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

I?ve lived in the wine country my whole life ? but it wasn?t until I actually moved out to the country, and conquered my fear of spiders, that I started to see potential spa products masquerading as heaps of yard clippings around my property.

Lavender, chamomile, rose petals, *calendula, mint and rosemary are among the many ingredients that can be used in creating a soothing bath tea.

Here is one of my favorite recipes:

Mix these ingredients together and store in a container.  When you’re ready to use them, add  ½ cup of the mixture to 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and allow to steep for 15 minutes.  Strain and add to your bath water

1 cup rosemary
1 cup lavender
1 cup rose petals
1 cup mint

*note: pronounced kulen?jula ? not kalen?doola, the latter will result in some serious mocking.   Heed the voice of experience.

The term “upcycling” was coined by William McDonaugh and Michael Braugart in their book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. 

It’s also a much cooler way of saying, ??finding a way to use it again – preferably before recycling it.?

Most of us have been upcycling our whole lives. Ever scribble a shopping list on the back of an old AT&T envelope before tossing it in the recycle bin?  Or maybe your kids have made rainy day art projects with odds and ends from the craft drawer.  The point is, if you look around you?ll start to see it everywhere – and that’s important.

But it?s more than that.

There?s a larger definition, a bigger human picture ? we upcycle every time take something that has been used up and turn it into something that is useful; something that appeared valueless and give it a renewed purpose.

And sometimes we recreate a treasure.

An address debacle at the printers yielded a couple of reams of high end letterhead that I rescued en route to the recycle bin. Zipped into 3.5 inch squares and clipped together with a surplus of small binder clips they become handy little notepads.

I used a stamp to give it a little bit of cool ? but only every third page, because there is such a thing as too much coolness.

Check out Amazon reviews for Rubbish! Reuse Your Refuse by Kate Shoup.

Check out Amazon reviews for Refashioned Bags: Upcycle Anything into High-Style Handbags by Faith Blakeney and Justine Blakeney.

Check out Amazon reviews for Sweater Surgery: How to Make New Things with Old Sweaters (Domestic Arts for Crafty Girls) by Stefanie Girard.

Check out Azazon reviews for Re-Creative: 50 Projects for Turning Found Items Into Contemporary Design by Steve Dodds.

Check out Amazon reviews for EveryDay Upcycle: 101 Scrap Crafts and Repurpose Projects  by GreenCraftBlog.

Check out Amazon reviews for ReMAKE ReSTYLE ReUSE: Easy Ways to Transform Everyday Basics into Inspired Design by Sonia Lucano and Fred Lucano.