Bottle Recycling

Here's a candle holder trio I made from the tops of beer bottles (remnants from our kitchen redo). The bases are made from some decorative laser cut wood pieces which I found at Micheal's and then I wire  wrapped to hold the bottles. The stands are slices from some table legs we recycled when we build our bathroom vanity (we build that before I started blogging & one of these days I will get around to doing a post on it).

Wire Wrapped Upcycled Jar Vase

 This is what I made my mom for Mother's Day. Years ago I had torn from a catalog a picture of something similar . The photo was very small, so I couldn't really see the detail of how it was made and I think they were smaller. 
Well to make mine, I went out & got some glass beads (blue and clear) some 16 gauge blue craft wire (two 7 foot packs) and some silver wire from the hardware dept (it was cheaper than the craft wire, but will probably tarnish quicker). I had a neat jar from maple syrup that I was thinking of using, but it seemed a bit big. I then looked in the fridge & found an old jar of McCormick cocktail sauce that I don't even remember ever buying. I emptied it out (it's color was off) washed it out & then used some blue glass stain on it for color. 
I then slid a few beads onto the wire and started twisting the ends into curls and following the shape of the bottle. I wrapped more wire around the top & bottom of the bottle and looped the side pieces through them. At this point I got frustrated because the side pieces were just flopping from side to side. Obviously I didn't quite get the construction right. I used the silver wire strung with beads to attach the separate swirl pieces at the bottom and for additional decoration. To get the sides to stay in place I attached some more silver wire with beads & just wrapped it all around the two pieces to get them to stay in place. 
Now I'm just hoping that the weight the vase once a little water & flowers are put in won't cause it to come apart.

Bottle Bottom Valance

We finally finished mounting the bottle bottoms in the valance & connected it to the cabinets. We just love how it came out, can't wait to finish the bottles on the bar counter. Of course we had to take took it back down this morning as the electricians are here to install all the light fixtures and outlets. Little by little, we're finally approaching the end of this overdue project.

Alehouse Amber Counter Top

IMG_3312, a photo by BaubCat on Flickr.

Today the counter top fabricator came to make the template for our recycled glass counter tops. Later in the day we drove up to his shop to inspect the two slabs that will be used.
I love these Vetrazzo counter tops even more now that I've seen the full slabs. The small sample pieces or online photos just don't do it justice. Certain pieces of the glass chips have so much sparkle & add such depth. I can't wait for them to be installed in a few weeks...so glad I splurged on my eco friendly counters.

Alehouse Amber by Vetrazzo

Last Minute Recycled Gift Bag

Finally a crafty post instead of a reconstruction one.

We got a last minute invitation to a birthday party for our friend's son. I managed to squeeze in some shopping time for a present, but when I looked through my stash, I had no wrapping paper or bags fit for a 6 year old. Most of my craft supplies, glues sticks, glues, etc. are all packed away in storage while we're doing our home renovation, so I couldn't make my usual upcycled gift bag. But if you save enough junk like I do, you can always find something usable. Another of my friends (who's received a few of my recycled calendar gift bags) now hands me down her calendars at the end of the year & I found one stashed in the bookshelf. I also had a Williams Senoma shopping bag. I just cut out 2 cute pages from the calendar & taped them on the bag. Since the sides of the bag said williams-senoma.com down them, I cut a strip of some used wrapping paper that said 'Happy Birthday' and taped over that too. Quick, easy & pretty cute to boot!

Featured on Saved By Love

A big Thank You goes out to Saved By Love Creations for featuring my Shag Pillow in their post on 50 Recycled T-shirt projects. It's really wonderful to be included with so many other incredible recycled projects. My favorite among them is the Pink Rosette Purse from Come Together Kids, but all of the projects are wonderful.This post has really upped my traffic, it's so wonderful that everyone is enjoying the pillow. Needless to say, they've been added to my blog roll, give them a visit.

Miniature Rose Flower Ponytail Holders

I make loads of fabric flowers hair accessories but usually for adults. I recently started adding some for small girls, toddlers or babies. These are two rose buds, only about 1" in diameter and made of upcycled fabrics. The ponytail holders are the small elastics also about 1" diameter. Look for them and some tiny hair clips in my hair accessories section on Etsy.

A Tutorial on Covering Old Shank Buttons

I’m making some pillows for my sofa and needed some large buttons for them. I didn’t find any in my collection whose color satisfied me, but I did find 2 rusty old metal buttons and 2 very plain black plastic ones. I decided to look for fabric to cover them. The piece I found was a ribbed knit (the kind used for neck bands on t-shirts). A woven fabric would probably work better for this project as it won’t stretch around the button as easily, but I found that mine came out well enough to use for my project.

I know it’s easier to just buy a covered button kit, but I hate having to spend money on something new when I have so much stuff that needs to be used up here at home.

Here’s a how-to:

Step 1)

Choose a shank button and cut a circle of fabric about 1/2” to 5/8” larger in diameter than your button.

Step 2)

Sew a tight running stitch around the outside edge of your fabric circle.

Step 3)

Place the button upside down on the wrong side of fabric and pull your thread so that the fabric gathers tight around the button. Securely knot off the thread.

Step 4)

Cut a circle of felt or lightweight pellon smaller than the button but large enough to cover the raw edged on the fabric on the back of button. Cut a slice in the center for the button shank.

Step 5)

Run a circle of glue (I used Ilene’s Ok to wash it) around the stitching. Place the felt on top and press firmly down and secure with some clothespins until dry. I placed a piece of plastic wrap on top so any glue that seeped out wouldn’t stick to the clothespins.

As you can see in the photos, it worked a bit better on the 2 black plastic buttons because they had a recess on the back, but the metal ones are still usable.

Variations on Recycled Calendar Gift Bags

We recently had a family party to celebrate 4 birthday’s. I needed gift bags for most of the presents. If you’re a follower of my blog, you know that I enjoy recycling wall calendars into gift bags. Every year I buy beautiful art and photo calendars for my walls. For years I have saved them for the pictures, as I sorted through them last week I was surprised to see how ancient some of them were.

I am constantly trying different methods for constructing them, some have held up better than others. I’m hoping to put together a tutorial, but as I’m always throwing thing together at the last minute, I don’t have pictures to include and I’m sure they’d be needed. Here are the latest bags I put together. 

This was the simplest; I needed a bag strong enough to hold a big book so I covered a cardboard box using calendar pages and slices from a magazine page that matched the prints.

I also needed a bag for the shag pillow; it needed to be wide to fit the pillow. A paper grocery bag fit the task, just folded down the top to the right height and covered it with a cute dog calendar and a piece of used birthday wrapping paper. I used my decorative edged scissors to cut a strip to add on top of the calendar page as it wasn’t quite tall enough.

The last one was for a lightweight object, so I just used the calendar pages, calendars with pages the weight of cardstock work best for bags. The pages weren’t quite wide enough, so I pieced in some white glossy paper and covered it with a magazine page too. For this bag I constructed the bottom out of a cereal box. On all the bags I used some braided yarn for the handles.

Upcycled Jewelry for a Birthday Gift

I planned to make some earrings for my sister-in-law’s birthday, so it was time to rustle through my huge collection of beads and the old jewelry everyone passes down to me for upcycling. I came across some rectangular glass beads in purple that I put aside, and then I came across a necklace with assorted types of purple beads. I thought the leaf shaped beads were nice.
I removed the bar end of the clasp to get some of the leaf shaped beads and as I was removing them, I realized there were way more beads than I needed for just earrings and that I could just rearrange and shorten the necklace into a matching bracelet. It ended up as a lovely set and Joann was really thrilled with it.

I save plenty of old gift boxes, so I had a nice one for the jewelry. But being an avid recycler, I try not to buy new wrapping paper too often. Since I was already working on recycling old wall calendars into gift bags for other birthday gifts, I decided to just use a calendar page for gift wrap. I chose one that was a fairly lightweight paper with a pretty photo of a field of flowers and mountains in the background. So, if you’re ever in need of a small piece of gift wrap (even if you don’t horde old calendars for their pictures) you can always look through the months of your wall calendars that have already passed, it works great.

Shag Pillow

Shag Pillow, a photo by b-a-boop on Flickr.

Another handmade and upcycled present I recently made. I was inspired by a photo in a book of a denim rug I saw that was similar.

I began with two 14" squares for the front & back of the pillow, cut from a purple tee shirt.

I then cut 12" wide strips from some fleece remnants left over from a top made decades ago. I cut as many as possible from the odd shaped leftovers I had.

I roughly accordion folded the longest strip forming approximately 1" loops to estimate how wide it would end up and didn't think I had enough to cover the whole front. I then cut additional 12" strips from the purple tee shirt.

I started by centering the longest pink strip on one 14" square, leaving 1" of the purple hanging out on each side for the pillow seams. I then sewed a straight seam down the middle.

I folded over a 1" loop and sewed another seam about 1/4" from the first one. I repeated this until I didn't have enough fabric left for another loop.
Since it was knit fabric and going to be stuffed as a pillow, I just eyeballed the loops & seams, some were a bit crooked. If you wanted more precision you could measure & mark each fold & seam.

I then repeated looping the pink on the other half. I trimmed off the remainder of pink strip 1/4" away from the last seam.

I then overlapped a purple strip on top of the pink 1/2" and sewed over the same seam 1/4" from it's edge. Then I continued looping the purple in the same manner. After a few inches of purple loops, I trimmed it off and started another row of pink. As I was working with remnants, some small strips only made a few loops, so I patched pieces together as I had where the pink & purple meet.

I stopped the last loop about 1" from the edge and sewed the strip down to the square with a second seam to keep it from sticking out when sewing the pillow closed.
I thought it would be easier to leave it just with the loops before making it shaggy when sewing the pillow closed. I then placed the other 14" square face down on the loops and sewed the 1" seam around 3 sides of the pillow, sewing as close too the edges of the loops as possible.

I turned it right side out, stuffed in my pillow form & hand sewed the last edge closed.

Then it was time to make the shagging. I just took my scissors and cut the loops approximately every 1/2" (again just eyeballing it) and being careful not to cut completely down to the seams or to slice the base fabric.

And wallah! a cute shaggy pillow out of recycled materials.

Miniature Journal Pendants are Available

Well I’ve finished the 1^st batch of my mini journals and added some chains & chords. Since I’m using these little clip art squares from an old catalog, they feature different pictures on the front & back covers, it’s fun sorting through the book looking for two I like together. I particularly like the one with the old typewriter and adding machine keys. One of the nice things about them is that they are so lightweight, nothing heavy around the neck. I’ve listed a few in my Etsy shop.

Industrial Chic Necklace

I relisted my necklace made from a recycled auto part at my Etsy shop.

The curved piece in the middle is called a c-clip & I think it’s used mainly on the brakes, but you can find variations of these parts for other uses. I added some dangles made from agate stones and shells and put on some old vintage buttons with beaded centers, a gunmetal chain makes the length adjustable. My husband thinks it looks African.

Miniature Journal Pendants

I’ve been working on these for a few weeks. I was inspired by a metal charm in the shape of a book. I decided to recycle a bunch of junk mail, scrap paper, magazines and clip art from an old letrastat catalog (picked up in thrift store). I’ve never handmade a zine or book before, I figured a mini one would be a good start. The journals only have about 8 pages, depending on how small you can write, you could jot down your favorite words, spell out your loved ones name one page at a time, or paste in mini photos & use it like a locket. Not sure yet if I’ll just be adding ball chains, or making ribbon or chord necklaces, or just listing them as the pendant alone. How would you hang or list them?
Coming up in the jewelry section of The Reformatory.

Found Objects Coral Table

coral slab occasional table, a photo by BaubCat on Flickr.

My brother-in-law created this incredible coral table from discarded items he found. The broken slab of coral was perfect for the tabletop. He also removed the nice mid-century modern legs from a tossed-out table. He attached three of the four legs, thus enhancing the beautiful freeform edge of the slab. It looks beautiful in the natural setting of his patio. Chalk one up for another talented recycler.

Some unique shops that were set-up at the Odd Duck

Reinvintage Jewelry









 

made with log

ReClaim2Fame

 







 


BlueberrryShoes

Upcycled Tommy Hilfiger Laptop Case

I finally got around to making another recycled shirt & tie laptop case. I’d had the shirt & ties hanging around for a while, but I let other projects get in ahead of it. The wonderful Tommy Hilfiger shirt & 2 neckties were found in thrift stores. I also lined the bag with an upcycled sweatshirt. I was happy to find an Oleg Cassini button in my collection that matched perfectly for buttoning it  closed. If it doesn’t get snatched up at the Odd Duck Bazaar this Saturday, then it will get listed on Etsy next week.

Photography Related Upcycled Giftwrap

Today is my husbands birthday & in honor of his great talent in photography, I wrapped his presents in that theme. I created a gift bag by recycling two pages from an old Ansel Adams wall calendar. Inside I added two pillow boxes recycled from pages in a photography book. I think he was wishing each of those antique cameras were in the bag.

Eco Friendly and Recycled Inspiration

What can I make from items I already have on hand? Can I put something together that doesn’t require me having to go buy anything new? That’s always my first question when I start a new project, be it an item for my shop, a gift for someone special or a project around the house.

This month I created two purses from old fabric pieces and  zippers & buttons I already had on hand. For my upcoming mini-market, I needed some packaging for small items , so I made some origami boxes from magazines I intended to recycle.

My two nieces both have birthdays this month, so I created numerous fabric flower hairclips (all of them from various remnants and vintage buttons) a few of which one niece will receive. My other niece wanted a tote bag for schoolbooks. I had her look through my fabric remnants and the old jeans I recycle and I patched together what she chose into a tote bag I’d love to use myself. I even used an old belt for the handles (post pics later -haven’t had the party yet).

Even my husband got on board last week, he built a new step for our shed from some wood we got off a scrap pile over a year ago. He even painted the step with leftover house paint. I’m always pleased when we can make something new and beautiful from stuff we already own.  

I’m a Finalist

Two of my creations have made the finals in the Recycled Denim Challenge on Ecouterre. I’m so excited to be part of this eco friendly competition. Ecouterre and it’s mother website Inhabitat are great eco/green websites to explore for inspiration, wonderful new designs and creative creations. There are links on my sidebar if you’d like to vote for me or explore the other finalists in the competition.