handmade | the upcycle blog

Oct

Happy Halloween

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

Oct

ETSY for Inspiration… and Coolness

by the upcycler

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.

Oct

Yard Clippings Turned Bath Tea

by the upcycler

Lavender, chamomile, rose petals, *calendula, mint and rosemary are among the many ingredients that can be used in creating a soothing bath tea. *note: pronounced kulen?jula ? not kalen?doola, the latter will result in some serious mocking. Heed the voice of experience.

Oct

What Is Upcycling?

by the upcycler

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.?
But it?s more than that.

Oct

Reusable Shopping Bag

by the upcycler

It?s easy to find a reusable shopping bag these days; seems like every store from Safeway to Kohls has a branded bag for you to purchase. Or maybe you plan to dig your way to the back of your closet and unearth that faded-out canvas number ? Either way, Well Done. But, have you considered taking it a step up? I have an upcycled shopping bag, and it sincerely rocks.

Oct

Rethink Recycle

by the upcycler

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.