Up-cycling happy

Discussion in 'Hobbies and Crafts' started by Lilthisnthat, Apr 22, 2019.

  1. Lilthisnthat

    Lilthisnthat Seedling

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    Sometimes I love finding another use for things we normally throw out. Just love being crafty and upcycle minded. What's some things you like to reuse?.Guess it's a bit of a habit for me. Cans, plastic bags,coffee containers, bottles...
    ae80800a30399f3117088863c300a308.jpg 4c116188342d8081c76959df0ce590a7.jpg e2c12badc0ec9433a1fcf6ff6865f3d0.jpg 712c9989e68fe81f9d112b7cd6c9c4bb.jpg eb4ed15aa405bdf67e21166084d9995e.jpg ccfe67962c606dd53f01281711f60e3f.jpg . 4c116188342d8081c76959df0ce590a7.jpg
     

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  2. eileen

    eileen Resident Taxonomist Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    I love what you've done with 'useless' items Deana. It just goes to show that, with a little imagination, even what most people would think of as trash can up-cycled into something worthwhile. Well done!! :smt023
     
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  3. marlingardener

    marlingardener Happy

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    I second Eileen's "well done!"
    Here on the farm we use, re-use, and use until something is no longer usable. Large plastic coffee containers are under the kitchen sink holding kitchen scraps and coffee grounds for the compost pile; chicken feed bags are used to line the garbage cans in the barn and shed; the string from the chicken feed and bird feed bags are wound around old wooden thread spools, and the thread is used to tie and hang herbs for drying.
    My husband knows to NOT throw anything away until he has checked to see if it has another use (or two, or three!).
     
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  4. Lilthisnthat

    Lilthisnthat Seedling

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    :smt055 @eileen thank you for the beautiful compliment, a bit of a crafty habit I admit.@marlingardener you make absolute comforting sense..too much is wasted and can be reused.
     



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  5. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    I have been making mittens from old sweaters. I have made more than 20 so far. I am giving them away as presents and perhaps I will sell some in handcraft stores come fall.
     
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  6. Lilthisnthat

    Lilthisnthat Seedling

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    That's fantastic Cayuga, I bet those do make fun and great gifts!:setc_034::smt023;)
     
  7. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    Thanks @Deana Tankersley . I actually have been having great fun matching the wool colors and thicknesses.
     
  8. Nnamdi

    Nnamdi New Seed

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    You sure do know how to make things pretty again, your crafts all look great.
     
  9. marlingardener

    marlingardener Happy

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    Not as pretty as Cayuga's mittens, but we do have a use for old crew socks. They are stretchy and when cut into 1" strips, make great tomato, pepper, any plant that needs it, ties. I use them in the tomato patch for the tomatoes and peppers, and on the trellis for the gourds. Some of the climbing roses are secured with soft, stretchy bands of old crew socks (and yes, the roses still smell like roses and not like old socks!).
    I confess, I save the ones I can for use the next season.
     
  10. marlingardener

    marlingardener Happy

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    What is wrong with me? (Please don't answer, I don't really want to know).
    I was driving into town on Thursday for my usual "day in town to get stuff", and as I was driving along, I saw a bunch of five gallon buckets by the roadside. I thought they had sailed out of a construction truck that hadn't secured them. I drove a bit, and thought, "Those buckets are going to lay there until the road crew comes by and tosses them into the dump." Figuring there had to be a use for those buckets, I turned around, went back, and picked them up and secured them in my truck's bed. There were eight buckets!
    I didn't need them but thought the community garden might have a use for them (some of the older members do container gardening). So I went to the community garden, offered the buckets and told them they needed to be cleaned and have holes drilled for drainage. They were snapped up in ten minutes!
    I have now progressed from dumpster diving to roadside scavenging. What is next?
     
  11. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    Good for you MG! Our community garden has about 20 of those contractor buckets, yet still some days we have a shortage!

    Here's a photo of some of the mittens I have made. I have given away over 10 already. At this rate I won't have any left for Xmas presents!

    IMG_20190502_160037.jpg

    I also just made an apron for the granddaughter of a cousin out of an old curtain. The granddaughter is 2 and the apron has a "hidden" pocket.
    IMG_20190613_123609.jpg

    Can you see the pocket?
    Here's another photo with the pocket opened.
    IMG_20190613_123626.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2019
  12. marlingardener

    marlingardener Happy

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    Cayuga, those mittens are gorgeous! If it got cold enough here to wear mittens, I'd beg a pair from you. And that apron--darling. What a lucky little girl to get her very own apron. Do you use a pattern or just sit down and start sewing? Either way, that apron sure turned out perfect.
     
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  13. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    @marlingardener thank you so much! I didn't use a pattern, but I had made an apron like it for my daughter 20+ years ago(-she was a babushka for Halloween one year)& I just did the same thing again for this child. She loved the"hidden" pocket.

    At the anniversary celebration, I was able to give away 4 more pairs of mittens!
     
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  14. marlingardener

    marlingardener Happy

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    I am still unrepentant and unredeemed with dumpster diving and roadside scavenging.
    Again, I was driving into town and saw a truck carrying a large fiberglass cube. It was parked by the side of the road, and the driver was on the phone. I stopped and asked if he needed help, and he told me he had just contacted the local waste disposal, and they didn't take those 250 gal. cubes. He was wondering what do do with it (and I suspect just dumping in roadside was crossing his mind.) I suggested he offer it to the local community garden for rainwater storage. He followed me to the garden, and YES they wanted it! The Senior Citizen Center which is adjacent has guttering, so the garden manager set up the cube, got the downspout directed toward it, and made sure the previous contents were non-toxic. The gardeners are going to have to draw and carry with watering cans, but most of them can manage that.
    Harvesting rain water doesn't harm the aquifer--it just adds one more step before it goes where it belongs.
     
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  15. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    Marlingardener, our community garden could use someone like you!
     
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