February 2013 | the ReFab Diaries

February 2013 | the ReFab Diaries

Upcycle: Wooden spool bookcase

in DIY bookcase, make a bookcase, repurpose spool, spool bookcase, upcycle spool, by Candice

If you're on Pinterest, you've probably seen the image that inspired this tutorial... one of those annoying pins that doesn't seem to link back to anything! But thanks to Pink Stitches, you can now be inspired and make one yourself! Click through for the how to.

Upcycle: Bye bye sweater, hello purse!

in repurpose sweater, sweater purse, turn old sweater into purse, upcycle sweater, by Candice

I'm beginning to threaten my sweaters (ok, all my winter clothes) with imminent donation... because muttering dark thoughts in the direction of my closet is a good outlet right now. And I need an outlet because I'm deeply, desperately sick of winter (there's really nothing wrong with the damn clothes). It's the snow!! Three-hour commutes thanks to the timing of this month's snow storms are driving me nuts!!! Ok. Apologies. I'll go back to swearing at my closet.

And send you to Lana Red ... who's put together an awesome tutorial for turning an old sweater into a bag! I think this would be a fun way to repurpose an old purse too. You need a strap, hardware and leather bits from somewhere. So why not chop up that bag your kid destroyed with a felt-tip marker?

Giveaway! South African upcycling, refined

in repurposed art, repurposed books, upcycled art, upcycled coffee tables, wire and bead art, by Candice

If you entered the last South-Africa-related giveaway, then you know RSA is home for me ... and I recently returned from a month of summer! In my last SA-upcycling post, I focused on crafts consisting, primarily, of repurposed soda cans. In this post, I want to show a more varied mix of "art"and craft. Work that pushes the definition of "repurposing" ... work that highlights color, street-art sensibility, creative mixing of media and, yes, includes a whole lot of "found" materials.

Like wood scraps. I love this kind of mixed media stuff... so I was delighted by these coloful pieces of continental drift ...

Scroll down for much more, and a chance to win a hand-made piece of your own!

Upcycle: Thrifted nursery wonders...

in budget nursery, DIY nursery, repurpose nursery, thrifted nursery, upcycle nursery, by Candice

If you follow my blog, then you should be glued to Life as a Thrifter. Holly is a genius refabber - skill, talent and a sense of humor. Above is just a taste of her new nursery. For a complete tour, click through. PS: She's created tutorials for pretty much everything you see!

Upcycle: Breathe fresh air into old things...

in air plant upcycling, decorating with air plants, old book into a vase, repurposing globe, upcycling plastic lids, by Candice

Today, follow me down a rabbit hole into a world of transformed (and transformative) air plants ... spiders, jellyfish, seaweed, and more! Eleven ways to upcycle / repurpose household and vintage items into airy display-ariums...

Upcycle: Re-lace your old Oxfords!

in lace oxford DIY, lace oxford makeover, makeover oxfords, spring oxford DIY, upcycle oxfords, by Candice

I'm seeing cut lace Oxfords everywhere for spring ... didn't we have spangly / neon / studded oxfords last spring? I dunno... I can't keep up with trends like this. But I do think that if the same item is going to make a come back, you have a perfect refab opportunity! Take your old ones and make them lacy for 2013! Go here for the lace/neon trim tutorial. Want to make them a little vintage? Use a doily rather than store-bought lace... get inspiration from this wedge revamp.

Upcycle: Fabric scraps into a zippered wallet!

in fabric scrap crafts, free wallet tutorial, make a wallet, repurpose fabric, scrapbuster, stashbuster, upcycle fabric scraps, wallet DIY, by Candice

Three exciting things to share with you! First, my friend Lisa (of Poldapop Designs) has been featured over at Rhonda's Creative Life! Second, she's launched her very first Poldapop Pattern! And third, she's celebrating the launch with a free tutorial (care of Rhonda) for the awesome zippered wallet pictured above. So, you can follow the tutorial or buy the pattern! If you would rather have the pattern, Lisa is sponsoring a sale on the pattern which will run until February 28th. You can find her pattern in her Etsy shop. The introductory price of the pattern is a mere $5.00. After February 28th, the pattern will be $7.50. So you can make the pattern using the dimensions that are included in her tutorial, or save a little time and order the pattern, or, if you would rather not be bothered, she also has finished wallets and bags available in her Esty shop. Lots of options!!

Repurpose: Bookish Valentine ...

in book art, book decor, book hearts, book repurposing, by Candice

I took pictures of books to share with you. I never do that! How incredibly novel of me ... :) Have a happy day.

Upcycle: A well lit book ... {book lights}

in book lights, DIY book chandelier, make a book lamp, old book shade, repurpose book pages, repurpose books, upcycle old book, by Candice

I've made book clocks, book folds and book "clutches". But never a book light. So I set out to find a tutorial and, as usual, got overwhelmed by options. And, as usual, gathered them here instead of actually making the light I still want to make. Ten inspiring ideas and tutorials for you ... Enjoy!

Upcycle: Too-small cardigan into new knit wonder!

in remake old sweater, repurpose knitwear, repurpose sweater, upcycle cardigan, upcycle knit, by Candice

I am in awe of this sweater refab... mostly because it's damn clever. But I also LOVE the colors ... and I know that neckline would be flattering on pretty much everybody. Head to Of Dreams and Seams for the complete refashion.

Upcycle: Plastic bottle into Art Bowl

in craft with plastic bottles, plastic bottle bowl, repurpose water bottles, upcycle PET bottles, upcycle soda bottles, by Candice

Gulnar Ozdaglar, whose PET bottle creations can be found everywhere from Etsy to European museum shops, created this Art Bowl DIY for Instructables. It's a great tutorial and a really generous sharing of creative technique. Go check it out and be sure to visit her blog and website for some serious inspiration.

Thanks! Hit one million+ page views!!

by Candice

What a fun milestone! :)

Repurpose: Toms into sandals!

in repurpose toms, toms sandals, turn toms into sandals, upcycle toms, by Candice

Ok. Embarrassing admission time. I'm the person who had to google "why are Toms so *%&^# popular all of a sudden?" Because, I was .... well ... confused. And not a fan of odd shoe fads that come out of nowhere (Crocs anyone?). But I discovered their philanthropic side - very cool. And now their organization is moving on to eye glasses. That's great. I'm a fan of the idea. And I think the Toms folk would approve of you finding a way to keep your old ones going, because shoes are precious in some parts of the world. Thanks to Midwestern Thread for the DIY on turning them into sandals!

Winner: Upcycled coke-can Giraffe

by Candice

As always, I used random.org to pick the winner and it chose entry #157 - Jennifer Reed! Jennifer, I will be contacting you via email to get a shipping address :)

Thanks to everyone who entered for your interest and the great comments on the post. Look out for a new, SA-related giveaway next week!

Upcycle: New juice for old cartons (milk too!)

in juice box crafts, milk carton crafts, repurpose cartons, upcycle juice cartons, upcycle milk cartons, by Candice

I recently joined Good. Because it's cool. And there I discovered that the largest recycled structure ever made was made of milk cartons - 45,000 of them (see pic below). Collected from approx 100 colleges (article here). This got me wondering about repurposing milk and juice cartons because, like soda cans and beer bottles, they pile up around us. First, let me say this: Cartons CAN BE RECYCLED in many parts of the US (check your local programs). Perhaps you already knew this. I wasn't sure, so I checked. And apparently, like me, a lot of people assume they are not recyclable. We're wrong.

However, you can also make some pretty cool stuff out of these very common packages. So here's some inspiration:

Upcycle: Grumpy old shirts into a cheerful dress!

in re-use old clothes, repurpose t-shirt, turn old shirt into a dress, upcycle clothes, upcycle man's t-shirt, by Candice

Maybe it's the colors ... or the stamping. Or the adorable little girl in these pics! But this is definitely my favorite clothing ReFab of the year... so far. Get all the details at Skirt As Top

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