How should I upcycle a Men’s Coat?
Husbands grow up so fast don’t they? Well, my wonderful hubby has grown out of a suit jacket and I am so very excited to use it for something awesome! I have been pondering and researching what to do for a couple of months now and still haven’t made up my mind. So, help me decide!
Here are my favorite ideas so far:
This is a great video from ThreadBangers.com on how to turn an old men’s jacket into a new backpack. Super cool!
I could certainly make a purse from it.
Check out the tutorial on how to make the above purse on ehow.com
Here is another cute purse from a suit made by Suriya Designs.
Other ideas I have that I am unable to find tutorials on at the moment are a pillow, laptop case, messenger bag, skirt, dress….
What do you think I should do with this Men’s Coat that needs some upcycling love? Cast your vote—leave a comment!
Ten ways to Reuse a 2 Liter Bottle.
Plastic Bottle Elephant! courtesy of http://declubz.com/
Here are a few plastic bottle statistics via Earth911.com:
- When just one plastic bottle is recycled enough energy is conserved to light a 60-wat light bulb.
- Making a plastic bottle from recycled materials uses 2/3 less energy than when it is made from new material.
So, on those notes, here are TEN ways to Reuse a 2-Liter Bottle:
Give your good dog a treat. My dog’s tale goes crazy when she sees that I have just cleaned out a new 2-liter bottle. It is entertainment for all when she tries to put the whole bottle in her mouth and carry it around.
No gym membership needed here. Just take two 2-liter bottles and fill them with water and you get a new cheap weight set.
Use less water. Fill an empty 2-liter bottle with water. Flush your toilet and place the bottle in the back of the toilet. Now, every time you flush the toilet you will be using about 2 liters less water! Now, just imagine if EVERYONE did that. What a difference a small change can make.
Homemade Ice Pack. Fill the 2 liter bottle with water and stick it in the freezer. The next time you go camping or on a picnic, stick the “ice pack” in your cooler and no need to buy ice or worry about a cooler full of water at the end of the day.
This video is full of some great ideas. Check out the tip on turning a 2-Liter bottle into a tripod for your camera!
MarthaStewart.com has an easy to follow tutorial on making a Piggy Bank from and old soda bottle.
Hold on to those Plastic Bags. Cut off the top and bottom of a bottle. Turn the bottle upside down and mount it to the wall. Stuff it full of plastic bags and keep them organized and easy to grab.
Feed the Birds. I found an easy tutorial on making a bird feeder from an old 2 liter bottle. Check it out HERE.
Plant some Flowers. The bottoms of 2-liter bottles make excellent flower pots. Just cut off the top, decorate the bottom and plant your flowers!
And, last but not least, if you aren’t feeling creative, at least recycle the darn thing. Encourage your family and friends to do the same. Future generations say Thanks!
How to Turn an Old Tshirt into a New Tank Top.
Does anyone else out there suffer from armpit stains? Well, you are not alone. I have always been a “sweaty, stinky girl” as my mother likes to say. It is totally true. But, hey, I wear deodorant, so the stink part stays in check pretty well. The sweat part is where the armpit stains come in. I am tired of losing my favorite shirts just when I have worn them in to the most comfortable stage because of some stupid stain. No more! Now, I take those old nostalgic and comfy tees and turn them into tank tops. You can too! If you have an old tshirt and want a new tank top, check out this tutorial.
1. Pick a shirt with some pretty harsh stains. This shirt is about 10 years old. I bought it in Jerez, Spain when I was studying abroad in college. As you can probably guess there are many memories attached to the shirt. But, as you can also see there are some nasty stains attached to the armpits! So, on with the tank top making!
2. Cut out those armpit stains!
3. Cut straight across the top of the tshirt just below the collar.
4. Carefully remove the bottom hem from the shirt. It is easier to see the hem if you turn your shirt inside out. I say carefully remove because it will be used to tie your new tank top.
5. Shape the arm holes into a curve.
6. Turn your shirt inside out. Place your new tie at the top. Fold the top edge of the shirt so that it is just over the tie. Sew across the edge of your shirt. Be careful, don’t get your tie stuck and sewn to the shirt. It has to be able to move like a drawstring.
7. Turn your shirt inside out and try it on!
And there’s your new tank top; just in time for summer. Happy Summer Solstice!
How to have an Eco Friendly Father’s Day Celebration.
I love my Dad. I would not be in the perfect place I am right now if not for his never ending love and support. Thanks Dad! And thanks to all the Dad’s out there taking care of their families.
Here are a few ideas for How to have an Eco Friendly Father’s Day Celebration:
Plant a seed, plant a tree. Plant a tree together this weekend! Then it can always be your tree.
Make a Card. This seems like an easy one to throw in the mix, but sometimes it gets forgotten. Getting a hand made card with a nice note of thanks and appreciation inside is the perfect eco-friendly gift.
Make him a Wallet. I have found some great tutorials on making your own wallet. The best are, the Duct Tape wallet, for the handyman Dad, the Recycled Suit Wallet, for the 9 to 5 Dad, and RePlayGround has a super cool tutorial on turning an old Oxford shirt cuff into a wallet.
The power of the sun. Give your Dad the sun for Father’s Day! Well, let him use it to tell the time day to day with a solar powered watch.
Go Catch and Release Fishing. If you have an fish friendly body of water near by lucky you! Take a walk with the old man and waste the wonderful day watching the water and seeing if you can get any fish to bite. I have always been a fan of catch and release fishing myself. The fun part is catching the fish and it always feels nice to watch it swim away back into the wild.
Farmer’s Market Breakfast in Bed. Make your Dad his favorite breakfast and let him stay in his pajamas while he enjoys it.
Baseball Fan, anyone? There are some great upcycled cuff links for Dads made from old stadium seats. Here’s the link.
For the always Prepared Dad. This is a super cool creative reuse do it yourself Dad gift. Make him a pocket sized first aid so you will always know he’s safe where ever he goes.
Most of all, just take the time to tell him how much he means to you. I hope my papa knows how much I appreciate all he has done for me.
How to Upcycle an old Zipper Jacket to a New Doggie Coat.
My husband and I like to go camping as often as possible. We take our puppy Neko with us whenever we can. It is crazy how cold one can get when you only have a bit of nylon and synthetic material separating him/her from the elements. This is especially true for a short haired pups. After our last camping adventure I decided that Neko needs a camping sweater. Luckily, I had an old zipper jacket that was begging to be upcycled.
So, if you want to make your own Dog Jacket, here’s how to upcycle an old zipper jacket to make a new dog jacket:
1. Figure out how long you want the arms of your jacket to be. I decided to make the sleeves so that they would hit Neko at the middle of her arms. She likes to dig, so I didn’t want the sleeves to get in the way of that.
2. Cut the sleeves to the measured length.
3. Fold the cut edge of the sleeves towards the inside of the sleeves. Iron and pin in place.
4. Sew the sleeves edges.
5. Find your dog model and try it on!
Neko was a bit shy for her modeling debut, but I was able to get a few photos of her in her new digs.
Help me name a T-shirt!
Hi folks, I am posting a quick note to let you know I am looking for a name for one of my new t-shirt designs. Please visit http://upcycledunlimited.com to see the details.
Here’s the shirt!
The winner will receive a FREE tshirt with this design on it!
How to Make a Shirt on the Run.
So, last week I posted a tutorial on How to Reuse Material to Screenprint a Tshirt. This week I would like to show a faster alternative for those days, nights, parties, etc. when you need a shirt on the run.
My friend and I ran a half marathon together and wanted some awesome shirts to wear for the occasion. Since it was a special event and I knew that I would only be making two of them, I went the quick and dirty route this time.
Here’s How to Paint a Tshirt to Make it Your Own!
1. Pick a tshirt.
2. Get yourself some fabric ink, a stencil, a rag, and a paint brush. Make sure your paint brush is thin enough to go through the stencil.
3. Decide on what you want your shirt to say.
4. Place something in the middle of your shirt so that you are not painting both sides of it!
5. Tape your shirt in place. Pull it to get out all of the wrinkles and then tape to the table.
6. Use your stencil as a guide for your letters and paint away. Use the rag to wipe the stencil after each letter is painted to avoid getting unwanted paint on your shirt.
And there you have it. This works well when you are only making one or two shirts. I would suggest making a screen when you want to make a bunch of shirts. It’ll save you time in the long run.
Homemade Hairspray
I figured out how to make a super easy hairspray recipe and wanted to share it with you. Not only is it cheap, it smells refreshing too.
Ingredients:
1 lemon
1 orange
3 cups of hot water
Directions:
1. Chop your fruit and place them in a pot.
2. Cover the chopped fruit with 3 cups of hot water.
3. Bring water to a boil and let cook until half of the water disappears.
4. Let the pot cool, then drain the liquid into a spray bottle. (Keep it in the fridge)
My new Twitter friend, BPGlobalPR
The news of the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill seems to get worse and worse everyday. I was extremely taken aback when I was watched this video.
How does a country/company that is so technologically advanced not improve their disaster relief in 30 years? It is terrifying how identical the clean up tactics are.
In light of all the terrible news, my brother shared some humor with me by the way of BPGlobalPR. I am a really big fan of using humor to shed light on serious situations and whoever is the author of these twitter posts gets the gold star today!
Some of my favorites include:
I’ve gotta say, at night the gulf really doesn’t look that bad. #bpcares
We are very upset that Operation: Top Kill has failed. We are running out of cool names for these things.
If you’ve ever wanted to take a dump in the ocean, now is your chance. #whynot? #bpcares
Just woke up from a terrible nightmare. I was driving a Prius and I kissed my wife on the lips. #bpcares
I think you get the point.
It is a true wake up call that people you never meet can really f*ck up your situation.
I hope the humor helps.
If you are looking to help out by donating time or money to help clean up the oil spill, check out NOLA.com for more information.