September Results for Upcyclers Creativity Challenge

The challenge this month was to upcycle a t shirt.  We all have a t shirt or two that just sits in the dresser or hangs in the closet, so why not make something fun out of it, and make that t shirt useful again!

I had just finished a series about t shirt yarn, and was excited to see what ideas it might inspire.  I was blown away by the creative use of t shirts that people submitted!

Three of My Favorites:

RaLaCe's braided and embellished tank top.  How fun is this??

SweetSomeday's fabulous t shirt dress.  She shows how versatile it is in her blog post.  It is wonderful for so many seasons!

 

SunflowersByDesign's fun ToteBag.  I love the design on the front, and the way it is finished!

Honorable Mentions To:

MikesTshirtYarn for his wonderul beanie.  Perfect for winter, and stylish too!

 

TheSalvagedEdge's t shirt dress for a child.  So adorable!!

 

Pearlreef's upcycled basket.  I love anything that can help me get organized!

What did I do?  Well I made a rug!  Okay, I almost finished a rug.  I can only use the bottoms of the t shirts for yarn.  So I cut the tops into strips, and sewed them together to make a braided rug.  Okay, to almost finish a braided rug.  It is "in process", and you can see the strands coming off the end, but you get the idea.  

Thank you everyone for your entries!  It was tough to choose only a few to feature on here, but all entries can be found on our Challenge's Pinterest board:

I really enjoyed seeing what everyone came up with, and cannot wait for next months challenge!

Luci

July's Upcyclers Creativity Contest

This month's creativity challenge centered around a seemingly innocuous house construction element. I issued the following challenge to teamupcyclers:


"The challenge for this month is a drain spout. I bought one to redo my gutters and then (after spray painting it) discovered where I could get affordable rain chains. Now I have a 12' drain spout and nothing to do with it. To make this easier I will take entries consisting of any metal construction waste that is generally pipe shaped. Cans will not be accepted, although a stovepipe would."

Well, I had exactly one idea with what to do with it. But I was impressed by the ingenuity and talent of my fellow teammates. 

It was a tough choice. I was torn my favorite two. Sarah Kristen of SweetSomeday had the distinct advantage of creating wind chimes (which I love!) and so prevailed with her entry of her pipe wind chimes pictured here:

You can see her whole project from design to construction on her blog and here are a few items you can find at her shop:

The runner up was the intrepid M. Basile, Who created this beautiful pencil/ flower holder from an elbow piece of a drain pipe:

You can see her other work at her facebook page

Other honorable mentions include our own Wooden Bee who created aluminum candle holders. 

Marie took a different tact and used metal construction debris to create these personalized copper pendants.

All items entries can be found on our Upcyclers Creative Challenge Pinterest Board!

Congratulations to everyone and their creativity! Join us next month by following the next creativity challenge here.

Nikki

This 'N That Creations

Love 2 DIY on the Weekend~ Creative Concoctions!

The weekend is such a great time to work on your to-do list~ clean up the attic, the yard, the garage... But before you throw anything away, look at it from a different perspective:

How can I upcycle this?

It's how our team of Upyclers view the world around us. Constantly imagining new uses for junk and possible trash. We can't bare to throw anything away. If we can't use it ourselves, we either donate it or we re-invent it to become supplies like the ones we've featured here previously~ vintage buttons, t-shirt yarn, scrap fabric appliques, paper scrap shapes. And we love the challenge! So much so that some of our members have put together a Monthly Creativity Challenge to upcycle an item proposed by the "Judge" of the Month. The item is the common thread but the results are likely to be anything but! In fact, this month Etsy shop owner, KnotSewTrashy wants us to think outside the "box"~ literally, a boom box! Radios, speakers, walkmans, cassette players and headphone components are all allowed as well. It's been a hoot following their progress trying to find the parts, come up with an idea, and to see some of the early results! 

Upcycled GE Clock Radio to Lamp by itsalamp

Macrame Bracelet/Anklet by bhangtiez

Amazing, right? I love this kind of ingenuity! So what would you come up with? Or how about some inspiration for your imagination from these upcycling supplies on Etsy:

Scrapology

PLJohnsonGlassArt

GTDesigns

ArtOddments

IndustrialPlanet

 

DanceWithLife

GiftBearerSupply

MilkasTreasures

Feeling inspired? Or are you just scratching your head trying to figure out what some of this stuff is? It's funny how easy it is to see things as they are and how much harder it is to see things as they could be! We'll keep you posted with the creative concoctions our members come up with for this month's challenge~ We'll be pinning them on our board: Upcyclers Creative Challenge! And feel free to share your ideas or creations with us here in a comment!

have a great weekend!
;) Cat

Tuesday's Treasuries~ September's Team Challenge

'Upcyclers' September Team Challenge~ Industrial Category' by collagical

This month's theme: Ghouls' Night Out! Please note: some items have been added due to relisting, expiration or for the sake of composition.

Frankenstein Altered Bo... bibliobags $68.00	Spooky Bat Halloween Re... eandvhutch $12.99	Baby's First Dia de... VerdantViolet $51.00	Gothic casket altered a... mellostuff $32.25
Halloween Boo Charm Bra... TerrisTreasure... $25.00	Halloween Bat Earrings ... Gloomstopper $16.00	Pop Tab Headband, Metal... PopTopFashion $15.00	Zombie Girl Handpainted... horrorfemme $30.00
Metal art wall sculptur... metalartdude $55.00	Gothic Halloween Neckla... pennyfarthingd... $22.00	Recycled Wine Bottle Wi... glassgaloregal $18.00	Recycled Rubber Heart N... Junkitlove $6.00
Dr. Who Angel Crying Bo... TheLittlestBoo... $15.00	Hand-painted Sugar Skul... cccook $15.00	Recycled Halloween Char... verycreativecr... $35.00	Skull Cocktail Ring. S... ShopMichL $15.99

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

'Upcyclers' September Team Challenge~ Organic Category' by collagical

This month's theme: Ghouls' Night Out! Please note: some items have been added or included due to relisting, expiration or for the sake of composition.

BOO Banner EmilyGibbs $68.00	SALE Deacon the Crochet... RadishCatSundr... $30.00	Here Kitty Kitty Garden... GardenWhimsies... $30.00	Black T-shirt dress upc... scrollwork $65.00
Real Glasswing Butterfl... NaturalFlipsid... $28.74	Haunting Wall Hanger ma... thewoodenbee $14.00	Recycled Paper Bead nec... LaneECreations $29.99	Purple Hip Bag, Needle ... TwiceNicePurse... $37.00
Headband of pink flower... fairyshadow $20.00	Halloween decoration - ... CUTandTEAR $12.00	Owl Halloween Autumn Wa... thirtyone13 $25.00	Halloween Party Treat B... debupcycles $7.50
5 HANDMADE Black Cat Gi... babylonscissor... $8.00	Halloween Record Bowl S... ourchildrensea... $18.75	gothic gossamer necklac... NaturallyHeart... $24.00	Hallowe'en Treat Ba... GirlAGoGoDesig... $15.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.