Light up used glass!

Cargo Collective offers a line of JarLamps made from re-used glass jars! A hole is drilled in the cap and a lamp fitting is offered through to create your own recycled reading lamp. Our favorite is the Nutella JarLamp! Check out more functional designs including drinking glasses made from beer bottles and a jump rope from used plastic bottles at http://cargocollective.com/upcycle

Adam Matta remixes a recycled bicycle!

This year at Maker Faire we met a cool musician who beatboxes with upcycled style! Adam Matta (as pictured at Maker Faire 2011 below) reinvented the bicycle wheel as an artistic turntable. Matta combined Marcel Duchamp's Roue de bicyclette and a deconstructed cassette tape player to make his turntable sounds. The cassette tape runs along the outside of the bicycle wheel, and as he turns the wheel the tape moves across the cassette player piece at the base of the stool. he is then able to manipulate sound into a record scratching and spinning style. To hear Matta's upcycled musical creation, see his video here!

Adam Matta is great inspiration to remix the way we recycle!

Tie one on

I was just searching the internet for inspiration to make something nice to make my brother's upcoming 40th birthday. I want to make something for him from my dad's old neckties. I came across these great finds and just needed to share: Diane Gilleland's heart shaped necktie pins over at Craftstylish.
 

image courtesy Craftsylish 

This awesome dress from Glamarita's Etsy shop. Maybe not so appropriate for my brother, but something for my own wish list. 

 

image courtesy Glamarita's Etsy shop 

Here's Laura Martin's site Ties that Matter. She's my new friend and fellow upcycler collected from my recent Creative Connection event. Love her range of products from upcycled neckties. 

 

 image courtesy Ties that Matter

Whoa. Some of those neckties are up there on the styleometer with my dear old dad's neckties.

Then there's this whole Sewing With Neckties blog devoted to cool tie finds.

 And don't forget project 50, necktie gadget case, from my own book, ReMake It.

 

So, definitely inspired, but still trying to figure out that perfect gift for the tech-savvy brother who doesn't-really-wear-ties-himself all that much. Any ideas out that can tie together the sentimentality of my dad's neckties and a gift my brother would definitely use?

Maker Faire Fun!

Thanks to all who came to Maker Faire NYC this weekend and visited the RePlayGround booth! We taught how to make bottle cap magnets, and used the caps to build a colorful mural that spelled out MAKE.

Tiffany also ran a workshop where she taught Makers to fold their own paper picture frame. We had fun creating with all kinds of crafty people, and we're super inspired by all the amazing Makers we met! To see more photos, check out RePlayGround on Picasa!









We're already counting down to next year's Maker Faire!

ReMake your weekend!

There are some trashy happenings this weekend you won't want to miss out on! RePlayGround will be at the 2nd annual Maker Faire this Sept. 17-18, 2011. Come make recycled art with us, and check out all kinds of hands-on projects including arts, crafts, science, tech and more.

On Sunday Sept. 18, we'll show how to make your own Scrap Paper Picture Frame. The demo will be from 2-2:30 at the craft demo stage. For more info on this Maker event, click here!

RePlayGround can also be found at the Creative Connection this Sept. 16-17 in St. Paul, MN. Tiffany Threadgould will be teaching Repurposed Paper- Gift Bows and Paper Beads. This workshop shows you ways to add pizzaz with recycled magazines and scrap paper.

And if you can't ReMake it at either of these events, you can follow this scrap paper picture frame how-to over at Craftzine.

We hope to see you out for some end-of-the-summer recycling fun!

go green in the garden!

Enjoy the last of the summer weather with some upcycling projects for your garden! These crafty ideas will make you think twice about those discarded items in the garage or attic.

Glass Totem

see a tutorial by Gardens & Crafts here!

Wren House with License Plate Roof

D&G Gardens and Crafts

Plastic Container Planters

instructions can be found in the ReMake It book!

The grass is always greener on the upcycled side!

art and reuse with Louise Nevelson

Artist Louise Nevelson's work is crafted from found wood objects that are arranged and painted in a monochromatic fashion. Before she became an exhibiting artist, the impoverished Nevelson collected discarded wood from the streets to burn as firewood. Her 3-dimensional collage style was born from these piles of scrap material, and now grace the walls of major art galleries worldwide. Nevelson used everything from boxes and crates to bowling pins and wood bannister posts. For a detailed biography, check out http://www.louisenevelsonfoundation.org/