I love & often tumblr about: activism, smiling, heated discussions, chunky jewelry, DIY projects, furniture reupholstery, equality, liberalism, paint, funky clothes, water, carbon footprints, indie movies, abstract photographs, politics, news, juicy quotes, powerful people, thought provoking ideas, sushi, coffee, text messaging, bizarre art and macabre inventions.
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MAKE THIS —> Things you need:
- a big, button-down shirt
- 4 or 5 buttons
- needle and thread
- straight pins
- scissors
- someone to help you, or a dress form
(via Instructables)
Wed, March 10th 2010
Purpose Restoration.
“Why create when you can recreate? You call it art; we call it furniture destiny. Now we live, and work, for a purpose.”
This company takes repurposing seriously, with style. They take old pieces of furniture, that you might find in a thrift shop or on the side of the road - and apply snazzy design concepts and principles to recreate new furniture, the kind you’d pay $$$ for. You can apply this same idea to your old furniture - do this!
This is The Butcher Block: Old “ice box” style TV stand. With large wide screen TV’s, and all of the components that come with our new modern viewing adventure, these stands have become obsolete. The cabinet is of high quality wood and construction. Medium: White lacquer with black and red lacquer knives. 1 ½” thick reclaimed butcher block cut to size, Butcher block oil (FDA approved for food preparation). Plexiglass backing. Dimensions: H 35” W 35” D 19 ½”
From this: 
To this:
(via Purpose Restoration)
Tue, March 9th 2010
I’m not a huge fan of displaying logos for corporations, but I do love repurposing of plastic grocery bags - always.
This tutorial offers instructions, for the rain bucket hat (pictured above) and the tote.
The most interesting part is the fusing of plastic bags - using an iron - to create a substantial material. Think of all the neat things you could make.
(via Craftzine)
Mon, March 1st 2010
DIY Headboard - Using Old Door as Headboard - Country Living
“A queen-size bed frame can easily set you back $2,000. A salvaged door? This one cost about $25. Of course, turning it into a headboard did require some work: sawing the door down to size, adding chair-rail molding to the top, brushing on a few coats of paint. But you could pay a pro to do the heavy lifting and still come out ahead — at which point, you get to lie back and count up your good deeds: You’ve recycled an architectural castoff that didn’t deserve to be trashed, saved loads of cash, and created one truly unique piece of furniture. All facts that should help you sleep easier.”
Mon, February 8th 2010
Real Simple’s 50 All Time Favorite New Uses for Old Things list includes:
Re-purposing empty tissue boxes to contain those thousands of plastic grocery bags, ribbon adorned lamp shades, shower curtain closet hooks & more.
Sun, January 17th 2010
Real Simple provides a HUGE A-Z list of how to responsibly recycle, upcyle, reuse or properly dispose of several common items, including:
— Paint — Bubble wrap — Jars — Eyeglasses — Aerosol cans — Books — Computers — Batteries — Mattresses — Post it notes — Prescription drugs —
»> Here are some examples:
Cell phones: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, fewer than 20 percent of cell phones are recycled each year, and most people don’t know where to recycle them. The Wireless Foundation refurbishes old phones to give to domestic-violence survivor calltoprotect.org. For information on other cell-phone charities, log on to recyclewirelessphones.com. In some states, like California and New York, retailers must accept and recycle old cell phones at no charge.
Crayons: Send them to the National Crayon Recycle Program (crazycrayons.com, which melts down crayons and reforms them into new ones. Leave the wrappers on: “When you have black, blue, and purple crayons together without wrappers, it’s hard to tell them apart,” says the program’s founder, LuAnn Foty, a.k.a. the Crazy Crayon Lady.
Stereos and VCRs: Visit earth911.org for a list of recyclers, retail stores, and manufacturers near you that accept electronics. Small companies are popping up to handle electronic waste (or e-waste) as well: Greencitizen.com in San Francisco will pull apart your electronics and recycle them at a cost ranging from nothing to 50 cents a pound. And the 10 nationwide locations of freegeek.org offer a similar service.
Holiday cards: After they’ve lined your mantel for two months, you could throw them into the recycling bin, or you could give them a whole new life. St. Jude’s Ranch for Children (stjudesranch.org), a nonprofit home for abused and neglected youths, runs a holiday-card reuse program in which the kids cut off the front covers, glue them onto new cards, and sell the result―earning them money and confidence.
(via Real Simple)
Sat, January 16th 2010
How To for Under $1: If you have an umbrella on hand, you can make your own pretty ruffly umbrella for about a dollar!
You’ll need:
- Umbrella
- Curtain Liner (can be purchased for about a $1)
- A button for the embellished flower
Check out the full tutorial from Dollar Store Crafts - new favorite website!
Tue, January 12th 2010
