A few months ago, the Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse posted the pic below on Facebook. The message: everything you see here is free! Great for artists - come and take it!
If you've spent any time at all on my blog, you know that a lot of my upcycling isn't glamorous. I'm most interested in what I can do with trash! I've worked with juice and milk bottles, beer cans, toilet-paper rolls, an old frisbee, negatives, plastic lids and lots of alley-grab furniture. So you can imagine how much I'm loving this brand new book from the minds behind Terracycle.
Find out how to win a copy! This giveaway is open to all citizens of planet earth, 18 and older. If you are able to receive a book in the mail, you can enter.
My home is featured in the August issue of Reloved Magazine. Just typing that sentence makes me a little giddy. Why? So many reasons. Because upcycling is something now deemed worthy of print. Because I really LOVE this magazine. Because the little girl in me who always wanted to be a journalist, just got something published in a magazine. Thank you to my amazing friend Julia Brenner for shooting EVERY picture you see across the 4-page spread. Also mentioned in the piece are artists Meg Peterson and Heidi Shedlock, both of whom inspire me and have gifted work to me that makes my life better.
Ok ... if you're actually here via Reloved, hello and welcome! Scroll down for links to all the upcycling projects mentioned and/or pictured in the feature:
In case you're wondering, my dress is from my favorite consignment store (Crossroads Trading Co) and my earrings are South African 1c coins lovingly upcycled into hearts by The House of Kallie.
Books:
1. Book planter / vase
2. Hardcover "bud vase"
3. Book clocks
4. Folded book art
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| Behind the scenes ... Julia Brenner at work :) |
Furniture/Decor:
1. Bamboo desk (mod podge refab)
2. Hollywood regency chairs
3. Metal plant stand to bookshelf
4. Vintage wood art hangers
5. Drawer-front shelf and salvaged mirror
Vintage sheets repurposed:
1. Shower curtain
2. Thrifty kid bedding
Organization:
1. Kitchen organizer
2. Pallet organizer
Once upon a time ... a friend and I ran a little business called Rebooked. It involved a LOT of work for very little return, but we were unemployed... we had nothing but time. And we learned a lot about upcycling old books! So much, in fact, that I've enjoyed working with them ever since. When we set out to make book clocks (2004), there were no online tutorials to be found. So there was a lot of trial and error (and swearing) involved. The first ones were so much work, I still have one on the wall (above) as a reminder. Today, it's pretty easy to find really good instructions from lots of talented people. Keep reading for my instructions, and a list of my favorite tutorials.
If you're a regular reader (thank you!), then you know I moved in February this year. It was a significant move, from a one-bedroom basement space to a two-bedroom apartments for rent in alexandria va on the third floor. So, I acquired a LOT more space overnight. Including a room for Ms R, when she stays over. It's taking me a long time to make all this new space feel like home. In part because I don't have the money to "just furnish" it all. And, more to the point, that's not how I function.
Ms R's room has taken an especially long time to come together because I knew what she wanted, but it took time to find it. It's now complete thanks to a $12 sheet from the 1970s!
Confession: the whole pallet fad left me cold. In part because pallet wood (when you can get it) is mostly terrible wood. I mean TERRIBLE. So I avoided that particular bandwagon. Until I found this one, left in my alley (the provider of all things). This pallet was almost brand new. And made of solid, beautiful, mostly smooth pine. So this pallet came inside with me ... and the movers got to move it for me. And then I went to work and turned it into a workbench organizer.