Tutorial - How to Upcycle Shoes to Suit the Occasion

Decorate your shoes to match a holiday outfit

Tutorial at Upcycled Design Lab Blog

"When I found them at the thrift store for 7 dollars they looked like this.So I bought some paint and starting painting.  If you have never painted shoes before you should give it a try.  It is very easy and fun and can make such a difference in the look of the shoe.  Of course you do not want start with your favorite pair of expensive shoes but a less expensive slightly worn out pair is the perfect place to start".... Read more

Tutorial - Make an Upcycled Map Magnetic Board

Plus fun travel themed pins to go with your board

Tutorial at Pillar Box Blue Blog

"I love maps ! Stick a map on something and all of a sudden it becomes something much more attractive and hipper. For example, like with my, Ikea table, suitcase and table mats. If you use the right map you can also add meaning to an object by personalising it with maps of your favourite places. I did this with my personalised map chairs.   My son had this old plain Ikea magnetic pin board in his room and I decided that it needed a bit of map magic. It’s now a fantastic map magnetic board".... Read more

Tutorial - Make Travel Bags with Pillow Cases

Utilizing existing seams in pre-loved pillowcases saves sewing time

Tutorial at Threading My Way Blog

"For my last holiday, I made myself some travel storage bags to help keep my belongings organized for the week. I wanted a low cost solution and came up with a set of six bags made from just two pillowcases - shoe bags, laundry bag, socks bag, lingerie bag and t-shirt bag. Today I'll show you how I made my travel storage bags for absolutely no cost whatsoever".... Read more

Tutorial - Refashion a Sweater with Fabric Paint

Save a stained garment artfully

Tutorial at Leeya Engel Blog

"When Mia somehow managed to get green silly putty embedded in this pretty sweater skirt, I thought I might never wear it again. Then I remembered these fabric paints I had left over from my baby shower where we painted onesies and a lightbulb went off!  The final fabric-painted skirt is way cooler than the original!  A word about fabric painting sweater material: you want to use a paintbrush to create gradients of color and work them in to the knit".... Read more

Tutorial - Upcycle Clothing with DIY Shibori Dyeing

Change the color of a dress for a new look

Tutorial at Green Issues by Agy Blog

"Apart from upcycling my scraps, I have been fascinated with how you can change the colour of your clothes. Adding a burst of colour, whether it be bright pink or even black, can really change the way you perceive your garment. Just like that, you can become attached to it again, and hopefully it will make its way back to the top of your pile of clothes in the wardrobe. Sad to say, we tend to ignore certain items when we get bored with them, and if you are not good with the needle and thread (or sewing machine) perhaps a packet of dye would help you in getting a "new" garment without hitting the stores".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Styrofoam Organizer

Upcycle some styrofoam for a lightweight shelf

Tutorial at DIY Crafts Blog

"Its Monday and this weeks post is about Organization! I love making crafts about Organizing and so I decided I would make this craft for you guys! So lets get started into this craft! Hope you enjoy it".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make Easter Treat Jars

Use upcycled glass jars and fill with candy

Tutorial at Nina Makes Blog

"These two little jars are upcycled from my Heinz Sandwich spread habit!  I have only recently found it for sale in NZ and am enjoying the hell out of it!  I am making two today, one for each of my Nieces on my side of the family. You can fill them with any Easter treats you like".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make Upcycled Denim Potholders

Denim potholders made using old jeans

Tutorial at Hangry Fork Blog

"This afternoon I made myself some new upcycled denim potholders, aren’t they cute?  For those that don’t know, upcycling is, it’s when you take something you already own and make into something new or something more usable or valuable to you.  In this case, I took some weird fitting jeans that weren’t being worn and turned them into the denim potholders you see below".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make Placemats from CDs

Use clear packing tape to wrap the pieces

Tutorial at Upcycled Design Lab Blog

"I wish I had thought of this project before the Holiday's. It turned out so sparkly and shiny that it makes me think of New Years Eve. It did take some time to cut all the CD's so I have only completed one placemat so far. The good news is I have roughly ten months to make a few more, so hopefully I wont have to throw a dinner party for one. I started with one of the hubby's old work shirts. To make the base".... Read more

Tutorial - Make a Recycled Pallet Block Lantern

Add a candle, a handle, and the chimney - voila!

Tutorial at A Crafty Mix Blog

"Pallets come in all shapes and sizes and can be used for so many different things. We were given some block pallets by a friend of ours and the blocks (those square pieces of wood that separate the top and bottom boards) make the perfect base for a shabby-chic lantern. All you need is some an old oil lantern burner, some pallet blocks, sandpaper and wood sealer".... Read more

Tutorial - Upcycled Collage Valentine Gift Boxes

Templates for lettering included in tutorial

Tutorial at Upcycled Design Lab Blog

"I must start by saying that I apologize for I fear that this post is being slapped together at the last moment.  I had bigger plans for detailing the process of making these little boxes.  I was going to have beautiful pictures and even a short video but there is no video and well some of my photos are not too pretty.  I do hope you can make sense of it anyway.  To start you will need:  4 cracker or cereal boxes,  the 4 templates printed out on white paper (at the bottom of this post),  some torn out book pages,  12 photos (3 inches x 3 inches),  red food coloring".... Read more

Tutorial - Make Donut Stickers with Labels

Cute stickers that are fun to make

Tutorial at Shades of Tangerine Blog

"I really enjoy a good donut.  I even enjoy a not-so-good gas station donut.  I'm not picky.  I think about them often, especially at work because donuts happen to be a frequent visitor in the staff lounge.  Since I stopped eating gluten, this has become distressing for me.  Seriously, I don't know who keeps bringing them but you need to stop. Do these reinforcement labels ever conjure up the image of donuts for you?  No? Is it just me?  I've always entertained the idea of sketching some pink frosting and a scattering of sprinkles on them, and today I did just that!  Now, donut stickers aren't as good as the real thing buuuut they're gluten free and super cute, so that's a win".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make Upcycled Washandjes

Tutorial with photos and measuring instructions

Tutorial at Nina Makes Blog

"Growing up we had ‘washandjes’ which translates to washing hands.  These were so much easier to hold on to and the absolute norm in The Netherlands!  I must have been about 10 years old when as part of my birthday present a friend gave me a face cloth.  A very pretty yellow one with flowers on it…I had to ask what it was!  Just in case I believe face cloths are also called, wash cloths, face washers or flannels".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Colorful Clutch

There are many options to personalize this clutch

Tutorial at AKI 1 am Blog

"I realize most people around me have the notion that DIY means recycling/ upcycling, whereas there is so much more to it. DIY is also about making products from scratch, re-purposing an item apart form it’s set use or customizing a store bought article! I am presenting a half-hour session on DIY clutches this weekend and since the time frame is short I will only be showing surface ornamentation for store bought clutches. So, I though of expanding the session into a tutorial on making an ethnic clutch from ground up".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Use Vintage Book Gift Tags

Upcycle used books into vintage looking gift tags

Tutorial at Borei Design Blog

"I am super excited to be taking part in the "Home for Christmas Blog Hop" hosted by Hometalk.com and CountryLiving.com! I can't wait to see all the great ideas this talented group of bloggers will come up with. For my part, I decided to show you how to make super easy, upcycled, vintage-looking, book page gift tags.  You can make them to use for gifts at Christmas or any occasion using an old book that's ready for recycle and scrap, poster board-weight cardboard, such as from a cereal box.  Here's how to do it".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make an Upcycled Felt Garland

Festive garlands from upcycled wool sweaters

Tutorial at Pillar Box Blue

"This is such an addictive festive craft. Last week when making Christmas felt letters I suggested that you might want to keep the scraps to make a felt decoration (felt tinsel). These felt garlands are fantastically colourful and can be used in loads of ways. You can wrap the felt garlands round your tree, use it to hang things from, treat it like ribbon or just drape it over your pictures for that fun festive feel. Even though what happens in craft club should stay in craft club, I can tell you that last night we got into the festive mood by turning mini felt garlands into adorable felt christmas baubles".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Stacked Tube Pendant

Pendant takes under 10 minutes to make and nails the minimalist and metallics trend

Tutorial at Makery Blog

"If you thought my rubber and brass tube necklace was simple, this pendant is even more so! The pieces come from the same batch of tubing offcuts in the previous post. This time  6 pieces of metal tube the same diameter and graduating lengths (approx 1″ and smaller). I played around with arranging them and settled on this staggered configuration".... Read more

Tutorial - Upcycle Clothing with Batik

Step by step on how to use batik to revamp your clothes
 
Tutorial at Green Issues by Agy Blog

"Batik is a very traditional form of textile art in South East Asia. Wax is used applied to the fabric in a technique called "wax resist dye" before colour is painted to dye it.  Areas with wax will resist the dye.  The most well known form of batik is Indonesian batik.  My experience with it so far is that it is like Chinese calligraphy. I had so much fun trying out the technique with my white top".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Mailing Tube Vase

Use pretty wallpaper samples for decorative covers

Tutorial at Hands On Workshop Blog

"Do you have lots of vases that are white or glass? They’re perfect for a colourful bunch of flowers. But, sometimes a splash of pattern or colour is what’s needed to create a decorative display on a sideboard or table WITHOUT flowers.  Here’s a way to create a vase arrangement which looks good without lots of flowers. You can also use these cylinder vases to cover any old jar or container. What’s better is that we made these from postal mailing tubes and leftover bits of wallpaper, so we’re re-using easy to find materials. Try getting wallpaper samples or remainders from your paint or hardware store, and mix and match some".... Read more

Tutorial - Upcycled Mary Poppins Inspired Costume

Use materials at hand to make a Mary Poppins style blouse and hat

Tutorial at Upcycled Design Lab Blog

"Even though my projects are always upcycled I do sometimes need to purchase something to complete them but I am happy to announce that I was able to complete both of these projects with stuff I had on hand. I pulled this men's white shirt out of the goodwill pile".... Read more