Love 2 Upcycle: Etsy

Showing posts with label Etsy. Show all posts

April 20, 2014

Earth Day Thoughts from Team Upcyclers

Earth Day, on Tuesday April 22nd 2014, aims to inspire awareness and appreciation for the earth’s environment. Since saving unwanted wood and materials is the core of our business, we think it’s a great month to celebrate all things green!

How do you give back to the environment? Earth Day is a great time to renew your eco-friendly goals. While we should do our part every day, Earth Day is a great time to reflect on our efforts, and see how we can lessen our impact on the planet's resources, while living a healthier life.

Each year I set goals on Earth Day, and see if I have achieved them the following year. Last year, I said I wanted to replaced the plastic-ware in my kitchen with glassware. I bought the glassware at different thrift shops over the course of the year, and I upcycled and recycled the plastic cups and tupperware into other uses. It was a simple goal. I usually set more than one, but if you take one small step, a million small steps could have an amazing impact on our beautiful planet.

This month, I asked some of the talented members of Team Upcyclers on Etsy, what they do for Earth Day, and what advice could they offer our blog's readers?! Here are just a few of the replies I received, along with one handmade piece from each Upcyclers artist.

"I live in NYC, and the amount of boxes I see on the sidewalks every day to be thrown out is crazy. I plan on asking businesses to give me their boxes, which I can then use to ship out my sold products on Etsy."

Barnwood Frame w/Silver Wire and Mini Clothespins

by AClaimToFrame

"One of my goals in being an upcycling artist has been to bring other people into the process and broaden awareness about what and how much we throw away. I've met some wonderful people who collect "Jane Jars" for me. I have a growing network of people who collect "garbage" for me to use in my jewelry and artwork. In exchange for them keeping a "Jane Jar" to collect things like beer caps, bread tags, candy wrappers etc. for me, I give them a 10% discount on all purchases."

see more: Collaborative Upcycling for Students

"You're the Queen" Postage Stamp Collage Card

by Jane Koopman

"I bought a dual canister for both trash and recycling [to encourage more recycling], and bought a water purifier to start eliminating plastic bottles from our home."

Repurposed Wine Bottle Planter

by RecastGlass

"I plan on growing a large herb garden this year.

I recycled office supplies I collect at work through Terracycle. I recycle sharpies, highlighters, tape dispensers, and pouch packaging."

Mother's Day Handmade Greeting Card

by Nature's Touch Boutique

"I try to avoid waste before it enters the house. Shop in bulk and use homemade over store-bought..."

Upcycled Blue Cotton Onesie

by SensibleShirts

"I'm taking biodegradable trash bags with me on walks around our neighborhood to pick up trash."

Reusable Market/Tote Bag

by FashionGreenTBags

"We always join the local clean up effort. Maybe people could look for an event locally or start one?"

Recycled Jeans Purse

by Our Children's Earth

We hope you enjoyed a little upcycled inspiration, and Happy Earth Day!

~Bee

The Wooden Bee

www.thewoodenbee.com

October 9, 2013

Wednesday's Welcome!

It's been a long time since we've brought you daily posts on our blog~ a huge thanks to Bee from The Wooden Bee and Tricia from Upcycled Stuff for keeping us going even as intermittent as we've been! Without them, we may have fallen to the wayside like so many other blogs. I have had one tough year, and I don't know what I would have done without them and the other team leaders on Etsy I have come to love and count on. They, too, have had their own tough and busy times and have managed to still keep us posted with contest results, articles, discussion threads, tweets, Facebook posts, treasuries and our weekly Linky Parties. They have taught me the meaning of the word TEAM.

That said, I hope with our upcoming third anniversary on November 8th, we can start a new wave of consistent activity in our upcycling movement with new and exciting things to put us back on track. We are looking for more contributors to our blog, social networks and Etsy discussion threads, as well as developing new features and, ultimately, a new website with more to offer everyone. So with that said~ here is the first!

Wednesday's Welcome!

Each week we will feature three new Upcyclers~ either from our team on Etsy, our Twitter followers or our fans on Facebook. Whichever venue we find each week's featured upcycling artists, writers or companies, we promise to bring you something awesome and interesting every Wednesday. All we ask is that you welcome them by checking out their shops, pages, websites, blogs, etc. Whether you tweet, share, tumble, stumble, pin, comment or purchase~ show your Love 2 Upcycle by supporting your fellow Upcyclers!

But don't think we are going to neglect our dedicated and long time Upcyclers, we've got plans for you, too! We will sponsor new contests and giveaways, revamp our Blogs 2 Love and share more DIY ideas, tutorials, and links to the most innovative sites we can find so we can inspire you to keep upcycling and living a sustainable lifestyle. Our world is rapidly changing it's attitude toward what we do and it's up to us to show everyone it's not a trend~ it's a necessity. We all must face the need to adapt to the demand for accountability for how we use the resources of our world and to be responsible inhabitants of not just this planet, but the universe. The beauty of the internet and social networking is the opportunity it affords us to reach out globally to spread the word with an impact.

But we need your help. No one can do it alone, we have to do it together.

Our thanks again to all of you and~ Welcome to this week's new Upcyclers...

The first is a new member of Upcyclers on Etsy. Why this one? You are going to love how they describe upcycling. I could not have said it better myself...

Studio ABCD

A graduate from National Institute of Fashion Technology in Bangalore, India, and a student of architecture, Raahul Khadaliya has immersed himself in a sustainable lifestyle that is emulated in his innovative, yet traditionally based products. Using a handmade, eco-friendly method of block printing firmly routed in his culture, he creates brightly colorful and artistic gift wrap from discarded newspaper, as well as other products. Yet, even more beautiful is how he describes why and what he does:

"It is high time now to link things we have used, to the things we will use, and this link between the two holds a promise to a sustainable possibility for future. We know the grave possible problems in times to come, and its ironic that we don’t do much to help the situation. The solution is as simple as rethinking the complete design process incorporating ideologies like cradle to cradle design into both minor and major systems of creation. The need of the hour is to justify the energy, raw materials, human resources and other natural energy that are used in creation of a product and question ourselves each time we discard any thing we use.

To expect a third party to save the environment is passé, when everyone of us can help the cause by re-using things of daily requirements…" ~Visit his shop and profile to read more of his philosophies. He also illustrates his idealogy and method in an amazing infograph on his website.

B - Reloved

Our next Welcome is to another new member on Etsy~

"If the only thing that can not be recycled is wasted time, I thought I might as well put my time and any God given talent I have into making things beautiful by using the power of Recycle. Mission: To bring a creative approach to recycling."

We, in all honesty, prefer to call Christa Behen's approach to the art of recycling~ upcycling, but we also know that many still are more familiar with the term recycling. No matter, it's beautiful!

A hearty welcome also to a new fan on Facebook~ Redeemed, a Museum/Art Gallery in Sharon Pennsylvania, held it's Grand Opening on September 28th! This shop looks amazing, I wish I could take a trip north just to see all the wonderful upcycled treasures it holds! Stop by if you are in the area, or give them a 'Like' and a Welcome on Facebook!

We hope you've enjoyed meeting these three new Upcyclers! I can't wait to Welcome more of you next week!

;) Cat

September 12, 2013

The UncommonGoods Upcycle Design Challenge!

Our team has been invited to participate in the 2013 UncommonGoods Upcycle Design Challenge! The grand prize is $500.00 and there are no entry fees! Here are the basics straight from the UncommonGoods website:

GRAND PRIZE: $500 and an UncommonGoods vendor agreement.

RUNNERS UP: All runner-ups will receive a critique of their work from the guest judges, and UncommonGoods' marketing team will provide tips for marketing and growing their businesses. Additionally, UncommonGoods' buyers will review each entrant's full portfolio and may consider adding the work submitted to the UncommonGoods website in the future.

DEADLINE: September 30, 2013 at 11:59 PM ET

WHAT CAN I SUBMIT? We want to see anything and everything - from handbags to kitchen tools, from gadgets to wall art. As long as your design has an upcycling story, we want to see it!

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE AN "UNCOMMON" ARTIST? Your design should be expressive, it should tell a compelling story, and it should highlight your individuality.

WHAT KINDS OF MATERIAL CAN I USE? We accept all sorts of materials as long as they are safe and animal-friendly-so no lead, leather, feathers, or pearls. We love unique materials, especially those that tell an interesting story, so don't forget to share your medium's tale with us in your product description.

WHAT DO I SUBMIT? We will need your contact info, product info, photos and an optional video. You can share 1 to 5 images through the entry portal with the choice to feature a single item or a collection. We judge each item individually, but would love to see your body of work. If you would like us to view more than five images, please provide us with a website or portfolio link. You can find the entry form located on the bottom of this page.

GOT A QUESTION? Browse through the rules, or send an email to upcycling-contest@uncommongoods.com. Please fill out your contact info completely before you upload your images. Remeber to double-check the email address entered to ensure that it's valid.

So there you have it! You can find out more about UncommonGoods on their website. I know our team has tons of fantastic submissions to offer, let's show them what Upcyclers can do!

Good Luck, Everyone~ and we promise to keep you posted on the results!

August 14, 2013

Domino's National Upcycling Collaboration

We are always pushing the team concept as part of our mission to spread upcycling through our strength in numbers~ but occasionally it is the outstanding singular effort of one member that demands our recognition and gratitude for the individual's achievements.

Liz Ohsiek deserves that and more~ And we are so incredibly proud to call her a member of Upcyclers!

Domino's recently changed their marketing strategy including a newly designed logo~ and in an effort to reduce waste decided to UPCYCLE their stock bearing the previous logo. Liz told us all about it in a recent blog post:

"I don’t usually like to talk about myself. At least not important stuff. I’ll bore my friends with the minutia of life (what I had for breakfast, what craft my kids are working on, how many loads of laundry I folded, blah blah blah) but when it comes to my own shop and business, I don’t typically share. Maybe I just don’t think anyone really cares — and I don’t like to sound braggy (especially when I don’t have tons of faith in myself). I know, I have issues.

BUT – right now, I want to tell you about a really exciting project that I’m participating in. I’m going to toot my own horn for a minute. Ah-OOO-gah!!

Several months ago, Domino’s Pizza contacted lil’ ol’ me (ME!!) to tell me about their Second Hand Logos project. They recently changed their logo, and rather than throw away all of the old ones, they’ve asked independent craftsmen and artists like me to upcycle the old stock into new creations. I am one of 10 artists nationwide to participate in this amazing initiative.

The project was unveiled on June 17, and since then there has been a bit of online buzz including a Yahoo! Finance article that used my photograph and mentioned my name. (You can check that out here. My 15 minutes of fame! There are also articles that use my product photos here, here and here).

Domino’s sent me some employee t-shirts, pizza boxes, and food wrappers all displaying the old logo. I made them into scarves, notebooks, and bowls."

Making Domino’s Scarves from old stock t-shirts

Pizza Box Notebooks

Paper Bowls

These items are available for purchase in Liz's Etsy shop! And you can see all of the talented artists and their creations at www.SecondHandLogos.com

It is fantastic to see the upcycling movement recognized by a global corporation like Domino's. Collaborative efforts like this inspire our team to continue creating art, crafts and practical goods from what the world once considered "TRASH"! Perhaps one day we will look back and wonder why we abandoned the centuries' old tradition of 'using it up and wearing it out' for what has become a largely, throwaway society. Until then, we thank Liz Ohsiek for dedicating her talent to Upcycling and for being a member of Upcyclers!

*Editor's Note~ Read Liz's opinion about "What is Upcycling?"

July 27, 2013

Love 2 DIY on the Weekend~ Is For the Birds!

If you love birds in your backyard habitat, we've got some way out and somewhat, wacky upcycled inspiration for some cool habitats for your winged visitors~ If you don't want to DIY, some of these birdhouses are available for sale in the artist's studio or online shop.


Brian Carlisle~ GadgetSponge.com

It's a Crazy Life...what craft is Sam working on now?


The Guilty Crafter~ confessions of a domestic Goddess wannabe


Upcycled Garden Style...a website from Gardens Inspired


April Crafternoon@ fdlpl.org


Tale of Twisted Fibers


Mama's Nook

EcoCycled

So look around your garage, basement or attic and turn an old treasure or tossed away article into an upcycled home for your feathered friends!

Have a fantastic weekend!
;) Cat

July 4, 2013

IT'S A RED, WHITE & BLUE UPCYCLED FOURTH!

We hope all of our Upcyclers' friends and members from the USA enjoy their
Fourth of July with their loved ones! Here's a tribute to the Red, White & Blue represented by handmade, upcycled products from our team!