Upcycled Design Lab Blog

Welcome to the Lab 

 

Are you like me?  Do you hoard crazy things?

 

That pillow case that doesn't match any of your sheets, those empty containers or old magazines that you just can't seem to part with?  Do you feel a little guilty when you throw out those empty cereal boxes or milk cartons?  I have a little confession to make, I currently have a dozen or so empty toilet paper rolls tucked in my night stand drawer of all places!!!  Some day I will do something with them I am sure of it. 

 

I am not brave enough to call myself an artist and I don't even have a true "craft."  I don't really care to spend time reproducing the same item again and again.  For me the creative part is more about figuring out how to make something into something else.  At the end of the project I always see ways that I could have improved upon the design and execution but I rarely have the interest or patience to go back and do it over again.  And that is how I came up with the Upcycled Design Lab.  My projects are mostly experimental, often they are impractical and always they feel part artistic part mad scientist. 

 

If you like the idea of re-designing old junk into new stuff please feel free to join in the experiment.  Comments are always welcome on this blog. 

 

You can also join the conversation and post your own creations on the Upcycled Design Lab Facebook Fan Page.

 

"All life is an experiment.  The more experiments you make the better."

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Upcycled Styrofoam and Ink Cartridge "LOVE" Stamps

 

Do you refill your ink cartridges when they are empty?  I have never had the nerve.  Somehow the fear of damaging my printer has been permanently ingrained in my brain.  But I go through ink pretty fast with my printer and every time I replace one of the cartridges I get a little pang of guilt.  They have a nice shape with a little handle on top and I want to make something out of them. 

 

The other day I saw a tutorial where crafters were making prints with styrofoam and so my idea was born. 

 

If you have read my bio or the intro to this blog you will not be surprised to know that I have a stock pile of styrofoam to go boxes just waiting to be put to good use.  So off I went to make my custom stamps.

 

The result was quite satisfactory I think.

 

 

I started with one to go box and the 4 empty HP 02 ink cartridges.

 

I cut the to go box apart and used the small side pieces.  I am saving the big flat section for some other mystery project, and when I say mystery, I mean to me.  It's not some big surprise I have planned I am just hopeful that some great project will present itself and when it does I will be prepared with my ever growing stash of junk.

 

 

I used two layers of styrofoam glue together with hot glue.  I wasn't sure if it would melt the styrofoam but it worked just fine. 

 

 

It was a pretty quick and easy project. 

 

 Happy Crafting

 

 

 

Upcycled Clock and Watches - The Time is Now

I thought I was doing so well on my crafting and posting weekly.  And then this week happened.  I hadn't started a new project, finished an old project or even dabbled around in craftville at all.

I was busy.  Aren't we all?  But we make time for the things that are important.  Right?  It's not like I didn't want to cut or glue or paint or sew something.  I just didn't until this morning when I was completely under that gun to produce something if I was going to be able to post this week. 

 

If you saw last weeks post you will already know that I had some old watches that I made into a bracelet.  But the faces were so pretty I had to save them.  I also have an old plain jane white clock that in the nick of time became the inspiration for today's project.

 

 

With the watches and my inability to produce anything this week I have been thinking a lot about time and I am hoping that my finished clock will help me to use it more productively. 

 

 

 

At least it has a working battery in it for the first time in over a year.

 

:-)

 

Happy Crafting

 

 

Upcycled Watches Picture Charm Bracelet

I saw the idea for this the other day here, and had to give it a try for myself. 

 

This is my version.

 

 I had a lot of watches and pictures that I wanted to use.

 

 

So I decided to make these charms.

 

 

Then I just strung them onto a piece of black elastic and....

 

 

Finished Bracelet!

 

Happy Crafting

DIY - Upcycled T-shirt Leggings Tutorial (Wicked Witch of the West)

So it's about time that I finished another t-shirt project from my pile of 20 T-shirts.

I am not sure when it occurred to me to sew them together as leggings but this striped pattern emerged and before you know it I was humming  "We're off to see the Wizard", dreaming of flying monkey's and poppy's.

 

 

I really should have taken this picture with red shoes :-)

 

 

I started with just the sleeves of these two men's t-shirts.

 

 

Step 1 - Starting at the bottom of the sleeve I cut two inch wide strips plus seam allowances.

 

Step 2 - You can see how they fit together pretty well as I worked my way up each sleeve alternating colors.  I didn't bother to make them match perfectly since they stretch but if I did it again I would make the pieces fit together better before sewing them together.

 

 

Step 3 - I decided to hand bast them together with the seams to the outside.

 

 

Step 4 - Then they were machine sewn and the seams were top stitched to hold them open and flat.  For along time they laid around in this semi finished leg warmer stage while I pondered how to finish them. 

And then one day......

 

 I found these at the thrift store.  They matched the darker grey I was using almost perfectly and they were way too small for me to wear as gauchos but perfect to make the top of my leggings complete.

 

 

 

Step 5 - To measure the length I needed to cut of the gauchos I started with a black pare of leggings from my closet and lined up the bottom hem with my striped leg warmers and then measured the inseam that was left.

 

 

Step 6 - Then I made that same measurement on the gauchos.

 

 

Step 7-  I used an L square to mark my cutting line and then repeated the process on the other leg.

 

 

 

Step 8 - As you can see the gauchos that were now shorts did not match up to the leggings very well.  So I needed to adjust the out seam.

 

 

Step 9 - With the shorts turned wrong side out I used a curved ruler to marked the the bottom to match the size of the legging and then drew a smooth curve back to the side seam.  Machine sewed and trimmed the seams.

 

 

 

Step 10 - With wrong sides together I sewed the leggings to the shorts, stitched down the seams and the project was complete.

 

 

 

You can see what I mean about matching the size of the stripes better because my leggings are a little crinkly.

 

But they don't look too bad once you have them on.

 

Happy Crafting

 

:-)

 

 

 

DIY - Upcycled Milk Jug Mask Tutorial

I actually made these masks a couple of years ago but thought I would share the info again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I might have gotten a little carried away.

 

:-)

 

Happy Crafting

 

DIY - Upcycled Business Card Rings - Make wearable business cards

 

 

 

I went a little crazy on Sunday.  Yep more than usual.  I saw an ecoetsy post on how to make functional business cards you know something that people would actually pick up and not loose or throw away immediately.  One of the ideas was a tutorial on how to make a wearable business card into a ring.

 

Well I thought this was just the cleverest cutest funest idea and I couldn't wait to try it.  The only problem is I don't really have a use for them right now.

 

However my sister sells her lovely HFR Designs fused plastic upcycled purses and bags at crafts shows so I thought that I would make a few for her and see how she liked them.

Since both of us enjoy upcycling and her products are made from fused plastic I made my ring bands from fused plastic instead of fabric.  I have a whole bunch of buttons and then I thought of using corks and bottle tops and I just couldn't stop. 

 

 

Just writing about it makes me want to stop and make some more.  I am wearing one right now as I type just because it make me happy and guess what else?  Well my plan and my hope for this blog in the year 2012 is that I will be able to post once a week on Fridays.  I have never been that consistent and of course it is only Thursday January 19 and I have decided that I just can't wait until tomorrow to share my little creations so here they are:

 

The Cork Collection

 

The Button Collection

 

 

The Bottle Cap  Collection

 

 

And

 

The Gum Wrapper Collection

 

 

Guess which one is my favorite?

 

 

 

Happy Crafting

 

 

DIY Upcycled T-shirt Skirt (patchwork twirly dress) Tutorial

 

 

I made two versions of this upcycled skirt.  The first one is a project that I made a while back.  I call it my "Childhood Memories Twirly Skirt / Dress"  because it has Horton Hears a Who, a cowgirl, the Grinch, Micky Mouse and other fanciful screen prints.

 

 

 

 

It is a little loud and colorful but it was fun to piece together from a bunch of old screen printed t-shirt. 

 

 

 

It can be worn as a long skirt or a strapless dress with or without a shirt or jacket over the top.

 

I liked this skirt / dress so I decided to make a much more subtle version for my 20 t-shirt upcycling project.

 

 

I like how it goes from winter to summer wear.

 

 

I used file folders to make my pattern pieces.  I decided that I wanted 8 tiered pieces so the top of the first piece needed to equal 1/8 of the finished waist and bust circumference that I needed plus seam allowances and any extra gathering that I wanted at the top.  Then I made the flare so the bottom would be wider and matched the top of the next piece.  The third and final piece again matches the middle piece and has a rounded instead of a straight bottom.  Sorry I don't have more pictures and details on the pattern.  I am going to try to re-create the pattern and perhaps do an additional post.

 

Step 1 - The pieces were laid out on the solid parts of several different grey t-shirt.  Cut eight of each of the three shapes.

 

 

 

Step 2 - Match the seams to make the eight tiers.

 

 

Step 3 - With right sides together machine sew horizontal seams on all eight tiers.

 

 

Step 4 - Trim the seams.

 

 

 

Step 5 - Press seams open.

 

 

 

Step 6 - With right sides together matching horizontal seams, pin and sew all eight tiers together to form skirt.  Trim and press open vertical seams.  

 

 

Optional Step - Because there are so many seams in this skirt / dress I decided to top stitch my second version on each side of the seam.

 

 

Hopefully I am not going to confuse you here but my original pattern was designed to have a rolled down waistline.  The casing for the elastic was made from the top piece of the skirt.  I decided to add an actual waistband for this skirt so I had to trim off the top part of the skirt.

 

Step 7 - I used a contrasting grey piece of another t-shirt for my waistband.  Cut a straight piece for the waistband (I had to use a couple of pieces sewn together.)  The finished cut piece should measure lengthwise the circumference of the top of skirt plus seam allowance and the width of the band should measure double the desired finished width plus seam allowances.  Sew the short ends of the band together to form a finished circle. 

 

Step 8 - Fold the band in half with wrong sides together and pin to the right side of the skirt.  Machine stitch around the band leaving  2 - 4 inches open.

 

 

Step 9 - Measure the length you want for your elastic piece and add a 1 to 2 inch overlap.  Thread the elastic through the waistband.  If you don't have the right size elastic threader you can use a big safety pin.  It worked for me.  :-)

 

 

Step 10 - Making sure that the elastic is not twisted overlap and sew the ends firmly together.

 

 Step 11 - Smooth the elastic into the casing and finish sewing waistband to skirt.

 

 

Step 12 - The final step is to hem the skirt.  You can single or double roll and then stitch.  I just did a single roll on mine.  I also have basted this part before sewing since I am not very good at sewing with pins.

 

 

 

And that's it. 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting.

 

 

 

 

 

DIY Easy 3 Step 5 minute Upcycled T-shirt Shrug

 

 

 

I must start with a Confession. 

 

I swapped out one of the 20 original t-shirts (the "Where the Wild Things Are" t-shirt was to small but too cute to cut up so I gave it to my niece.) 

 

I  substituted this one instead and happily came up with this quick and easy shrug.

 

 

 

Step 1 - Cut through the center front layer from the hem through the neck rib.

 

 

 

Step 2 - Pin and hand sew a few gathers and tucks in the sleeve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3 - Tuck the neck rib and the bottom hem to the underside of garment.  Tie and wear.

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Happy New Year from Upcycled Design Lab (it's my birthday)

Ok it's not my birthday.  But my little blog is one year old today so it seems only natural to do a little looking backward as well as looking forward into 2012. 

I have on many occasions wished that I was a little more disciplined at keeping up with more regular posts but the good news is while my posts are quite intermittent I am still here and do intend to continue.

Here are a few of my favorite posts / projects from 2011.

 

I am looking forward to what I hope will be a slightly more productive 2012. 

 

I plan on finishing my 20 t-shirt project and I hope to pay a little more attention to my Etsy store.

 

Happy 2012 to all my fellow crafters.

 

 

Upcycled Vintage Suitcase - Yes I did :-)

 

 

Oh dear. 

Where have I been? 

Was my last post really in November?  It is Shameful really isn't it?

At least I have been crafting a few things here and there and will attempt to post them without monthly delays in between. 

 

So let's get to it.

 

Today's post can only be describe as well ...... as........ Truly one of a kind never seen before and probably will never be seen again.  It was constructed from mostly upcycled materials and is completely whimsical which is what you get when you mix Christmas my nephew and his gift request made specifically for his Crazy Aunt Cindy (that me.)

 

The request....

"A suitcase full of Mustaches with a Barber Shop Pole coming out of it." 

 

Does that make you giggle?  If not read it again. 

You have got to at least smile.  Don't you love how creative and specific it is?  Well I do. 

Perhaps that is why the request went to me and not Santa.

I started with this:

And these....

 

And an old book

I scrounged through my cupboards for all the cardboard boxes I could find.

 

I make messes all over my house.  This project was constructed mostly on the living room floor.

 

 

Here is the Barber shop pole taking a little more shape.  It's just missing some shiny sliver duct tape.

 

 

 

To fill the suitcase I bought some mustaches at a party store.  Cut some more out of fur and felt and I even made some out of candy.

 

 

Of course color and varity where important.

 

 

 

I didn't get at lot of pictures of the mustaches that I made but here are a few in the finished Mustache Suitcase with a Barber Shop Pole.

 

 

 

 

I don't know what my nephew is planning to do with all these mustaches but I sure had fun making the whole silly project for him.

 

So what's your crazy?