Tag : recycling

140 posts

Welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday.

I decided to make this a twofer post after realizing that I had added some coffee themed tissue paper to my A Stitch in Time themed page for Art Journal Journey.

Art Journal Journey

This page started out to be something completely different but as I continued adding paint and paper elements to the page it somehow evolved. I really need to take a cue from Eileen at The Artful Crafter and take photos along the way.

The substrate was a page from a book…lots of interesting imagery that I thought was driving my direction. I guess I took a sharp right, maybe a left…who knows.

I just kept playing until my page spoke to me…and it said “follow your dreams”

I, of course, added fun and purposefully wonky stitching. I was turning the dial that controls the width of the zig-zag while sewing. It gave the stitching a really unique look.

Won’t you join me for A Stitch in Time?!?

 This week is looking to be a hot one around here. I’m setting myself up with some indoor projects to work on.

These books are for a big project I’ve had in mind for years. I’m finally going to tackle it. There I said it…now I have to do it.

I also arranged and cleaned out my closet. I had several t-shirts that just had to go.

I decided to tear them into t-shirt yarn. I’m thinking these will become a rag rug.

So many possibilities…

What are you doing today?

Since we have entered April, which happens to be Earth Month…or at very least the month that we honor Earth day…I thought it fitting to “recycle” one of my upcycling posts for Second on the 2nd.

Take a look….

2/22/2013 Recycled T-shirt Bags

t-shirt

First of all, I have to admit that this is not my original idea. I’ve seen many versions of this on Pinterest.    box pleat

But after going through the kids clothes and coming up with 2+ garbage bags full to pass along to a friend, it inspired me to keep a couple school shirts for this project.

This project couldn’t be an easier. I turned the shirt inside out then stitched the bottom closed.  Next was the box pleat to create a flat bottom. Basically you sew perpendicular to the bottom seam at each corner. You end up with a triangle of fabric that is not usable bag space. Gosh, I think I’m making that more complicated than it really is!! Here’s a link that shows the process if I just confused you.

Anyway…then I turned the shirt back right side out and cut off the sleeves and made a scoop cut at the neckline. No pattern just start cutting. We all know what a plastic handle bag from the grocery or discount store looks like….that’s what you are going for in shape.

All in all, not too shabby for a few minutes work. It saved a couple of shirts from the rag pile since  they’d likely never be worn again.

Little J claimed the lime green one as soon as she returned home. It was her shirt to begin with so now it will continue to serve her in a different capacity.

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Won’t you join me for

The weather is definitely turning here in the upper mid-west. I’m drinking more hot tea than iced tea. They are saying snow possible on Friday and Saturday. Not that it will be much or even stay around long at this point.

tea season

Enough about the weather. I wanted to share what I did to make my abstract paint complete. Let me backtrack by saying that after initially hanging it on our room we kept hear this weird clicking noise in the night. When the fan would hit the light weight canvas it would make noise!!! UGH! I took it down in the middle of the night and had to reevaluate.

I remembered that I hadn’t donated the old print yet and had an idea of how I could use it. Out to the minivan I went to retrieve the framed print.

reclaimed and renew frame

I tore random chunks and strips of kraft paper and soaked them in water while I got out my vinyl table protector(aka old ugly tablecloth). I used Golden polymer medium as adhesive to cover the chrome frame. This is the same stuff I used to renew my fridge and recycle cabinet with dictionary pages and it’s the same bottle I got for free at the recycle center!

reclaimed and renew frame

I slipped the edges between the frame and matte for a nice crisp edge. I then painted the matte black a few inches in all the way around. I poked holes through the print and attached the canvas using zip ties around the wooden cross bars and back through the holes in the canvas. I used a little dab of hot glue in each corner for a bit of extra security.

reclaimed and renew frame

Ta-da! Worked like a charm.

reclaimed and renew frame

The piece is substantial now and makes a statement.  I like it even more now…and total cost…nothing!!!! We’d even gotten that print for free about 20 years ago from Mr. G’s work. The glass had been broken on the print so they were throwing it out. He brought it home since the colors matched our old bedroom decor. It had hung over our bed ever since.

I’m waiting on a call from a friend as me might meet up today so my day is still a bit up in the air.

What are you doing today?

For several years I’ve had a boring tin can on the counter for a pencil holder. You’d think that I’d have made it a bit more visually appealing before now…but no….I’ve mostly just hid it behind other things.upcycled can project | Halle's Hobbies

As I was working on a completely different project I noticed a scrap of burlap from my wreath project appeared long enough to wraparound the can. I had to trim it a bit but was very pleased with the look.  I added a torn fabric strip around the middle then used hot glue to attach some paper flowers. It looks nice enough to have out in front now.

upcycled can project | Halle's Hobbies

I have a mini office space on top of the recycling cabinet in our kitchen.  Keeps the essentials close for list making, homework, wine sipping… :)

I also have to show you the art journal page I finished up yesterday.

Happy bunny art journal page | Halle's Hobbies

The orange flowers and words were cut using my Silhouette Portrait.  They were started out as sage green cardstock.

Happy bunny art journal page | Halle's Hobbies

I used spray mists to alter them more to fit my page. The bunny was cut from an envelope. He looks like a happy bunny to find such yummy flowers.

Happy bunny art journal page | Halle's Hobbies

The page used more of the green fabric used on the burlap wrapped can.

I’m off running errands this morning but look forward to dropping by and visiting my T stands for Tuesday friends later on.

Don’t let that title fool you…I’m not yet organized but am working towards making it a habit.

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I’ve seen a lot of talk about bullet journaling lately and am intrigued. Rita @ SoulComfort’s Corner keeps an awesome bullet type journal…so organized. I do like some of the concepts and having it all stay in one place…permanently. In the past I’ve always kept my list on random paper that would get misplaced or recycled before completing the tasks.  I’m only about 10 days into this so far. I did skip this past weekend as we were planning on a very lazy laid back one.

Mini-me loves to organize. She’s got a lot of her dad in her with that one. But she also has a lot of me. She organizes when the mood strikes…otherwise it generally looks like a tornado swept thru her room. I was the same way at her age…at least with the messy room part.

organized

She was inspired to organize our paint drawer. She even weeded out the dried up containers…now there is room for everything! Thanks sweetie!

Last week for T stands for Tuesday, I posted the beginning of an art journal page that used a scrap of junked up paper.

t tuesday waste not edition | Halle's hobbies

Here’s the completed page….

junked up journal page | Halle's Hobbies

I loved these words and am trying my best to heed them.

junked up journal page | Halle's Hobbies

This also struck me as funny as I was photographing the page.

junked up journal page | Halle's Hobbies

See my name along the edge? I must have used this page to try out my typewriter as well.

I’m going to try and catch up on things here at home today. I had some training yesterday for my job. And with the lazy laid back we just had, I’m definitely behind around here.

What are you doing today??

T stands for Tuesday

Today for this edition of T stands for Tuesday I thought I’d share a DIY project made from recycled pieces of the kids old play set.

recycled wood worm tower | Halle's Hobbies

I read about worm tower composting on Pinterest. It looked like a great solution for my raised bed garden. Most of the links I saw used a PVC pipe instead of wood.

Since we had scrap cedar laying around it seemed like a perfect use without spending any money. Mr. G did the construction and drilling of the holes for me after I explained my idea.

recycled wood worm tower | Halle's Hobbies

The holes let the worms migrate in and out of the tower to spread the compost throughout the raised bed.  Isn’t that awesome…they do the work for me!

recycled wood worm tower | Halle's Hobbies

We even had an old handle in the shed from the sandbox cover. A perfect fit for the lid.

recycled wood worm tower | Halle's Hobbies

Now it was time to  install … I dug down to the bottom of the box…well truth be told the box doesn’t have a solid bottom….just landscape cloth. I assume eventually that will rot away.

recycled wood worm tower | Halle's Hobbies

I back filled all around the tower and attached it with one screw just in case some critter decided to try and mess with it. It looks like it’s always been there.

recycled wood worm tower | Halle's Hobbies

Now all I needed was some composting worms.  Amazon.com never ceases to amaze me with what I am able to order.

recycled wood worm tower | Halle's Hobbies

This was a strange bin to find on my front step a few days later.

recycled wood worm tower | Halle's Hobbies

I started saving kitchen scraps after ordering my worms. The paperwork that came with them said they also enjoy paper and cardboard. I grabbed a couple handfuls of shredded paperwork and started layering the material in the tower.

recycled wood worm tower | Halle's Hobbies

Honestly I was worried about getting the worms…would they still be alive? Yep…red and wiggly. I have no idea if they will survive a Minnesota winter  in the garden and worm tower. From what I read they do have a good chance of survival.  Only time will tell.

Do you compost? I’d love to hear about your system.

Welcome to T stands for Tuesday!  (just a touch early this week)T stands for Tuesday_200Grab your cup and join me for a few updates.

Where shall I start?  I guess the garden is as good a place as any…update1 update2 update3

Everything is planted…the Alfalfa’s Secret is around some of the plants. My inlaws swore by this stuff last year and I have to admit that my tomatoes at their house were amazing! So I bought a bag of it myself this year to try here at home.  Only about half of the beans came up so I went back and planted some more seeds, soaking them this time hoping to speed the germination.

I got my advanced copy of Sew Somerset containing my article last week. You can check out my post about it. It’s so exciting to hold it in your hand vs just seeing it on the computer screen!

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Yesterday morning was spent on the deck with my coffee disassembling some jeans that no longer fit anyone.

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I cut the legs off then open the seams and also save the back pockets. All of this will be utilized for other projects.

20150601_7755Only a little bit of waste….or maybe that should be waist. Oh so punny.

I have a few errands as usual today and of course, my Second on the 2nd post which will be following shortly.

What are you doing today?

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