New Upcycled Backpacks

My latest upcycled drawstring backpacks!

Bright Flowers from Salvaged Materials

I was wandering around Etsy when I came across this lovely flower. Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw that it was made out of salvaged wood and metals! So of course I contacted the owner of Salvage and Bloom to see if she would let me show my readers! I was delighted that she agreed.



I love the spring wreath above, it is made from barn wood, recycled metal and has hand painted details that make it truly unique. The outdoor decorations at right can be ordered in a variety of colors.

I asked the owner of Salvage & Bloom if she could tell us a little bit about herself and shop. This is what Lynda, the artist who made these gorgeous creations has to say about her work

"Nature is filled with strength and beauty - and exists without waste or a hidden agenda. I operate my business with that in mind. I use sustainable practices in my work, and remain dedicated to you, my customers.

I create each of my wood and metal flower sculptures to not only stand up to the elements – but to also stand the test of time - and become a keepsake that lasts season after season, and collects enough memories to become a treasured heirloom.

Forever in Blue Jeans

Pile of old denim clothing

I had been working with vintage linens for a couple of weeks and made a couple of really wonderful pillow covers to sell in my Deb Upcycles shop on Etsy so I decided to do something different a couple of Fridays ago. I have a small cabinet full of old beat up blue jeans and other denim and I decided to play with that all day.

Well, it lasted a lot longer than a day. I started by making "a pillow or two". Cut a few pairs of jeans and then cut a few more until I had a large pile of blue jean parts.



Then I started making stuff, I cut out a bunch of potholders, eye glass cases and lots of pillows. Threaded the sewing machine with heavy duty denim thread and started sewing.

This was the hardest one to make, but I really like it. I think I'll try to make a couple more. I'm waiting for better weather to take pictures of a couple more to list them and four or five more cut out and waiting to be made. I had to stop for a little while to work on a special order from a local shop (more about that in another post). But watch Deb Upcycles on Etsy for more denim items. For some reason that pile in the first picture is growing instead of shrinking. I keep finding more denim as I go through my bins of stuff to upcycle.

Something Old, Something New

'Something Old Becomes Something New' by debupcycles

A selection of repurposed items on Etsy.

Bountiful Buttons - Vintage ... hangingbyathre... $78	Chandelier 17" or 21&qu... VexDecor $245	paper roses. repurposed book... dragonflies $7.5
Beautiful BLUES. Pallet Wood... terrafirma79 $150	Movie Film Repurposed Earrin... ThatOldBlueHou... $32	Glass garden flower, glass g... RecycleRoom $34
Sunday Comics Necklace - Unu... PaperMelon $42	Recycled Book Journal | Repu... DogearedJourna... $25	Set of 10 UPCYCLED ENVELOPES... LovelyBonesEmp... $15
Yard Art/Metal Art Rooster -... AdamsCraftyCre... $50	Old Nails Necklace, Antique ... GarageCoutureC... $22	Recycled Glass Cuatro Neckla... SmartGlassKP $72
Hankie Sachet, Repurposed Vi... SunDriedLinen $10	Burgundy bag in repurposed d... MadameRenard $30	Just For Roo Pet Bed-Upcycle... MadeForRoo $100

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Reclaimed Fabric

I have a supply shop on Etsy called Deb Upcycles Supplies where I sell fabric, lace, needlework kits and more. In the past I only listed "new" fabric yardage I found in thrift shops, In other words, fabric that hadn't been used for anything else, but I've recently started a section in my shop for reclaimed fabric.  I've collected so many curtains, sheets, tablecloths etc. to make things out of that I need to cut down my supplies.

Since I'm all about upcycling and reusing why not sell it in my supply shop? The fat quarters above started out as a sheet. I was going to tear it up for rag rugs but it was in excellent condition and such a pretty print!

I also have tons of fabric samples like the one on the left. They were bought to make pillows and some of them will make pillows but I just have so many.

The large piece of fabric on the right was a tablecloth, The edges were a bit tattered but the fabric itself was in very good condition. Again, I had bought it to make rag rugs but it was much too pretty to cut up. Anyway, what do you think? I like the idea of reclaiming good fabric from finished items, how about you?

Upcycling is so Green Treasury

'Upcycling is so Green' by debupcycles

I love green, I love living green and the color green.

Green Glass Tray for Serving... ArtGlassAnazie $22	Paper Beads Lime Turquoise G... ArtBeatriceM $4.75	Hummingbird Feeder Blue Gree... dortdesigns $25
Upcycled Green Cotton Yarn, ... forgottenfleec... $17.75	Upcycled Recycled Aluminum E... RecyclingRedef... $12	Clutch Wooden Clutch Box : B... PearlesPaintin... $220
Triple Glass Bottle Light Up... Uniquelighting... $115	Dark Green, cowl, infinity,... TeesTransforma... $17	One Handmade Origami Gift Bo... ReActiv $3.5
Green SHABBY CHIC Frames, Ta... sixtybeansVntg $52	Repurposed/Recycled/Vintage ... RebeccasRecycl... $32	Green Earrings Zipper Pull -... Pocketfullposi... $4
January Sale Steampunk green... KTsCreatureCom... $11.2	Up-cycled Green Dilophosauru... Plantcycled $15	Bright Green and Black Victo... Imperfetions $50
Wedding Favor Kelly Green Bu... Davita $6.75

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Found an Awesome Etsy Shop!

Tea Light Candle Holder

Recently I was cruising round Etsy's forums trying to be helpful and learn stuff (OK, I was wasting time)  when I came across this new shop called Pava Creations devoted to upcycling. As soon as I looked at it, I knew I needed to tell all of you about it.

Essential Oil Diffuser 

The tea light candle above was what first caught my eye, I love it and had to explore her shop more. I found this really cute essential oil diffuser, too. Isn't it great?

Elegant Tea Lite Holder

I sent Victoria, the shop owner, an email asking for permission to use her pics and to tell us a little bit about herself and her shop. This is what she said 
"Up Cycled One of a Kind Creations for your home!
Fabulous Finds from Local Thrift Stores are my main inspiration, I love to work with jewelry pieces,and gently used housewares; it is challenging to take these wonderful finds and create something beautiful and useful.
That must have item that makes our eyes light up at first glance, it's all about the bling!"

So if you have a few minutes check out Victoria and Pava Creations on Etsy for some wonderful upcycled items.

About My --------- Upcycled Potholders!

 I thought I'd write a series of posts here about the things I sell in my shop DebUpcycles. Answering questions like... Why they're upcycled, how they're upcycled, what materials I use, and where I get the fabric. I don't have any big trade secrets so here it goes.

I'm going to start with my denim potholders. People, mostly men but some women (including me) wear their jeans until they're falling apart.

 Most thrift shops don't put these out, although I wish they would, so I go to the Goodwill Outlet here where they sell all the items not good enough for the stores by the pound. I also find some at yard sales where they'll either be very cheap or (awesome!) in the "free" box.

I also find scraps of cotton batting, leftovers from some ones quilt project, at various places.



 In the first potholders pictured I used scraps of denim in another shade to make the hearts and outlined them with machine stitching in red so they would stand out. In the picture above, you can see the outline of the stitching on the back of the potholder. For the ones on the left, the apples were cut from scraps I had leftover from making a pillow out of a mans shirt which was also found at the Goodwill Outlet, the leaves were just scraps I had picked up somewhere.
Everything except the thread is upcycled or used up from scraps, if I run out of something like the cotton batting I don't go running to a regular retail store for more. I just make something else until I find it again.

I love the challenge of finding ways to use the things I buy to their fullest extent. Even the scraps that are too small for anything else end up in pincushions or my compost pile as long as they're natural fibers.

Remember, we only have one Earth, it's time to start taking care of it.

Upcycling a stained vintage tablecloth.

A photo posted by Debbie Sanasac Smith (@debupcycles) on Jan 12, 2016 at 7:17am PST

Sustainable Living on Etsy

'Sustainable Living' by debupcycles

I love all the shop owners who make an effort to make sure they're items are sustainable and earth friendly. To make this treasury I searched Etsy for "sustainable" and just picked some of my favorites.

Tree Hugger in Training Orga... VeganeseTees $24	3 PIECE TAGUA NECKLACE Set -... TropicaAccesso... $54	Eco Friendly Water Bottle wi... Hydrosphere $38
Fingerless Gloves - Gray - E... SoulRole $25	Bee & Honeycomb Earrings Su... BijouxBee $24	Wood Buttons - Six Star Butt... TimberGreenWoo... $6.95
Haitian Wave Handmade Paper ... JacmelMozaik $30	Squirrel Art Bicycle Print A... darkcyclecloth... $26	Persian Forest Organic Bar S... iPashmak $9
Honey Butter Soy Candle / 8o... A2CandleCrafte... $14.95	Cloth Napkins Bright Flowers... JanesSewingCor... $8	Party Pack 100 Recycled Seas... coloringsprout $51
Handcrafted sustainable oak ... SaltWood $95	ON SALE -- Reusable Birthday... VZWraps $8.39	Organic Cotton Plush Toy- Ea... EcoWoolGuild $23
VEGAN Economy Shaving Set, S... SunSoapsLLC $15

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