Tag : recycling

140 posts

201403/17

Quick upcycle project

It never occurred to me that today was St. Patrick’s Day…and that it’s traditional to wear green so one does not get pinched…until about 45 minutes before I had to leave….and I wasn’t even dressed yet. You see I was subbing at one of our district middle schools today. The one that my oldest is at. I know a bunch of the kids so I thought it would be a good idea to fall into customary green attire for the day. My problem is the fact that I don’t own any green clothes…or at least not weather and work appropriate clothes.

A while back I picked up a knit shirt from Goodwill that I thought I liked. I was wrong. Not flattering…it had to go. Lucky for me, it was laying on the top of the donation box this morning.

I quickly hacked it up into chunks 6 inches wide and ran it through the sewing machine. Out came my brand new infinity scarf ready for St. Patrick’s Day.It doesn’t show really well in the photo but I alternated horizontal and vertical stripes throughout the scarf as well as which side the seem was on…that way no matter what way it was looped it would look intentional.

Blog

Holidays, recycling, sewing, upcycling

6 Comments

halleday

201310/06

Upcycling projects

We all know how to recycle and I’m sure most do it daily. Newspapers, cardboard, glass and plastic are all readily recyclable in most cities, at least across the USA.

This is wonderful! But I’ve been really focused on upcycling lately. Finding a new use for something that would ordinarily be tossed out. Wine corks, bottle caps, worn out clothing, stained linens, broken plates…you get the idea.I showed a sneak peek of these a while ago. I made a wine cork tree last year but this time I decided to change things a bit. I used a Champagne cork cut in half for the trunk. I think they turned out really cute.

I’ve also been using some scraps from previous projects such as the denim remaining after completing a quilt or two. As well as the remainder of the dress shirts that I made wine bottle gift bags from.

In addition I’ve been making a bunch more cards. I’ll show more of these last two projects at a later date. The cards have much less upcycling in it’s truest sense but I am still attempting to include elements that might otherwise be considered unusable such as tiny scraps of fabric and yarn. As well as photo trimmings. I have a cigar box full of photo trimmings…they have such vibrant colors that it’s a shame to toss them out.

It doesn’t have to be Earth Day to be a little “green”. Do a little more every day to be kind to our planet. Last time I checked…it’s the only one we have. :)

Blog

buttons, fabric, photo, recycling, scraps, sewing, upcycling, yarn

5 Comments

halleday

201309/23

T-shirt scarf

You may recall that I showed this sneak peek of a project that looked pretty much like a pile of rags. Well…not quite.

I was inspired by a friend who sent me a link to this upcycled t-shirt scarf after making one for her daughter. It’s a quick and simple no-sew project.

The boy had just outgrown yet another shirt, so it was perfect timing.

The shirt I used had seams on both sides. The tutorial didn’t allow for this. I decided to take extra bits of shirt and tie a knot to cover each seam that was exposed.

Next time I’ll use an adult size shirt to make the loops longer that way it won’t be as tight when doubled up.

Blog

fabric, recycling, upcycling

2 Comments

halleday

201309/05

Beyond the list

If you joined me for T stands for Tuesday, you know that I had a list long enough to choke a horse. I usually do but I always try to allow for a little “playtime” each day as well. I can’t say that it happens all the time but I am ever grateful when it does.

We have some occasions this month that are in need of greeting cards so I’ve been hard at work creating them for the events.

In addition, I’ve been making a bit of miniature terrain as well. While Mr. G was purging the office, I spied a few pieces that looked like they would work really well as gaming terrain.

These first three were….CD spindles. Did you guess right?

I thought they’d make good bunker or storage pieces.

Next came some molded Styrofoam packing pieces from a very ancient…in the computer world…CDROM drive. I looked at it an saw another bunker, nearly the same design as one you’d pay upwards of $50 for. Crazy, right? So I cut it in half and glued it together….now I have two!

After adding some additional foam pieces and painting the whole works with a mix of gesso and black craft paint, I spray painted everything with my splatter technique.

I layer the colors of spray paint without letting it dry between coats.

I use a light hand with the color. It gives a rich depth of color…almost an airbrush effect.

I used 5 colors of spray paint on these pieces. They were obtained from the recycle center and my folks place.

I know this is not my usual type of art but sometimes I get a very different crafty bent. This happens to be one of those weeks.

Hope I didn’t scare you off. :)

Blog | Crafts

greeting card, miniature terrain, recycling

2 Comments

halleday

201306/11

Fairy chairs

Fanciful little seats ready for a little bit of magic to happen along.

Blog

frugal living, recycling

4 Comments

halleday

201302/22

Recycled T-shirt bags

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

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.

Blog | Crafts | Creativity | Tutorials

frugal living, Pinterest, recycling, sewing, tutorial

6 Comments

halleday

201301/13