October 28, 2013

Upcycled Linky Party {28}

Happy Halloween Week!  Yep, week!  I know some of you are just crazy....about the holiday, that is.  So I hope you'll celebrate to your hearts content all week long.  I'm more of a Fall gal.  I celebrate the season, so I just fell in love with the rustic look of this scrappy wall hanging that was linked up to last week's Upcycled Linky Party.  Check out Another Bright Idea for all the details:


And if you're looking for that perfect Fall bag, why not grab an old corduroy men's shirt and transform it into this adorable handbag from Creating My Way to Success:



As we round out National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought this T-shirt Dress from Our Children's Earth was an appropriate shop feature this week:



Now on to the Upcycled Linky Party #28.  Here's the run down on the rules:

1.  Feel free to link up no more than one upcycled tutorial that you created and one upcycled item from your shop each week.
2.  Please don't link up the same items or blog posts as in previous weeks, let's keep it fresh.
3.  Follow Love 2 Upcycle by email or Google connect.
4.  This is a party so socialize!  Visit at least one shared link and leave a meaningful comment or "favorite" it if it is an Etsy shop item.  It would be nice if you followed them as well, but it is not required.
5.  Please keep it family friendly and upcycled!  We reserve the right to remove any links that aren't appropriate.

Now, show us what ya got:



This week's Upcycled Linky Party is hosted by Tricia at Upcycled Stuff

October 21, 2013

Upcycled Linky Party {27}

Hey did you check out last weeks Upcycled Linky Party?  There were some pretty nifty upcycled projects and items linked up.  Not the least of which was this cool little nature project.  Admittedly, I HAD to click through just to find out what a conker was.  The lovely ladies over at Buttons and Paint called this project a Conker Pot Stand, be sure to check it out:


And Cindy over at the Upcycled Design Lab showed us that there is just no reason to get rid of a piece of clothing because it doesn't fit quite right.  See how she took his jacket from drab to fab with with a needle and thread:


This weeks shop feature comes from Serendipitini  and is this fabulous sun catcher made from reclaimed iron work, glass bottle bottoms and an assortment of other upcycled goodies:



Now on to the Upcycled Linky Party #27.  Here's the run down on the rules:

1.  Feel free to link up no more than one upcycled tutorial that you created and one upcycled item from your shop each week.
2.  Please don't link up the same items or blog posts as in previous weeks, let's keep it fresh.
3.  Follow Love 2 Upcycle by email or Google connect.
4.  This is a party so socialize!  Visit at least one shared link and leave a meaningful comment or "favorite" it if it is an Etsy shop item.  It would be nice if you followed them as well, but it is not required.
5.  Please keep it family friendly and upcycled!  We reserve the right to remove any links that aren't appropriate.

Now, show us what ya got:






This week's Upcycled Linky Party is hosted by Tricia at Upcycled Stuff

October 14, 2013

Upcycled Linky Party {26}

It was a few weeks ago when I greeted you with "Happy Fall, Y'all" for the official start to Autumn.  But it hasn't really felt like Autumn until this past week, the weather is cooler and the leaves in my neck of the woods have just started to fall.  So it felt pretty natural to highlight  a couple of the Autumn themed tutorials linked up from last weeks linky party.

I'm loving all the fall colors and pine cones on this fabulous Fall bunting from Another Bright Idea


The Wooden Bee brought us another fabulous (and easy) cork project for Halloween


And this weeks shop feature is this Upcycled Snack Wrapper Necklace from La Alicia, ya gotta do something with all those candy wrappers!


Now on to the Upcycled Linky Party #26.  Here's the run down on the rules:

1.  Feel free to link up no more than one upcycled tutorial that you created and one upcycled item from your shop each week.
2.  Please don't link up the same items or blog posts as in previous weeks, let's keep it fresh.
3.  Follow Love 2 Upcycle by email or Google connect.
4.  This is a party so socialize!  Visit at least one shared link and leave a meaningful comment or "favorite" it if it is an Etsy shop item.  It would be nice if you followed them as well, but it is not required.
5.  Please keep it family friendly and upcycled!  We reserve the right to remove any links that aren't appropriate.

Now, show us what ya got:




This week's Upcycled Linky Party is hosted by Tricia at Upcycled Stuff

October 11, 2013

Creativity Challenge: Vintage Cutter Textiles


In September, Upcyclers were getting creative with our team's monthly creativity challenge! Our judge Patrice from ITSYOURCOUNTRY selected the upcycled medium: vintage cutter textiles...and we had some amazing entries!

See ALL of the upcycled entries on our special Pinterest board and see who won below!!! Patrice gives us a beauitful explanation of her medium selection and a detailed account of the winning entries!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

"The medium I selected for the September Teamupcyclers creativity challenge is vintage cutter textiles.

My love for textiles and preserving even the smallest pieces of worn tattered holey vintage hankies, table linens, dresser scarves patchwork quilts, etc. that would get thrown out, tossed aside or used as moving blankets, is why I selected this medium for the September creativity challenge. I find I cannot even part with or throw out the smallest of damaged cutter pieces. They need to find a place in a creation for the future to enjoy. I love working with this medium and challenged the team to see what fun and creative ideas they could come up with.

The medium of vintage cutter textiles, which means vintage linens which includes embroidered dresser scarves, hankies, vintage tablecloths, napkins, quilts, doilies, feedsacks, vintage sheets, orphan quilt blocks and the like.

Definition of "Cutter"; Cutter meaning that the item is no longer useable for its original intended purpose, as it has holes, tears, spots, stains and is damaged in some way, but still has areas that are useable and can be "cut up" and reused in a new way.

There are so many vintage textiles out there, that have been used so lovingly over time for their intended use and eventually they get stains or holes and the fabric may start to get weak and tear, but still so much of the beautiful handiwork of embroidery, cutwork, patchwork, quilting, lace, crochet edging and fabric itself is still a piece of the past that still can be cherished and saved into the future and recycled, upcycled and created into something new and wonderful.

I absolutely loved looking at each and every entry and so much time, talent and thought has gone into each and every one. Thank you everyone, for using these beautiful pieces of the past to give them new life. A piece of the past will live on!

The winner is SwooshbyScrollwork’s Layer Cake Skirt


I selected this skirt because of the multiple selections of vintage cutter textiles to create this fun flirty slip skirt, using vintage table linen lace, pillowcase edging and curtain edging
Well thought out creation and .beautifully put together.

Runner Up is RekindledPleasures’s Crossbody Pillowcase Purse


I selected this purse because of the unique utilization of a vintage pillowcase into a sweet feminine purse and is all created from a pillowcase; the inside lining to the charming embroidered flowers and hand crocheted edging on the outside from a vintage pillowcase. So shabby and sweet!"

Great job everyone : )
ITS YOUR COUNTRY
~Patrice


October 9, 2013

Wednesday's Welcome!

It's been a long time since we've brought you daily posts on our blog~ a huge thanks to Bee from The Wooden Bee and Tricia from Upcycled Stuff for keeping us going even as intermittent as we've been! Without them, we may have fallen to the wayside like so many other blogs. I have had one tough year, and I don't know what I would have done without them and the other team leaders on Etsy I have come to love and count on. They, too, have had their own tough and busy times and have managed to still keep us posted with contest results, articles, discussion threads, tweets, Facebook posts, treasuries and our weekly Linky Parties. They have taught me the meaning of the word TEAM.

That said, I hope with our upcoming third anniversary on November 8th, we can start a new wave of consistent activity in our upcycling movement with new and exciting things to put us back on track. We are looking for more contributors to our blog, social networks and Etsy discussion threads, as well as developing new features and, ultimately, a new website with more to offer everyone. So with that said~ here is the first!

Wednesday's Welcome!

Each week we will feature three new Upcyclers~ either from our team on Etsy, our Twitter followers or our fans on Facebook. Whichever venue we find each week's featured upcycling artists, writers or companies, we promise to bring you something awesome and interesting every Wednesday. All we ask is that you welcome them by checking out their shops, pages, websites, blogs, etc. Whether you tweet, share, tumble, stumble, pin, comment or purchase~ show your Love 2 Upcycle by supporting your fellow Upcyclers!

But don't think we are going to neglect our dedicated and long time Upcyclers, we've got plans for you, too! We will sponsor new contests and giveaways, revamp our Blogs 2 Love and share more DIY ideas, tutorials, and links to the most innovative sites we can find so we can inspire you to keep upcycling and living a sustainable lifestyle. Our world is rapidly changing it's attitude toward what we do and it's up to us to show everyone it's not a trend~ it's a necessity. We all must face the need to adapt to the demand for accountability for how we use the resources of our world and to be responsible inhabitants of not just this planet, but the universe. The beauty of the internet and social networking is the opportunity it affords us to reach out globally to spread the word with an impact.

But we need your help. No one can do it alone, we have to do it together.

Our thanks again to all of you and~ Welcome to this week's new Upcyclers...

The first is a new member of Upcyclers on Etsy. Why this one? You are going to love how they describe upcycling. I could not have said it better myself...

Studio ABCD



A graduate from National Institute of Fashion Technology in Bangalore, India, and a student of architecture, Raahul Khadaliya has immersed himself in a sustainable lifestyle that is emulated in his innovative, yet traditionally based products. Using a handmade, eco-friendly method of block printing firmly routed in his culture, he creates brightly colorful and artistic gift wrap from discarded newspaper, as well as other products. Yet, even more beautiful is how he describes why and what he does:

"It is high time now to link things we have used, to the things we will use, and this link between the two holds a promise to a sustainable possibility for future. We know the grave possible problems in times to come, and its ironic that we don’t do much to help the situation. The solution is as simple as rethinking the complete design process incorporating ideologies like cradle to cradle design into both minor and major systems of creation. The need of the hour is to justify the energy, raw materials, human resources and other natural energy that are used in creation of a product and question ourselves each time we discard any thing we use.

To expect a third party to save the environment is passé, when everyone of us can help the cause by re-using things of daily requirements…" ~Visit his shop and profile to read more of his philosophies. He also illustrates his idealogy and method in an amazing infograph on his website.


B - Reloved





Our next Welcome is to another new member on Etsy~

"If the only thing that can not be recycled is wasted time, I thought I might as well put my time and any God given talent I have into making things beautiful by using the power of Recycle. Mission: To bring a creative approach to recycling."

We, in all honesty, prefer to call Christa Behen's approach to the art of recycling~ upcycling, but we also know that many still are more familiar with the term recycling. No matter, it's beautiful!




A hearty welcome also to a new fan on Facebook~ Redeemed, a Museum/Art Gallery in Sharon Pennsylvania, held it's Grand Opening on September 28th! This shop looks amazing, I wish I could take a trip north just to see all the wonderful upcycled treasures it holds! Stop by if you are in the area, or give them a 'Like' and a Welcome on Facebook!



We hope you've enjoyed meeting these three new Upcyclers! I can't wait to Welcome more of you next week!

;) Cat

October 7, 2013

Upcycled Linky Party {25}

Why hello there, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Bouncy.  He is a snake, a simple snake, a upcycled snake.  If you've got an old phone cord or cellphone charger and a couple of corks laying around (I know I do) you too can create this fabulous toy for the little or guy or gal in your life.  And you have the Upcycled Linky Party #24 to thank for it so be sure to swing by our Our Children's Earth for the full tutorial.


And if not for this very party you wouldn't know that you could sew a real pressed Autumn leave onto some upcycled denim either.  Thank you to Gina's Craft Corner for this fabulous tutorial.


And don't forget to shop with the many upcycling artists on Etsy.  You can find some really fabulous, one-of-a-kind upcycled creations like this Recycled Sweater Jacket:


Now on to the Upcycled Linky Party #25.  Here's the run down on the rules:

1.  Feel free to link up no more than one upcycled tutorial that you created and one upcycled item from your shop each week.
2.  Please don't link up the same items or blog posts as in previous weeks, let's keep it fresh.
3.  Follow Love 2 Upcycle by email or Google connect.
4.  This is a party so socialize!  Visit at least one shared link and leave a meaningful comment or "favorite" it if it is an Etsy shop item.  It would be nice if you followed them as well, but it is not required.
5.  Please keep it family friendly and upcycled!  We reserve the right to remove any links that aren't appropriate.

Now, show us what ya got:


This week's Upcycled Linky Party is hosted by Tricia at Upcycled Stuff