greenUPGRADER » DIY

An Upcycled Valentine: Plantable Pansy in a Newspaper Pot!

Karen Riley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:25:22 +0000

What is black, white and read (or red) all over? This sweet and earthy Valentine!

Using my PotMaker and a new batch of pansies, I rolled 3.5" x 10" strips of newspaper to form the pots and popped a singular, cheerful viola inside each one. A few scraps of lace, ribbon and a sticker embellish this gift. There is no glue involved, just twisting and tying!

Pansies are perfect cool-weather flowers with their velvety, heart-shaped petals. When Valentine's day is over, your sweetie can transplant the flower; recycle, compost, or even reuse the newspaper; and reuse the embellishments on her next project or as gift wrap!

Image Credit: Photo by Karen Riley

Craft Recycled: Upcycled Lamp from a Wire Waste Basket

Becky Striepe — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:00:43 +0000

For folks who are into cross-stitch or weaving, the texture of a wire waste basket begs to be fancied up with stitched or woven fiber, and Poppytalk did an awesome job transforming a wire waste basket into a lamp! They used strips of fabric, but you could also use yarn or grouped strands of embroidery thread - this is a great project for busting that fiber stash. You can check out the full instructions on how to do it over on Poppytalk!

The folks at Poppytalk used a new waste basket, but you can hunt at thrift stores for a second hand one to make this an upcycled project! The trick is cleaning that waste basket well because, well...it's a waste basket!

How to Clean Your Waste Basket

Wire mesh is not a joy to clean, but with the right tools on hand, you can make it easier on yourself. Here's how!

Get scrubby. Use a scrubby brush and hot, soapy water to get any gunk off of your basket.
Rinse. Rinse it out under running water. Your bathtub is a good place to do this, if you don't have a hose in your back yard.
Soak that sucker (optional). If you feel like it's still not totally clean, grab a bucket that's larger than your basket, fill it up with water, add a generous squirt of dish soap, and submerge. If your basket wants to float, use a brick to weigh it down. Soak for around 30 minutes, then rinse.
Dry. Set your basket out to dry. You can dry it in the sun, if it's warm and clear out or just set it upside down on a clean towel to drip dry on the bathroom or kitchen counter.

Ta-da! Easy peasy, and you're ready to make an upcycled lamp!

10 Awesome Wine Cork Craft Projects

Becky Striepe — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:00:35 +0000

If you know me, you know I like a glass of red wine on a chilly winter evening. After quite a few chilly winter evenings, though, what I have is a big bowl full of wine corks. Don't judge. Let's get crafty instead!

There are companies that will take your corks back to recycle them, and if you're not feeling crafty that's a great way to make sure your wine corks don't end up in the landfill, but before recycling, they get shipped to some central location, and you have to consider the carbon footprint that comes with all of that transportation. With a little crafty love, you can transform your stash of corks into all manner of fun things, no shipping required!

1. Make stamps! I've seen stamps carved out of cork, but these wine cork stamps from Michele Made Me use foam that you glue to the bottom. You could use recycled felt in place of the foam to green up this project even more!

2. Plant markers. Have you started planning your spring garden? You can whip up a simple batch of cork plant markers, so you'll know what's planted where.

3. Make a wreath. Cathie Filian shows you how to turn a big batch of corks into an upcycled wreath! Her tute calls for paper plates, but I bet that you can use reclaimed cardboard instead. You could also use paints you have on hand instead of buying special ones for this project.

4. Coasters. Rhonda at Dollar Store Crafts shows you how to turn your corks into coasters! If you used larger cork circles for the bottom of this project, you could make a trivet instead of a coaster.

5. Stitch up a trivet. I am loving these hand-stitched trivets from sliced corks over at Design Sponge.

6. Create a cork board. Use a wooden frame and some glue to make a cork board out of your old wine corks.

7. Cork mice. How sweet are these upcycled cork mice from All Together?

8. Another trivet. There's something about corks that makes you want to make trivets. I like this different take from Home Re-Design Kaliedescope. Is uses a zip tie! Genius!

9. Pirate ships. Mini wine cork pirate ships can fancy up a place setting or would look super adorable up on a shelf!

10. Make a necklace. Brass Paper Clip shows off a necklace made from sliced corks. I couldn't find her tutorial, but you could use a large needle to very gently pierce the corks and string them together with jump rings. Easy peasy! I love how she used the stained bits to add a splash of color.

Have you guys been getting crafty with your stash of wine corks? I'd love to hear your favorite wine cork craft projects!

Image Credits:

Cork plant marker by My Chic Life
Cork wreath by Cathy Filian
Wine cork board by Becky Striepe
Wine cork pirate ship via Crafting a Green World

Craft Reycled: Vintage Book Page Heart Garland

Becky Striepe — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:00:12 +0000

If you're a regular around here, you know that I love a handmade holiday, and Valentine's Day is no exception! I'm loving this sweet heart garland that I ran across on Pinterest. The Pinterest user who shared this photo didn't include instructions or a link to where you can buy your own, but this would be super simple to make yourself! Here's how.

Materials

Scrap paper. You can use book pages, junk mail, or any other scrap paper that you like!
Scissors
Stapler
Embroidery thread and a needle
Twine
Ribbon

Directions

Cut out 3 strips of paper that are 1/2" wide in varying lengths. Try 9", 10" and 11" to start.
Fold each piece in half.
Take the 9" strip, and nestle it inside of the folded 10" strip, then nestle both of those inside the 11" strip.
Hold the bottoms of the paper together in one hand, and use your other hand to gently press down on the paper where it's creased. You want to work the creases in between your fingers that are holding the bottom of the paper.
Garb your stapler, and put one staple through all of that paper to secure your heart in place.
Tie a knot in one end of a piece of embroidery thread, then use the needle to work it up through the staple, leaving you with a little tail coming out of the top of your heart.
Tie the tail to the twine, and tie a pretty bow on top where it connects, if you like.
Repeat steps 1-7 to create as many hearts as you like for your garland!

[Heart garland photo via Pinterest]

Urban Beautification: Steve Wheen’s Pothole Gardens

Becky Striepe — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:00:17 +0000

Guerrilla gardening is a great way to add some green to a blighted space. Whether we're talking seedbombs or late-night plantings, guerilla gardeners everywhere are doing their parts to make the urban landscape a bit greener.

Steve Wheen takes the idea in a whimsical direction with his pothole gardens. Potholes are an eyesore and sometimes a hazard, but with a little bit of greenery, Wheen turns these blemishes into something straight up beautiful. Not only does he plant greenery and flowers, he transforms potholes into miniature environments!

Here's a video of Wheen talking about his pothole gardens:

I love that he calls them "little moments of happiness." Those bursts of color definitely make me smile!

Have you guys seen (or done!) any creative, cool examples guerrilla gardening? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

h/t: CRAFT

Are Reclaimed Pallets Safe for Raised Bed Gardens?

Becky Striepe — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:06 +0000

We love DIY projects using pallets. You might say that we're a little bit obsessed, if we're being completely honest. That's why I was really struck when reader Cat wrote in asking if reclaimed pallets were safe for building a raised bed garden.

We've shared pallet projects for all sorts of things from building a chair to building a compost bin, and if pallet wood isn't safe, that's definitely something worth looking into. Cat pointed me to an article that questions the safety of bringing pallet wood indoors. It also makes me wonder if it's safe to use in conjunction with growing food. According to Nick at KraftMaid Cabinetry:

Wood shipping pallets often start out in a fairly sanitary state. Unfortunately, most find some part of their life out of doors exposed to water, all manner of vermin and insects, not to mention bird droppings and other nastiness.

Nick recommends using shipping pallets to only build outdoor structures, because wood pallets have tested positive for e. coli and even a chemical contaminant responsible for a Tylenol recall. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to chance either of those in my house or contaminating my compost bin or food garden.

Should you quit building with wood pallets? That's really up to you. If you do want to build with pallet wood, I recommend taking the following precautions to make your reclaimed pallet projects safer:

Keep it outside.
Keep it away from food gardens.
Don't use pallets to build surfaces that will come into contact with food, like tables.
Look for reclaimed plastic pallets, which are much easier to clean and sanitize. They're not as versatile as wood, but you can scrub them down and disinfect them before using much more easily.

What do you guys think about pallet safety? These cases of contamination are only a small percentage of the pallet wood out there, but I'm a safety first kind of gal. What about you?

[Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by House of Sims]

Spotted: Reclaimed Wood Art

Becky Striepe — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:00:20 +0000

We love any project that uses reclaimed wood, and I'm totally digging this super sweet reclaimed wood art from Olga Oreshyna. I love the textures and colors of these pieces!

Olga contacted us to tell us a bit about her work:

The source of my inspiration comes from abandoned pieces of wood. In my imagination I give them a second chance of the life [...] Rather than cutting down trees to get the needed material, reusing wood is just as good if not better. This is my way of making a difference, at the same time I’m sharing a positive message on how we can recycle and reuse in creative ways.

My artworks reflect my contribution to make our fragile environment more healthy and beautiful. So much plastic, metal, concrete surround us in our everyday life. Creating these amazing wooden structures I feel huge energy coming over my hands. I wish people could see the beauty of nature, energy and warmth of the sun in every piece of wood I use. As for me, it’s like a hidden treasure witch I discover almost every day.I want to make any space they inhabit warm, comfortable and stylish at the same time.

I tend to gravitate toward bright colors when it comes to art and design, but I think my favorite pieces of hers are like the one above, where she plays off of the wood's natural personality. Just stunning! You can check out more of Olga's art on her website.