May 2012 | the ReFab Diaries

Once upon a time, I went on a virtual quest for book-page jewelry ... or book-paper beads.  I found some great tutorials and gathered them together in a story (post) called Wearable Words that has, to date, been viewed over 25,000 times. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks it's cool to wear knowledge... !!  So here's wearable words, Part II - mostly not jewelry.  Another 14 ideas for making sure your thoughts are on your shoes / head / arm / nails etc.  (warning: bad puns and corny wordplay ahead...)



I'm so excited to share this post today!  You know how sometimes, a plan just comes together? You know how sometimes, you realize you're so old you're inadvertently alluding to "The A-Team" - the TV show, not the movie?

My friend Lisa (of PoldaPop designs) is a big fan of old zippers and makes amazing things with them.  This post is inspired by her zippy creativity (!) and by these beautiful tutorials I found.  (Note: this could have been a HUGE roundup but I made the very unusual decision to avoid the rabbit hole, stop looking and publish!  Zipper pile image above via Flickr)


Fubu-color-wonderous! This awesome upcycle from Sam of Little House in the Big D makes me want to run out and find a metal filing cabinet.






Look ... look again.  A pop-tab curtain?  How freakin' cool is that?  Get the how-to here ... (via decorhacks

Gap and Threadless are teaming up for a series of "TIY" (T-It-Yourself) tutorials, with a new one posted every Friday on Gap's Facebook page. In tried-and-tested blogger fashion, photo instructions demonstrate how to turn old t-shirts into... other stuff. I don't think last week's "wall art" idea is very inspiring ... but here it is


 Get the tote bag project here.

Suze Orman says chop up your credit cards ... or freeze them or something.  But neither credit cards nor gift cards are recyclable (take that, Suze!). Some retailers do sell a bioplastic gift card that degrades in about 40 days (read more here) but for the most part, we pop the PVC suckers in the trash. I get particularly annoyed with online-only retailers like Amazon. They ship out actual plastic cards (I get one every time I cash out my credit card points - irony of ironies) ... even though the only valuable thing on the card is its "code". Then what? I think we should actively craft with them.That's what. So here are some ideas.  

A cheap, humble raw material.  A great little DIY necklace. Care of Dismount Creative


So... I've been a little lazy about my home tour. But this week I actually got around to taking pictures while the light was good.  So here's a bedroom project!  I'm not really a headboard person - I think the wall works pretty well.  But I do like the idea of making the wall above the bed a feature of some sort.  Especially if it's the wall you see from the room entrance.  We have very little color in this room - the walls are a green we love. Pretty much everything else in the space is wood (furniture) or natural fibers in neutral tones.  So I had no idea what I wanted above the bed. Consequently, the space was empty for a while.  Then one day we happened upon these place mats at CB2... yup - they're place mats.  They were on clearance, of course.  Since they don't really lie flat, they were never going to make very good place mats.  But I loved the wood.  


I love the melt-your-own-vinyl bowl idea.  Now, hop over to the hippest blog in the sphere (BubbyandBean) and get the how-to on this spinful dessert stand. 

To stick with a very spring-appropriate theme... another DIY butterfly!  If you look at the components as junk, this project could be considered more of a recycle/upcycle than a repurpose... or is it salvage?  Ummm... I don't know.  Mike (of Blue Velvet Chair) has a post dedicated to making this type of categorizing a little clearer ... but some projects remain fuzzy for me! Anyway, however you decide to categorize the lovely "flah-fly" (Ms Ro's word for such creatures), you need to head over to Blue Velvet Chair and make it!




Great tutorial ... because who doesn't want to make a flutter / swarm / rabble / kaleidoscope of wind-up Monarchs??  

Gap and Threadless are teaming up for a series of "TIY" (T-It-Yourself) tutorials, with a new one posted every Friday on Gap's Facebook page. In tried-and-tested blogger fashion, photo instructions will demonstrate how to turn old shirts into fun accessories including flip flops, laptop sleeves, and beach bags. I'm curious to see what they come up with. See the flip flop project here.

A printable owl greeting card with a reusable component ... and dripping in cute?  Yes please.  (Via How About Orange).



Mirrors created with some version of a plastic scoop / spoon ... they're a theme this week.  Apparently these orange scoops come from a brand of formula.  They look like something we got in cans of powdered juice when I was a kid ... one scoop of the stuff into water and you had a neon orange drink.  Wow ... yum (!)  Complete how to here.  

Crafting with bottle caps has been done, done and done.  I know.  But they (the caps) still accumulate... especially if your preferred beverage comes from a brown bottle. Right?  So I am always interested in ways to repurpose them ... and this post focuses on home accessories / decor, v. the many necklace, earring and bracelet options out there. 



The amazing resin serving tray (above) got this post started.  I think it's genius and LOVE the color combination ... great tutorial overall from SomeWhatSimple.  14 more after the jump!


"Disposable" plasticware turned into something you'll want to keep around ... designed by Fabio DeMenicis.  Image below via EnvironmentTeam




A scrap of this, a bit of that ... a little sewing and voila - awesome bracelet!  


Love this.  Use pages from an old kid's picture book to make pinwheel cupcake toppers ... 



Complete how-to at Addicted2Decorating.

This eye-popping chandelier is created entirely from plastic water bottles.  Visit Oh Happy Day for the completely tutorial.


What to do with vintage linens? 

Dottie Angel has, literally, written the book on Granny Chic.  The blog is a visual feast ... it will convince you to alter your aesthetic accordingly and cover your world in vintage linens.


If nothing else, her blog sent me looking for ways to upcycle and repurpose vintage linens, sheets, pillow cases, hankies etc.  I think I found some awesome last-minute, upcycled Mother's Day gifts! 

Simple, pretty and easy to make.  You know ... for mom.  I think they look like carnations. Head over to Simply Sublime for the how to. 

#6 plastic is nasty, because it's Polystyrene (styrofoam). Most recycling programs won't accept it and it's potentially toxic! Find out more about the numbers you see on plastic products we use here.

If your supermarket IS really still using #6 containers to package food, you should complain. There are many other options available. And if you do find yourself with one of these horrible things in your hands, save it! Because you can make fused beads (think shrinky dinks)!  
 
The original tutorial from Rust and Sunshine has been removed. But this is a really simple craft that requires very little skill and calls for doodling with permanent markers. CLICK HERE for instructions for making shrinky dinks with #6 plastic.


The heat is on in Chicago this year! And yes, I have summer clothes. But not enough of them (!) and... I kinda, sorta, hate most of what I have. So I've been thinking of ways to upcycle old skirts, stained tank tops, too-big-for me shorts.


This means I've been looking around and now I'm really inspired! The DIY empire-waste dress above is from TripOverJoy.  She added fresh fabric to an old tank.  Not sure I'm the right shape to pull of a little dress like this, but her finished product looks awesome on her! Read on for another 20 ideas for how to upcycle tank tops, skirs and shirts.

Ok ... I am a big dork.  I saw these book charging stations on Etsy a long time ago and went hunting for a how-to.  Couldn't find it.  Then a couple of days ago I literally tripped over this great step by step tutorial from The DIY Treatment.  Go make one of these ... you need one.  Really.


The clever marketing folks at Hermes are offering another free printable... this time, a DIY JigĂ© clutch. Visit this page, let it load up, and click on the "I want it, I'll have it" thumbnail. Choose from six different patterns, download ... and what?  They want you to print, cut, glue, and enjoy!  Because this is a pretty promotional idea ...and a waste of paper.  And the link will go away.  


But, if you save the PDF to your desktop before you "print" you'll have it for future use.  And if you print this off onto fabric transfer paper, you could actually make a little fabric clutch. I love love the bird!  (Via OhTheLovelyThings)


Simple no-sew makeover from CremeDeLaCraft.  


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