Showing posts with label upcycled tutorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label upcycled tutorial. Show all posts

Upcycled SAFETY PIN Necklace for Mother's Day | Tutorial

Here's a DIY safety pin necklace tutorial you will love. A totally adorable and easy peasy handmade gift for the mom who takes her safety pins (although maybe not her own personal safety) seriously.


Now some DIY tutorial makers might tell you to glue those safety pins closed and add a nice safe lobster clasp to the back ... but Olive and I, well, we think moms are a little tougher than that ..... xo all

Recycled Tutorial - Wire Hanger Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar


It's almost time to begin the countdown that ends with Merry Christmas!

And you can make an amazing little upcycled advent calendar in about 5 minutes with a wire hanger and a raid of your craft drawer!

Start your countdown with your letters, beads, balls, etc on the left side of your tree and move one over every day.

I think this little guy will be perfect on everyone's desk or bedtable!

you will need:

a wire hanger, some kind of base for your tree (wood, foam), beads, letters, etc - wire clippers and a drill


This one is of course, easy peasy. Form a tree with your hanger, cut off the hook, mark your holes for the base, drill the holes, add your beads, balls, etc, push in your wires and glue those babies in. This could be a great project for your family to make on Thanksgiving - if you add the correct number of beads (I didn't) you could start it the next day!

Soda Crate Upcycled Tutorial - Soda Crate to Magnet Board - Xmas Countdown Week #4


Soda crates are super-easy to find online and at flea markets and this is another simple upcycle to turn one into an awesome magnet board organization shelf. Makes an especially cool gift for a teenager this holiday season!

(you can also make this with a cork bottom - just use foam under the cork to add stability and thickness for your pushpins!)

you will need : an old soda crate, sheetmetal (available at any hardware store or big box home center), foamboard, glue, sawtooth hangers, glazier points, ruler, drill, bottle caps


Measure the inner area of the bottom section of your crate - note - you can also use a soda crate with one opening and fill the entire area - cut pieces of foam core to fill the inner edge, glue foam core edges together and slide into bottom opening, cut sheetmetal to fit, add glazier points with flathead screwdriver, add sawtooth hangers to back, flatten bottle caps with a mallet

(optional, but I never miss a chance to hammer anything with a mallet - trust me, get yourself a mallet)

glue magnets to back of caps - I added little wood backings that I had from scrap cuttings and screwed my caps to them


To get yourself a soda crate check out these wonderful sellers on Etsy HERE

Upcycled File Cabinet Drawers - create shelving and planters from old drawers


If you have any old metal file cabinet drawers or can get your hands on any at a flea market this spring - they can easily be turned into amazing hanging shelves and planters.

The drawer's pull handles make great places to hang your doodads and the file name insert (shown here with the dictionary definiton of GROW) make great spaces for words, pictures, business cards, etc.

The easiest way to hang these is with a screw into a screw anchor. They can also be stacked or used as shelf dividers - too many possibilties to throw these babies into the junk heap!

A License Plate to Dustpan DIY Recycled Tutorial - Time to Clean Up!

In New Jersey if you do not turn in your old license plates you face huge fines and can even lose your driver's license,

(so, don't ask me where I got this one - I actually have about 10 in a backyard shed which I am hoping the police don't stumble upon, if one of my neighbors - jealous of my crafty nature - turn me in)

but if you live in a state that is not quite so greedy about getting these back and happen to have one that you are not using why not turn it into a handy little dustpan!

You will need:

1. a license plate

(please do not steal this from your neighbor or mother-in-law)

2. an old handle- I removed this one from an old frying pan that I ditched due to teflon and have been trying to recycle
3. 11 1/4" of weatherstripping
4. new bolts for your handle- complete with washers and nuts
5. a drill, some clamps and a marking pen

1. determine the size of the 'fold' for your plate based on your handle and clamp your plate to the edge of your work table upside down
2. gently and firmly bend your plate - working your way a little bit at a time across the plate- slight bends; you will probably need to bend across the plate 3 or 4 passes - if you have a rubber mallet - it could come in handy here

(note - I have a rubber mallet and spent more time looking for it than making this dustpan and of course, it only turned up the next day when I didn't need it anymore)

3. measure and mark your handle holes
4. if you are using large bolts- drill a starter hole with a small drill bit and then drill your larger hole with the correct size bit
5. remove your clamps and bolt on your handle


6. cut your weatherstripping to size
7. peel off the sticky paper from the one side of the stripping and press the edge of your license plate on top of it
8. make any final adjustments to your license plate fold and you are done!

And for some amazing recycled license plate creations you can buy now check out this total gorgeousness on Etsy:


1. Journey license plate word block by Recycled Art Company
2. Recycled license plate monogram necklace by Wearwolf
3. Quebec license plate photo album by Tagliatela
4. Say What? license plate belt buckle by Vintage In Retrospect
5. New England Girl license plate bracelet by Etcetrix
6. License plate frame by RandiTan