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

Upcycle Books into Book Couch!

More Awesome Ways to Upcycle Junk into Bird Houses

Kids love crafts and making stuff with them is also a valuable time you spend together with your dearest.

We  featured a few cool upcycled bird houses last year but here are a few more awesome ideas to get you inspired for this spring!

Here's a long instruction on turning a plastic bottle into a very pretty bird house:

 

Here's another one that involves more painting:

 

Here's a bird feeder made of recycled milk carton:

And even more milk (or juice) carton bird houses here:

Good luck! have fun with your kids and get prepared for spring!

By Annie, author of these kids' party ideas.

Paper Towel Cardboard Tube into a Lamp

In the hands of a creative woman, anything can be turned into the piece of art, even a paper towel tube.

Here's a detailed tutorial on how to create a fun table lamp using a cardboard tube and some imagination!

Egg Carton Footstool

If you still need more ways to recycle egg carton - apart from eggcrate lamps and other diy gadgets we posted on recently - man, you must have plenty of egg carton, here's another idea for you: a comfortable footstool.

The egg crates seem to be pressed and colored:

As a footstool it can be used upright or on its side for a relaxing rocking motion; it also makes a sturdy base for a coffee table.

FedEx Tubes Stool

We once mentioned one cool way to re-use FedEx shipping tubes: as a wine bottle rack. Here's another creative way to take advantage of FedEx triangular shipping tubes if you receive plenty of mail: create a FedEx tubes stool!

It doesn't look too comfortable to say at least but can be a good idea if you need a temporal place to sit on.

Bulletin Board Made of Egg Carton

This tip doesn't require neither time nor any effort but will be real fun! Imagine you have a cool bulletin board at home which you can use to exchange fun notes with your family!

What's so funny?

Imagine it is made of egg carton!

If you want to make your bulletin board fancy you can paint it, glitter it or decorate it any other way you desire.

Stylish Napkin Rings Made of Cardboard Tubes

If you like stylish celebrations and neat parties, if you pay attention to every tiniest detail to make your party perfect, this DIY is right for you!

Merriment Design has a great tutorial on how to make some really cheap and easy table accents.

How to Make Cardboard iPhone Dock

Geeky gadgets have come up with a cool way to create a cardboard iPhone dock. It won't take you more than 10 minutes actually!

We have designed it so that the iPhone dock cable gives it extra stability, and it is easy to place and remove your iPhone from the dock, just like the real one.

Download – The Cardboard iPhone Dock PDF (pdf)

Do It Yourself Cardborad Chair

ApartDesign.nl is selling a chair made of cardboard. This way it is both a chair and a packaging in one!

The good news is that it can be easily made at home: there is no need to buy it. Just buy 9 sheets of strong cardboard and you are done!

Note: here's also cardboard stool if you are interested.

How to Make a Cardboard Stool

This stool is made of cardboard. It is rather solid and you can still use it from time to time to impress your guests.

Source: Dangerously Fun