Tutorial - How to Recycle Christmas Gift Bags

Redesign packaging for other occasions

Tutorial at Upcycled Design Lab Blog

"Next weekend my family is getting together for what we call "fall birthdays."    We have a hard time getting the whole crew together, so it would be impossible to celebrate all of the birthdays individually.   Anyway due to the impending family gathering l find myself in need of a few gift bags.  Is it just me or do you also have a bunch of gift bags stashed away but you still never have the right sized bag with an appropriate design".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Decorate an Old Vase with Twine

Recycle a boring vase with jute twine

Tutorial at Nifty Sheep Blog

"Do you have an old boring vase that you no longer use but still hesitate to get rid of? The best part about this easy tutorial is that you can simply turn even stained, broken and glued together again (my case) vases into beautiful new ones.  It doesn't necessarily have to be a vase that you are decorating. I've also decorated some old olive oil bottle and it turned out beautiful as well".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Recycled Lid Organizer

Uses pretty shelf liner paper and a recycled box

Tutorial at Borei Design Blog

"I am currently trying to go through my entire house to clean, purge and organize. The food storage container cabinet was my first stop in the kitchen.  This cabinet was really, really bad....I mean try to cram stuff in real quick and slam the door before everything falls out, bad.   I started by dragging everything out on my kitchen floor.  I then went through each container and anything that was broken, seriously worn or missing a lid got tossed.  I then washed all the "keepers" and was left with this".... Read more

Tutorial - Make a Coaster with Recycled CD's

Easy project that takes only a little time

Tutorial at The Sunshine Corner Blog

"I seem to be doing a lot of recycle related posts nowadays. I promise, this would be last for this month. You must have seen my garden some time back which was a total wreck due to renovation and painting of our home. The good news is that the me and my husband have managed to resurrect it back. Yes, the plants seem to be forgiving and they have decided to cheer back. I would be soon sharing my garden".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Recover a Chair in Jute

Use homemade pickle juice glue and twine

Tutorial at Upcycled Design Lab Blog

"This is the tale of the great cat claw caper other wise known as the story of how I came to re-cover a chair with pickle juice, gelatin and twine. To be clear there are no typo's or incorrectly auto corrected words in that last sentence and perhaps more importantly I have not been drinking today. Well, not yet. Scouts honor, I really did re-cover a chair with twine and I used all the pickle juice that I could rummage from my fridge to make this DIY glue".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Build a Kitchen Sink Base

Build a base out of wood to match a sink you love

Tutorial at Grandma's House DIY Blog

"I knew from the minute I laid eyes on it that it would become our kitchen sink and that I would be building a custom kitchen sink base for it! Never mind that it had been sitting in a shed for god knows how long and it had, in fact, been filled to the brim with a mouse nest and had probably raised hundreds (if not thousands) of rodents for decades and was, in fact, totally covered in the resulting excretions. Nope, none of that bothered me! I took one look at this sink and my heart soared. It was perfect! Ok, so it definitely ended up “too high” for most people’s standards but, in the end, both Joe and I love our kitchen sink! Once we had our appliances installed I gathered my materials for building the kitchen sink base".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make Star Spangled Jewelry

Recycle common household items into jewelry

Tutorial at Upcycled Design Lab Blog

"The project started with two empty tape rolls left over from the a fore mentioned shoe project and some stickers from some old address labels. l started by cutting out a section of the cardboard rolls to make them smaller. Then I used some painters tape around the outside and the inside to secure the new sizing".... Read more

Tutorial - Upcycle Leggings into Children's Pants

Stylish and comfortable harem pants for a child

Tutorial at Nina Makes Blog

"I was given these leggings to upcycle and then I had a brain wave for a quick and easy upcycle idea!  Since these leggings are quite small and a nice floaty knit fabric (viscose elastane) I thought they would make great Harem pants for Hannah.  The only things I need to alter is the waistband and the length".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Quilt from Cotton Shirts

Repurpose men's cotton shirts for a quilt
 
Tutorial at Threading my Way Blog

"Early last year I showed you how I organise my refashioning stash. In amongst the clothes waiting to be upcycled, was a bunch of 100% cotton shirts in good condtion. 18 months later and it was time to repurpose those shirts into something new - a shirt quilt. I have to say, I am absolutely thrilled with how my shirt quilt has turned out. What's even better, it effectively cost me nothing to make. The shirts were all given to me, the sashing, border and backing fabric came from my stash, and the bamboo batting was left over from my first ever quilted project".... Read more

Tutorial - Make a Recycled Can Candle Holder

Use with a large candle or votive

Tutorial at Purple Hues and Me Blog

"I love recycling items to create craft projects!  Right now, I'm expanding my soda/beer can recycling undertakings. I recently attended a community cookout and managed to collect lots and lots of empty beer and soda cans. It's a great way to repurpose discarded or unwanted items into creating some of my crafting ideas.  I had fun making this and this using soda cans.  Recently, I've had a couple of projects swirling around in my thoughts - one of which is a candleholder.  Yes, an adorable candle holder that looks chic and modern but so easy to make! And you can use it indoors or out!  Here's how to make one".... Read more

Tutorial - Make a Recycled Denim Drawstring Bag

Appliqued hexies add a nice touch

Tutorial at Threading My Way Blog

"Today I'm going to show you how to repurpose a pair of jeans and turn one of the legs into a drawstring bag. Pop a gift inside, and there's no need for wrapping. The bag becomes both a present and the wrapping. Read on for the tutorial.  I'll give measurements for the bag I made, but you can, of course make the bag any size you want, as long as you can find a pair of pre-loved jeans that is the required size".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Recycled Storage Container

Hard-wearing and practical storage

Tutorial at Bonjour Handmade Blog

"I got this idea when I was operating a home kindergarten. Laundry detergent bottles are so sturdy!! It’s a shame to throw them away!! We’ve also used them in the sand, to carry objects outside, etc. The handle makes it quite handy for children, and you can use them for anything you wish! So you will need an empty plastic laundry detergent bottle (liquid soap for cleaning clothes). The hardest part in this project is to remove the label! With some warm water, a small knife or a spoon, and lots of patience, you will have terrific results".... Read more

Tutorial - Garden Seed Packet Match Game

Empty seed packets make a fun learning game

Tutorial at A Mom's Take Blog

"Bring in spring with this fun Garden Seed Packet Match game. You can recycle and repurpose your old fruit and vegetable seed packets and turn them into a fun kid-friendly activity. Pull this out for rainy-day fun and start dreaming of planting in your garden beds. For this fun DIY game you will need a variety of empty seed packets, or old seed packets that you’re ready to repurpose. You’ll want two packages of each fruit or vegetable type, but the pictures can be different. In fact, I have only one exact match, and I much prefer my different picture sets as they are more interesting".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Upcycle a Wine Bottle into a Vase

2 ways to make recycled and personalized vases

Tutorial at Cucicucicoo Blog

"Mother’s Day is creeping up and will be here before you know it. Have you started preparing gifts for the most important women in your life? Most mothers (at least the ones I know) are happiest to receive something small, but from the heart, and what could be more from the heart than personalized homemade gifts? And since all moms want to protect their children and grandchildren, even better is an eco-friendly gift that won’t have an impact on the environment".... Read more

Tutorial - Make an Upcycled Window Herb Planter

Turn a old window into a pretty garden feature

Tutorial at Pillar Box Blue Blog

"When a good friend recently had new windows, she was going to discard the hundred year old sashes she’d replaced. Luckily I managed to stop her! Wendy was a bit skeptical about my plans to turn the old windows into a lovely feature for the garden. However in the end she was delighted with the result, and said that it was one of her favourite upcycles.   Not only does the upcycled window herb planter looks fantastic in my little garden but it’s really practical, as I now have my own little herb garden. The herbs are in portable upcycled tin can planters, that can be easily taken into the kitchen when needed. I used tin cans as planters".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a K-Cup Bird Feeder

This recycled bird feeder is a great kids craft

Tutorial at Happier than a Pig in Mud Blog

"Bloggy Buddy Mary challenged me to make something for the garden from used k-cups. I accepted that challenge. This simple Bird Feeder from Recycled K-Cups and Popsicle Sticks is a great kids craft for Mother's Day, Grandparent's Day, or any rainy day... clean the k-cups the best you can but remember... The birds aren't picky".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make Dr. Seuss Inspired Planters

Thing 1 & Thing 2 pots made with milk cartons

Tutorial at Non Toy Gifts Blog

"I started discovering Dr Seuss through my boys and with the help of the storytime program at the local library. "Green Eggs and Ham" was our favorite for a long time and because of our picky eater, you could often hear my husband and I tell our son “Try them, try them! You may like them".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Towel Beach Tote Bag

Turn an old towel into a cute and roomy tote bag

Tutorial at Creative Homemaking Blog

"This towel beach bag tutorial is an easy summer project, perfect for beginner sewist and a great opportunity to recycle an old towel! The result is a cute, functional, easy to carry beach tote bag. I couldn’t wait to wear mine at the beach and I did so for the entire period spent with my husband on his cruise ship. This is great to wear at the pool too! The towel beach bag tutorial is super, super simple to make if you don’t want your tote lined. I wanted to add lining to mine only because I really liked the fabric I used for the lining. It’s from a pillowcase and I wanted a little pop of color on my blue beach tote".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Milk Carton Birdhouse

Cute house to shelter your neighborhood birds

Tutorial at Make It Easy Crafts Blog

"The birds are singing around my house every morning and building their nests.  I’m sure that some birds are looking for a birdhouse home as well.  I made this cute birdhouse out of a milk carton (Although mine contained almond milk) in just a few minutes for practically no cost. While you can optionally paint little rectangles for the bricks, I simply cut a rectangle shape in the bottom of a champagne cork and used it as a stamp so the bricks went on in a flash.  Additionally I used a sponge to paint the windows, but you can simply paint them on if you desire. I can’t wait till a little bird family moves into this little birdhouse home".... Read more

Tutorial - Make a Spring Vase with a Recycled Can

No sewing required for this recycling project

Tutorial at Akamatra Blog

"The idea is very simple and very easy to do. And I am not just saying that to cover the fact that I don't have detailed photos to show you! Unfortunately by the time I decided to start crafting the small amount of sun barely visible behind the clouds, took cover and rain started pouring down. So any attempt to photograph the procedure was in vain! However this is really easy to do! First clean you tin can inside out and remove any paper form the outside. Don't worry about the glue residue, you are going to cover it with fabric".... Read more