02/07/2012 - Zipper Pull Jewelry

One thing I am going to miss being away from Chicago is Swap-O-Rama-Rama (if it is still going on) because of their great motto "creators not consumers". It is so easy to discard things once they are broken or we are tired of them. The zipper pull broke off my Timberland fleece (not that I would discard it), so I decided I would give it a little pizazz by making my own zipper pull. Plus Zoe noticed the pull was missing and she cutely noticed the new one I made.

Reclaimed Material: random metal bits, broken bracelet
Other/New Material: jewelry wire
Tools: pliers, pencil

How I did it: I chose the random bits of metal that I wanted to use - a little key, a metal oval from a piece of clothing, a zipper pull from a scrapped sweater, and little baubles from a broken bracelet. I wrapped the jewelry wire around the pencil twice to make the ring to put the items on and attach it to the zipper. I used the pliers to tamp down the ring to make it stronger (and also snip the wire) after I put it on the zipper.

What I would do differently: Not much to do differently with this except use different pieces. I was going to add a few more bits, but it seemed like overkill for a fleece.

02/06/2012 - Cashmere Wrist Warmers

My mother-in-law is a fabulous crafter and let me go through some of her scraps for something I wanted to make for my niece for Christmas. Christmas came and went and I never got around to making these wrist warmers for my niece so I took the opportunity to make them as part of my New Year's challenge. They are really cozy though so maybe I will have to keep these for myself, tee hee hee.

Reclaimed Material: cashmere sweater scraps
Other/New Material: embroidery thread
Tools: scissors, needle

How I did it: I cut the scraps so the finished edges that were left would be the tops of the warmers and the top of the warmers each had a star on it. I made a simple pattern that measured about 5"x7" (there is a rudimentary pattern below if anyone wants to try this easy project). There were 4 pieces (2 for the left and 2 for the right. I put the wrong sides together and used the embroidery thread to sew the pieces together using a blanket stitch. After the pieces were sewn together, I sewed an "X" one inch inside the top right side of the left warmer and one inch inside the top left side of the right warmer.

What I would do differently: This project would have been much faster if I machine stitched them, but a) sitting and hand sewing is relaxing to me and b) I only finished one warmer on the 6th and finally finished the second one on the 8th. I will try this again with tops that fold over to make them mittens.

02/05/2012 - V-Day Garland

Since I have a little one now, I am trying to do a better job of decorating for the season/holiday, but I am also a cheapskate so I don't want to spend money doing so. My little Zoe got a sweet Valentine's package from some wonderful friends in Chicago and a 3 year old + gift bag = torn/crumpled gift bag that can't be reused. Most gift bags are paper covered in a plastic film, so they can't be recycled once they cannot be reused. 

Reclaimed Material: discarded gift bag, plastic grocery bag
Other/New Material: none 
Tools: scissors, hole punch

How I did it: The gift bag was covered in hearts so I just cut them out and was happy not to have to make a template. After I cut out the hearts I punched a hole on either side of each heart. I then cut off the handles of the plastic bag so the top was even, then began to cut the bag into a 1" strip around. I cut the bag kind of like an apple peel so I could have one long piece for the garland. I then strung the plastic "string" through the holes on each side of the hearts so that the long part of the "string" was behind the hearts. I tied loops on both ends of the garland and trimmed off the excess plastic "string" then hung it up. When Zoe got up in the morning she said "Mom, we have Valentine's decorations!"

What I would do differently: I saved the scraps from the bag that I cut the hearts out of, so I will end up using them for some other craft to celebrate this month-o-love.

02/04/2012 - Pull Tab Cuff

I was determined to make this bracelet work. I wouldn't call this exactly a successful project, but it is the general idea of what I wanted to accomplish. From what I understand, aluminum cannot be soldered and I believe welding a small aluminum tab would just melt it, so I am on a quest to find a way to hold these pieces together and super glue was just my temporary solution.

Reclaimed Material: aluminum pull tab
Other/New Material: none 
Tools: super glue, (2) pliers, patience

How I did it: I took 8 pull tabs from cat food cans and made sure they were clean and bend down the jagged part on the bottom hole. I began by overlapping two tabs with the bottom overlapping, using super glue in between the tabs, then overlapping the top over a new tab, super gluing, etc. After the super glue set, I put the strip of tabs over my wrist to determine where to bend it to fit. I clamped a pair of pliers on one side of the hole where I wanted to bend the piece and the second pair of pliers on the other side of the hole and slowly bent the aluminum and continued this in the sections needed to fit my wrist. To be quite honest, I was very impatient with this and did not give the super glue enough to fully set and the tabs popped away from each other when I first started bending them by hand.
 
What I would do differently: I am determined to find a solution to melting this tabs together other than using caustic glue which really is not a great solution because it can break apart. Using the pliers scuffed up the aluminum, which could be good if I want a weathered look.

02/03/2012 - Rubber Headband

I get headaches from regular headbands and fabric headbands always slide off my head, so I have never had a good headband option...until now. The rubber makes a great headband because it stays in place and has enough elasticity to stay in place without squeezing my head or slipping off.

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

How I did it: I used three strips of inner tube a little bit wider than 1/4" and 25" long each. I wrapped a small piece of tape around the three pieces on one end then did a regular braid and taped off the end. I fit the band to my head and stitched the ends that were overlapping. I wrapped an extra strip of rubber around the overlapping ends to cover them and did a small stitch to hold the cover in place. For the flower, I cut out my pattern on the paper then cut out two flowers using a wide piece of inner tube. Both flowers were sewn onto the headband then I found a coordinating button from my random box of buttons that everyone seems to have and sewed it on top of the flowers.

What I would do differently: Braiding the band looked nice, but the rubber strips kept twisting and the band curls up. I think doing a round braid or just using wider strips would work just as well.

02/02/2012 - Bubble Wrap Checkbook Cover

I received two packages today that had silvery bubble wrap in it (that isn't all I received). I really liked the color so continued on the streak of melting plastic. Packing material is always a pain because there are not many recycling markets available for it. Usually you can take it to a shipping store, like UPS, and they will take it back for reuse if you don't have a crafty project in mind for the stuff.

Reclaimed Material: bubble wrap, clip on earring
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, iron, ironing board, parchment paper, ruler, super glue

How I did it: This time I used parchment paper instead of cloth as the barrier between the iron and plastic and it worked out wonderfully. I didn't pop the bubbles in the wrap before because I wanted to see what would happen when I pressed the hot iron on it. When the bubbles melted they made a neat circle pattern in the melted plastic. I folded the piece of bubble wrap in half then melted it completely with the iron. I have found that if you over iron the plastic it gets a curdled look to it. I repeated the process with another sheet of bubble wrap then pressed the two melted pieces together. I then cut the piece down to 6.5"x9" and as you can see by the photo scalloped the edge that was going to be on top. I folded the plastic down to 3.5" with the bottom portion to be used between carbon sheets and the top as the cover. I then took one of the 6.5" long scraps I had trimmed off then folded it in half to about .5" and pressed it with the hot iron. I placed it lengthwise near the top of the middle section of the folded plastic piece melted the ends about .25" in to adhere it to the large plastic piece. This piece is to slide the back of the check book into. I also gently ironed the trimmed edges of the plastic to make sure that the pieces were fully melted together. The plastic was thick and the folds kept coming up so I put the parchment paper between the pieces and gently pressed the iron on the folds to hold them in place.

I removed the earring clip from the back of the earring (I was able to do this by hand by pulling it). I used super glue to press it to the front cover, but also pressed the plastic behind it with the iron to shape the decoration around the plastic.

What I would do differently: After I put the sparkle on the cover of the piece, I decided this might might make a fun clutch purse for another project. I think I am going to experiment sometime with grrrr...packing peanuts too.

02/01/2012 - CD Cover Wallet

February is here and I have one month down of my New Year's Resolution! Hooray! This is a project I have been meaning to do for a long time. CD covers have the coolest artwork and when we consolidated our CD collection a few years back I save all the covers and neat artwork and gave away the cases (but now regret that :). I tried experimenting with fusing newspaper bags in the past, but would give up before I let the plastic get hot enough to melt. I had seen an awesome pattern for a fused newspaper bag messenger bag in the, sadly now defunct, Ready Made book which made me want to experiment with it. I am happy this finally worked and this process is pretty much like a homemade laminating machine, so if you want something laminated, this is an easy at home way to do it.

Reclaimed Material: old CD Cover, newspaper bags
Other/New Material: bias tape
Tools: scissors, iron, ironing board, sewing machine, thread, measuring tape, scrap cloth

How I did it: I sandwiched the CD cover inside the newspaper bag and then covered both sides with the cloth and used the iron to melt the plastic. I melted three layers on both sides of the cover, then repeated these steps on two more sheets that were included with the CD. I cut the outside of the wallet to 8.5"x3.5", then cut the next sheet to 3" and the last sheet to 2.5" using the same width of 8.5". I sewed the bias tape along the top edges of each of the these sheets, then stitched a little center left on the two shorter sheets to make little pockets. I made sure the pieces were flush along the bottom then wrapped the bias tape around the three remaining edges. I folded the piece in half and ended up with a rockin' wallet.


What I would do differently: Next time I will use parchment paper to melt the plastic bags to the paper. Also, I am going to use a thinner bias tape.

01/31/2012 - SCRAP Name Badge

I signed up to volunteer at one of my favorite Portland places, SCRAP PDX and was given a plastic sleeve filled with all kinds of goodies to create my volunteer name badge. I love the idea of having the volunteers make their own name badges using random scraps of paper and bits.

Reclaimed Material: paper scraps, name badge holder, lanyard, aluminum flowers left over from the hair pin project, metal clip from a coffee bag
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, glue stick, glue dots, super glue, markers, rubber stamps (included in SCRAP pack), stamp pads

How I did it: The pack that I picked out to make my name badge contained a badge holder and lanyard; magazine picture of a wood carving of a woman; photo copy of a turn of the 19th century advertisement; a card that someone else had decorated with green hearts, gold foil and drew on; metallic card with flowery design and hold punched in it; camel colored and maroon colored paint samples; large greenish-brown card stock; fancy green paper; "z" stamper; "f" stamper; and plastic white dove. I felt the need to list it all out because I love the awesome randomness that somehow all flowed together. I used the "f" stamper to make a template for name on the red and cut it out. The rest is just random designs and additions and there isn't much to explain.
 
What I would do differently: This project is one that depends on the creative mood -- it could be completely different if I did it a month from now. I am not sure if I like how the letters I cut out in red look with the black outline, but that would be a minor change. I think this is a fabulous idea for any reuse/recycling organization, or any group for that matter, to use up office scraps for meetings and conferences.

01/30/2012 - Cardboard Tube Owl

Whooo" loves this project? I do! The flu bug has stricken my household and this was all the energy I could summon to fulfill my New Year's Resolution. This was a great pin I found on Pinterest, http://pinterest.com/pin/181621797442261216/. Not sure if that link will work, but here are some similar instructions: http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/2010/10/owl-family-play-set.html. 

Reclaimed Material: toilet paper roll, fabric scraps, map 

Other/New Material: googly eyes 

Tools: glue, tape, scissors

How I did it: The first thing I did was cut the map (that came with junk mail) to fit around the roll and glued it to the roll. I focused the map on my new home state of Oregon. I folded down the top of the tube to make the owl's ears and taped it down. The scraps I used for the wings and beak are from a Christmas fleece project and are green and yellow in honor of my hubby's Oregon Ducks. I cut and glued the scraps on and added the googly eyes.

What I would do differently: Next time I will include my daughter on this owl-rific adventure...once the flu bug has left the premises. I just covered the roll, but will paint it next time. I also saw a cute little picture of this project where both ends were folded down to make a little gift box. Too cute.

01/29/2012 - Contact Lens Case Locket

This is my "gift with purchase" project. I seem to have an abundance of contact lens cases that come with contact lens solution and the necklace and charm on the front of the case were "free" gifts my grandmother-in-law received for donating to various causes. She gave them to me because she would have discarded them otherwise. This is fun "locket" and can be used to keep anything from medication to even an extra contact lens.

Reclaimed Material: contact lens case, necklace, charm, wine bottle foil
Other/New Material: none
Tools: metallic paint, box knife, Dremel tool, super glue, drill

How I did it: This project required more heavy duty tool work than my other projects. The first thing I did was take the lids off the contact lens case and used the box knife to cut it in half. Not to state the obvious, but if you try this, please use caution when using any sharp objects. I made sure not to cut too close to the side I was using so that I had enough of a lip to drill a hole to hang the necklace on. I used the Dremel to sand down the sides to make the edges smooth, trying to keep the lip I cut even with the rest, other than the section that I was going to drill. I lightly sanded the back of the case so the paint would stick to the plastic. Once the edges were sanded, I used a tiny (1/16" ?) drill bit to make a hole for the finding (I believe that is the correct term for the little loop that connects the charm to the necklace). Next, I used a silver metallic paint and painted the base of the lens case and the lid. I tried not to get paint on the area where the lid screwed onto the base. After the paint dried, I glued the foil circle from the top of a wine bottle to the lid and then glued the charm on top of the foil. The charm had a little piece sticking off the top to hang it from a necklace, so I was able to easily bend it off with pliers and used the Dremel to smooth the edge. I then used one of the findings from another discarded charm and inserted it into the hole that I drilled in the lens case. I then threaded the necklace chain through the finding and viola, had a lovely waterproof locket. 
 
What I would do differently: If I make this again, I would use a different metallic paint. I think spray paint would look nicer than the paint I used. I also don't think it was really to sand the plastic since it won't be getting heavy duty use and the back looks like it was sanded.