Recycled Bottle Bracelet

This recycling craft comes to us from 14 year old Kelly, who blogs at Craft Your Style. Kelly figured out how to make jewelry out of something really easy to find: plastic water bottles!

Kelly used decorative paper and mod podge to transform a water bottle into several cute bracelets. Besides making good use of something that might otherwise have been thrown away, I love that Kelly made these bracelets in varying widths. Being able to use different colors and patterns of paper makes these bracelets really versatile.

You can get directions for these bracelets and check out Kelly’s other projects at Craft Your Style.

Sites we love

December 31, 2012December 31, 2012

Patio Bench from a Pallet

Aubrey at Project Lovegood tells us that she “was determined to make our apartment balcony be a place to chill, eat outside, play some cards and read a good book.” One of the projects that she worked on to accomplish that was making a comfy bench from pallet wood.

Pallet before picture courtesy Design, Dining + Diapers

“My husband and I were out driving and we saw pallets for free. We were lucky that they fit in the back of our car and so we grabbed them…then made a bench for our apartment balcony out of two of the pallets,” Aubrey explains. She topped the bench with a cushion covered in a bright, happy fabric. It looks great, and I love the wheels on the bottom that make it easy to move around as needed.

You can visit Project Lovegood to get directions for making a bench like this, and see the scrap wood table that Aubrey made, too.

December 30, 2012December 30, 2012

Reclaimed Wood Coat Rack

At Shona Skye Creations, Kristy had some old wood that had been removed from her deck. She’d saved it from the dumpster, hoping to be able to use it for a project someday. Someday arrived, when Kristy was eyeing the big, empty wall in her bedroom and thought of a way to use that space.

Kristy went to her stash of weathered deck wood and pulled out a wide board. She attached pretty hooks and some cute vinyl to dress it up and turn it into a perfect place to hang the clothes she’s not ready to store in her closet. The weathered, reclaimed wood adds a lot of character to what would otherwise be a run-of-the-mill coat rack!

You can see a tutorial for this project at Shona Skye Creations.

December 30, 2012December 30, 2012

Plant Stand Beachy Makeover

Deb of Lake Girl Paints had a freebie plant stand. It was sturdy, but metal curlicues weren’t her style.

To give the plant stand a new look, Deb pulled off some of the decorative metal work and added some beadboard and a coat of paint. Now the plant stand has a beachy vibe, and looks great out on her lakeside deck!

You can view more of this makeover at Lake Girl Paints.

By Kimm | Filed under Furniture, Tables | Tags: curbside find, curbside finds, dumpster dive, dumpster diving, hand me down, plant stand, plant stand makeover, recycled, refab, refabbed, repurpose, repurposed, revamp, roadside rescue, secondhand find, thrift store, trash to treasure, trash to treasures, upcycle, upcycled

December 29, 2012December 29, 2012

Mum Basket Makeover

Lauren at The Endearing Home was saving the wood baskets that her fall chrysanthemums came in to use next year, until she came up with a way to upcycle them into something cute for her home. She tried painting one, but that didn’t work out too well. Lauren tells us, “I thought about how these baskets were a little flimsy and it would be nice to make it a bit more sturdy while covering up the bad paint choice.”

That’s how Lauren came up with the idea to wrap rope around one of the baskets. The rope totally gave the basket the bit of sturdiness and the cover-up it needed. The addition of a liner and some fabric flowers completed the transformation. It looks like an entirely different basket!

You can read more about this project at The Endearing Home.

By Kimm | Filed under Decor, Storage | Tags: basket makeover, basket upcycle, curbside find, curbside finds, dumpster dive, dumpster diving, fabric liner for basket, hand me down, recycled, refab, refabbed, repurpose, repurposed, revamp, roadside rescue, rope, rope basket, secondhand find, thrift store, trash to treasure, trash to treasures, upcycle, upcycled

December 29, 2012December 29, 2012

Family Purpose Sign from a Headboard

Heidi blogs at My Beautiful Mess. She tells us that this old headboard was one she found for just a few dollars at a local thrift shop. Despite it’s condition, Heidi knew immediately how she could use it in her home.

Heidi gave the headboard a unique painting treatment that made it look like a vintage sign. Then she used vinyl to add something important and meaningful to her and her family: their family purpose statement. Now Heidi’s family has a beautiful reminder of their purpose that they can display with pride. This is a terrific idea for all of us as we head into a New Year with new goals.

You can learn more about this project at My Beautiful Mess.

December 28, 2012December 28, 2012

Glossy Black Dresser Makeover

Lizzie from The Overbrook says, “I rescued this dresser after seeing a curb alert on Craigslist. Right away, I knew it would be perfect for my boyfriend’s apartment, since he doesn’t have a lot of furniture.”

Jennifer had her little sister help her with some basic repairs to the dresser before she gave it a new coat of glossy black paint. She also switched out the boring wood knobs that were original to the dresser for something a little more decorative. I like how Jennifer actually used a different set of knobs for the top two drawers, which definitely adds a lot of visual interest to this piece.

You can read more about this dresser makeover at The Overbrook.

By Kimm | Filed under Dressers, Furniture | Tags: black, black dresser, curbside find, curbside finds, drawer pulls, dresser makeover, dumpster dive, dumpster diving, glossy black, hand me down, hardware, recycled, refab, refabbed, repurpose, repurposed, revamp, roadside rescue, secondhand find, thrift store, trash to treasure, trash to treasures, upcycle, upcycled

December 28, 2012December 28, 2012

Upcycled Corbel Shelf

At Monkey See, Monkey Do, Jennifer tells us, “These old corbels were in our barn. They were originals from an old farmhouse on our property which was renovated in the 1970s. They were stashed in the barn. When we bought the property two years ago, we found them and thought it would be neat to use them in our home.”

Jennifer painted the corbels black and topped them with a pine board to create this beautiful shelf. I like the two-tone effect of the pine board paired with the painted corbels. I love that Jennifer was able to use something with history and meaning to her family in their home to decorate.

For more information on this project, go to Monkey See, Monkey Do.

By Kimm | Filed under Bookshelves, Furniture | Tags: architectural salvage, corbel, curbside find, curbside finds, dumpster dive, dumpster diving, hand me down, pine, recycled, refab, refabbed, repurpose, repurposed, revamp, roadside rescue, secondhand find, thrift store, trash to treasure, trash to treasures, upcycle, upcycled, vintage corbel, wall shelf