Valentine’s Day – Not the holiday typically set aside for handmade / recycled gifts, unless they’re from your 5 year-old.   Or so I thought.

Keep your flowers and chocolates – I totally want this.

Maybe a little chocolate, in the form of a mocha – so i can use my new present.

Just in case you’re judging me a little for using a paper cup – check this.

I’m addicted to these – and I don’t care who knows it.

I love to make them and I love to use them.  I’m forever tearing up my magazines and leaving piles of supplies scattered around my office - and since it’s our home office, my husband can’t get enough of that last part.

Each envelope comes with upcycled stationery and sails nicely though the postal system. 

To view a few sets, check out our ETSY store!

I’m always on the lookout for cool ideas – if I were making a list this would be at the top.

I love this little bird!

You can get your daily dose of creative genius at something created every day.

Last week when I was visiting my super-awesome-sister, who also happens to be super-awesome-thrifty, she was mid-painting when I noticed she was using a plastic movie case  as a painting palette.  

Pretty Smart.

To see some of her super-awesome-paintings -  check her out here.

We were strolling the grounds of the Real Goods Solar Living Institute located in Hopland, CA this afternoon and eventually wandered into the gift shop.  There are loads of amazing things and among them – a working tin can robot!

It’s best to plan a visit and tour the gift shop, but if not – you can always pick it up here. 

We had such a good time that I am including a link to yelp.com so you can read what other visitors had to say!

I love getting Christmas cards – I love it so much I want to marry it.

But what do you do with them when you flip the calendar to January?  Some Christmas cards are just too beautiful, or too precious to toss in the recycle bin or donate for a classroom project ? so instead of shoving them in the back of a drawer somewhere, try this:

? Cut the card at the seam and use craft scissors to trim out a pretty frame, both on the front of the card and the inside of the card

? Affix the front of the card to a piece of sturdy craft paper and the inside of the card to the back

? Tie a pretty ribbon to create a ?hook? for your Christmas tree

Viola – A beautiful Christmas ornament! I made a bunch one year because I had more tree than ornaments. These days I have plenty of ornaments, but these remain my favorites.  As we decorate our tree each year, it?s wonderful to re-read all of the special Christmas cards my family has received over the years.

Happy Halloween!

Whatever your celebratory beliefs concerning Halloween, of all the holidays, it is arguably the high holy day of upcycling.

I have personal knowledge of a single hot pink bed sheet purchased from Goodwill that was upcycled into a glam-ghost costume? which was accidently turned into more of a hot pink burka? then upcycled a third time into a super heroine cape for *use your announcer voice* Glam Girl!

? and all this in just one night!

Ever come across an item destined for upcycled greatness only to find that you?re running low on inspiration?

Check out ETSY.

This site is made up of amazingly creative handcrafters ? a community of unending inspiration and a major source of cool.

One of my favorite features of this site is that you can search by geographic location, making it easy to support your local community. Just click the ?shop local? tab ? and get inspired!

Here are a couple of shops to get you started:
Interactive  
FlibbertyGibbits

And because I can’t help myself… REGRETSY