Two Things Tuesday---Earth Day Edition!

I've got Earth Day on the brain...probably because I teach preschoolers and these are the kind of days we do lots of projects for! I've always been a little on the "crunchy granola" side anyway---I recycle, eat *mostly* organic, don't like using chemicals to clean with...etc. I am about to officially embark on our homeschooling journey and through that---there are cutbacks happening left and right since we will go from (gulp) two incomes to one. I am repurposing EVERYTHING, I may put a clothesline in the backyard, I want to plant a vegetable/fruit garden. It makes me wonder if being poor is what started the whole "reduce your carbon footprint" thing...hmmm. Anyway, what EVER way it came about in this house---I am way into it now and I REALLY enjoy those who upcycle...particularly those that do it with style! Without further ado...

THING ONE: Recycled Stuff on Etsy! Man, I thought I was creative for repurposing clothes...into other clothes...well, maybe not so much. But these wonderfully creative folks have really wrapped their brains around upcycling in a way I don't think I ever could! Kudos to these thinkers:


Brooch made from recycled plastic?? Isn't the form just so organic and natural looking? Never would've thought of that one! This one is from ekoista, which is based out of Poland. They have some necklaces too made from this turquoise plastic which are totally awesome, too!

This jellyfish is nothing short of AMAZING!! This is from TwiddleLee...and I think this would be wonderful in a kiddo's ocean-themed room!

Drink that soda and down that wine because you need a new set of glasses! I don't have the know how or tools to smooth out the lip of a cut piece of glass...but these people do and they put it to good use! Those IBC glasses are calling me bc a LONG time ago the hubby and I used to LOVE these...ahh, memories!

These are from YAVAglass:

These styled up numbers are from CarrollCreekGlass:

I thought this one was simply genius...recycle those VHS tape covers and make them into notepads/drawing pads!! I can't think of a better thing to do with a VHS tape cover, can you?? Unfortunately, being the extremely poor college kid that I was, I totally sold off my VHS tapes to pay the rent. But, if I still had even ONE...I would be doing this with it. Planes, Trains and Automobiles sewing journal...doesn't get much cooler to me!!! They even use the back...seriously awesome! What a great gift for a movie lover, too! DustyMoon made these and some other fun ones like Star Wars, A Christmas Story, An American Werewolf in London, War Games...hellooo...let's play Global Thermonuclear War...on Earth Day!!




THING TWO: I do a LOT of repurposing/upcycling around the house. I find it hard to throw away things that I've hung onto for no apparent reason. For example, we went through a "we like everything Asian" phase and bought all kids of stuff with various calligraphy and symbology on it. And then, we suddenly decided we didn't like our whole house decorated in the American version of Asian style anymore. Did I throw everything out?...nope. I repainted or covered it! Painted lots of stuff just plain white...because that's what I like now. Mod Podged some frames with scrapbook paper that I just couldn't give up either. Anyway, I'm just saying, before you garage sale-it...think about changing it!

Getting back to the repurposing...Craigslist is the mecca for all those who want to try making something blech into something wonderfully useful! Hence my $20 purchase, seen here:

This WILL be the new home for my pile of fabric! It will be neat and organized....possibly by color. I just have to sand, paint and add some sort of fun detail to this unsightly item first! Soon, it will happen SOON!!

In conclusion... YAY, EARTH DAY!! Celebrate by recycling/upcycling/repurposing something your self! Or just buy something someone else recycled! Either way, you'll feel good about it!