Carly!

The latest addition to the RePlayGround team is Carly. She's a superstar seamstress, biker, and all-around good eco-person! She even has her own side business sewing yoga bags from fabric scraps. Keep an eye out for more good scrappy things coming your way.

Happy recycling!

7-year old designer starts her career

It's one thing to create projects and instructions and show people how to turn scrap into new. It's elevated to a whole new level when people use the concepts of recycling and design to create their own new projects.

This week I received one of the best gifts ever! My 7-year old niece converted an empty chapstick container and into a toothpick holder. And not just any toothpick holder, it's for those fancy, frilly toothpicks.

My brother explained that she came up with the chapstick conversion project all by herself. The center of the chapstick container had popped out and she thought of putting toothpicks inside. Then she decided to send it to me so I would never be tooth-pick-less again! So cute. Plus this special container is still raspberry scented.

Here's a pic of the sweet note she taped to the back of the toothpick holder.
"tiffy this is not lipstik for you. It is now a {recycled} lipgloss container with toothpicks in it. love marina."

recycle your credit

Hey there fellow design junkies! Any thoughts on what to do with used credit cards and gift cards?

We've made them into jewelry and even packaged them on old cards. But there are only so many earrings we can make. What else can these ubiquitous plastic pieces be turned into? Guitar picks. Mini notepad covers. Back scratchers. Art mosaics. So many possibilities. Which is good because there are so many old credit and gift cards out there just waiting to be turned into something new.

slower

We all live in this fast-paced, get-things-done-faster society. But I just read that if we all drove 65mph, instead of 75 we could reduce fuel consumption by 27% !!! I read it here via Treehugger.

Now, I don't own a car, but a whole lot of people out there do and drive everyday. What a huge savings with a simple change in habit!

With all that extra in-the-car time you can listen to some of my fave podcasts like More Hip Than Hippie, and NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.

Turn unused nooks into storage

We can all use more storage space, right?

I just posted an Instructable on how to convert an old ironing board nook into a spice rack. And how to turn an unused window into a bookshelf. Instructables is a wonderful place where people post step-by-step instructions on how to make stuff - like this project.

If you live in a pre-war building like I do, chances are you have an extra nook going unused. The only time I fire up my iron is for craft projects like fusing together plastic bags or making iron-on t-shirts. Better put that empty space to use with things I really need like spices and liquor and books.

Eat your front yard

I was reading my ReadyMade magazine on the train and saw a review of the book Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn. The idea is to convert your front yard into a garden full of veggies. Brilliant! Yards are a huge drain of water and resources. And you don't have to mow a garden. AND you get to eat your own homegrown vegetables. You could make dinner without even leaving your house!

A few years ago, when I was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I was planting some veggies near the side of my house. A friend stopped by.
friend: "Wow! You know how to plant food?!? That you can eat?!?"
me: "Yes. It's easy. Dig a hole, stick a plant in it, cover the roots with dirt. Water it once in a while. Pull weeds once in a while. In a month or two, pick and eat. Tasty."
friend: "That seems really easy."

Gone are the days of people planting food and sewing simples fixes to their clothes. It's often not as daunting as it seems. I have high hopes that do-it-yourselfing is making a comeback in a big way. I wouldn't be blogging about all this if I didn't.