the ReFab Diaries

Still looking for a quick, thrifty, upcycled Valentine DIY? Here's 2020's big round-up of the 30 best ideas I can find. Some of them throw back over a decade because good ideas don't date!

Hi everyone! Yes, I'm still alive even though my blog has been very quiet - a new job and life-in-general will do that. Anyway, it feels like fall in Chicago and my daughter's mind is already on Halloween and holidays in general. So I was inspired to pull together a thoroughly bookish holiday post.

The goal: Everything holiday, by the book! Halloween costumes, Thanksgiving decor, and all December decorating and giving... using old books and book pages. 

Doable? Yes! Ready? Here we go.

Yup - I made a Valentine's Day thing. Mostly because I was inspired by Pillar Box Blue's upcycled map hearts. They're so easy to make and such a great way to repurpose magazines, old book pages and, apparently, maps. Also, sewing paper is fun!

 For you I have to risk it all 

'Cause the writing's on the wall 

―

 Sam Smith

I haven't done a Valentine's post in years. But I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the hate happening all around me right now. So let's make love... out of junk.

And once I stripped a lot of branches off to "make" the tree, I wondered what I could do with them. Which set off the spree of DIY ornaments below! All quite easy to make. I've linked to tutorials and inspiration.

Today I discovered The Cardboard Collective. Really inspiring stuff, all made out of this material we tend to drown in... care of Amazon's odd packaging principles. And with the holidays around the corner, here come the boxes! If you have space, hang on to them for next year and create a whole holiday scheme around cardboard!  DIY inspiration from:

1. Rust and Sunshine - cardboard igloo tutorial

2. Design Sponge - spiky packaging trees

3. The Cardboard Collective - little button tree

4. A Bunch of Bishops - Simple woven circle ornaments

5. Gusto and Grace - Corrugated cardboard garland

6. Enjoy it (Elise Blaha) - Packaging wreath

7. The Cardboard Collective - Star tree-topper

I featured this creepy idea a long time ago in a post dedicated to repurposing old umbrellas. I'm bringing it back out again because it remains a great idea!







Not really upcycling ... they're crocheted. And I love them ... so go take a look at more lovely images of them at Cute Cottage Overload

Handy with a saw?  This tutorial involves cutting, roasting (or nuking-to kill the critters) gluing etc ... but the result is great.  Check out her mirror while you're there... thanks Pretty Handy Girl!


Wrapping yarn around balloons is a technique popping up everywhere ... lovely twist on the the idea at Made by Michelle ... she also has a sweet fabric heart garland tutorial.



Write a letter to your love ... then send it across the room via paper plane (printable - designed by Cathe from Just Something I Made)

If you save all those paper grocery bags (you know, the ones you have to use because you left all your reusable bags in the car ... because it was raining and your kids were screaming?) ... use them to wrap gifts!  Alisa Burke is beyond talented and I love her eye.




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I can also see the obvious paper-towel / cardboard tube upcycle option.  Full set of instructions at Today's Nest.

What can I say ... I'm a big dork, and so is Ms K. So Ms Ro's bookworm halloween costume was inspired by Mila's Daydreams ... a blog that went viral overnight. Sadly, the original daydream pics have been removed due to copyright infringement all over the place. But Design Mom still has a few of the original images - see them here.


Make it!
This was as super-simple costume to create. I bought a couple of nylon garbage-bag dispensers from the dollar store and removed the plastic piping from each end. I sewed them together, stuffed the bottom half with poly stuffing and everything else you see is pipe-cleaners. Total cost: $5. This would not have worked if the kid hadn't been so comfortable wearing her pipe-cleaner specs.  :)

These lovely (simple!) gatherings don't need instructions. They come care of Belle Maison - a new favorite blog of mine.