Sustainable Sundays: Salvaged by Mary

Each Sunday we select one item to feature from over 1,700 sustainable shops on our Upcyclers Etsy Team! Any Upcyclers shop on Etsy that is actively selling, promoting and participating on our team is available for selection.

This week's handmade selection is...

Love Letter Necklace, by Salvaged by Mary

This steampunk vintage love letter inspired necklace could be just the thing you're looking for Valentines Day! Delicate script is sealed and set into an old card catalog label holder with hammered copper rivets. A hand cut and patinaed copper heart adds to the romance of this piece.

Salvaged by Mary is operated in Whitmore Lake, MI, and Mary enjoys using scrap metal and found objects to create chic, post-apocalyptic and industrial themed jewelry.

It is always hard to pick one upcycled item from all our active shops each week! Here are this week's runners up:

Wine Colored Recycled T Shirt Yarn / Crafting Cord by MikesTshirtYard

Salvaged Copper Sweet Pea and Pearl Necklace by Gemini Dragonfly

Recycled Ivory Wool Wweather Bag by Lynn Minney Designs

You can find more sustainable creations on Etsy by using our official team search tag: teamupcyclers when shopping.

Happy Upcycling
~Bee
The Wooden Bee
inspired to recycle wood
www.thewoodenbee.etsy.com

Weekly Giveaway: Groovy Green Glass!

This week's Giveaway is really Groovy~ Literally! We are so excited to partner for this giveaway with Groovy Green Glass, one of our innovative members of Upcyclers!

But before we get started telling you more, let's talk about last week's sponsor and the winner of our giveaway from  Yellow Trailer! 
Congrats to #24~ Dena and Adriana! Members of Upcyclers and the creative owners of Spin A Yarn, they also write a whimsical and informative blog focused on fiber arts called~ Everything but the Oink!

We want to thank all of those who entered and, especially, Mary from Yellow Trailer for giving away her industrial chic Wine Cork and Hardware Necklace! Now all we want to know is which one of you two will wear it~ or will mom and daughter share???

Now let's get back to Groovy Green Glass~ coincidentally, owned by another creative genius named Deana! (different spelling, hah!) After learning of the massive amounts of wasted glass in the Myrtle Beach area landfills, Deana became "passionate about glass"! Driven by the fact that glass takes over 4000 years to break down in a landfill, she decided to partner with several area restaurants to rescue what she considered bottles too beautiful to waste. By cutting the glass and sanding the edges, she has created a line of glassware, unique and innovative, and very popular. You can actually 'Drink Straight From the Bottle!', as her company tagline states! 

Jameson Shot Glasses

Grey Goose Glasses

Captain Morgan Table Lamp

Aside from her Etsy shop, Deana also has a company website that breaks down the hardcore facts about the impact that Groovy Green Glass is making:

"Based on an online energy calculator, for every 50 cases of glass that we keep out of the landfill, we are saving:
* 2.7 cubic meters of landfill space
* 328 kwh of energy (enough to light 1.1 houses every month)
* 1, 660 liters of water
* and permanently removing the impact of 1.2 cars on the road. 
This is currently what we save every three weeks!"


Amazing to think what a difference just one company with one brilliant idea can make!

In addition to glassware, Deana has expanded her line of Groovy Green Glass to include planters, home decor and jewelry! 

Jaegermeister Pendant Lamp

Etched VinoPonic Planter

Fireball Whiskey Pendant

And best of all, the earrings that Groovy Green Glass is giving away!

Green Wine Bottle Earrings

It's easy to enter and if you love them you'd better hurry!


First, be sure you are a follower of this blog, Love 2 Upcycle~ not a follower? Just look to the left and click. Voila! You are a follower. But you haven't entered yet.

Now, you can choose 4 of the following ways to enter, up to 4 times!
 
1. Check out Groovy Green Glass on Etsy and favorite the shop! And tell us here about your favorite item in the shop!
2. Check out the website Groovy Green Glass and tell us here one of the five restaurants that 3G collects glasses from!
3. Become a fan of Groovy Green Glass on Facebook!
4. Tweet or share this Giveaway!
5. Pin one item from Groovy Green Glass on Pinterest!
Remember, only 4 entries count, and each one must be left in a separate comment! If you don't have an email listed on your bio, leave it here in one of your comments. Deadline to enter is Midnight, January 26th!
Winner will be randomly drawn using Random.org's generator. 

Good Luck!
 
Would you like to Sponsor a Giveaway on Love 2 Upcycle? You don't have to be a member of Upcyclers to be a sponsor, all Etsy sellers of upcycled or eco-friendly products are welcome! But of course, we'd love for you to join the team!

Wasteless Wednesday!

Better known in the Twitter world, but quickly gaining momentum elsewhere is a new green trend tagged #WastelessWed for Wasteless Wednesday! It's a movement to take pause for one day to reflect on how we can find ways to waste less and save resources. To help you find easy ways to achieve this, we will offer you a week's worth of tips each Wasteless Wednesday right here on Love 2 Upcycle! Let's work together to Waste Less!

1. Of course, no self respecting leader of a team called Upcyclers would miss the obvious first tip: Support the upcycling movement by either purchasing upcycled products or creating your own! Products created by our team can be found by searching Etsy with the tag: teamupcyclers.


2. Pack a green lunch! Use a lunch box or tote to carry it and use reusable bags instead of plastic.

Greener Route

3. Use a reusable To-Go Glass or Cup!

Poppy and Pearl Co.

4. Don't grab a paper towel to wipe up~ grab a washable dishcloth instead.

Stagnant Gypsy

5. Here's another sustainable way to wipe up a different kind of mess {yuck!}, or just their runny noses~ Reusable baby wipes or as Sweet Memories Quilts calls them: Organic Bummy Wipes!

6. Use recycled business cards. These are printed on post-consumer packaging!

Vintage Script Press

7. Bring your own bag to the market~ We're begging you!

In(c). factory

Tune in again next week for another week's worth of ways to Waste Less!

Tuesday's Treasuries: A New Beginning!

This month's Upcyclers Team Challenge yielded more entries than ever and a fresh look and new beginning for vintage, broken, recycled materials and post consumer packaging! We are thrilled to present them in these three treasuries~ all entries are included, but we've mixed them up for the sake of composition and theme, and we've also used some more than once, but with no favoritism~ except for two entries from members who weren't included (with our apologies) last month! So click, comment, share and tweet~ but most of all, don't forget to vote for your favorites for the Industrial Category and the Organic Category on our Etsy discussion threads! Not a member? If you Love 2 Upcycle and sell your goods on Etsy~ Join us today and help spread the upcycling movement!

'Upcyclers Team Challenge: A New Beginning~ Vol. 1' by collagical

A selection of Industrial and Organic entries from Upcyclers~ New beginnings for recycled, broken and vintage goods, post consumer packaging, and printed materials!

Recycled Feed Sack Mark... frankcluck $25.00	Re-Carded Black & Red B... eandvhutch $15.00	Magnetic Board - Bullet... LeMaisonBelle $49.99	Green VinoPonic Planter... GroovyGreenGla... $20.00
Make a statement earrin... CUTandTEAR $10.00	Wall Sconce - Vintage R... Rinnovato $12.00	Black and silver altere... mellostuff $25.25	Paper Rose from Upcycle... jamateria $12.00
Leather Baby Booties wi... loveineverythi... $28.00	Steam Punk Ring that is... ourchildrensea... $24.75	Fractured Heart card, u... kathybrace $2.50	copper lotus bookmark MarieYoungdesi... $15.00
Small Lot of Broken Jew... ria13 $2.50	Primrose upcycled mini ... NaturallyHeart... $5.50	Bolero Jacket upcycled ... orloSubito $20.00	Handmade 'Friend ... AnnaPereira $40.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

'Upcyclers Team Challenge: A New Beginning~ Vol. 2' by collagical

A springtime look at A New Beginning~ A selection of Industrial and Organic entries from Upcyclers!

Custom Piece-Grow, a su... goddessoftheco... $250.00	Primrose upcycled mini ... NaturallyHeart... $5.50	All Lambswool Handsewn ... spinayarn $18.95	Garden Stake Yellow Tea... GardenWhimsies... $35.00
The Green Bride Upcycle... enduredesigns $500.00	What Matters - Wood Sha... FyreShadow $25.00	pink fairy baby ornamen... fairyshadow $18.00	Tote Purse Cloth bag Ch... MilliesCorner $30.00
Custom Crochet Rug Upcy... KingSoleil $98.00	sweater tunic lagenlook... jill2day $207.00	Steam Punk Ring that is... ourchildrensea... $24.75	Leather Baby Booties wi... loveineverythi... $28.00
Embroidery hoop textile... SwooshbyScroll... $25.00	DIY Wine Cork Bulletin ... TheWoodenBee $21.50	Bolero Jacket upcycled ... orloSubito $20.00	Paper Rose from Upcycle... jamateria $12.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

'Upcyclers Team Challenge: A New Beginning~ Vol. 3' by collagical

Soft denim blues, organic tones and hues of green spring leaves usher in these new beginnings. A selection of Industrial and Organic entries from Upcyclers!

Tote Purse Cloth bag Ch... MilliesCorner $30.00	Serenity Redemption Nec... Flower7 $28.00	Sea Glass Multi Colored... beachglassshop $38.00	Embroidery hoop textile... SwooshbyScroll... $25.00
Blue statement neckpiec... Onceat7 $40.00	The Green Bride Upcycle... enduredesigns $500.00	Plain and Simple Repurp... sunflowersbyde... $20.00	Aqua beach glass neckla... northcoastbeac... $25.00
Recycled Strawberry Sho... VeryCreativeCr... $62.00	Kelp pin in purples and... kathybrace $7.00	Green VinoPonic Planter... GroovyGreenGla... $20.00	Garden Stake Yellow Tea... GardenWhimsies... $35.00
Recycled Feed Sack Mark... frankcluck $25.00	copper lotus bookmark MarieYoungdesi... $15.00	Wall Sconce - Vintage R... Rinnovato $12.00	sweater tunic lagenlook... jill2day $207.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.