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Showing posts from 2017

Upcycle Living Has a New URL

Pretty soon, we're moving all contents to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com If you've come here through an old bookmark, please update accordingly.  Looking forward to seeing you at the new URL 😊 😘

Upcycled Pendant from Old Nine West Shoe Jewellery

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Dear readers, this blog will no longer be updated.  All contents will be moved to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com Please update your link, and we hope to see you again soon 😊 Took less than 5 minutes, this is probably the fastest project to date. No one would've guessed its past life if I don't tell. This was the pair of Nine West shoes I bought at a really great promotion price. Loved them, worn them to death - literally.  But I'm not quite ready to part with them completely yet, and the decorative jewels still look good. So before I binned the shoes, I removed the shoe jewellery from both shoes and turned them into pendants. Yes I now have 2 Nine West - so to say - pendants, and why not?

Upcycled Padded iPad Case from an Old Cancer Research Canvas Bag

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Dear readers, this blog will no longer be updated.  All contents will be moved to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com Please update your link, and we hope to see you again soon  😊 Since making the  Passport Boarding Pass Holder  from the old Cancer Research bag, my sore fingers have had some good rest so it's time to do something with the remaining material. Using the same method as the  Passport Boarding Pass Holder , I made an iPad case: I've used an old worn out vest (the size was just nice) as the lining,  so that the case will have some kind of padding as extra protection for the iPad. Securing the padding (old vest) with rough running stitch on both ends.   After doing proper back stitching on both ends, fold into half and stitch on both sides. Turn inside out. Unused hair rubber bands stitched under buttons to make loops, then stitch 2 buttons on the other side. In our memory, but now serving even better purposes: The Cancer Resear

Upcycled Passport Boarding Pass Holder from Old Cancer Research Canvas Bag

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Dear readers, this blog will no longer be updated.  All contents will be moved to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com Please update your link, and we hope to see you again soon  😊 An up-cycled Cancer Research wallet that my passport and any boarding pass can fit nicely in, even great for certain shopping vouchers (God knows why they made them so long!) 😍 The Cancer Research canvas bag before the make over The process was pretty simple: 1. Measure and cut the canvas and a sheet of craft foam (as lining) to the desired size: 22cmx22cm (with excess of at least 2cm all round) 2. Fold into half and secure the foam with 2 ends wrapped over it, then sew both sides. 3. Turn it out, then secure the loops (which are unused hair rubber bands for when I had long hair) with (old) buttons on one side, 4. and stitch 2 more buttons on the other side. The rubber band can now be looped over and keep the content secure. Obviously, it won't keep coins, but that wasn't what I

Harvesting, Pruning and rooting basil edible plant

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Dear readers, this blog will no longer be updated.  All contents will be moved to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com Please update your link, and we hope to see you again soon  😊 It's really pretty easy. All I do is pluck off all the leaves (for cooking or drying purposes) at the bottom, leaving top most 2 or 4 leaves of each stalk, then place them into a glass of fresh water. Over the period of a week or 2, they will start to root. Once the roots are about 2" long, I will transfer them into soil. I also do the same when the bottom of the basil plant start to turn woody. This would be the time I prune it all down, root the upper part that is fresh and green, and uproot the woody part to refresh the soil to be ready for new plants. 7 days later:

DIY Candles from used wax remains

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Dear readers, this blog will no longer be updated.  All contents will be moved to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com Please update your link, and we hope to see you again soon  😊 I have this thing about candles. Plain white or colourful candles, decorative or burning candles, or even melted wax; it's all so beautiful. I do however, hate the fact that they don't always burn perfectly and leaving me with lots of half-burned candles, or candles that can't be used anymore because the wick is stuck inside the wax, etc. This is what I often get left with, and I'm certainly not going to let them go to waste. So I'm going to have a big melt down - for the wax 😀 It's not a very complicated process, just a little tedious and hot. What I need are: A big pot Some used disposable chopsticks Some parcel string (as I haven't any wicks readily at home) Glass containers/candle holders - to clean up glass candle holders: boiling

Handmade beaded handbag

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Dear readers, this blog will no longer be updated.  All contents will be moved to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com Please update your link, and we hope to see you again soon  😊 Years ago I bought a big bag of blue crystal-like beads and made 2 handbags as gifts for 2 of my friends. I've kept the remaining 1/3 of the beads and never had the time to do anything about it. I dug them out one fine day and decided that I must finish up the beads and put them to good use. After several hours of weaving and dismantling and reassembling, over and over again, I finally made myself a summery handbag that I'm happy with. The beads to make the hook for the loop are from my collection of old and used beads, often cut from old shoes or broken beaded accessories. Some leftovers are from my other beads projects such as bracelet and necklaces . I can fit in it a wallet, a mobile phone, a book, a pair of sunglasses, a hat, a foldable umbrella, a spare canvas shopping bag (jus

Instant Apron from Old Dress

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Dear readers, this blog will no longer be updated.  All contents will be moved to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com Please update your link, and we hope to see you again soon  😊 I love aprons: the design, the look, wearing it. But let's face it, aprons are not cheap. And to think that it's something that I wear to block off oil stains and dirt from cooking, it just doesn't make sense to spend money on it. Oh I'm such a stingy hag 😈 This was a sundress I had but worn off over time, and I'd ripped a whole somewhere on the back. Can't give it to charity, didn't want to cut it off into cleaning cloth (not yet), so I had to do something about it, and with it. Since my old apron has become so manky, it deserves a retirement. This old spaghetti strap dress came ready handy as it came ready with 2 attached belts for back tie bow, so all I needed to do was to separate the front and the back (keep the spaghetti straps and belt attache

Drawstring Bag Knapsack for Exercises, Made from Old Jeans

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Dear readers, this blog will no longer be updated.  All contents will be moved to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com Please update your link, and we hope to see you again soon  😊 Body: one leg of old ripped jeans. Straps: unwanted belts that came with two different denim dresses. That's all folks, for I, is off for a walk. 🏃

Upholstery for iPad Holder

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Dear readers, this blog will no longer be updated.  All contents will be moved to: upcycleliving.blogspot.com Please update your link, and we hope to see you again soon  😊 I have a PVC tablecloth which I bought from one of my favourite stores - Daiso for £1 some time ago (I was planning to cover up the old book shelves but never got around to doing so) so I thought I'd use that for my little experiment. I've used a PVA glue and spread it all over the iPad case/holder evenly, especially the ripped part, carefully pressing any sticky-outy bits down to make the surface as flat as possible. Using a damp piece of cloth or tissue, slowly rub the material down in an outward direction, to minimize the forming of air bubbles so that the surface is as smooth as possible. Then apply PVA glue to the excess tablecloth around the sides, "hem" it down to give the case a finishing wrap. To secure the "hem", I used some clothes p