Decorate Your Walls with Shoes

Ever found yourself surrounded by shoes with no place to put them all?  Yeah, me too.  All the time.  I'm a shoe fanatic, and I found this brilliant way of storing your shoes.  It's a space saver, and it helps decorate your walls!

Picture from:
http://pinterest.com/pin/9429480439352806/

Materials:

• Crown molding
• Paint & paintbrush
• Sandpaper
• Drill & screws
• Dry wall anchor

How To:

1. Buy some cheap crown molding, measure and cut each to desired length.
2. Paint the molding the desired color.
3. Drill holes in the crown molding where you want them to hang.
4. Using a bigger drill that is the same size as the screw head, secure the anchor to the wall. 
5. Place one of the crown moldings on the wall and screw the screw into the anchor with a screw driver.
6. Add rows until the desired number of rows are attached to the wall.
7. Hang shoes on the molding for convenient wall storage and decorations.

Via:
http://www.geniabeme.com/2011/10/my-new-shoe-organizer-heel-organizer.html

Make a Wine Cork Bath Mat

Have you ever had a bottle of wine and wondered what you could do with the cork from it after you're finished?  Well, start collecting them, and use them to create this wine cork bath mat.

Materials:

• 175 wine corks (and maybe a few extras in case of mistakes)
• hot glue gun and sticks
• non-adhesive shelf liner, or no-slip ribbed rug grip
• knife & cutting board
• scissors
• yard stick
• sand paper

How To:

1. Cut each cork in half length wise (hotdog style), and sand the bottoms until they are flat.
2. Arrange the corks into a large rectangle with the flat sides facing down.  Make sure it is as close to a straight rectangle as possible.
3. Measure the shelf liner to the size of the rectangle that you have laid out.
4. Transfer the outer border of corks to the liner and glue those down with hot glue.
5. Then, one by one, transfer the other corks so that they are glued down and create the entire mat.

Via:
http://www.craftynest.com/2010/03/wine-cork-bath-mat/
Picture from:
www.apartmenttherapy.com

UpCycle That Old T-Shirt

Got a t-shirt that you don't wear anymore?  Yeah, me too.  Tons of them.  Here's a creative way to make that old t-shirt into a stylish and comfortable scarf.

Materials:

• Used t-shirt
• Fabric scissors

How To:

1. Start by cutting the bottom hem and the top portion (across width at armpits) off the t-shirt.
2. Cut the remaining portions in about 1/2 inch strips (After being cut, the fabric strips will be in a loop.)
3. 12-14 strips is enough, more for a thicker scarf.
4. Gently tug the fabric loops so that they curl, making sure that all the pieces are about the same length after stretching.
5. Holding all strips, use the scissors to cut through all of the loops at one point, making them into long strips.
6. Set one strand aside.
7. Use a table or something heavy to anchor the strips.  Leave about a foot of fabric on the end that is anchored, and begin braiding.  Braid until there is about a foot left of fabric on the other end.
8. Use the spare strip that you set aside to tie the braided pieces together.

Via:
http://www.metroparent.com/Blogs/Make-It/May-2012/Upcycle-Old-T-Shirts-into-a-Cool-Scarf-Accessory-VIDEO/

Give Those Old Pair of Heels a New Look

Have an old pair of heels that's scuffed and starting to show their age?  Well, instead of giving them to Goodwill, here's a great way to give them a new, more fashionable life.

Materials:

• Pair of shoes to UpCycle
• Glue (Mod Podge would probably work best.)
• Glitter
• Paintbrush

How To:

1. In a bowl, mix together a fair amount of glue and glitter.
2. Using a paintbrush, paint a layer of the mixture over the shoe on the area to be replenished.
3. Let mixture dry on shoe.
4. Once dry, your shoe is ready to wear.  Let the compliments roll in, and enjoy!

Via: http://wobisobi.blogspot.com/2011/12/project-re-style-47-glitter-heel-fix.html

Collage Your Own Box!

My mom works at a medical facility, and she is constantly bringing home these really cool boxes from work.  I'm not sure what originally came in them, but they are perfect for collaging on and creating beautiful works of art out of.

This is what the box looked like before I began:

Materials:
(All of these things are optional.  Use whatever your heart desires to decorate your box!)

• Old book, newspaper, scrapbooking paper
• Magazine clippings, pictures
• Stamps
• Paint
• Stickers
• Mod Podge

How To:

1. Start by covering the surface of the box by gluing the paper of your choice on it.  (I used pages from an old book to cover mine.)
2. Paint can also be used to cover the surface.  (I used brown and orange paint for my project.)
3. Use any magazine clippings, pictures, and other paper to create a collaged look on your box.  (I always say that in collaging, the more stuff you use to "gunk" up the project, the better!  So go crazy with it!)
4. Seal the finished product with a coat of Mod Podge for protection.

This is what the finished project looked like after I was finished:

I now use this box for nail polish, as you can see!  It's the perfect size to hold all my bottles.

Create Your Own Earring and Jewelry Organizer

From one jewelry lover to another, this project is a fun and easy way to organize all those pairs of earrings and other jewelry that takes very little time.

Materials:

• Old framed picture (or used picture frame)
• Chicken wire
• Staple gun

How To:

• If your frame has a picture in it, start by removing the backing and the picture, so that the frame is separate.
• Measure and cut the chicken wire so that it is the same size as the frame.
• Use the staple gun to staple the chicken wire to the frame.
• Hang the picture frame on the wall, and use it to hang earrings and other jewelry.
• Enjoy!

An Easy Way to UpCycle Old Furniture

Ever look around your house and become slightly disgusted with any of your old, wooden furniture?  Maybe you have a coffee table that has all kinds of water rings and is scratched on the surface. 

Well, here's a perfect way to make that old, wooden furniture look new and unique.

Materials: 

• Piece of old furniture
• Lots of newspapers (Sometimes, I like to use all comic strips.)
• Mod Podge
• Large paintbrush
• Finishing spray paint (optional)

How To:

If the piece of furniture you have chosen to refinish has drawers, start by taking the drawers out.  The drawers are a good starting point. 

1. Use the Mod Podge and paint a layer directly onto the wood.
2. Take strips or pieces of newspaper, and apply it to the painted area.  
3. Apply another coat onto the top of the newspaper.
4. Repeat until the whole surface is covered in newspaper.
5. Make sure to get air bubbles out from underneath the newspaper.  Let dry.
6. Optional - spray a coat of sealing spray paint over the surface to prevent damage.

The finished product can look so much better than that old, ugly, wooden set of drawers!

Add Some of Nature's Texture to Your Wall

Before you go out and buy something to put on your wall, you might try making something from everyday items that you can find in your backyard.  Like this wall decoration made from twigs and cardboard!

Materials: 

• Cardboard
• Hot glue or tacky glue
• Small, dry twigs from your backyard

How to:

1. Cut the cardboard into the letter shape that you wish to create.  This will serve as a background on which to glue your twigs.
2. Break the twigs so that they are the width of the cardboard
   
3. Glue the twigs on in a collage over the cardboard.
4. Other nature decorations could also be glued onto this letter, such as leaves, flowers, etc. 
5. Holes can be added to the cardboard to create a wall hanging for decoration.

With just some everyday, common items, you can create this fun, textured wall decoration.

Picture provided by:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=250214101785418&set=a.250214055118756.1073741825.176112689195560&type=1&theater

Make Your Own Rainbow Crayons

Take old, broken crayons and turn them into new, multi-colored ones in creative shapes in 7 easy steps!

Materials:

• Old, broken crayons
• Oven
• Metal cookie cutters
• Foil
• Cookie sheet

How to Recycle Broken Crayons:

*Preheat oven to 325 degrees

1. Peel all the paper off of the crayons.
2. Wrap aluminum foil around the bottom of the cookie cutter.
3. Fill the bottom of your cookie cutter or silicone mold with the broken crayons of any color.
4. Put the cutter or silicone mold on a cookie sheet (optional: put parchment paper down so reduce mess)
5. Put the cookie sheet in the oven for 5 minutes. (Cooking times vary. 5 minutes works in my oven but you may need to adjust time accordingly.)
6. Take out the cookie sheet and let it cool. For faster cooling, stick it in your freezer or, if it's cold enough, stick it outside!
7. Gently pop out the crayon from the mold. (It may take a little force, but be careful not to break them!) And enjoy!

You can also use muffin tins and melt the crayons in the bottom of each section to create new crayons!

Upcycling - The New Way to be Environmentally Crafty

"Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value." - Wiki

     My whole life, I've been drawn to the arts.  Drawing, painting, writing, reading, crafting, scrapbooking... You name it, I've probably tried it.  There's just something about making something complete with your own two hands out of smaller elements.  It's like putting together a puzzle out of pieces that no one would have ever known would fit together. 

     Recently, I've discovered the art of creative upcycling, making new things out of seemingly useless products.  I think it's just about the neatest thing on the planet.  That's why I've created this blog, to share and create new ideas for reusing old materials.  

     Happy creating!