Upcycled Archives - Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

This month’s upcycling links feature a variety of houseware items and three clothing upcycles. I like the shadow box upcycle for the reason that it reminds me of my wooden typography drawer which I have had for many years. It used to belong to a friend of mine who was the President of the Typographical Union at the New York Times years ago. In lieu of having a wooden typographical box this would be a great way to create a similar type of wall unit that can hold small knick-knacks and collectibles. Particularly helpful is that you could decide how high you want your shelves to be, for instance in the photo of the one holding various CD’s.

The gage dress upcycle I found posted at the Felted Fox blog. Apparently Nicole Prestholdt isn’t currently blogging but she had some great ideas in her previous posts. My favorites so far are the gage dress upcycle and her wrap crop top made from a men’s shirt. Both of them could be worn in fall with a sweater. If you are searching for a new fall/winter clothing item to upcycle you might want to consider her African Print Sweatshirt DIY, which offers a stylish, unique look, and you get to choose if you want very colorful African fabric or earth tones. She posted it as a spring item but I say carry the bright colors into fall and enjoy! Either way a sweatshirt will keep you warm on a chilly day.

If you are looking to buy upcycled clothing instead of making your own, you might want to check out the Etsy shop GarageCoutureClothes. Erin, the designer, made this steampunk harness and vest piece from recycled ties.

The piano bookshelf is a beautiful piece of furniture. It is a great idea if you have an old piano around and would like to recycle it. The mahogany finish is stunning. The bookshelf looks as if it has another long life span ahead of it. That is the whole idea behind upcycling, especially if the item is solid such as furniture.

Steampunk harness by Erin of GarageCoutureClothes

http://www.recyclart.org/2013/01/piano-bookshelf-2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Recyclart+(Recyclart)

The upcycled drawers turned into side tables are another good idea. Simple and no advanced carpentry skills needed. A bit of imagination and paint can turn old drawers into a handy side table, or as the linked post shows, you could stack the drawers to create a bookcase. I have a couple of stacks of old wooden wine boxes used that way in my apartment.

The wind chimes made from old bottle caps are just so cheerful and unique looking. I particularly like the ones made with multi-colored caps. They didn’t give DIY instructions but it seems rather obvious how to put them together.

Upcycled drawers from Hometalk

I found some robot sculptures made by assemblage artist Jen Hardwick. Her Etsy shop has a line of robots that can be used as Christmas ornaments, as well as other crafts, such as found object jewelry and art work. The photos I attached link to her shop and are among the robots that I like so much. They sure are adorably cute and cheerful.

Well I hope you enjoyed this post about upcycling links. I am hoping to make this a monthly post going forward. There are a lot of great upcycling ideas out there and many artists and crafts people making them!

Upcycled wind chimes from Astute Homestead

bottle-cap-wind-chime-2nd

r-bot-wood-blocks-salvaged-metal-found-obkects

Robot ornaments by Jen Hardwick

Robot hanging decor by Jen Hardwick

Muji’s Recycled “Rescued” Yarn Socks

August 30, 2016

08/302016

During the spring, summer and fall my favorite socks are Muji socks made from recycled “dropped” or “rescued” yarn. This is the yarn that drops during the process of making fabric. Muji also makes mops from this yarn. Satoru Matsuzaki, the president and executive officer of Ryohin Keikaku Co. Ltd, the company that opened the existing global 700 Muji shops, said that “even in a country like China, it captured the imagination of consumers, and the mop made out of this rescued yarn is among the top 10 selling products there.” (1) The initial reason I wanted to try the socks is that they are made from this recycled yarn. I had no idea that I would become such an admirer of these cozy socks and end up wearing them almost daily 3/4ths of the year.

Recently I went into a local Muji shop to buy more socks and this time I noticed that the paper wrapped around the socks said “substandard yarn” on the label. That almost sounds like an apology in advance to me. Muji is a Japanese company and the term “Muji” “comes from the Japanese phrase Mujirushi Ryohin, which translates to “No Brand Goods.” (2) Originally the brand began as a generic product line for a supermarket. The popularity of the concept took off and soared into a booming business that carries more than 7,000 items from furniture, to body-care products, clothing, paper goods and soap.

In my opinion there is nothing “substandard” about the yarn for these socks. These are the most comfortable socks for me during the spring through fall when I can’t wear sandals like other people, due to my foot difficulties. I prefer to wear Dansko shoes, or my sneakers, and these socks are lightweight, pretty and colorful. They look nice with the Dansko Mary Jane shoes I typically wear. When it is too hot for stockings and I need a professional look these are the socks I choose to wear with business shoes. They come in a variety of colors when you buy a pack and the socks typically have either one color or a mix of two. The fabric content is 70% polyester, 28% cotton and 2% spandex in the US. In the UK they use elastane instead of the spandex. These socks also seem to last a long time, even with my foot structural problems.

I should try buying the year-round ones they sell as well. I have a lot of socks due to having a mother who loves to buy socks. I suppose I have been using what I have in the colder times of year. I have also bought Muji’s organic cotton short socks and I like those as well. Another reason I like the shops is that they always smell really good, due to their aroma diffusers and the oils they have emitting into the air. Each shop usually has several diffusers going at once on display.

If you haven’t tried Muji’s recycled yarn socks and you like products such as these you might want to give them a try. It puts the rescued yarn to good use and is further down the chain of mass production since it is the second link, not first for the fabrics involved.

Well summer is coming to an end soon. I hope you are enjoying the rest of the season. I just had my second foot surgery on my left foot and luckily it was better than the right foot. So it is not swelling as much as before and I only have one wound, not two like last time. Still I have to stay home for six weeks and not go on trains, subways or buses, or up and down stairs.

I hope you enjoyed this brief post, I will be preparing another post soon!

(1) http://www.livemint.com/Companies/nqyWORGObrMc4jHWAhzGIM/MUJI-president-Satoru-Matsuzaki-on-branding-the-unbranded.html

(2) http://recyclenation.com/2013/05/feet-movin-muji-recycled-socks#sthash.LYQsXHgU.dpuf

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Six Links to Some Great Upcycling Ideas

July 9, 2016

07/092016

I am going to try this out for a while and see how it goes. Every month I will find my favorite upcycles of the month. I will try to find a few that are recent, and doubtless some of them will be older posts that someone made but that I still consider relevant.

Here are a few I found recently:

1. The first one has various ways you could recycle a ladder. Indoor and outdoor ideas are shared. All are very good ideas. I particularly like the pot-holding ladder suspended from the ceiling. I think the black one is a really attractive way to store pots and pans and retain more space in your cabinets for other kitchen items.

2. This next one is 25 DIY hanging planters. It includes some really great ideas, and also some of them have links to tutorials. I like a lot of them but my favorite is the bird cage filled with succulent plants. I think that is just beautiful.

http://www.architectureartdesigns.com/25-lovely-diy-hanging-planters/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=google_plus&utm_source=socialnetwork

3. The next one is a lamp made from a recycled mannequin wearing a WWII helmet. It does not give instructions but if you are handy with electrical wire it is a wonderful, unique idea that is sure to be a conversation piece. This one was made by Danish Re-Design.

4. This is about how to repurpose wine corks into children’s toys. Several ideas are listed, from figurines to stamps to a pirate boat. Fun and playful ideas to entertain children! The figurines would be fun even for adults, as you could let your imagination run wild and make figures of your favorite celebrities or anyone else you choose.

Photo by Secondsguru.com

5. This one is a fun way to take a men’s dress shirt and tie and upcycle them into a summer sleeveless blouse. A super simple idea, no advanced sewing needed. In fact if you don’t have a sewing machine there isn’t much sewing involved so you could sew it by hand. Erin Stevens is the designer, who was so nice as to share her tutorial for this project. You might enjoy checking out her Etsy shop, GarageCoutureClothes.

6. This last one is an upcycled top made from silk scarves that I found on Pinterest. The top was made by La Pristic Ouiston, a brand created by the designer Laurence Mahéo. She made the top from various silk scarves and then cut the silk with a laser cutter, which gives the top a very modern look. The result is a stunning top with a very classy look. La Prestic Ouiston is based in Paris; however apparently Saks Fifth Avenue carries some of their clothing. I have included a link to Saks. The woman who is modeling the top is Linda Wright and she is a blogger.

Well I hope you enjoyed this post. I will aim to do one monthly with my favorite finds and perhaps it will be a dozen next month. I hope you are busy enjoying summer!

My Daughter’s Apartment Is So Vintage Punk

January 9, 2016

01/092016

My daughter Emily’s apartment is so vintage punk. It is cozy, comfy and slightly crooked due to the floors being slanted. It looks so quintessentially her. She has a mannequin she refers to as “Lisa” who stands naked at the rear of her vintage bathtub. A cut-out of a red fox sits between the wall and the tub. Not many people I know have such an interesting bathroom. I mean Lisa and her red fox are quite striking. The walls in the bathroom have more vintage punk art on them. Emily has an assortment of collages she has made and her paint palette also hangs up with its dried paints displayed.

Emily’s assortments of cameras are sitting on top of a vintage old metal rack organizer. A “Ladies” sign is perched on top of a black case. Her little teddy bear “Teddy” sits to the side of the rack with his friend “Wolf”, both from her childhood.

My daughter told me with a look of sneaky delightful joy that she enjoys screwing screws into the wall. She is the daughter of a carpenter so that explains that. On these screws she has perched several drawers which hold a variety of items she likes to display, such as her Mary candle and a can of Heinz beans. Where we lived when Emily was a baby was a large Hispanic neighborhood and those candles were very popular, as were any items displaying pictures of Mary. Off to one corner she has a small altar area with several Mary items displayed. Another drawer holds an old typewriter. Emily is a big fan of typewriters. She values the occasion to sit and type a poem sometimes.

It snowed on Christmas Day, adding to the charm of the apartment, with its large windows creating a view of the snow flickering slowly down to the ground. Emily has a small collection of cactuses she is growing and a tiny fern in her kitchen; they are all growing out of old Café Bustelo cans.

She also has a drawer that she collaged in the inside sitting on the floor near her dining table. This also says “Coffee” since coffee is a big part of Emily’s life. She has been a barista most of the last eleven years.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. I also got a big kick out of she’s Emily’s first apartment that she has had on her own. The building is old and was damaged in a fire. Her landlord bought it for way below the going rate, fixed up the part that was destroyed and is making a nice profit on the place. She is lucky that she lives so close to her work place and a bus ride away from school.

Well I hope you all are enjoying the beginning of the New Year! I am hopeful this year will bring some steady, long-term employment for me and other good things.

Lisa punk decor- steampunk vintage punk