posted:   |   Categories: Craft Recycled, denim crafts, DIY, Easter basket, Easter crafts, upcycled denim
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28
Jan

Upcycled Cardboard Pirate Ship will Blow Your Mind

We love a good upcycled cardboard project around here, and when I saw this pirate ship made from reclaimed cardboard boxes, I knew I had to share it with you guys!

A group of friends created this amazing ship for a Treasure Island-themed party last year. Now there is a party that I wish I had been at! They scoured their neighborhood for cardboard boxes and created this incredibly detailed, gorgeous upcycled cardboard ship as the centerpiece for their warehouse party.

Upcycled Cardboard Pirate Ship

The most amazing part about this project? It only took these guys five days to construct their upcycled cardboard pirate ship out of just reclaimed cardboard and copious amounts of hot glue. Five days!

Of course, the second most amazing thing is that they were able to find enough trashed cardboard to create this piece of art. This pirate ship speaks volumes about our throw-away culture, doesn't it?

h/t: Inhabitat

Posted:   |   Categories: crafty reuse, creative reuse, DIY, upcycled cardboard, upcycling
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