Upcycling

Scrap Fabric Upcycled Candle/Tea Light Holders

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There is nothing I love more than decorative lighting and candles!  They help create a cozy, relaxing environment in any room and some candles are aromatic as well.  I especially enjoy the pumpkin and apple pie scented candles.  Once the candles burn down, you are left with the glass and some left over wax.  Sadly, these items often get discarded, but each of these can be restyled into decorative tea light holders using a bit of Mod Podge and fabric scraps.

First, I used a butter knife to carefully chip away at the leftover wax.  Once the wax was removed I used a damp paper towel to clean the inside.  I applied Mod Podge to the outside of the candle holder with a paint brush.  I cut a small piece of scrap fabric measured to fit the outside of the candle.    I wrapped the fabric around the outside of the glass and applied Mod Podge over top of the fabric to seal it.  These are simple to make and are a great way to recycle used candles and fabric scraps.

Recycled Candles made into decorative tea light holders

Upcycled Candle holders made with fabric and Mod Podge

Creative Blast Off: Star Wars Fabric Decoupage Kids Chair

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I was in Joann Fabric recently and came across some great Star Wars themed fabric.  They were in the midst of having a huge fabric sale and I jumped at the chance to purchase something unique and fun at a discounted price.  When I brought the fabric to the counter to have it measured and cut, the clerk informed me that their was a larger scrap piece she could sell me for an additional half off!  It was my lucky day as I really only needed a half yard.  This piece was large enough to use for additional projects, and I jumped at the chance to buy it.  Two other fabrics I purchased also had discounted scrap pieces.  It was my lucky day!  Over a yard of fabric Star Wars fabric cost a mere $5.30!

Thrift Store Kids Chair

I had picked up two kids chairs during a furniture sale (shown above) at a local Goodwill store.   My first project to utilize one of these chairs was for a Strawberry Shortcake themed guest blogger project celebrating Geek Month on Cheeky Geeks Blog. I primed both chairs with a spray on white latex primer, and this chair sat for quite sometime unfinished.  It seemed a perfect fit for the Star Wars fabric.  My husband and I are like many our age, huge fan “geeks” when it comes to Star Wars. I was more than happy to base a kids chair on such a fun topic from our youth.

Trace chair seat on to fabric

I flipped the chair over on to a table and laid the chair seat upon the flip side of the fabric, tracing carefully with a black marker.  I carefully cut out the piece of fabric, along with a smaller sized piece I would use for the chair back. I applied Mod Podge to the chair seat surface with a large foam craft brush.  I then carefully laid the cut fabric on the chair with my hands smoothing it out to prevent wrinkles.  I trimmed the back of the fabric carefully where the seat back and chair back met. This enabled me to cover the seat with as much fabric as possible.  I repeated the same steps to apply the smaller piece of fabric to the chair back.  Once dry, I covered the fabric over top with Mod Podge, and allowed it to dry.

Decoupage Kids Chair

I then hand-painted the chair with red and black acrylic paint.  Like the first chair, it required quite a few coats of paint. Once dry, I painted on a coat of Mod Podge to seal it.

Star Wars Fabric Decoupage Kids Chair

Materials Used:

Old Kids Chair

Mod Podge

Star Wars Themed Fabric

Foam Craft Brush/Paint Brushes/Scissors

Black and Red Acrylic Paint

White Latex Primer

Star Wars Themed Fabric Decoupage Chair

Check out all the great licensed character themed fabrics Joann Fabric has to offer here

Fabric Decoupage Chair Seat

A Frugal Feline: Make A Cat Bed In A Pinch

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About 2 months after the birth of our daughter, I noticed a stray cat hanging around the neighborhood that I hadn’t seen before.  He was very thin and unusually friendly.  I saw the sad state he was in, took pity in him and began feeding him.  He would stay in the backyard lounging on our outdoor chairs, and greet us at our front door when we arrived home.

Summer Stray

After a few months, and the threat of winter approaching, we scheduled a visit through our local animal shelter’s Spay Our Strays program.  He was vaccinated and turned out to already be neutered a sure sign that at one time, he was someone’s pet.  I searched the local lost animal websites, and checked with shelters, but no one seemed to be missing him.  My husband and I decided to take him in.  He was great, but my younger male cat did not approve and started picking fights with him.  Until I could find him a suitable home, he would have to stay in our basement.  I created quite the feline bachelor pad for him.  A cat tree in front of the window, complete with futon bed,  private litter box and a never-ending supply of food and water.  He continues to thrive, after many attempts at finding him a permanent home and attempting to integrate him into the household have failed.  He resides in our basement laundry and remains sweet and content with his life.  He comes upstairs to visit and then goes back down to the basement where he is king and lives in peace by himself.  Just look at him now and how much weight he has gained! It is hard to believe this is the same cat that showed up in our yard on the brink of starvation!..

Nucky

Recently, we were forced to discard the futon in the basement. Removing this piece of furniture removed precious lounging space for our poor “Nucky” (named after the character in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.) I searched the house for suitable items that I could repurpose into a cat bed.  I came across a large wicker basket that I had stored in our attic.  I found an old couch pillow as well as an old pillow case.  I stuck the pillow in the case, and tucked it inside the basket.  I used some fabric scraps to add some detail to the basket handle.  Cat bed in a pinch was born!  A much less expensive and greener alternative to purchasing a new cat bed.  Nucky loves it and has been sleeping in it every night since it was quickly thrown together!

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You had me at “Half Table” Yard Sale Table Rescue

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I was excited when a friend of mine from work approached me about a table she had spotted at a yard sale.  She had arrived toward the end of the sale and the family was packing things up that hadn’t sold.  She informed my friend that she was taking most of what didn’t sell and was placing it out on the curb for the trash collectors.  She was nice and asked my co-worker if she wanted to take anything at no charge since it would end up in the trash anyway.  This is the part of the story I am truly thankful for!  She spotted a little half-moon table and thought of me and how much I love to upcycle.  She thought it would be a perfect candidate and that I could “do something” with it.  I was so excited when she brought the table to me. She had no idea the love I have for these little tables!  I had come across a half table previously at a thrift store and snatched it up! That post was called Crazy for Half Tables! so you can see she had me at half table!  I snatched this table up happily and decided to use the table in our living room.  I decided to match the table design to our damask black and white chair which is one of my favorite upcycled chairs to date.

Yard Sale Half Table Before

The table finish was rough and ready for priming.  I cleaned the table and placed it upside down on to the fabric I was going to use.  I traced the table surface with a black felt tipped marker.

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I carefully cut out the tracing and placed the fabric aside.  I primed the table with a white latex primer and allowed the table to dry,  If you are working with a dark piece of furniture and lighter fabric  it is especially important to prime it because the darker color will bleed through the fabric from underneath and may appear darker than desired.  I learned this myself in the past the hard way!

Apply fabric and Mod Podge

I applied Mod Podge to the surface of the table, applying the fabric slowly to avoid and wrinkles or air bubbles.  Once the fabric was smoothed out, I applied Mod Podge over it with a foam craft brush.  Allowing it to dry.

Painted legs

While the Mod Podge was drying,  I used acrylic paint going with the black and white alternating theme.  Once the piece was completely dry I used a coat of polyurethane sealer to “seal the deal”  Now the piece was allowed to dry overnight.

Restyled Half Moon Table using Mod Podge and Fabric

Thanks again to my awesome like-minded friend who saw the possibilities in this piece! Someone’s trash truly is to another a treasure!  Now my damask chair has a friend and my living room is all the better for it!

Upcycled chair with half moon table

Calling all Upcyclers: Projects Needed for The Second Edition Of The Green Crafts Lifestyle!

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A few months ago, I was honored when “On The Upcycle” was featured in the very first edition of the Amazon E-book The Green Crafts Lifestyle.  The author of that book the lovely Mahe-Zehra-Husain is gathering new submissions for the 2nd edition of the Green Crafts Lifestyle.  If you like to craft green, this is a great opportunity to get your work published and increase readership to your blog. Be sure and check it out!

Altered Upcycling

Purrific Candy Cats: Upcycled Halloween Candy Tray

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While I was out thrifting yesterday, I picked up this great little wicker tray with a hard unfinished wooden bottom, and two handles. This tray was stamped underneath as made by Corning.  It was a bit of a mystery as to what this tray was used for in its current state.  It was certainly priced right and stamped with a red tag marked 50% off and cost only $1.00.

Mystery Wicker Tray

I had an idea since it is close to Halloween to repurpose this item into a Halloween candy tray.  Using a flat tray instead of a deep one, enables the kids to pick the candy that they like best.  I had some great left over Halloween themed spooky black cat fabric I purchased at Joann Fabric.  The same fabric I used for DIY Upcycled Decorative Halloween Lamp.  I gathered the materials needed for this project.

Wooden Tray

Mod Podge

Black Acrylic Paint

Spooky Halloween Fabric

Paint Brush/Fine Tipped Marker

Foam Craft Brush/Scissors

First, I painted the tray areas that would not be covered by fabric with a medium-sized paint brush,  I used a couple of coats and allowed it to dry thoroughly between coats.

Painted Tray

Once dry, I traced the bottom of the tray on to the back of the fabric with the black fine tipped marker.  I carefully cut the fabric out with a pair of scissors.  I placed the fabric aside and applied Mod Podge to the tray surface with a foam craft brush.  I carefully placed the fabric on the tray surface and smoothed out any wrinkles with my hands.  I allowed this to dry and then applied Mod Podge over the painted areas, and the fabric surface.

Upcycled Halloween Candy Tray-Black Cats

Now the hubby and I can pass out candy in spooky black cat style! This can also be used as a serving tray for ghastly goodies. What crafts do you have planned this Halloween?

Halloween Tray made with Mod Podge

Repurposed Decoupage Photograph Shadow Box

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I was very excited recently, when I received my prize in the mail from Ray’s Sew Crafty‘s Labor day giveaway.  A lovely book filled with different designed scrapbook paper. I was eager to use this paper on a project and share it with all of you.  Once again I want to send a big thank you to Diana at Ray’s Sew Crafty. Be sure and stop by and check out her blog!

Labor Day Giveaway

 

I had a set of three different sized black shadow box shelves that I wasn’t sure what to do with.  I decided to repurpose the medium-sized shelf into a photo shadow box.  I gathered my materials:

Shelf

Scrapbook paper

Photo

Mod Podge/Foam craft brush

Hot Glue Gun

Black Fine Tipped Marker and Scissors

I traced the four sides of the shelf with a black marker.  I cut the tracings out with a pair of scissors and placed them aside.  I applied Mod Podge to the outside of the shelf with a foam brush, and carefully applied the scrapbook paper to the outside.  Once dry, I applied Mod Podge over the top of the paper to seal it.  I used the hot glue gun to carefully glue the photo to the back, leaving a small space at the top if I decided to hang it on the wall.

Photo Shadow Box

 

I wish the edges had come out better, as I accidentally touched them before they were dry! Overall I loved the project and what a wonderful way to display a favorite photograph!

Sports Fan Inspired Upcycled Laundry Room Folding Table

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My husband and I have been working on each room in the house, cleaning reorganizing and coming up with new ideas for old items.  One of the areas that needed attention was our basement/laundry area. Our basement is damp and unfinished and keeping it clean is quite a challenge. It also serves as our laundry area.  We have a table in our basement we used in our kitchen for many years. We now use the table for folding and basement storage.  When we moved into our home six years ago, our kitchen was too small for such a large table so it was delegated to the basement.

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I am blessed to have a husband that helps with the household chores, especially the chores I hate!  One of these chores is doing laundry and he graciously does the family laundry every Sunday evening.  He is also a huge Phillies fan through good times and bad. While we were grocery shopping, we came across a Philadelphia Phillies plastic table-cloth in a bargain bin. It was priced right at $1.69.

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I thought it would be great to redo the grungy basement table into a Phillies fan table, and a great way to thank the hubby for all of the laundry he does!  My only concern was that the table cover was plastic.  As stated in previous posts, Mod Podge doesn’t always adhere well to certain plastics.  I thought this would be a great experiment as I had never used a plastic table-cloth for decoupage.  First, I cleaned and painted the table surface with a white latex primer.  This was important because the table cloth was white and the brown surface could potentially bleed through the white table-cloth.

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Once the paint was dry, I generously applied Mod Podge to the table surface with a large paintbrush.  I carefully layed the table cloth on top of the Mod Podge table surface.  This was the most challenging aspect of the project as the table cloth material is thin and prone to wrinkles and air bubbles.  The table cover also is spread across a larger surface area.  I smoothed out the table cover as best I could and applied Mod Podge over the top of the cover and allowed it to dry. I used scissors to carefully trim away the excess table cover hanging over the edges.

DSC_0915I used two coats of a polyurethane clear coat to seal the table surface, I allowed the first coat to dry for 4 hours and the second was left to dry over night.  I applied additional Mod Podge to the edges to prevent any minor curling.  This project was certainly not without its challenges, but despite these I think it turned out great.  The hubby may have lost his sports room to a playroom, but his laundry room is on its way to becoming a surrogate man cave!

Phillies sports Fan Table decoupage table cover

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Now there is another new way to keep up with the “upcycle”.  You can follow my blog “On the Upcycle” via my new Twitter account.  I have never “tweeted” before so this should be interesting!

Upcycled Coffee Cans and Glass Jars

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It has been a hectic few weeks and my upcycling ways have suffered a bit.  My free time has consisted of some travel, household chores, decorating for fall and getting my craft space in order.  I have a few projects in the works, but lately I feel like I am coming up mostly empty-handed during my Goodwill lunches.   During these lean crafting times, I try to work on the craft room.   I am hoping to share it one day, but alas it is far from finished.  I am still finding ways to organize supplies, and just hung some shelves: Progress!

A great way to organize paint brushes and general supplies are old coffee cans and glass jars.  I like to cover them with fabric using Mod Podge.  Glass covered jars not only make great lamps, they also are a decorative way to organize craft room supplies. Simply measure the fabric, cut,  and apply the Mod Podge and fabric to the outside of the coffee can.

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Similar method can be used to apply fabric to glass jars, such as pickle jars, and spaghetti jars.  The possibilities and uses for these items are endless, and it is a great way to repurpose and recycle throw away items. What’s better than craft room storage for free?