Upcycle an Old Book into a Purse (+Instruction)

One of my readers emailed me asking for some instructions on how to turn a book into a purse. I did some research and picked some of the nicest looking DIY projects to answer the question.

I have already listed cool book purses but there are no instructions. This time I made sure each project had a detailed instruction.

Here you go: How to upcycle an old book into a cute purse:

1. How to make a purse/clutch from a Book

 

I LOVE what it looks like!

Full instruction: How to make a purse/clutch from a Book

2. Turn an Old Book into a New Purse by A Beautiful Mess 

Depending on the book color you'll need to pick a matching material. I wish it had a holder but it looks neat nonetheless! You look like smart fashionista!

Full instruction: Turn an Old Book into a New Purse

3. Homemade Book Clutch 

This one comes with a very details instruction and it looks like a real book from outside. But the inside looks very practical!

Full instruction: Homemade Book Clutch

Bonus: Book iPad cover!

This one has no instruction but what an idea! If you get excited by one of the above purses, there's nothing stopping you from implementing the same techniques to create a cool iPad cover!

(Source)

More upcycled purses for your inspiration:

• Candy Wrappers Purse
• Stylish Vinyl Records Purse
• Recycle Tetrapak into a Coin Purse 

3 Upcycled DIY Ideas for Cute Photo Frames

It's spring-summer time! The season of traveling and family time: LOTS of memories to keep, share and decorate your home with.

Here are three fresh ideas to create upcycled photo frames to store and display your cherished memories:

Old tart pans (old flan tins) into picture frames

Very neat and touching idea: Collect your memories! These could be good for family pictures, food photos, your fitness tips or your memories captured through Instagram.

(Couldn't find the source!)

Metal trays into magnet boards

Turn those old trays into your family message board! Exchange notes with kids and clip your to-do list here. This looks cuter than a fridge!
Source

Clothespin DIY Frame

The beauty of this clothespin DIY frame is that you can change the pictures as often as you want! Plus it looks really neat:

Happy decorating!

More photo frames:

• Magazine Paper Photo Frame
• Expired Plastic Cards Photo Frame
• Plastic Straw Photo Frame
• Rolled Recycled Magazine Pages into the Mirror Frame
• Recycling Idea for Reclaimed Wood

Old Socks into Stylish Gloves

Great idea for fashionistas! And for moms looking to educate their little girls on sustainability and upcycling (as well as have fun time with them).

Turn your old sucks into neat fingerless gloves. Let your imagination fly: Come up with different-colored decor elements to match your manicure!

Instructions are here; Discovered on Pinterest. Thank you, Dr Elaine Nicholls, for sharing this great resource!

For more upcycling fashion ideas, subscribe to the awesome Pinterest board: Refashion

More upcycling fashion ideas from this blog:

• 5 Awesome Book Purses
• Repurposing Last Season's Sandals
• Vinyl Record into a Cool Necklace
• Film Negatives Handbags
• Chick iPhone Outfit
• Candy Wrappers Purse
• Pop Tabs Wristlet Bag
• Cool Newspaper Handbags
• Stylish Bracelets Made of Negatives
• A Geeky Keyboard Belt
• Stylish Vinyl Records Purse

Recycling Idea for Reclaimed Wood [from Our Reader]

Francesca Crolley of Nansulate.com has shared this cool tip with us:

We've had a few people that use our clear lead encapsulation coating to repurpose relaimed wood. This company is one that uses the reclaimed wood from Hurricane Katrina for picture frames

By using a clear coat over the wood that's a lead encapsulant, you can make sure that it is safe for use by others while keeping its unique look.

Gardening Bench Workstation: From Our Readers

Rhonda White of Her Christian Home has a very neat idea of a gardening bench workstation to have all her pots and tools there. So she turned her “Baker’s Rack” into her very own Gardening Bench Workstation! And a really beautiful one! I think it will make any garden prettier and cozier!

Please check the whole tutorial here!

Rhonda also has an awesome Pinterest board where she curates all kinds of fun upcycling ideas. Check it out and follow!

An Old Door into a Cute Bench

Staci Edwards at Switch Studio used an old door to create this awesome piece of furniture. What a lovely idea! The bench looks really stylish and neat: I love the minimal feel, yet the cozy atmosphere it creates! It doesn't look like huge work too! Another proof that stylish home doesn't need to cost a fortune!

Steal the idea!

Before:

After:

A special thanks goes to Wayne for sharing this awesome project (and many more!) with me!

Old Farm Machinery Bits into Garden Decor

We continue featuring our readers and frugal living advicates. In today's edition David Leonhardt shares how he has turned old farm machinery into garden decor and tools

I've placed a few rusted, but nicely-formed, bits of old farm machinery in my garden.  Rather than ship it all to the dump when cleaning out the old barn, I used some as decor.  I had also found a couple old metal pots (from 100 years ago, perhaps?) which I now use to water plants beyond the reach of the hose.

Featured Company: TerraCycle Turns Trash into Useful Products

It's great to see upcycling make it to the news headlines and big companies with funding emeging as a result:

TerraCycle make millions recycling trash and turn it into useful products, such as fertilizers.

Watching their video gives you a clear view of how much the company is doing for upcycling! Look at how they re-use glass bottles:

Or take a look at their chair beautified by candy wrappers!

Great cause to participate in!

Crafts from Trash: Scrapbooking with Found Objects by Christy Strickler

Welcome to our next edition of "Featured Readers' Crafts"

Today we are featuring a great series by Christy Strickler over at MyScrapbookEvolution.com

Christy uses all possible items she can find (including shopping bags, plastic lids, and metal pop tab lids) to add texture to your papercraft projects and create awesome-looking crafts!

Please check out Christy's series here: Scrapbooking with found objects

Here are some great scrapbooking supplies:

From Shopping Bag to Layout:

From Scraps to Woven Layers:

DIY Stencils from Lids:

Thanks for sharing these with us, Christy!

Old Sweater into a Bottle Decor #Homedecor

We've seen lots of great ideas to pimp your interior with bottle decor including Wine Bottle Chandelier, Bottle Christmas LED Lights, and Wine Bottle into the Garden Borders.

This time I am sharing an even more original idea: Sweater vases!

You take a bottle, add your old unloved sweater and get unique home decor!

Here's a detailed tutorial and here are more ways to upcycle sweater crafts!

5 Winter Upcycled Hacks

Winter is a season of many things, the holidays coming in first and foremost among them for most of us, presenting us with nearly unlimited opportunities for useful and beautiful crafts and hacks for our homes, both inside and out.

Whether you're looking to create a festive atmosphere, or you simply want to get the very most out of some unused items when you've got the time to transform them during the chilliest months of year, check out these five winter upcycled hacks, for yourself and to gift:

1. Arm Warmers

5 Cute Upcycled Hacks for Christmas

Christmas is coming, and no that wasn't the beginning of a carol. We are gearing up for one of the most popular holidays around, putting up our trees and hanging up stockings. It also means that DIY junkies like me are looking for projects for house decor and handmade gifts. Especially those that upcycle old items and save on materials.

Pinterest has once again come to the rescue. Anyone who has been on their DIY board knows that it is filled with cool ideas in both the simple and impossibly advanced categories. Whatever level you are at yourself, you can find something fun to do any time of the year.
But with it being winter, you can bet there are even more Christmas themed upcycle projects than ever. Here are five super cute upcycled hacks for the holidays.

1. Sock Wreath

10 Cute Tips for Upcycled Kitchen Decor

Upcycling is a really big hobby for many people these days. Part of that is due to the years of living under a difficult economy during the financial crisis. But for others, it is just a fun interest they have always enjoyed and continue to do so. There are certainly a lot of blogs and social media posts dedicated to the practice, and thanks to Macklemore, second hand shops are more popular than ever. At least some of what is bought there is sure to end up as part of a project.

To get tips on how to upcycle, such as projects involving kitchen d?cor, sometimes it is best just to look at what people have already made. Here are ten tips from upcycled items around the web, all having to do with kitchens.

1. Kitchen Utensil Chimes

Upcycle-Inspired with Pinterest

Pinterest is one of the coolest social networks I am hanging out at. It is so addictive! I use it to source upcycling ideas for this blog as well!

A few days ago I came this beautiful article listing some of the coolest DIY projects found on Pinterest. How cool is that?!

Hipstagram Wall! I love it!

What are your thought?

4 Ways To Create A Kitchen Garden Using Upcycled Materials

 

Whether you live in an apartment and have no yard space or are just enchanted with the idea of growing a bit of food in your own kitchen or on your porch, creating a kitchen garden can be fun and rewarding. There are, of course, a host of kitchen garden pots, planters and other tools available for purchase, but why not create your kitchen garden using upcycled materials? What better way is there to be kind to the environment while enjoying home-grown food straight from your own kitchen?

What to Grow 

A number of plants are suitable for a kitchen garden, but it is important to take into account root depth, sunlight requirements and more. Below are a few suggestions of plants worthy of consideration for your kitchen garden.

• Strawberries: Nothing quite beats the romance of picking plump, red berries off your own personal plants. Because they are shallow-rooted plants, they adapt well to container growing.
• Lettuce: Incredibly easy to grow, lettuce is a top candidate for kitchen gardens, especially if you choose a cut-and-come-again lettuce blend. There are some fantastic seed blends with a wide range of leaf textures and colors and tastes that vary from bland to spicy.
• Herbs: The best chefs use fresh herbs. Join their ranks by planting your own food seasonings such as chives, basil, rosemary, parsley and thyme.
• Tomatoes: Be cautious when selecting tomato plants. If you have limited space, you will want to look for patio container varieties. These will stay a bit more contained than some of the bigger garden varieties. You can also grow tomato plants specifically for indoor growing, as they don't require bees to pollinate them. Although the pollen naturally drops from one flower to another, some growers suggest gently shaking your tomato plant to encourage pollination.
• Radishes: Their compact size and bursts of color make it a no brainer – it must be included in the kitchen garden!
• Dwarf Carrots: While your average carrot is too long for many containers, the more compact, ball-type carrots work well.

These are some of the easiest to grow and most popular plants for a kitchen garden. Of course, you can grow many other things, but keep in mind that plants such as watermelon and squash need a lot of space! Once you have decided what to grow, it is time to get down to the business of finding containers in which to plant.

10 Ways to Upcycle a Suitcase

Everyone should have a good piece of luggage, even if they only travel occasionally. But what happens when you no longer need a particular set? Maybe you got something new, or you went a little suitcase crazy and picked up too many at a second hand shop. Or you might just have worn it through and need to do something with the old luggage.

Don't be so quick to throw it out. Instead, check out these awesome and creative upcycling ideas for old suitcases.

1. Storage Ottoman

Upcycle Books into Book Couch!

5 Awesome Book Purses

Reading is a treasured pass time and one of the greatest things you can do. There is nothing quite as satisfying as sinking into a story and losing yourself to the plot, characters and excitement.

Which is something that fewer and fewer people are enjoying these days, the lack of appreciation of books depressing. Even with the creation of ereaders, which give us greater access than ever.
Why not do your part to show books some love? Check out these awesome purses that upcycle your favorites.

1. Harry Potter

While the series is now over and done with, Harry Potter will go down in history as one of the most popular fictional worlds of all time. Order of the Phoenix is a favorite of many, and this Etsy seller is offering purse with custom fittings, buckles, straps and decorations using the cover. I have seen many other Harry Potter books used, with every title available.

10 Cool DIY Projects Using Old Tires

The other day I was in my garage and I realized something: we have way too many tires. Living where we do, we end up driving into the mountains a great deal, or further south and into the dessert. Both types of terrain can be rough on rubber, and we go through a full set of tires once a year. For a long time we just threw the old ones out, but now we have been patching and reusing them instead of purchasing new ones.

Obviously, this is better than tossing them both environmentally and economically. But we still have more than we need, and I had no idea what to do with them. Sell them? Give them away? That is when my Pinterest instinct kicked in and I knew I had to see if I could find some good upcycling projects for them.

These are the ten coolest I found.

1. Tire Swing

Turn an Old Crib into a Craft Shelf, Art Table, Wall Decor + 7 More DIY Ideas

There are a lot of cribs out there these days that act as a full sleep system. They go from a crib to a toddler bed, and sometimes even to a base for a full twin later on. But not all of them do this, or live long enough to make it into all three incarnations.

I know both of my kids brother their cribs long before they could become even a toddler bed. Which should tell you something about my children.

For those leftover pieces, you might not know what to do with them. If the crib is intact you can always try and sell it, or maybe offer it in freecycle. But most are leery about taking a used crib, especially with all the recalls to hit the baby industry in recent years. You may not have as much success as you hope for.

Instead, why not get creative? Pinterest, home of all things DIY, has a ton of awesome ideas for upcycling cribs. Stylish, interesting and functional additions to your home are just a project away.

1. Wall Decor

You could do a lot with this idea, because it is entirely based around your personal tastes for decor and art. I like the concept of converting the grip springs into a canvas board, because it is light weight and yet would easily hold different items. You could probably come up with some other ways based on this principle.