the ReFab Diaries

Old silverware (or cutlery, where I'm from) is always so eye-catching.  They just don't make it like they used to right?  So why stick it in a drawer when you can WEAR it?  Get ready to cut metal with this great "spoon ring" tutorial from Through the Front Door ... while you're there, check out her round-up of new uses for old silverware!



Not really a ring person?  Stars for Streelights shows you how to make a fork bracelet.








I used to own a beautiful wind-chime made of old spoons and forks ... think I got it in England.  I lost it in a move - I remember it making a really soft, lulling sound in the wind.  Tutorial at Freckled Nest.

It seems fitting, that paper be turned back into trees. Upcycle junk-mail into paper tress - instructions at A Little Hut.

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)

Thanks to Budget Living, I've made quite a few "book folds" for myself - they decorate a wall in my home (pictured below). For the original BL instructions, follow this link. 

Note: I cut up an old calendar featuring "maps of the old world" and glued them into the covers of the top two. The book at the bottom already featured graphics on the inside covers.

The kind of folding I've done is simple - no real pattern required but I definitely inspired by the Budget Living feature. If you'd like to start easy, see my tutorial using an old kid's book. I also have a full tutorial for a hanging book fold.







This pretty display is care of BHG. Please note that they have NO instructions attached to their idea, nor do they credit anyone for this idea (it's "theirs"). I'm only including it here because I really like the grouping. See below for links to actual instructions for folds, which you could then group on a wall like this. How to hang them? Click here. 

Find more step-by-step instructions for simple folds at:

Frugal Upstate 


Ashbee Design



Sutherland Shire Libraries (Video Tutorial using a paperback)




Homeroad (folded book organizer)



Creative Tryals (book trees)




Pandora's Craftbox




Instructables (folding a heart)



Inverted heart video 



A Whimsy Willow (some great basic folds)



A couple of great sculpting videos by Johwey Redington and another here.




Book hedgehog video 



Kid-friendly magazine hearts! 

If you want to try your hand at something more complex, clever and ornate take a look at the amazing patterns offered free by Rhymes With Magic:  

The owl and the pussycat went to sea.
In a beautiful pea green boat ...
The zebra was jealous
And yes, she lacks feathers
But nevertheless, off she floats!

I love paper lanterns but often see them tossed into dumpsters. How about making a hot air balloon instead? This whimsical, wonderful DIY is care of Momtastic.

If you know me, you know I love to decorate with books ... and pages of books.  This is a lovely, simple way to create something new from an old book (a chewed up kid's book perhaps?) and a wire hanger.  Mark Montano's Paper Flower key holder. 

My good friend Lisa (of Poldapop Designs) recently found herself facing a NY's eve date with her hubby, minus the "great new dress" she'd planned to conjure for herself.  Two little girls, the holidays, a small business to run .... and stomach flu (!) had all contributed to this fix.  So what did she do?  She refashioned a dress that had been collecting dust in her closet for years!  Here's the before and after:



Awesome right?  I've "reconstructed" a number of things in my closet over the years ... recently making a Target sweater a little more "Anthropologie" by removing an elasticized hem and adding a big button! You do NOT need to have mad sewing skills to pull this off.  You really don't.  So check out the great round up of projects (21 of them!) recently published at Crafting a Green World.

I LOVE this!  Two old t-shirts, a little bleach, a little embroidery thread (or "floss" in US english) and voila! 






Very eco-chic ... get the how-to from Joy Beadworks.

If you sew for children (or you shop for them using a tape measure vs. the sizes printed on the tags) you NEED these little measurement charts.  And I do mean need ... 'cos they're beyond cute. 





Might also be fun to print off a bunch and tape them into an album or scrap book year after year... a mobile "growth chart".  Thanks to Oliver+S.

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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