Halloween: May 2018

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Upcycled Ironing Boards: New Uses For Old Ironing Boards

Ironing board jewelry hanger made with old wooden thread spools by erinplainandsimple

I believe that you can upcycle just about anything, giving it new life and increased value. I also believe that incorporating these upcycled items into your home can be a really cool and inexpensive way to add interesting style to your home.

One household item that is fading fast from homes is the ironing board. I see one at just about every thrift store I visit. But did you know that you can use old ironing boards in really creative ways to accent your home?

Check out these innovative ideas for upcycling ironing boards!

DIY Ironing Board Plant Hanger Project

You will need:

A small metal ironing board

Spray paint
Wire and wire cutters
Old glass bottles or old glass vases

Optional: Magnets and E6000 adhesive

1. Remove ironing board cover and prepare surface to be spray painted by removing all sticky labels and dirt with a damp cloth. Dry.

2. In a well ventilated area or outdoors, spray paint the metal ironing board whatever color you desire. I love a bright pop of turquoise, red, or purple. Allow to dry completely, overnight is best.

3. Use long lengths of wire to wrap the necks of the bottles and vases, wrapping the wire around the neck three or four times until it is very secure. Next thread the wire through the holes in the ironing board to the back side of the board and then back through another hole back to the front of the board, securing the bottle tightly to the board. Do this a few times until the bottle is securely wired to the board. Wrap the tail end of wire around the neck of the vase.

4. Alternately, use strong magnets to attach your bottles to the ironing board by first checking that the magnets will stick to the board. Then use strong adhesive such as E6000 to adhere the magnets to the bottles or vases. Allow adhesive to dry over night.

Summery ironing board mini bar

A unique way to use a vintage wooden ironing board

Creative ribbon and craft storage

Vintage wooden board with a nice display of plants. Boards are best displayed in areas of low traffic where they are out of the way of getting bumped or tripped over.

Smaller sized ironing boards are great for jewelry storage. This one was left unpainted.

Ironing board display with magnets

Turn an old wooden ironing board into a painted sign for your laundry room

Ironing board seat by donnawalker.org

Ironing board wine rack

Do you use an ironing board in your home?

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Please leave me a comment below!

Have a great week!

Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs

What Is Upcycling?

Recycling, Repurposing, Upcycling – what’s the difference?

…and what exactly is Upcycling?

Recycling vs Upcycling

Most of us already know what recycling is. A plastic bag is used to carry home groceries, then is later reused by the owner who uses the bag a second or third time, perhaps to again carry groceries or to store items.

The bag has been reused, and in a way, it has been recycled by its owner. The value of the bag remains the same.

Let's now say that the same plastic bag is sent out for recycling to a recycling plant. It's taken to a factory where it is put with lots of other plastic bags which are then turned into something new, such as more new plastic bags.

The bag is being recycled, but most of the time, it is also being downcycled...

What is downcycling?

Downcycling is something that occurs when items that are recycled are converted into items of lesser quality due to the recycling process itself.

For example, different types of plastic bottles may be recycled and during the recycling process, some of the valuable materials from these plastics may be extracted by the recycling process itself. In the end, what may be left is a hybrid type of plastic of a lesser quality than the quality of plastic of the original bottle before it was recycled.

After the recycling process, the quality of the plastic has gone down. One example is that an old plastic bag that is recycled into a new plastic bag may not be as durable as the original bag was. This is downcycling.

What does upcycled mean?

With upcycling, an item is no longer being used for its intended purpose, but is repurposed – given a new purpose – and along with this new purpose (and this is the important part) it is also given an increase in value (usually both aesthetically and monetarily.)

It is worth more in its new form.

What is upcycling?

It's when an item is repurposed with a new use and the item's value goes up.

What does upcycled mean?
Upcycled means that the item is now being reused for something different than it was originally intended and the item now has an increased value due to it's new use.

Why is Upcycling important?

UPcycled items often have both a better quality and a higher environmental value than they had in their original state!

What else makes upcycled products items so desirable?

Upcycled products are created with innovation and creativity!

Here's an example of upcycling:

My daughters found this piece of a broken plate on a nature walk...

I turned the broken plate piece into three beautiful necklaces for them!

One of the best quotes explaining upcycling comes from Wisegeek:

"Upcycling is designed to work in opposition to consumer culture, encouraging people to think of new and innovative ways to use things, instead of simply buying new consumer goods. It also benefits the environment, by promoting reuse over discarding whenever possible."

At a glance:

Recycled – in it's broadest sense - used again and value remains unchanged

Downcycled – items are turned into new items of a lesser quality than their original state

Repurposed – used again but with a new purpose

Upcycled – used again, with a new purpose, and with greater value than its original state

Pin this post!

What do you think?

Have you ever upcycled something?

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Please leave me a comment below!

Have a great week!

Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

The Upcycled Garden Volume 9 - Creative Garden Ideas - May 2018

It's that time of year again!

We're full swing into spring...and that means it's time for some new upcycled garden ideas.

Check out my May picks for the most creative, unique, and beautiful ways to wow your outdoor landscape and create some fun, artistic, and functional art by incorporating salvaged and repurposed materials into your yard and garden. Check it out!

Pour your own concrete in old window wells to create these garden stairs

Candle holder made from old forks

Create a cozy outdoor table in your garden

Greenhouse made from old windows and doors

Mosaic birdhouses can be made with nearly any kind of stone

Giant flower made from bull rake tines, cultivator parts, and a gas stove burner by Don at donsdaylilydivider.com

Shovel and pitchfork table and chairs

New uses for old glass insulators

Bike chain and old key heart by KathysGardenArt

Decorate your garden fence for added charm in your garden

Wooden pegs make neat garden tool storage

An old mirror in a garden can add sparkle and depth

Old suitcases and luggage turned into a bird habitat

Add a favorite quote to an old door and incorporate it into your garden!

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Please leave me a comment below!

Have a great week!

Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

The New, The Unique, The Unusual: Broken China Jewelry Statement Necklace

Sometimes I get so busy doing the things I am "supposed to be" doing that I forget to do things that I enjoy and that I want to do.

I'm talking about work and jewelry making, and when you are full-time in this business as I am, it's easy to get caught up in the day to day work of making the types of things that are popular - and often over and over again.

Of course, it's how I earn a living, and so I am constantly busy with requests and with things that people want - and that is very time consuming.

And what gets tucked away in a drawer are the projects that I play with in my head, things that are new and different, things that zig when others zag. The experiments, the "take-a-chances," the out on a limbs," the "hmmms..."

I love creating unusual things, piecing them together in my mind and then later with my hands. I love creating unique statement pieces that push people's concept of style and hopefully encourage them to own the bravery of trying something new. Or often, just the ability to show who they really are inside, pleasing themselves instead of others.

That's what art jewelry can do. Statement pieces that are one of a kind are as unique as the individual who owns them. And when I say "owns them" I'm not just talking about having something in your possession, but about really owning that style, making it your own, making it you.

I love how this statement necklace turned out. It's so cool and elegant at the same time. The mix of antique rose floral porcelain and pottery are an intermix of expensive fine china and dime store dinnerware of the 1930's to 50's, which work together and support each other to create the finished whole.

What do you think?

Click here to see this item in my shop

Have a great week!

Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs

Monday, May 28, 2018

Upcycled Vintage Ladies Watches Into Photo Memory Bracelets

These days I think I have only one or two friends who actually wear wrist watches. I think most of us now rely on our cell phones to be our timepieces. But just a few years ago things were different. Before cell phones, nearly everyone wore a watch!

And I think many would agree that wrist watches are one of the most inherited items in families. I love the dainty antique ladies watches from around the 1910's to 1940's. I once inherited one that belonged to my grandmother and although it stopped working long ago, I continued to wear it for many years, until one day, when I realized I had lost the watchface, and only the band and crystal remained. Ugh! I still feel sad about losing it. I never found it and have no idea where or when it went missing. But I still had the band and crystal, so into the jewelry box they went.

But lo.

Behold the vintage watch band bracelet.

By opening the crystal and inserting a small photo of a loved one (how about a photo of the person who you inherited the watch from?) you can give new life to your old inheritance, giving it a whole new look as an heirloom to pass on to your own loved ones one day.

If you've lost the watch face and back (the inner watch workings) as I have, you can cut out your photo and insert it behind the crystal, but then you will need to find a way to hold the photo in place.

If you have experience working with clear liquid resin, this might work, but I wouldn't try it unless you first experiment a bit with resin because it can be tricky and can take a little bit of time to get used to the ins and outs of the craft.

Also, if you are putting resin on paper, you must seal the paper first with some type of sealant! I explain how to do this in my book Boho Chic Jewelry: 25 Timeless Designs Using Soldering, Beading, Wire-Wrapping and More in my Poetic Seashell & Stone Necklace project on page 93!

If you are experienced with metalwork or soldering, another idea might be to cut a small piece of metal to fit behind the photo and then secure it in place somehow.

Either way, make sure you use a copy of your vintage photo and not the original!

Have you ever inherited a watch from a loved one? Leave me a comment below!

What do you think?

Click here to visit my shop

Have a great week!

Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs

Sunday, May 27, 2018

New Broken China Jewelry Earrings in My Etsy Shop

Happy weekend! I finally got a few pair of broken china jewelry earrings finished and listed in my Etsy shop. Each pair is extremely lightweight, and has sterling silver ear wires, and genuine pearl and Swarovski crystal beaded drops.