Category Archives:upcycling

04
Jun

Spotted: DIY Bling from Old Magazines!

craftRECYCLED logo

recycled jewelry

Can you believe that this beautiful costume jewelry is made from upcycled magazine pages?

Crafty superstar Mark Montano shared a super awesome video tutorial on how to make your very own 80s-inspired upcycled jewelry from old magazine or catalog pages. You need a few simple jewelry supplies to make your own, so check the materials list below before you get started!

This tutorial makes a whole set of DIY jewelery. To make the complete set, you'll need:

  • an old magazine or catalog and scissors to cut it up
  • needle nose pliers
  • spray paint - spray paint can be nasty stuff, but you can choose Krylon H2o, which is a little bit better. I couldn't find the H2O in gold, but I think that white would look really nice, and still keep that 80s feel.
  • flat-backed beads - Dont' want to buy new? Salvage these from thrift store jewelry!
  • E-6000 - this glue is far from green, but it is durable, which means your finished product will last.
  • earring backings, ring findings, and a blank metal cuff - you can salvage these from thrifted jewelry, too!
  • white glue

Ready to get crafting? Here's the video tutorial!

Posted:   |   Categories: Clothes+Accessories, Craft Recycled, DIY, DIY jewelry, Living, magazine page crafts, paper crafts, reuse, upcycled jewelry, upcycling
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07
May

Mother’s Day Gift Idea: Blue Ribbon Brooch

craftRECYCLED logomothers day gift idea

Mother's Day is on May 12 this year, so if you want to get crafty for mom, you've only got a few days left!

This Sunday is all about making mom feel special, and what says special better than a sweet blue ribbon that you made yourself? Bonnie over at Crafting a Green World used a page from a reclaimed book to create a super cute blue ribbon brooch for her momma, and she shared a tutorial so that you can make one for your mom, too!

What I love about this project is that not only is it totally adorable, it won't take you too long to make. Perfect for us procrastinating children, right?

mothers day gift idea

It only takes a few materials to make an upcycled Mother's Day brooch of your own:

  • an old book
  • scissors
  • white glue
  • hot glue
  • crayons and markers
  • brooch pin - the sort with a flat back

Ready to whip up a blue ribbon brooch for Mother's Day? Click here for the tutorial!

Image Credits: Creative Commons photos by Bonnie Getchell

Posted:   |   Categories: book page craft, Craft Recycled, DIY, DIY blue ribbon, Mother's Day, Mother's Day gift, Mother's Day gift idea, reuse, upcycling
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30
Apr

Spotted: Wine Cork Pendants

craftRECYCLED logoWine Cork Pendants

Check out these beautiful pendants made from reclaimed wine corks!

We love crafting with wine corks around here. That humble little cork in your bottle of vino has so many crafty possibilities! Whether your bottle has a plastic or a natural cork, it's worth collecting those suckers in a little bowl, because both make great, free craft supplies. The bonus? When you craft with your old wine corks, you're keeping that material out of the waste stream.

wine cork pendants

Over on the Fiskars blog, Lisa Storms shares a tutorial for making some super sweet wine cork pendants. You only need a few materials to make your own:

  • A sharp knife - I've found that a serrated blade is best for cutting cork
  • Paint
  • Paint brush
  • Stamps
  • a 5mm eye screw

You probably have most of these supplies laying around the house! Ready to make your own wine cork pendants? Click here for the complete tutorial!

Posted:   |   Categories: Clothes+Accessories, cork crafts, Craft Recycled, DIY, Living, reuse, upcycling, wine cork crafts, wine cork pendants, wine corks
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30
Apr

Spotted: Wine Cork Pendants

craftRECYCLED logoWine Cork Pendants

Check out these beautiful pendants made from reclaimed wine corks!

We love crafting with wine corks around here. That humble little cork in your bottle of vino has so many crafty possibilities! Whether your bottle has a plastic or a natural cork, it's worth collecting those suckers in a little bowl, because both make great, free craft supplies. The bonus? When you craft with your old wine corks, you're keeping that material out of the waste stream.

wine cork pendants

Over on the Fiskars blog, Lisa Storms shares a tutorial for making some super sweet wine cork pendants. You only need a few materials to make your own:

  • A sharp knife - I've found that a serrated blade is best for cutting cork
  • Paint
  • Paint brush
  • Stamps
  • a 5mm eye screw

You probably have most of these supplies laying around the house! Ready to make your own wine cork pendants? Click here for the complete tutorial!

Posted:   |   Categories: Clothes+Accessories, cork crafts, Craft Recycled, DIY, DIY pendant, Living, reuse, upcycling, wine cork crafts, wine cork pendants, wine corks
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26
Apr

5 Ways to Reuse Cereal Boxes and Organize Your Life!

craftRECYCLED logo

Cereal Box Crafts Magazine Organizer
[This magazine rack is made from recycled cereal boxes!]

Feeling guilty about the cereal boxes in your recycle bin? Pull 'em out and try some of these upcycled projects to give them a new life!

Recycling is great, but reuse is always better! Cardboard recycling is pretty efficient, as recycling goes, but it still takes energy to turn old cardboard into new paper products, and transporting cardboard from your home to the recycle center produces carbon emissions, too.

Boxes are a natural pick for storage, right? When I was researching some ideas for cereal boxes, I noticed that so many of them were organization-related! Next time you polish off a box of cereal, save the box for one of these home organization cardboard crafts!

1. Magazine Rack - Do you have magazines all over your house? Tidy those suckers up with a cereal box magazine rack!

2. Expandable File Folder - Get organized! Check out how to turn an old cereal box into a chic way to store your files.

upcycled mini album

3. Mini Album - Get your photos all in order with an upcycled album.

4. Fabric Storage Baskets - Cover old cereal boxes in fabric to make boxes for all kinds of organizing needs!

5. Closet Organizer - Tame a messy closet with the power of upcycled cereal boxes!

Have you guys made anything fun with reclaimed cereal boxes lately? Share your ideas in the comments!

Posted:   |   Categories: cereal box crafts, Craft Recycled, crafty reuse, creative reuse, DIY, Home+Decor, Living, reuse, upcycling
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24
Apr

Spotted: Mini Photo Album from Recycled Cardboard

upcycled mini album

Turn reclaimed cardboard into a DIY mini photo album!

That light cardboard from old cereal boxes, frozen pizza boxes, or six packs is endlessly useful for crafting. It's sturdy, easy to cut, and flexible enough to use in all kinds of projects from gift boxes to sweet little toys. Over at Dollar Store Crafts, Rhonda shares another awesome craft you can make from reclaimed light cardboard: a mini photo album!

Rhonda uses new wrapping paper to decorate her photo album, but you could really use any kind of pretty paper you like. Maybe you are like me and save pretty wrapping paper from gifts that folks give you? You could also use recycled scrapbook paper or even the insides of  junk mail envelopes to cover your album. Oh, the upcycling possibilities!

To make your album, you will need:

  • Reclaimed cardboard - old cereal boxes will work best
  • Reclaimed or recycled paper
  • Mod Podge
  • A brayer - this is a rolly tool that will help you cover the cardboard in paper without ripples and lumps. A rolling pin will work in a pinch!

Ready to make your own upcycled mini album? Get the tutorial here!

Posted:   |   Categories: cardboard crafts, cereal box crafts, crafty reuse, creative reuse, DIY, DIY photo album, upcycling
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07
Mar

Craft Recycled: Your Spring Garden

craftRECYCLED logo

vertical garden shoe planters

Spring is so close that I can smell it! It's just about time to start planting those spring crops, and now is also the perfect time to add a few upcycled touches to your spring garden. Here are a few ideas to get you going!

1.  Boot Planters

Going vertical is a great way to grow more in less space. Hit the thrift store and find some old rain boots to create these sweet, upcycled hanging planters.

2. Reclaimed Raised Bed

Raised beds are great for keeping weeds and pests at bay and in areas where the soil quality might be on the poor side. Instead of using new lumber, check out this upcycled garden bed using reclaimed wood instead.

wine box container garden

3. Wine Box Containers

For smaller plants, like herbs, you can use old wine boxes to create beautiful, upcycled planters.

4. Bike Wheel Trellis

Gather up some old bike wheels and create a beautiful, upcycled trellis for your climbing plants, like beans!

5. Wine Cork Plant Markers

You think you will remember what you planted where, but there's always those one or two plants that slip through the cracks when you don't write things down. Grab some wine corks from your stash to make sweet, upcycled plant markers and never guess at your garden's layout again!

Are you adding any upcycled touches to your garden? I'd love to hear what you're planting and how you're designing your space in the comments!

Posted:   |   Categories: Craft Recycled, DIY, Gardening, Living, reuse, spring garden, upcycled garden, upcycling, Yard+Garden
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06
Mar

Tutorial: Turn an Old Playpen into a Laundry Sorter

by Cristin Frank, author of Living Simple, Free & Happy: How to Simplify, Declutter Your Home, and Reduce Stress, Debt & Waste

EORlaundry_after

Hi Green Upgrader readers! I'm Cristin from Eve of Reduction and I'm thrilled to announce that my debut DIY book, Living Simple, Free and Happy is now available for purchase on Amazon!

This guest post is one stop on my virtual book tour. This means, if you go to the book tour page and leave a comment, you can win a copy of the book (mailed to US residents, digital copy if winner lives outside the US). If you go ahead and purchase a copy (thank you!), please leave a review on Amazon and let me know on the landing page of my blog tour, you will be entered to win a free, online upcycling consultation with me, Cristin Frank.

And with that announcement I want to share an upcycling project that will help organize and simplify your life: upcycling an obsolete playpen into a lights and brights laundry sorter.

EORplaypen_before

Anyone born before 1980 will probably recognize this wooden playpen from pictures of their toddler years - or the movie Back to the Future. Yeah, no one wants these any more. Well, except me...and maybe you by the end of this tutorial.

A neighbor of mine was getting rid of this playpen, so I took it off her hands before it became landfill fodder. I put it down in my basement and the next time I went down there, I was like, "What's that awful smell!" Yikes, this thing smelled so musty, to the point of reeking. The good news was, I was planning on hacking it up, which meant it would be in small enough pieces that I could seal it in a large black garbage bag with some kitty litter. The clay litter absorbs moisture and smells wonderfully and can save many old, musty pieces like suitcases, too.

I cut up the playpen into 8 sections so that they could be reassembled as two, four-sided laundry sorters.

You'll notice that I'm making 2 structures, each with 4 legs, but there are only 4 casters. To remedy this, I positioned two casters as the back legs, then repurposed a crib spindle to use as the front legs of the laundry sorters.

Because there were so many cut edges, and now the miss-matched wood from the crib spindles, I painted the laundry sorters to bring it all together.

Next, I reused a fitted sheet to make the laundry bags. This worked out great because I reused the fabric and elastic, plus the casing for the elastic was already sewn.

Click here to get the sewing pattern for the laundry bags.

The last detail was adding a bottom onto the sorters. I fully intended to cut up the original particle board bottom that came with the playpen, but the sorters left a very tiny ledge for them to rest on the inside and from underneath, I'd have to cut around the added front legs. I decided it would be easiest to simply use the remnants of the fitted bed sheet to tack down a fabric bottom. The fabric was really easy to work with.

If you like DIY projects that are easy, inexpensive, reduce waste and add beauty and function to your home, please check out Living Simple, Free and Happy on Amazon. It is also available at bookstores, home improvement stores and craft stores nation-wide.

Living Simple, Free, & Happy Book CoverThe book includes 10 upcycling tutorials that take easy to find furniture items and transforms them into customizable, organizational solutions from your home.

What else do you get?

  • Simple techniques that eliminate clutter and keep it from returning
  • A personalized plan to help you reclaim your time
  • Practical (and profitable) ways to sell unused items in your home
  • Tips to eliminate debt and curb consumption
  • Dozens of exercises that help you identify and honor your talents, values, and goals

Please remember to leave a comment on my blog tour page to be entered to win a copy of Living Simple, Free & Happy. There you also see my blog tour schedule and can check in to learn more about upcycling, simple living, decluttering and writing a book.

Please know that I look forward to reading each and every comment, and Becky, thank you so much for being a gracious book tour hostess!

Posted:   |   Categories: Books, craft books, Craft Recycled, crafting books, crafty reuse, creative reuse, DIY, DIY laundry sorter, Living, reuse, upcycling, upcycling books
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06
Mar

Tutorial: Turn an Old Playpen into a Launry Sorter

by Cristin Frank, author of Living Simple, Free & Happy: How to Simplify, Declutter Your Home, and Reduce Stress, Debt & Waste

EORlaundry_after

Hi Green Upgrader readers! I'm Cristin from Eve of Reduction and I'm thrilled to announce that my debut DIY book, Living Simple, Free and Happy is now available for purchase on Amazon!

This guest post is one stop on my virtual book tour. This means, if you go to the book tour page and leave a comment, you can win a copy of the book (mailed to US residents, digital copy if winner lives outside the US). If you go ahead and purchase a copy (thank you!), please leave a review on Amazon and let me know on the landing page of my blog tour, you will be entered to win a free, online upcycling consultation with me, Cristin Frank.

And with that announcement I want to share an upcycling project that will help organize and simplify your life: upcycling an obsolete playpen into a lights and brights laundry sorter.

EORplaypen_before

Anyone born before 1980 will probably recognize this wooden playpen from pictures of their toddler years - or the movie Back to the Future. Yeah, no one wants these any more. Well, except me...and maybe you by the end of this tutorial.

A neighbor of mine was getting rid of this playpen, so I took it off her hands before it became landfill fodder. I put it down in my basement and the next time I went down there, I was like, "What's that awful smell!" Yikes, this thing smelled so musty, to the point of reeking. The good news was, I was planning on hacking it up, which meant it would be in small enough pieces that I could seal it in a large black garbage bag with some kitty litter. The clay litter absorbs moisture and smells wonderfully and can save many old, musty pieces like suitcases, too.

I cut up the playpen into 8 sections so that they could be reassembled as two, four-sided laundry sorters.

You'll notice that I'm making 2 structures, each with 4 legs, but there are only 4 casters. To remedy this, I positioned two casters as the back legs, then repurposed a crib spindle to use as the front legs of the laundry sorters.

Because there were so many cut edges, and now the miss-matched wood from the crib spindles, I painted the laundry sorters to bring it all together.

Next, I reused a fitted sheet to make the laundry bags. This worked out great because I reused the fabric and elastic, plus the casing for the elastic was already sewn.

Click here to get the sewing pattern for the laundry bags.

The last detail was adding a bottom onto the sorters. I fully intended to cut up the original particle board bottom that came with the playpen, but the sorters left a very tiny ledge for them to rest on the inside and from underneath, I'd have to cut around the added front legs. I decided it would be easiest to simply use the remnants of the fitted bed sheet to tack down a fabric bottom. The fabric was really easy to work with.

If you like DIY projects that are easy, inexpensive, reduce waste and add beauty and function to your home, please check out Living Simple, Free and Happy on Amazon. It is also available at bookstores, home improvement stores and craft stores nation-wide.

Living Simple, Free, & Happy Book CoverThe book includes 10 upcycling tutorials that take easy to find furniture items and transforms them into customizable, organizational solutions from your home.

What else do you get?

  • Simple techniques that eliminate clutter and keep it from returning
  • A personalized plan to help you reclaim your time
  • Practical (and profitable) ways to sell unused items in your home
  • Tips to eliminate debt and curb consumption
  • Dozens of exercises that help you identify and honor your talents, values, and goals

Please remember to leave a comment on my blog tour page to be entered to win a copy of Living Simple, Free & Happy. There you also see my blog tour schedule and can check in to learn more about upcycling, simple living, decluttering and writing a book.

Please know that I look forward to reading each and every comment, and Becky, thank you so much for being a gracious book tour hostess!

Posted:   |   Categories: Books, craft books, Craft Recycled, crafting books, crafty reuse, creative reuse, DIY, DIY laundry sorter, Living, reuse, upcycling, upcycling books
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29
Jan

Spotted: Upcycled Packing Peanut Garland

Packing Peanut Craft

Aren't packing peanuts just the worst? They're made of toxic Styrofoam, intended for a single use, and they get everywhere when you open a box that's full of those suckers.  Reader Hester Burch of Fun in the Making shared a beautiful, seasonal way to reuse those nasty little peanuts, so at least they're not landfill-bound after you unpack a boxful of them: snow swag!

Hester says:

Create a winter wonderland. Foam peanut snow swags would also be cool décor for a winter wonderland prom theme. -bonus that the materials wouldn’t cost anything!

All that you need to make your own are:

  • packing peanuts
  • embroidery needle
  • white string or embroidery thread

If you need more details, check out the full description of how she made these on Hester's blog! I love how they look all strung up on her chandelier, and I think they'd look lovely strung up in a window or layered up on the mantle.

Have you guys found any fun ways to reuse packing peanuts? Share your ideas in the comments!

Posted:   |   Categories: crafty reuse, creative reuse, DIY, Home+Decor, how to reuse packing peanuts, Living, packing peanut crafts, packing peanuts, reader tip, reuse, upcycling
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