My Recycled Trivet Rug

If you are an avid reader, you may remember this post from over a year ago of a cool rug made from old trivets.  I've been collecting trivets at thrift stores and garage sales since then, and finally finished my own trivet rug!

 I incorporated a couple placemats and little coasters in there as well, which are made of the same material as the trivets.  I laid them out on the floor, then stitched them together with fishing line.  I was a little worried that these could scratch up the wood floor over time, so I glued a non-slip rug pad/mat thing on the back and then trimmed around the edges with a scissors.

It's not quite perfect but I still like it.  :-)  We'll see how it stands the test of time with two little boys and two big dogs!

 Speaking of dogs, here's Amos.  He thinks I should post about his awesome doggy self instead of that stupid rug.  He'll have to settle for a photo of himself AND the rug.  ;-)

Amazing recycled ball gowns

I know, it's been forever since I've posted!!  Life sure is getting busy these days!  I came across this blog post today and just had to share these ball gowns made from recycled materials.  Check out the link to see more.

Also, here are a few other posts you may enjoy from my other blog:

• Homemade teacher gift ideas

• What we did for Halloween this year (including a homemade thrift store costume, & of course jack-o-lanterns)

• How to turn baby food jars into Halloween decor

• Egg carton pumpkins
• A very special garage sale find

Junk Bonanza 2011 - a sneak peek

Hey Twin Citians!  Did you know that the 2011 Junk Bonanza is going on as we speak in Shakopee, Minnesota? I didn't, at least not until yesterday when my mom, who saw news coverage of it, reminded me!  So, we made some last second plans, which were set in stone late last night, to attend this morning.

We came...we saw...we left just in time for my boys' naps.  (Which left us with maybe an hour or a little more of actually looking at stuff, after you subtract the time we spent letting them burn energy on the playground.)  But, I did manage to take lots of photos again this year and made my one purchase, which I'll share with you next week! 

In the meantime, here are a few photos to whet your appetites....

I love that this show not only sells really awesome upcycled items, but it also caters to people like me who are looking for interesting found objects to upcycle myself....

...all over the Junk Bonanza are bins and bins of little objects just begging to be used in some cool project...

...vintage and retro and antique, oh my!

Are 'ya drooling yet?  I always have to limit the amount of cash in my pocket at this because it doesn't last long. Next week I'll post some of the cool recycled and upcycled finds as well as my own personal purchase!  Stay tuned!

What to Do with Doilies?

Woah, it's been a crazy busy summer and fall for my face painting business, so I blame that on my absence from blogging!  However, I recently got addicted to Pinterest and have found some really fun things.  This post is all Pinterest finds!

I bought a few a couple years back from a fund raiser for an animal rescue place...really beautiful hand made doilies for just $1 each.  Being a crocheter, I can really appreciate the work that goes into them. But, people just don't put them around their house much anymore.  So, what to do to bring 'em out of the attic and into the 21st century?  Here are some fun ideas!

Check out this gorgeous doily lamp!

This cute baby mobile uses paper doilies, although you could put some fabric stiffener in real doilies and make a better lasting one.

Another idea for paper doilies, unless you want to dye your real ones...but a fun idea for the fall season!

These luminaries are really pretty, and you can re-use some mason jars at the same time!

I always find these embroidery hoops at thrift stores...here's a great idea to pair them with doilies for some pretty wall art!

I think this table runner is a great way to showcase special doilies that may have been passed down or hand made from your grandparents or great grandparents!

Biodegradeable Balloon Bowls by Gitta Gschwendtner

 Aren't these bowls amazing?! At first glance they make me think of a geode...rough and neutral on the outside, yet brilliant on the inside.  Can you believe they are made simply of a latex balloon, with an outer shell of latex and sawdust?!

 The bowls and instructions to create your own were created by Gitta Gschwendtner as a part of TEN Plan.  "TEN" is a collective of 10 designers who have exhibited various environmentally sustainable projects, along with plans for you to try it yourself.  Visit the website to check out these bowls, among other projects, and download instructions to make your own!


(via Cobbled Together by Brenna...by the way, Brenna, I think yours are even more amazing!!!)

My Recycled Play Doh Necklace!

Happy New Year everyone!!  It's been a little while since I've posted, as I've been sucked into the whirling vortex that is the holidays around my house.  Luckily we took our home off the market just in time for Thanksgiving (after 7 months of trying to sell).  However, things were pretty busy between Thanksgiving travel, hosting family for Christmas, and then my son's 3rd birthday!  (Check out this post on my ID Mommy blog if you're looking for ideas for your own DIY choo-choo train birthday party!)

Anyway, now that I'm "back," I wanted to share one of the homemade Christmas gifts I gave this year that was done in the spirit of recycling.   

This really was an experiment with something that I'm sure nobody would think to recycle, but it came out pretty sweet. If you have little kids who love Play-Doh like I do, you may recognize the little colored bits in this pendant as being those tiny pieces of dried up Play-Doh that get stuck in the perforated plastic heads of those barber shop guys.

Yup, I was just nutty enough to see an art project in these little dried up Play-Doh scraps.  I filled a silicone mini muffin pan with a little resin, poured in the Play-Doh bits, poured in some more resin, and out popped this cool, shiny disc.  I bent a loop with some jewelry wire, glued it to the back, attached a cord, and gave one to my sister.  Oh, and I have one in my jewelry box now too.  It's definitely a conversation piece!

 Here's a shot of the back.  I made a little loop with copper wire, and then made a pretty swirl out of one end, giving me a surface to glue it to the back with some strong epoxy.

 I like to make little tags for my homemade gifts, to give them that "brand new" feeling you get when you buy something from a store.  This one wasn't fancy as I just did hand lettering, but you can easily make a little hang tag by folding a piece of paper, cutting the bottom two corners at an angle, running a strip of glue across the top and punching a hole.  You know, in case you wanted to hang it on a store rack or something.  ;-)

 I really just put this tag on so I could note what the heck this thing was made out of!  But, I also really like making more "professional" looking tags on the computer too.  I think next year I'll make little price tags that say "$1,000.00" or "priceless" or something like that.  ;-)

Bet 'ya didn't think you could turn crumbs of dried up Play-Doh into beautiful jewelry now, did you?!

DIY Recycled Ornaments from "Michele Made Me"

Check out these pretty plastic bottle ornaments from Michele Made Me, along with instructions to make them yourself!

She also has another tutorial to make these adorable little greenhouse ornaments from recycled plastic.  Love them!  Plus, who doesn't want to gaze into a tropical little greenhouse when there are inches of snow on the ground? Her ornament tutorials appear to be an ongoing series...can't wait to see what she comes up with next!  Thanks, Michele!!

Cool Water Bottle Wreath from "Michele Made Me"

Check out this great wreath, made from plastic water bottles!!  Nice work, Michele! :-)  I just stumbled on her blog and will be adding it to my list of favorite links for sure!

And BINGO Was His Name-O!

So the other day I found this cool old Bingo game for $0.99 cents at Saver's.

You can get every game under the sun these days in digital form in the palm of your hand.  But, there's just something about the tactile nature of these old games. 

 I love feeling this pile of the round wooden markers in my palm...the etched dimension of the letters and numbers...the sound that they make when I dig my fingers into them in their cardboard compartment.  I love the texture and smell of the old, yellowing cardboard bingo cards, and the illustration of the New York World's Fair on the box cover.

No, I didn't intend on buying this to play Bingo, although I do have fond memories of laying down my quarter to play in the Lions Club Bingo tent at our county fair growing up.  I just wanted to make these parts live on in some way...bring them out of their dusty box on the thrift store shelf, "upcycle" them, and show them the light of day.  I'm not sure what I'll turn them into yet...I'm thinking something along the mosaic lines.  But, it did make me want to do some web surfing to find other fun Bingo game recycling ideas...

I love these recycled sketchbooks that use Bingo cards as a cover.  These are the kind of cards I remember playing with at the county fair...I can still feel those little plastic fins against my fingertips as I'd swipe my hand across the card to reveal a sea of red windows...the sound of the old ladies around the table whacking them against the folding table to knock the windows open again for the next round.  There's that tactile thing again...just irreplaceable by an iPhone app!

The little markers and balls provide ample opportunity to make jewelry, like these Bingo ball earrings and necklaces by Amy Pfaffman...

...or these earrings made from the flat markers over at Eclectic Elements:

...or these cufflinks made from vintage wood Bingo markers by Numpty on Etsy.

You can even wear them in your hair with these Bingo marker bobby pins.

Or how about a Bingo card clock?  There's always time for BINGO!

All of this game recycling talk has gotten me looking for all kinds of game pieces to recycle in thrift stores.  This week I picked up a box of wood dominos, some poker chips, and old playing cards.  Now if I could just get a solid week of uninterrupted time to create stuff, I'd be set!!

Cool Recycled Gifts in Northern Minnesota

Okay...well, Google has given me a more time consuming work-around method to get my photos up until they figure out the issue, which is apparently with their uploader on their end.  So, here are some things I've been waiting to share!

A couple weeks ago we took our annual family vacation to northern Minnesota, not far from Nisswa, which is my favorite little town to shop in when we're in the area. 

One of my favorite stores there is called Zaiser's, and is full of cool, well-designed gifts, and many fun recycled finds.

They have a great little section of toys, and I loved this shelf of hand puppets.  Each one is unique, handmade in Canada by Cate and Levi out of all natural and reclaimed materials.  And to top it all off, 10% of their profits go to help children in need.

I also loved this display of button rings and little felt flowers...

This recycled beer bottle dish by From The Blue Bag LLC,

and these recycled magazine cuffs and paper beads from Refashioned, much like my own!

 I went home with a recycled bike chain bracelet.  See you next year, Nisswa!

Simply Vintage by Erin Moxness: "Jerelry, Clothing & Decor with Vintage Flair"

Time to share more of what I saw at this year's Junk Bonanza in Shakopee! For today's vendor highlight I would like to share the work of Erin Moxness of Simply Vintage.  The mini flyer I picked up unfortunately had no web links, except a note to visit their Facebook page, which I was unable to find.  I wanted to share some images of their stuff regardless, but in an effort to give proper credit to the artist, the phone number on the card was 701-388-0134 if you want to find out where she is, if she is, on the internet!

This booth was really fun to look at.  They had all kinds of little charms made from recycled materials.  You could even choose a cord or chain and have them put a necklace together for you right on the spot.

I love the pretty assortment of pendants made from vintage jewelry pieces!

These keychains made from puzzle pieces of the states were such a great idea.  What a fantastic way to repurpose a puzzle, especially if you have missing pieces!

Here are a couple trays of pendants made from sections of vintage yard sticks.  Cool!  This makes me think of our MN state fair, where we always used to get free yard sticks as kids.

These vintage watch pendants were beautiful and fun to look through as well.  These are all metal watch faces....every one unique!

More cute pendants...these ones have letters taken from recycled car nameplates!

Wonderful work, Erin!  And if you see this, please do pass on your web link to me as I'd love to share it!!