Craftzine.com blog: Recycle Archives

Archive: Recycle

May 23, 2012

DIY Record Side Table

As the wife of an avid vinyl collector, I am all too excited about this great upcycled table tutorial by The Flourishing Abode.

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May 22, 2012

How-To: T-Shirt to Ruffled Tube Top For Summer

T-Shirt revamp projects abound, and summer is a perfect time to tackle them. This t-shirt-to-tube-top DIY from Cathy of Trinkets in Bloom is an easy and quick way to transform a boxy t-shirt in to a cute, ruffled tube top that's perfect for hot summer days.

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How-To: Millennium Falcon And X-Wing from Floppy Disk

I'm going to skip the "this makes me feel old" jokes and head straight to the awesomeness that is this collection of mini models of Star Wars ships made from floppy disks by Instructables user Jetpack5. Now you don't have to trash all those floppies that are gathering dust in your office or garage! [via @ThinkGeek]

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May 21, 2012

3 DIY New Looks from Old Dresses

Summer is knocking on the door and instead of getting a whole new wardrobe, Refinery 29 shows us how to DIY 3 new looks out of old dresses.

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Flashback: Build a Toy Camera from Recycled Materials

This week's Flashback project is a perfect one to pin for a summer activity with the kids. Jessica Wilson shares how to make a fun toy camera with things you can pull from your recycle bin.

By Jessica Wilson

If you have ever happened over to my Flickr page, you might notice that I like to take pictures...of everything. I am also quite smitten with cameras; all sorts of cameras. My mister however, is not a camera person, but he does have a fondness for Animal Crackers.

One day, I picked up a couple of boxes for him (I am a sucker for the boxes, they are kinda adorable) and I noticed that the little darlings are perfectly camera-sized. So, with a little paint, glue and vision, I came up with this quirky camera project your kiddos should have a blast doing. Hit up your local snack shop and find yourself a small camera-like box and get to creating. I have oodles more ideas for this project but here is the how-to for the scrumdilly-deluxe!

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How-To: Recycled Barn Door Desk

I love this upcycled barn door desk from Tracie at Cleverly Inspired. It's so nice to see a project that so thoroughly preserves the beauty and personality of the original barn door!

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May 15, 2012

Morrocan Lanterns from Spaghetti Jars

This is one of the most unique up-cycled projects I have seen! Matsutake shows how to take a spaghetti jar and turn it into a Morrocan-inspired lantern! Love this and totally trying it myself!

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How-To: Refashion T-Shirt to Baby Dress

UpCrafting doesn't just mean working with recycling bin materials. Refashioning clothing items is a fantastic way to create environmentally-friendly crafts. Dana of MADE shares how she transformed a thrifted child's t-shirt into a sweet dress for an infant. I love that this was a "winging it" project. Those often give the most fun, rewarding results of all!

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How-To: Recycled T-Shirt Rose Bouquet

Looking for a lovely way to recycle t-shirts that your kids have outgrown? Check out this t-shirt rose bouquet that Heather from The Sewing Loft shared in Green Child Magazine!

The Summer 2012 issue of Green Child Magazine is out and I could not be more excited to share an easy way to turn your child's favorite tee shirts into a keepsake.

Ready to make your own? You can find the full tutorial—plus a ton of other kid-friendly ideas—right here.

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May 14, 2012

Flashback: Pool Noodle Flower Curtain

With summer right around the corner, pool noodles are all over the place. It's the perfect chance to repurpose the floaty tubes in to a whimsical flower curtain. Our flashback project for this week is from Jessica Wilson, and has always been a fan favorite.

By Jessica Wilson

When I was a kid we didn't have pool noodles, we had boogie boards. While boogie boards were very cool in their own 1980s way, they were not nearly as versatile as the candy-colored pool noodle. There are all kinds of nifty things you can do with a pool noodle. You can float on them, build with them, turn them into swords and lightsabers, and even make nifty gear-styled walls, all sorts of fun things.

You know summer is almost upon us once the pool noodle pops up everywhere. From fancy-schmancy flower- and star-shaped noodles to your regular old round noodle, they are ridiculously easy to find. Once summer ends, though, you're left with a slightly squished and has-been candy-colored thingamajig. Don't throw it away -- turn it into a lightsaber, car wash, or sword, or follow along with me to turn a pair of noodles into some nifty room decor.

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May 10, 2012

How-To: Vintage Camera Lamp

Stacie of Stars for Streetlights shares how she came up with a clever way to display some of her collection of vintage cameras by repurposing them to create a lamp base.

I realized that there is not enough time in the day for me to use my entire camera collection. So instead of keeping my cameras cooped up in the cupboard, I decided to rescue those vintage cameras, imbibed with memories, from a life of boredom in a box.

See how to make your own over on her blog!

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Vintage Camera Nightlights @Craftzine.com blog

May 9, 2012

How-To: Pom-Pomless Earrings, a Project Excerpt From Chic on a Shoestring by Mary Jane Baxter

Crafters know, almost better than anyone, how one of the best ways to go green with projects is repurposing an existing object, garment or accessory. It's not just economical, it's environmentally friendly, and it's no surprise that crafters excel at upcrafting. This week's book excerpt is a great example of repurposing and refashioning to maximize your budget and minimize your environmental impact.

Mary Jane Baxter is a former BBC foreign reporter whose new ventures bring her to the world of crafting and fashion. In her new book, Chic on a Shoestring, she shares more than 40 fashion and accessory projects to help you customize your look.

Chic on a Shoestring teaches readers how to recycle almost anything in the closet-- old clothes, shoes, scraps of fabric, broken necklaces, buttons--and convert them into stylish, vintage accessories. Readers will learn how to transform a colorful ribbon into a trendy belt, shoelaces into a stunning choker, a silk scarf into a seductive summer top, and much more.

Mary Jane is sharing her Pom-Pomless Earrings project from Chic on a Shoestring with CRAFT readers. Download the PDF below to see how to make these quick and cute accessories.

Download the Instructions and Template for making Pom-Pomless Earrings, by Mary Jane Baxter (excerpted from Chic on a Shoestring)
Right click to save the PDF to your desktop. Directions on downloading PDFs.

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