Recycle, eh!

If you've got some old cutlery that's, well,cluttering up your drawers, why not recycle these into something useful and attractive. All you need is a hammer, pliers, and a bit of imagination. Oh, and maybe a good drill with a bit for drilling through metal!

Picture or Art Easel

Cutlery and Basket Chandelier

An old apple picking basket and some old silver ware make a pretty, country-style chandelier wherever you hang it. Drill a hole at the bottom of each utensil and wire it to the basket as shown. If the basket does not have a hole in the bottom (to put the light fixture through), you'll have to drill that as well. Instructions for wiring can be found here.

Fork Lift Hooks

For this project, you will need to use pliers to create the curved hook ends from the handle of a fork. Next, in order to secure the 'hooks' to the wall with a nail or screw, drill holes just below the tines of the fork.

Cutlery Napkin Rings

These napkin rings are easy to do but you do need a bit of muscle to bash the fork or spoon flat. If you don't have a rubber hammer, cover the head of your hammer with felt or a piece of thick cloth. Then bash away. To twist the utensil into a round shape, use something like a broom handle and pliers. You'll need some assistance with this. 

Cutlery Wind Chimes

The easiest project as all you do is tie ribbon around the top of the handle (you can drill holes there if you want them more secure) and hang up in an open window. A friend in Provence has these placed in open windows to prevent birds from coming in.

Ciao!

Scrap Felt and Sweater Ribbing Wreath

I know it's early on to talk about wreaths but I was quite taken with this one from Recovergirl. Her wreath is made from circles of felt scraps and she uses a long piece of sweater ribbing from the waist of a red sweater to make the bow.

Felted Sweater Blanket

She also made a gorgeous blanket from (I assume) felted sweaters. I've seen blankets made from squares of old tweed jackets and also from old silk ties but this one I would imagine would be really cosy on a cold winter night.

Felted Sweater Stuffed Animals

Our lady Martha has a number of projects using felted sweaters. Her stuffed animals project is lovely and instructions include how to felt an old sweater (I always assumed you just washed an old wool sweater at the hottest setting). 

All images from sites mentioned in text.

Have fun!

Here's a great idea. If you use a Swiffer duster and find that you need to replace the duster cloth insert, why not make your own? If you have a few old flannel sheets that need to be recycled or repurposed, Sew Much Ado shows you how to make your own reuseable Swiffer duster cloth. You'll not only save money, but you'll be able to usefully repurpose your old flannel sheets. If you have no flannel sheets, consider also using old flannel pyjamas or shirts. I'm sure that old T-shirts would work as well.

Like many governments and businesses, Ikea is phasing out sales of incandescent lightbulbs. Some cities and towns won't accept them for recycling, so what to do with all those bulbs both unused and used?

Image Sergio Silva

Recycling Incandescent Lightbulbs Creatively

Recycling these lightbulbs to transform them into beautiful and creative ways is possible. But you must take care when working with glass. Before you start, make sure that you are working away from your kids and family pets, that you have protective eyewear and gloves. Now you're ready to get going.

First, you will need to hollow out lightbulbs safely. TeamDroid has very clear instructions to show how to do this. Each of the following projects also have instructions for preparing the bulbs but the TeanDroid one has very clear pictures that make it easier to follow.

Tiny Terrarium

Hipster Homers have instructions to make one of these cute little terrariums. These would be great gifts for some in hospital as they require no watering.

Lightbulb Greenhouse

Instructables has a page on how to repurpose your light bulbs into planters.

Ship in a Bottle

Here’s a variation on a popular hobby also from Instructables.

Bud Vase

This project, from ReadyMade, is another way to recycle a lightbulb--into a bud vase! Get the instructions in ReadyMade's February/March 2010 issue or online.

Hanging Flower Vases

The Care2 Healthy and Green site has a variation on the bud vase so you can create create an interesting hanging garden.

Tiny Aquarium

If you need more inspiration, check out this lightbulb offered for sale by Etsy seller Sage Leaves.

Feeling inspired but don't have enough bulbs. Why not collect lightbulbs from family members and friends (buy them a CFL in exchange and you'll be doing even more good!)?

If you've got kids you probably also have a lot of broken and unused wax crayons cluttering up drawers and toy boxes. Why not save some money and the environment by recycling those bits and pieces into new crayons that your kids can reuse? If you have any candy molds, use these to make new crayons in interesting shapes (animal, stars and hearts are fun). For directions, Instructables has complete instructions on how to recycle your old crayons.

Image from Instructables.com

If you don't want to keep hitting Next, allfreecrafts has instructions for both stovetop and oven methods. 

Caution: Wax is highly flammable, this is not a suitable activity for children. Never leave hot wax unattended and take all appropriate safety precautions to prevent fire or accidents. 

If you don't have time to make your own, you can buy  Eco Star Crayons that are recycled and non-toxic from Amazon for $8.95 US or from Lavish&Lime for $8.50 (not sure if it's in CDN or US dollars). Both come as a pack of 20 in a recycled cardboard container.

Image from lavishandlime.com

Happy colouring!!

If you want to start a business based on recycling materials but not sure how to start, take a look at what Zoe Foster does with recycled fabrics. Zoe has established a successful business designing and making bags from recycled fabric and remnants she finds at car boot sales and charity shops around her home in Ludlow, England. Find out how she started here.

Photo http://www.mirror.co.uk/.

Etsy is a place you can go for inspiration. The last time I looked, there were over 140,000 items made from recycled materials. Here are my three fav sellers who recycle material or items to sell on Etsy.

Plastic Bag Bangles

GarbageofEdenDesign

Makes bangles were each made from two plastic bags collected from friends, family, and plastic bag returns in the New York City area.

Sap Bucket Recycling

Hindsvik

You don’t have to make or design stuff to sell. You can sell stuff you already have but don’t need anymore. Check out what this Canadian couple do with ‘junk’.

Yoghurt Lid Foil Necklace

grellpastell

This artisan created an amazing necklace made entirely of rolled, coloured aluminum yoghurt lid foil. 

All photos from sellers' Etsy shops.

When we were growing up, the running joke in our family was that Mom would make patchwork quilts from our outgrown shirts, blouses, dresses, and skirts, and the next year, make us skirts and book bags from the patchwork quilts. Having grown up in wartime Poland, she knew the value of getting the most out of anything.

If you’ve just completed a home makeover or renovation, instead of throwing out leftover materials, take a cue from Mom and reuse these to add interest and originality to your home.

Boards. Add a few pictures and coat hooks to an unused board and hang it in the hall for a unique coat rail. Or construct a folding screen from leftover 2 x 4s.

Ceramic Tiles. Use broken tiles to create a mosaic on a kitchen splashback, powder room floor, or an old tabletop.

Cork Tiles. Glue leftover cork to the back of a door to make a message centre in a bedroom, kitchen, or home office.

Doors. Doors can be recycled into headboards, tables, even used as paneling in small areas. Check out this daybed made from a door. Old, narrow French doors make wonderful room dividers. Hinge the doors together to make a screen and use it to create a separate space in a room, such as a dressing area in a master bedroom, or office space in your living room.

Photo courtesy http://www.thisoldhouse.com/

Fabric. Use fabric remnants to make curtain tiebacks and pillow covers, cover dining room chair seats, or trim the bottom edge of a drape for a customised look.

Fireplace Mantels. A discarded fireplace mantel makes a terrific headboard. In a small room, the ledge is a perfect place for an alarm clock and lamp, eliminating the need for bedside tables.

Moulding. Turn a few feet of leftover moulding into a mirror or picture frame. Use the frame to hold your favourite artwork or to jazz up a blah blackboard message centre.

Paint. Use leftover paint to add colour to the inside of a closet, armoire or bookcase.

Wallpaper. Line the insides of drawers or make covers for old books with scraps of colourful wallpaper. Or use the wallpaper to decorate plain bandboxes, available from craft supply stores.

Windows. Old windows can be fitted with mirrors to add a practical look in the hallway. Or use to frame pictures.

Window Shutters. If you've replaced your old shutters, why not recycle the old ones, spruce them up and use as an interesting headboard? Or hang up on a wall as an organizer and use the slots to hold messages or even CDs?

Photo courtesy http://mysweetsavannah.blogspot.com/

For ways to recycle common household junk, go here.

Styrofoam is a trademark of the Dow Company but the material itself is called polystyrene. Like so many other plastics, it's all around us - very commonly used in packing material as peanuts or expanded foam, in coffee cups, plates, food trays, fabrication of car parts and a wide variety of other products. It’s one of the most invasive types of plastic that's extremely difficult to get rid of. So it’s important if you can find ways to reuse it safely.

1. If you keep potted plants on your patio or balcony, use the polystyrene to fill the bottom half of your pots before adding the soil and plants. Just break it up into smaller pieces beforehand. The benefits are threefold: your pot will be light enough to be moved easily, the polystyrene will help retain the moisture for your plants so you won’t have to water as often, and you won't need to use as much soil. I don't recommend this for plant you will be eating, like herbs or edible flowers, as the Styrofoam may leach into the plant.

2. Hang on to loose polystyrene peanuts and use them to cushion the contents in any parcels you are posting. Companies that sell packing materials will sometimes accept these peanuts.

3. If you don't need them for parcels, use these 'peanuts' to lightly plug the small hole in small garden pots or containers when potting up non-edible indoor plants.

4. Styrofoam trays and containers from the grocery store can be used as craft material for kids to make all kind of decorations and holiday ornaments. Cut out basic shapes from a child’s coloring book and use these as templates. Get the kids to decorate the cutouts by recycling and reusing ribbons, candy wrappers, or whatever else you have on hand.

5. Polystyrene trays also are good containers for homemade cookies, cakes for your local church or craft bazaar. Make sure you clean them well with soap and hot water before using and never use the ones that held chicken or meat. 

Valentine Chocolate Box Clock

If you've got a few old quartz clocks cluttering up your space, why not use bits and pieces from those clocks to create new ones with a bit of fun attached. Reuse and recycle stuff you already have on hand.. I've made clocks out of old books, plates, candy boxes or spice tins, CDs, vinyl records, cereal boxes, even old boots!

Recycled Book Clock

The book clock takes a bit more time as you have to cut a hole inside the book to accommodate the quartz clock works - but, hey, it's worth the effort. I've sold all the book clocks that I've made so far. 

You can find instructions for both the candy tin clock and the book clock here.

Cereal Box Clock

A clock made out of a cereal box is sure to make your kids smile in the morning. I made this one for a friend who was urged to eat more fibre by her doctor! The quick and easy instructions to make this clock are here.

Good business idea if you love recycling old stuff into something new and useful, no?

I'm not a great milkshake or latte drinker but a lot of my friends are. What, they asked, can you do with these plastic containers once we've drunk our fill? Easy, peasy, said I, just turn them into a container for your knitting or crochet. It keeps the yarn clean and tangle free. As for the knitting needles, well I repurposed a couple of chopsticks from a sushi lunch box - and they're retractable! 

Oh, and recycle the drinking straw from your frothy drink by using it to hold up a droopy flower. Slip the stem of the flower into the straw and replace it into your bouquet. 

Ciao!