Category: upcycling

hearts in a row
upcycling

Are we ready for the Month of Love?

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Love really hasn’t been in the air lately. When we think of January we think of a never ending wait for Pay Day. Or at least I know I have been. After we Moved House before Christmas, we were left wanting to start all of the projects at once. Obviously money is the biggest constraint and so we have been as frugal as ever.

I am very proud of how well the Railway sleeper mantelpiece has come out and I would recommend trying it. Even if you are not too confident with power tools. I have been finding out that a lot of you aren’t too happy with power tools and how to use them safely. So let me know whether you think I should pop some ‘how to’ videos together.

Our YouTube Channel is getting more views than ever, so subscribe if you fancy keeping up to date there as well.

Now we are looking to February and the Month Of Love. However I am looking at it from a zero waste perspective and how to enjoy your time with those you love. I have been thinking about all kinds of love and not just the romantic sort. So I have put together a cute little child friendly craft project. 

plump heart for love

I am also working with a very lovely ethical site to add a few more ideas for how to buy loved ones gifts that really don’t cost the Earth. More on that later this week!

Earlier in the year we received the wonderful news of a friends wedding. Then the daunting news that she would like me to help her with some rustic wedding favours. I immediately accepted and then went into panic mode. Which is pretty standard! The problem is she is like one of my all time craft hero’s! Totally fantastic at anything she picks up. So big gulp and I gave it a go, for the results have a look here.

So now I am making little round Brussel Sprout favours as well as many, many, many, more wildflower seed mixes. I would love to hear what people think of these as I think they are the cutest way to encourage non-green fingered friends to give it a go. Also practically zero waste, which cannot be a bad thing! All you need is waste paper and seeds you collect from the dead heads from the previous year.

For more links to our projects have a look here;

 

So action points for me are to now finish off my ‘Alternative Valentine’s Day’ article. Then to finish off soaking my shredded paper ready for cooling and adding the seeds. I also have a longer list for a few other things starting this week, so here is a sneak preview of how my friends have been helping me out….

This is an entire car boot full, but still not enough!!

Thanks and I hope to hear your thoughts on Seed Paper in the near future

upcycled or repurposed these sacks are super useful and sustainable
upcycling

Update on House Move and Finished Projects

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This week has been pretty busy, with the arrival of ten large hessian sacks, meaning I optimistically started a rag rug but you may have to wait a little longer for the finished article as I have run out of tatty clothes to repurpose. Upcycling can be hard sometimes! I am going for a more sustainable Christmas this year and have started a few rustic pom poms which were actually very easy, and quite a relief considering how little scraps they use up. Having some time off this week means we have been able to start packing the house up and downsizing ready for our move in a few weeks time. We are hoping to move before Christmas so I am also making dried orange, lemons and limes ready to use in lots of decorations I will share with you all soon. As I am so mean when using the oven I also decided to make slow roasted cherry tomatoes for dinner, three hours is pretty slow and low! I hope that later this week we will also be putting together more and more gifts ready for Christmas as well as some nice treats for the wildlife in our garden. Not to mention using up the coffee sacks and making a few more extra naughty treats
I think once we move house we will have lots more fun experiences to share, but for now it will be mainly little craft projects here and there. Thank you for your support so far and I hope you are all having a lovely week.

DIY rice heat pack warmers
upcycling

DIY Pocket Hand Warmers

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Pocket Hand Warmers are this seasons must have accessory! Whilst walking to the train station for work on a Monday morning, think how much nicer life would be with snuggly hands in your pockets. You can use rice or wheat as your fillings and as long as you only microwave for 30 seconds at a time, you can get the perfect temperature for you.
To do this yourself you will need…
Needle and thread,
Pair of scissors
Spare material 15cmx30cm more or less
Rice or Wheat.

STEP ONE Measure the material and cut to the 15cm by 30cm we mentioned above, or any sort of similar size is ok.
STEP TWO Fold the material so it now forms a square 15cm by 15cm, the print should be on the inside of the fold.
STEP THREE Thread the needle and start to make stiches around a fingers width from the fold along the outside of the three sides of the material. Go all the way to the end and tie off.
STEP FOUR From the gap you have left you can now fold the material through and turn it the right way out. I use a crochet hook and this helps me to poke it out of the hole.
STEP FIVE Once all of the corners have been gently pushed out you are now able to carefully and slowly pour the rice or wheat in to the hole you have created. I use a piece of paper I have turned into a cone shape as this helps me avoid spills.
STEP SIX Fill to around 3/4 full and then use the needle and thread to sew it up as neatly as you can.

STEP SEVEN is give these to a friend who you want to make very happy! For best results microwave for 30 second blasts and shake a little in between each blast.

Easy to make gifts
My friends love me fo rme, but a few of these don’t go a miss either! Snuggly friends are happy friends! So enjoy the gift giving.

Chairs with new life
upcycling

Upcycled Furniture

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We have sold our house this weekend, and are getting ready to move soon. This got me thinking to all of the fun little projects I haven’t got round to yet and these old chairs are a long term project we wanted to tackle together. Old furniture is often good quality and well made, however it does not always fit in with our decor or ideas of how we want to live in our homes. So this is a nice and simple way to upcycle that old but reliable furniture.

You Will Need;
Old furniture you wish to upcycle, there are plenty of charity shops which will also sell ‘new’ furniture to you which is in need of a bit of TLC

recycle, reuse, repurpose
upcycling

Recycling old tin cans – an easy and cheap alternative

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A very simple and easy way of recycling old tin cans into planters, saving you money and meaning you don’t have to rely on plastics so heavily. When you think about it tin cans are a real renewable resource in our houses as, although they can be recycled by most councils in our fortnightly collections, why wouldn’t we use them ourselves?

 

You Will Need;

Old tin cans, washed and left to soak the labels off,

Hammer, 16 oz and 1 Screw

Paint Brushes

Paint such as Gloss Paint 250ml Oxford Blue Wood Metal Door Children Toys Furniture Oil-Based Indoor Outdoor

Old Newspaper to pop on the table and floor depending on who is ‘helping’ with this project!

STEP ONE take your washed and label free tin can and up end it to reveal the bottom, then very gently use the screw and hammer to make tiny little holes in the bottom. These holes will allow the plants to not get water logged and are ideally not too large either.

STEP TWO open up the tin and stir the contents to ensure it is all mixed well together.

STEP THREE if you hold on to the tin can from the inside you are less likely to get paint on yourself, but be careful of sharp edges.  Then just start to paint it, you can be as uneven as you like or you can keep very little paint on the brush to create different effects. Either way it becomes as unique as you are and a perfect planter for gifts or your windowsill!

tin can upcycled project

 

 

Another use for your wood paint, and actually quite a nice way to co-ordinate your crafts