Thrift Store Re-Use Idea: Plant Clipping Containers

If you're a plant person who takes small clippings from your thriving plants to turn into new plants, here's a little idea for you. 

I used to put my clippings in old jars and cups by a window, and they never really looked great.  But, lately I've been picking up pretty glass candle holders from the thrift store and using those instead, which makes the clippings look even prettier than potted plants while I wait for their roots to grow.

One of my favorite spots in our new house is this little window box right above the kitchen sink.  It's a perfect spot for plants and delicate things to keep them out of the kids' reach.  Plus, being in Minnesota in January, it's really nice to be able to look up while doing dishes and see green plants and colorful glass, rather than the usual brown and white.

A couple hanging candle holders from the thrift store, hung  with little screw-in hooks in the window box "ceiling"

I love this little blue one that hangs on it's own stand

Colorful glass bottles work great too, especially for this straight bamboo!

There are so many cool options for your clippings if you think outside of the box!  How about some pretty vases, or even wine glasses?  So next time you're in the thrift store or at a garage sale, if you're a plant person, be sure to peruse the glass and candle holder aisles...the possibilities are endless!

New Uses for Old Broomsticks!

I picked up a few old magazines from the 1920's the other day for $0.55 cents each at the thrift store, thinking the pages and ads may be fun material to decoupage or make other things with.  Just had to share this little article on "New uses for old broomsticks!"

Whether we call it "recycling," "upcycling," "repurposing," "re-using," or "DIY," it's not a new idea! Too bad so many brooms are made from metal tubes now...a lot harder for the average person to convert into something else!

And BINGO Was His Name-O!

So the other day I found this cool old Bingo game for $0.99 cents at Saver's.

You can get every game under the sun these days in digital form in the palm of your hand.  But, there's just something about the tactile nature of these old games. 

 I love feeling this pile of the round wooden markers in my palm...the etched dimension of the letters and numbers...the sound that they make when I dig my fingers into them in their cardboard compartment.  I love the texture and smell of the old, yellowing cardboard bingo cards, and the illustration of the New York World's Fair on the box cover.

No, I didn't intend on buying this to play Bingo, although I do have fond memories of laying down my quarter to play in the Lions Club Bingo tent at our county fair growing up.  I just wanted to make these parts live on in some way...bring them out of their dusty box on the thrift store shelf, "upcycle" them, and show them the light of day.  I'm not sure what I'll turn them into yet...I'm thinking something along the mosaic lines.  But, it did make me want to do some web surfing to find other fun Bingo game recycling ideas...

I love these recycled sketchbooks that use Bingo cards as a cover.  These are the kind of cards I remember playing with at the county fair...I can still feel those little plastic fins against my fingertips as I'd swipe my hand across the card to reveal a sea of red windows...the sound of the old ladies around the table whacking them against the folding table to knock the windows open again for the next round.  There's that tactile thing again...just irreplaceable by an iPhone app!

The little markers and balls provide ample opportunity to make jewelry, like these Bingo ball earrings and necklaces by Amy Pfaffman...

...or these earrings made from the flat markers over at Eclectic Elements:

...or these cufflinks made from vintage wood Bingo markers by Numpty on Etsy.

You can even wear them in your hair with these Bingo marker bobby pins.

Or how about a Bingo card clock?  There's always time for BINGO!

All of this game recycling talk has gotten me looking for all kinds of game pieces to recycle in thrift stores.  This week I picked up a box of wood dominos, some poker chips, and old playing cards.  Now if I could just get a solid week of uninterrupted time to create stuff, I'd be set!!

Junk Bonanza 2010

I just returned to my studio after an overwhelmingly inspirational visit to the Junk Bonanza in Shakopee, MN! Described as "the best junk roundup in the Midwest," there is nothing junky about it!  I would describe this even as being like a walk through a really cool, antique flea market where everything has already been "upcycled" into quirky, creative gifts.  These are the people who scour thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets and antique shops for cool treasures and old "junk," apply their creative juices, and give everything a new life.

As a display designer myself, I found it equally as exciting just looking at the beautifully designed booths.  You can tell that every booth and display was designed for people like me, by people like me, who are easily drawn in by neat old treasures and recycled art. Walking through the aisles of creativity was like a constant struggle between the cool stuff pulling me into the next booth, and the desire to run home to my studio and start making things!  Many of the vendors were not only catering to those who want to purchase their items, but also those of us who like making things ourselves, by offering up bins and bins of little found objects just screaming to be made into something.

I went with my very artistic and creative mom, who so graciously offered to come along and help me maneuver the crowds with my two little boys in strollers.  With two little ones, we were only able to stay for a couple hours.  So, I didn't get to see EVERYTHING, but got a bunch of photos.  So many, in fact, that I can barely digest all of them myself, let alone overwhelm you with one post that covers them all.  So, I am going to post some more photos over the next few days from a couple vendors who caught my eye during the event.  Stay tuned for more photos and links to come!

Until tomorrow, here are a few more photos from the morning...

DIY Thrift Store Table Turned Train Table!

Looking for a train table for your kids?  Why not try making one?!  I just had a BLAST making my own out of an ugly thrift store table. Check out my fully photographed process in my IDMommy blog! This would make a really fun project to do along WITH your older kids, and it's not too late to start making one as a Christmas gift this year!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Groupon Offers Half Price Admission to Junk Bonanza!

I apologize for all of my non-Minnesota readers, but for those of you who live in the Twin Cities and love to find cool vintage stuff and repurposed items, be sure to check out today's Groupon for half price admission to the Junk Bonanza!  The event is held this September 16, 17, and 18 at Canterbury Park in Shakopee.

If you are NOT in this area and unable to attend, you might enjoy checking out their online gallery for a little eye candy and inspiration!

I've never been to this but it looks very much up my alley...and perhaps yours as well!  Happy hunting!

Old Chair Turned Outdoor Swing!

I always find funky old chairs at garage sales and thrift stores that I'd love to make over, but just don't have the space to acquire them.  That's why I got excited about this great way to repurpose an old chair into an outdoor swing!  I just might be able to utilize an old chair after we move into our potential, hopeful, new house some time in the hopefully near future!  Read the full blog post from Peppertowne, here! (via ApartmentTherapy)

Clean Up Thrift Store Finds With This Eco-Friendly, Home Made Tarnish Remover

I picked up this pitcher today at the thrift store.  I paid a little more than I normally would for a thrift store item, at $7.99.  Not because I thought it had any value whatsoever, but because I just thought it was really neat.  Not sure if or how I will ever use this to pour anything, but I just really liked the contrasting raw materials of silver and cork, and the chain that holds the little cork in the spout.  Just a cool piece!

I realized I had packed away my bottle of tarnish remover already (during a day of closet de-cluttering, since we're trying to sell our house).  But, I wanted to shine this up a bit.  So, I did some online searching for a home made tarnish remover recipe.

I found one that seemed to work pretty well, so I thought I'd share.  It may come in handy if you want to polish up some silver, or find something cool like I did at a garage sale or thrift store that needs a little TLC!

I had to triple the recipe in order to totally submerge this, because it is a large item and I had a big bowl.  But, here is the single recipe:

Dissolve 1 Tbsp salt and 1 Tbsp baking soda in 6 cups of warm water.  Pour it into a bowl that has been lined with tin foil.  (This is not to protect the bowl; the tin foil is actually a part of the recipe!)  Drop in your items to be cleaned, and let them soak for an hour.  Here's my bowl:

After an hour, remove, wash off, and buff dry!

This didn't get my pitcher completely spotless, but really did a good job of getting that blueish-black tarnish off.  I was surprised how well it worked.  I'm thinking if I had let it soak longer, it may have gotten even cleaner.  I'm sure this has been sitting around tarnished for a long time.

Here you see the before and after.  Not bad for items you have in your kitchen!  So there you have it...a cheap and eco-friendly way to remove tarnish from your silver!

DIY - Turn an Old Plate into a Mosaic Vase

The folks at Eclectic Products (who make the EcoGlue I use for my Junk Mail Gems products) recently asked me to be a guest blogger and share a project using EcoGlue. It has been posted today...check it out here at the Eclectic Blog for step-by-step instructions to turn an old thrift store plate into a beautiful mosaic vase!

Belt chair

Check out the awesome chair made out of woven fabric belts. This looks like it would be really fun repurpose-ing project...all thrift stores have that aisle of out-of-date belts and old chairs! Yet another project to add to my list. Visit the artist's site here! Found via Design Milk.

Happy 2 month birthday! And, thrift store finds

My little buddy Sammy turned 2 months old today! :-) What does this have to do with Junk Mail Gems or recycling, you say? Well, besides the fact that he is the son of the artist, this gives me the opportunity to point out that those of you with babies may know that garage sale-ing and thrift stores are a great way to save money and re-use clothing and other items. Babies grow out of stuff so fast that they look like new, and I often find brand new clothing with the tags still on them at garage sales! I sometimes like to plan an occasional thrift store visit to get in my garage sale fix in the middle of winter in Minnesota. Here are just a few of the adorable things in little Sammy's closet that I found this winter, and it's not hard to find name brand stuff either!

Another Thrift Store Re-Make

Well, I have one last thrift store furniture re-make project I've just finished for my bug themed nursery in my last few weeks before baby arrives! I've been visiting thrift stores watching for a small end table or side table to put next to the rocking chair. I found this perfect wicker drawer unit for just $6.99 at Saver's a couple days ago. Of course, the brown & green paint with pictures of mushrooms & acorns don't quite fit with the nursery decor...but that's the fun part!

I spent last night painting the whole thing white, which is pretty time consuming when you're talking about wicker. Today I added the colored trim areas and then painted a bug on each drawer, to match the bug illustrations in the rug I have in the room.

As you can see below, with just a few bucks, some paint and a little tlc, you can turn a homeless, out-of-date piece of furniture into a custom piece for your home!