03/11/2012 - Game Board Storage Box

I was lucky enough to inherit a bunch of old games with missing pieces...most of which I had never heard of like "Little Genius Club".

Reclaimed Material: game board
Other/New Material: none
Tools: box cutter, ruler, black electrical tape

How I did it: I sliced the game board in half along the fold with the box cutter. I measured one half of the board and divided it into 3 parts with the center being cut larger than the two ends, which were cut equally. I cut the other half of the game board the same way. I taped the two large center pieces and two of the smaller ends together like a box. I then took one of the short end pieces and taped it to the bottom of the box I created. For the lid, I taped one side of the remaining short end for the lid. I used the tape to edge the lid.

What I would do differently: I would like to find some type of book binding tape, or I guess brown packing tape would work too. This is not completely done because I am going to cover the black tape. I saw instruction for making masking tape look like leather by rubbing it with brown shoe polish, which I would like to do because I think it would match this old game board. I also need to find a game piece that will match as a little handle for this.

03/10/2012 - Plastic Flowers

I can't stop making these flowers! I saved the colorful plastic that comes with flowers from the D.C. trip. I think the airline baggage inspectors thought I was a nut job bringing home a suitcase half full of garbage. I couldn't decide which Zoe picture to use so I have a couple of her. She is becoming a ham with the pictures.

Reclaimed Material: plastic papery flower wrap, toy wire, ribbon
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, glue

How I did it: Just like the paper flower wreath, I cut out squares of the plastic and then cut it in a circular swirl. I rolled the pieces and viola...flowers. I used the toy wire as the stems and glued the center of each flower to a piece of toy wire. I then recoiled the flowers and glued the end around the base of the flower by the wire to keep it from uncoiling. I tied them together with a piece of ribbon from a balloon to hold the bouquet together.

What I would do differently: I am not sure what I am going to do with the flowers yet, but they are just fun to do. Zoe is really enjoying playing with them. I think I am going to use the rest of the plastic and scraps to make "grass" for Zoe's Easter basket.

03/09/2012 - Rubber Triangle Bracelet

I wanted to try something funky with a piece of inner tube, but I am not sure this translated well from the mental picture I had of this. This is kind of geometric, 80s-ish. I can't help but think of Jem and the Holograms. Wow, that makes me sou

Reclaimed Material: rubber inner tube
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, X-acto knife 

How I did it: I cut a long triangle from the rubber long enough to fit around my wrist with a little bit of overlap. I cut two vertical slits on the short side of the triangle for the point to fit in.

What I would do differently: I should have cut the triangle longer. The point pulls out of the slits a bit. OK, sorry, that sounds worse than I mean it to, I am now getting my mind out of the gutter. This is really boring and needs some pizazz...glitter? sparkles? diamonds?

03/08/2012 - Plastic Ornament

UPDATED: In case you already looked at this, I have updated it with pictures now....yeah me! I am not really sure what this should be called...so I am calling it an ornament. I have seen something similar with paper, so why not plastic?

Reclaimed Material: #2 plastic yellow and white containers, toy wire
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, paper, hole punch

How I did it: I cut a stencil from the paper in the shape of an elongated eyeball - I believe that is the technical term, about 3" long. I cut out about 7 of these pieces in each color because I wasn't sure how many I would need. I punched holes on each end of the pieces. I bend the toy wire on one end and made a couple coils then pulled it through the holes on one end of the pieces, alternating the white and yellow. I pulled the piece from the bottom of the stack and pulled the wire through the hole on the other end, and continued this. I had to pinch the pieces so they would stay in place.

What I would do differently: Since I finally found the ornament this needed to be updated. Because of the thickness of the plastic I used the pieces stair stepped so when the last piece and the first piece met, there was a gap. I think a thinner plastic should be used or the pieces need to be cut bigger.

03/07/2012 - Number Wind Chime

My homage to the first home Jason, Zoe and I had together. When we were getting the house ready for sale, we changed out the house numbers to help boost our "curb appeal". I wanted to take a nice picture of this hanging outside, but living in Oregon, the rain has not allowed that yet.

Reclaimed Material: metal numbers, bike cog, brake wire
Other/New Material: none
Tools: metal clippers, pliers

How I did it: I cut two pieces of the brake wire--which I had untwisted and used a couple strands for each number because there are about 30 different metal threads on each piece of brake wire. I threaded both pieces of wire through the holes in the cog so they were evenly spaced then attached the numbers to each end of the two strands, staggering them in the house number order - 4715. I took another strand of the wire and used it to make a hanger for the wind chime. 

What I would do differently: I think some kind of chain would have worked better than the wire.

03/06/2012 - Small Magazine Bowl

Junk mail is annoying, but catalogs are fun to look at. Patagonia catalogs have some amazing photography, so even though it can just be recycled, it is nice to give it another life.

Reclaimed Material: magazine pages
Other/New Material: none
Tools: glue, paintbrush, little cup

How I did it: I tore out pages from the catalog, picking out colors that stood out to me. I folded each sheet (3 of them) in half, then in half again, then in half again, etc., etc., etc., until it was about half an inch thick. I poured some glue in the little cup and added a little water to it. I painted the glue onto one of the folded strips then started coiling it, adding more glue as necessary. I added on another strip once I reached the end of the first and made the coil for the bottom about 2" in diameter then started winding the strips up for the sides of the bowl, continually adding glue.

What I would do differently: Just like some of my other projects, this is one that just requires some practice. I will probably do some variations of this project. I haven't made paper beads in a few years, so that could be on April's agenda.

03/05/2012 - Rubber Stamp

With all the rubber that I use, I thought I would try my hand at making a rubber stamp. I thought it would be fun to make Zoe her own little name stamp so she could mark her artwork. Can you spot the problem?

Reclaimed Material: bicycle inner tube,wood scrap
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, glue, books


How I did it: I cut out the letters for Zoe's name. I then cut a rubber strip that would fit the wood and letters and glued the strip onto the wood, then glued the letters onto the strip. I put the block under a pile of books so the rubber wouldn't buckle and waited for it to dry.

What I would do differently: Oh, so many things I would do differently. First of all, I had totally spaced that I needed to mirror the letters so they would stamp the right way on paper! Duh. Secondly, I need to figure out a better glue to use. I knew the regular glue I used wasn't the best option and it hardened the rubber. I think a heavy duty rubber cement would work, maybe. The wood scrap I used wasn't very big, but it seems cumbersome, so will use a smaller scrap next time. One last thing is that I will make the letters thicker by gluing rubber strips together then cutting out the shapes. Oh well, you live and you learn.

03/04/2012 - Toilet Paper Roll Tree

This project did not turn out anything like I wanted it to. I saw this neat cut out online of tree branches cut out of the toilet paper rolls (#5 Toilet Paper Art).

Reclaimed Material: toilet paper roll
Other/New Material: none
Tools: X-acto knife, pencil

How I did it: I sketched out the tree branch on the toilet paper roll before I started cutting it out. I cut out the branch and pulled it away from the roll. 

What I would do differently: The picture looks like a dorky monster trying to eat its own arm, so there is a lot I would do differently. The biggest issue I had was a dull X-acto blade and I didn't realize I had run out of fresh ones, so this is not as detailed as I wanted it to be. I think I will leave this one to the paper art professionals.

03/03/2012 - Mardi Gras Bead Hairband

Zoe got an awesome package from her Grandma Judy in Chicago celebrating all the spring holidays, including some fun Mardi Gras masks and beads. She had a little bit too much fun with the necklaces and broke a couple, so they got added to my craft supply. This could be done with none broken beads and a rubber band or piece of elastic too.

Reclaimed Material: beaded necklaces, bicycle inner tube
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors

How I did it: The first thing that I had to do was tie the broken ends back together, so I took really skinny strip of the rubber and tied it between the end beads to connect them. Next I lined up the two necklaces where I tied them together and folded it in half. I took another rubber strip and looped it around the necklace fold and the skinny strips used to tie the beads back together and tied the bigger strip together.


What I would do differently: There were a few other ideas that I was going to try, but they just didn't quite work out. I know there are about a million different things to do with these colorful buggers.

03/02/2012 - Handle for the Plarn Bag

Finally done with this little bag! Zoe was getting impatient to have it, but I had to make her wait until I got a picture of it.

Reclaimed Material: plarn
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, knitting needles

How I did it: I knit the handle about 8" long and stitched it onto the bag.


What I would do differently: I really like to just sit and knit, but I don't know if I really care about making something with plarn again now that I have gotten it out of my system. Who knows though, I still have nine and half months of upcycled projects to do!

03/01/2012 - Coffee Bag Sandwich Wrap

This kind of reminds me of the little leaf pouches the Hobbits had their bread wrapped in in the Lord of the Rings movies (nerd alert, I know). I heard a speaker at a conference complain about drink pouches and coffee bags because they are not something that can be recycled (as of now). They are a plastic/foil hybrid that can't really be separated. This material does have an interesting texture for crafting though. This is a good alternative to using plastic sandwich bags.

Reclaimed Material: coffee bag, Velcro
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, glue

How I did it: I cut the coffee bag open and rinsed off the coffee residue. I trimmed the bag down to about 9" x 9". I turned the square so one of the corners was at the top. I folded the sides in so they overlapped then folded the top and bottom in so they overlapped as well. The Velcro was from a gift bag I used in another project, so I was able to peel one of the pieces off to stick to the coffee bag but had to glue the other Velcro piece onto the bag. I adhered one piece of the Velcro to the inside of the top fold and the other piece onto the outside of the bottom fold.

What I would do differently: I would probably cut the bag a little differently to fold down better. It would be neat to decorate the bag as well. Maybe paint it to look like Hobbit pouches.

02/29/2012 - Telephone Book Origami

I can't remember the last time I used a telephone book to find a telephone number, but they always seem to be floating around. I think origami is such an interesting skill, so I thought I would practice and make my own sheets from the telephone book.

Reclaimed Material: telephone book pages
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors 

How I did it: I only remember one origami folding technique from when I was a kid, so I needed to beef up my repertoire via Google. There is a great site with thorough instructions with step-by-step pictures: Origami-Instructions.com. I cut the telephone book pages into 4"x4" squares. They were smaller than recommended, but they still worked. I created a little box and various flowers.

What I would do differently: Practice makes perfect, so I just need to keep experimenting with different folds. But I have to hand it to the Japanese culture for creating such a delicate craft.

02/28/2012 - Plarn Bag - Part II

I took a break from my schoolwork to finish up the body of the plarn bag. It is surprisingly soft and squishy when knitted.

Reclaimed Material: plarn
Other/New Material: none
Tools: knitting needles

How I did it: Knitting, knitting and a little more knitting. I folded the knitted piece in half and used the cast on knit to hold the sides together.

What I would do differently: Finish?

02/27/2012 - Random Notecard

This is the follow-up to the envelope. I used more goodies from my sister and didn't have glue or clear tape, but I think this is pretty decent improvisation.

Reclaimed Material: cardboard gift bag, drink pouch, ribbon
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, black electrical tape

How I did it: I used the template (from my sister used in the envelope post from 2/26) to cut out the gift bag to make the base of the card. I cut a rectangle from the drink pouch and cut two slits in the center for the bow. I cut out circles from the tape to match the base and attached the rectangle to the base.

What I would do differently: Of course there are so many ways to do this differently. Access to my scrapbooking stuff would make a difference.

02/26/2012 - Capri Sun Pouch Envelope

My sister made my life a lot easier by helping me out with ideas and feedstock for my upcycled projects away from home. She bought me a neat little make-your-own recycled card and envelope kit. It came with cute recycling stickers and labels for envelopes, etc.

Reclaimed Material: drink pouch
Other/New Material: black electrical tape, stickers
Tools: envelope stencil, scissors

How I did it: I cut up the drink pound and washed it out. I used the envelope stencil to cut out the shape I needed. The drink pouch was a tad bit smaller than the stencil so I compensated by using the tape to extent the edges around the envelope. I folded the envelope with the printed side of the pound in and added the address stickers to the front.

What I would do differently: This is a fun little kit that I can use on lots of different materials, so I will try some other envelope types sometime.

02/25/2012 - Small Plarn Bag

I started this project in our car trip back to Chicago from D.C., but ran out of daylight to complete this bag, so this is Part I of the plarn bag saga.

Reclaimed Material: plarn
Other/New Material: none
Tools: chopsticks

How I did it: Since this was my first plarn knitting project I didn't want to make anything too big, so I decided on a small bag for Zoe. I started a regular knit with the plarn. I got about halfway done with the body of the bag before I lost my light. I was kind of relieved because we were pretty pooped from our trip.

What I would do differently: Like with the Mylar project, using real knitting needles.

02/24/2012 - Plastic Flowers

Hotel crafting anyone? I have a slight Dr. Pepper addiction and never realized how cool the scalloped design on the top of the bottle was.

Reclaimed Material: plastic bottles with lids
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, tape

How I did it: I used the imprint on the top of the Dr. Pepper bottle as a guide and cut around it to make the petals of the flower. I also cut a water bottle, but make up the petal cuts as I went along. I didn't have any glue just black electrical tape so I had to figure out how to attach the lids as the centers of the flowers without the tape showing. I cut a piece from the rest of the bottle and rolled it so it would fit snugly in the neck of the bottle. I folded the tape in half, sticky side out and wrapped it around the rolled piece of plastic and put the lid over the tape and repeated with the second flower.

What I would do differently: Absolutely would use glue instead of black electrical tape! I think these would make cute wine stopper tops by using old corks in the neck.

02/23/2012 - PLARN!

Plastic + Yarn = Plarn. This plastic yarn was easier to make than I thought. There are lots of great things that knitters are making with this. I even heard of a Girl Scout group a few years ago collecting plastic grocery bags to turn into Plarn as part of a fundraiser...pretty cool.

Reclaimed Material: plastic grocery bags
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors 

How I did it: I thought that knitters made the plarn by cutting one long strip from each bag and tying them together as they went along, but this seemed so cumbersome, not to mention hard to get an even cut. I found these simple instructions: plarn making. I followed the instructions and rolled the plarn into a ball.

What I would do differently: I guess I could use newspaper bags for this too, but this seems like a good use of plastic grocery bags.

02/22/2012 - Mylar Balloon Camera Sleeve

Crafting on a road trip is not the easiest thing to do, well at least to do well. I had to get creative on this one. I found a Mylar balloon in the stockpile of goodies my sister had for me and combined it with a pair of disposable chopsticks (how is that for ingenuity?) from my mom to work on this project.

Reclaimed Material: Mylar balloon, potato chip bag
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, wooden chopsticks

How I did it: Starting at the top of the balloon I cut into one side of the balloon and began cutting a horizontal strip then continued cutting it like an apple core to use as my "yarn". Using the chopsticks as my needles, I started knitting the balloon to make a sleeve for my sister's camera. The seams of the Mylar came apart in a couple places so I had to tie the pieces together. Unfortunately, I ran out of the Mylar before I was able to finish. Julie suggested using a chip bag to finish so I started the same process as with the Mylar and knitted the chip bag onto the Mylar. I used the potato chip "yarn" too stitch the piece into a sleeve.

What I would do differently: I have a habit of knitting really tightly, so chopsticks didn't really help. Using real knitting needles would be easier next time. (The picture was taken before the chip bag was added.)

02/21/2012 - Airline Food Plate

Long gone are the good ol' days of getting a free bag of peanuts or pretzels on airplanes. I bought one of the little snack packs on my flight to Chicago and it came with a little square plastic plate. It seemed a shame to throw it out so I stuck it in my bag. My artsy sister gave me access to her paints and paint brushes to keep up with my resolution during my visit. She also had a wonderful supply of cool garbage waiting for me to transform. Hooray Julie!

Reclaimed Material: plastic plate
Other/New Material: none
Tools: paint, brushes, painter's tape

How I did it: I taped the edges of the plate, then left a little space to paint a line then taped inside. I painted the line then let it dry. After the line dried I removed the tape and painted the design in the middle.

What I would do differently: I was happy to have access to my sister's supplies, so not much to do differently, except maybe lacquer it. I gave the plate to my mom to use as a little gift plate or something.

02/20/2012 - Rubber/Antique Button Hairband

Yes, another headband...for a friend. I got this done the night before I went out of town so I just took a quick picture.

Reclaimed Material: rubber inner tube, antique(ish) button
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, needle, thread, tape, paper

How I did it: Again, I did the same thing as the other headbands. My grandmother-in-law gave me some of her old sewing stuff and I found the awesome button for the middle of the flower.


What I would do differently: As you can see the flower rolls up on the sides. I found with some of the inner tubes that they roll up depending on how I cut them.

02/19/2012 - Paper Flower Wreath

I am in love with these paper flowers. I found a blog with great instructions for these paper roses and the blogger has some other fabulous instructions: Crafting with Intention.

Reclaimed Material: junk mail, plastic lid, gift bag ribbon
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, glue

How I did it: I followed the Crafting with Intention instructions for these little beauties. The junk mail I used was black and white with splashes of red so I found a red plastic lid I had hoarded away to match. I cut out the center of the lid to make the paper flower wreath. I used the ribbon from a gift bag I used in other daily crafts for the hanger. I glued the flowers and ribbon to the plastic lid.

What I would do differently: I would have made more little flowers to fill in some of the gaps but ran out of the red, black and white junk mail. Don't worry you will see these again in other projects. I heart these.

02/18/2012 - Mittens!

My little kitten had lost her mittens, so I was going to buy her a new pair then thought, "What am I doing? Why don't I make them?" I used some fleece scraps from a Christmas project. Zoe did tell me when the Three Little Kittens song was playing "those kittens aren't supposed to wear mittens when they eat pie!" Oh the wisdom of a 3 year old.

Reclaimed Material: scrap fleece
Other/New Material: thread
Tools: scissors, sewing machine, needle

How I did it: I used a lonely mitten that had lost its mate as a template and cut out the pieces. I was finally able to use the selvage edge for the whites of the eyes and also cut out black circles for the eyes and yellow for the beak. I wanted the mittens to be ducks to go with the Oregon Ducks fleece (Go Ducks!). I hand stitches the face to the tops of the mittens, then machined stitched the mittens together and folded up the bottoms and stitched to finish. 

What I would do differently: I cut the fleece a little bigger than the knit mitten I used as a template, but forgot to factor in the stretchiness of the knit vs. the non-stretchy fleece. I would probably add elastic around the bottom too.

02/17/2012 - Coffee Bag Ring

This is a throw back to the folding gum wrappers in school thing. Way to reuse gum wrappers kiddos! There are some awesome candy wrapper and chip bag purses that people make using this technique, but I don't really have the gumption to make one myself. I was going to make a bracelet, but gave in to just making a ring. Please pardon the seriously dry hand picture.

Reclaimed Material: coffee bag
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors

How I did it: Since I didn't use gum wrappers I had to cut the coffee bag into strips, obviously. I cut the strips 1/2" tall about 2.5" wide. I didn't use a ruler, so I just eyeballed a template and cut them all the same size. I followed these instructions (it has been many, many years since doing this in school): gum wrapper chain instructions. Circling the ends together was a little tricky. Quite frankly it has been a few weeks since I did this so I don't remember exactly what I did, but I think I had to take one end of an inserted half to wrap through the other end and tucked or something like that.

What I would do differently: I might try this technique again to make a bracelet with another material. The pieces seemed too thick when folded and tucked, so next time I will cut them thinner and make less folds.

02/16/2012 - 100% Rubber Coin Purse

I made this cute little guy as a gift for my great aunt-in-law for her 91st birthday. I have to say that she and my grandmother-in-law are the cutest pair of ladies I have ever met. It is wonderful to see two ladies who have lived such full and interesting lives enjoying each others company.

Reclaimed Material: bicycle inner tube,
Other/New Material: none!
Tools: scissors, little bitty hold punch

How I did it: I had a fat inner tube that was rounded so I couldn't use it for my other projects. I sliced the inner part of the tube like a hot dog bun (impressive analogy, I know) for the base of the coin purse. I had to overlap separate pieces on each side to make the purse 3.5" high. I cut the pieces into a trapezoid shape with the top 4.5" wide and the bottom 5" wide. For the flap, I used a piece of the inner tube that had vertical lines on it and cut it to fit the top portion. Next I punched holes closely together around the sides and top, including the flap, and made sure that the holes lined up on each side. I punched the holes farther apart for the horizontal pieces. I cut long strips of rubber (a little skinnier than 1/16") to use as my "thread". I started by straight stitching the panels together for each side, but used the same piece of "thread" for the front and back, then tied the ends in a little bow on the back to give it a little whimsy. I then whip stitched up along one side and the top with the flap. Next I started at the bottom of the remaining side and whip stitched to the top and tied the ends of the "thread" together.

What I would do differently: I wouldn't change anything about this little purse. I love that it is sturdy and made with only rubber. I am also in love with the little bow.

02/15/2012 - Crocheted Rubber Bracelet

Time to catch up on my posts...no more traveling, research papers or sick kids! I had to dust off my crochet skills to do this project. I have never tried a crochet project that required any deviation from the regular crochet, so this may be the fanciest thing I have crocheted.

Reclaimed Material: bicycle inner tube, beads from SCRAP
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, crochet hook (J)

How I did it: I had skinny strips of rubber left over from another project. The strip I used was about 1/16" wide. I began by crocheting a regular chain stitch. I started the next line of crochet and added a bead every 4 hooks. I was going to do one more chain, but decided it didn't need it. Lastly, I tied the ends together.

What I would do differently: I will definitely try this again. Next time I will use a bigger crochet hook. It turned out a little messier than I had intended, but I still like it enough to wear it.

Need catch up on posts!

Thank goodness my resolution was not to blog everyday because that would have gone to the wayside along with self-promises to loose weight or be a nice person (I am not always a nice person tee hee). Anyway, will be updating my daily upcycled crafts on Tuesday...now I need to get back to writing my term paper on overpopulation even though I would rather be crafting!