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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A Day on the Road Antiquing

My son is a collector, he has a great interest in old tools and likes to go to antique stores and resale shops looking for great finds. I often tag along to see if I can find any vintage linens and quilts to make things for my Etsy store. I like to look for things that have been stained or torn. This makes them perfect candidates for upcycling. It also makes them cheaper.

Yesterday was my only day off from the "job that pays the bills" it's also Friday. My son calls me in the morning and says he took the day off to spend with me (yeah!) and wanted to know if I wanted to go antiquing. Of course I said yes and we jumped n his car ready for the adventure. We drove out of St Louis and headed towards the Missouri countryside looking for antique malls and shops.

We drove for an hour and a half to the furthest place we wanted to check. We had never been in this direction before so we did a lot of searching on our phones to find the places. We found and explored about 3 antique malls, another antique shop as well as a thrift store, a craft store and a general store in one of the small towns we stopped in. We also had a great lunch in a small place called A Taste of Home Cafe in Steeleville, MO. It was so good I thought I'd give it a plug. If you're ever out that way check them out. We were disappointed that several places we looked for there were closed for the winter. We were both exhausted by the time we got home.

Here's the big haul I made, not a lot but still have some things to work with. Watch Deb Upcycles on Etsy or these pages to see what I do with them. I also bought some fabric for my supply shop, but I already had it bagged up before I thought to take pictures.











My son was also very pleased with the trip he found a wood plane that he didn't have that he said was also a great price. I don't get it, but it makes him happy.

Friday's Upcycled Finds: Earrings!

I'm always buying earrings, I love earrings! They are really the only jewelry I wear on a consistent basis. I have some necklaces and bracelets that I wear now and then but I almost always have earrings on unless I'm at home or at work. I have a large collection of earrings, some upcycled, some not. I was checking out earrings on Etsy the other day and decided to make this weeks Upcycled Friday's Finds all about the earrings.

 Making new jewelry out of old jewelry can create some stunning pieces. I especially like these! I can picture myself wearing these with a special dress to the symphony the next time I go. (I just won tickets! Woo Hoo) Sea Shell Creations is full of wonderful jewelry, much of it is upcycled.

I've seen other bottle cap earrings, and even have a pair, but I really like the way she has added the tiny hoops with beads on the bottom to make these a little more unique. These earrings and other bottle cap earrings can be found at BLWworld, as well as other upcycled items.









East Street Tins had so many beautiful earrings made from old tins I had a hard time choosing the ones I wanted to show here. I finally settled on this pair because I love the flowers on them. I have a lot of blue in my wardrobe and these would go nicely with a few of my outfits.





The ocean helps us with our recycling by taking broken glass and softening it's edges, buffing it and turning it into beautiful shapes, then tossing it up on the beach for people to find and turn into wonderful jewelry. Mermaid Tears Sea Glass has  a shop full of wonderful things made from these wonderful finds!












This is the one I really love! Earrings out of zipper pulls?? Who would have thought it? But I like them, I really, really like them. Check out the other great jewelry at Totems by Sally, made out of all kinds of odds and ends!

My Weekly Thrift Shop Run

 I find my "second chance" craft supplies, fabric and patterns, as well as my clothing and linens to upcycle in all kinds of places. Thrift shops, yard sales, estate sales, auctions, friends and family and more. The thrift shop pictured above, though, is a weekly stop. They have patterns and fabric for sale on a very regular basis. They bag up their fabric, yarn and other craft supplies in large bags and it's often a guessing game as to what is in the bag. I can spend several minutes per bag trying to determine if the bag is worth buying.

They have a system of coding everything by color. After a number of weeks they start reducing the items. I don't wait for the fabric and patterns to be reduced or I would miss out on a lot of good stuff but when I'm looking for items to upcycle, I look for the items that are 75% off for two reasons. One, because it's a lot cheaper and two because it's had awhile to sell and hasn't. These are usually the items that are worn, stained, have buttons missing or other problems and this makes it a prime candidate for upcycling!

And this is the haul for this week, lots of patterns that I'm listing now on Deb's Patterns. A bag of fabric and another bag of buttons that I still have to go through and take pics and list on Deb's Crafts. A couple shirts for pillows or whatever, a beach wrap with messed up fringe and a stained damask tablecloth, all candidates for upcycling, watch Deb Upcycles for the results once I figure out what I'm going to make.

Quick Link - Upcycling and Upcycled Baskets

From one of my Etsy teammates

15 Ways to Upcycle Baskets

It's Compostable

I have a compost pile in my backyard and it is a wonderful thing! Not only does it cut down on the stuff that goes to the landfill but it makes wonderful food for my garden so it can make wonderful food for my table.

The other day at the farmers market I bought a cup of coffee at my favorite booth (of course the one who sells coffee would be my favorite) and just happened to notice that not only the cup (which I knew) was compostable but the lid was, too! This led me to investigate what else may go into the compost pile that I hadn't thought of.

I'm going to make a long list here and add to it if I find other stuff that will compost. This will be in addition to the kitchen and garden waste most people already know about. I'll also include a few links on articles about composting at the end. Just remember meat, dairy and bodily waste of carnivores are all no nos they stink and attract pests as well as having the potential of causing illness.

Cardboard toilet paper and paper towel rolls. These not only compost but they keep the pile aerated.

Paper can be added, just remember to crumple it. I usually go for small stuff like receipts and junk mail. Whole newspapers need to go in the recycling bin. Unless you're composting on a very large basis. The daily newspaper can quickly take over the bin.

Coffee grounds, filters and tea bags are great for the compost pile (I think this is my main source of compost)

Dryer lint, the dust from the vacuum cleaner bag, and the sweepings from the floor can all be tossed in the pile, too.

Wood ashes.

Got a long haired cat or dog? Losing your hair? the hair from the brushes can be thrown in the pile.

I kill houseplants on a semi regular basis, good thing they and their soil can be thrown into the compost.

Natural fiber fabric such as cotton, wool and silk can be added. This is great for me since I do a lot of sewing, all those scraps that are too small to do anything with can be added to my compost as long as they're 100% cotton or silk. (I don't work with wool much).

Have a small animal such as a hamster or gerbil? The used bedding is great for the compost pile.

As my friend Helena just pointed out in her comment, used Kleenex can be thrown in there. Also used paper towels unless they wiped up greasy stuff can be added, too.

EPA site on composting

If you have anything to add, or have a question please leave a comment.