Sustainable Sundays: Dessin Creations

Each Sunday we select one item to feature from over 1,650 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.

Our first shop of 2012 is...

Upcycled Coke Bottle Earrings by Dessin Creations

These earrings are handcrafted from a recycled glass coke bottle! Their style is perfect for every day casual or Friday night dressed up!  This Upcyclers shop uses glass rescued from the landfill, and transforms it into unique handcrafted recycled jewelry, bowls, trays and more!

Dessin Creations Bottle Jewelry and Home Decor is located in Atlanta, GA.

Shop Stats:

Opened Feb 7th, 2011

176 items for sale
94 sales
Feedback: 34, 100% positive

 

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

 

Wooden Bangle Bracelet from Recycled Vintage Water Ski by 40DegreesNorth

 

Upcycled Redesign Green Sweater with Vintage buttons by MilliesCorner

 

iPod case crafted from chocolate brown 1970s necktie by Suzanne Shenkman 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: Boozy Baubles

Congrats to Lyudmila! She was the fourth entry in last week's Giveaway and that was the lucky number generated by Random.org! Our Children's Earth created the beautiful upcycled woolie case that she won~ We're sure she will love keeping her Nook/Kindle or other treasures in it! If you didn't win, don't fret~ you can find more of their upcycled creations in their Etsy shop!

This week, we have a set of upcycled, tumbled translucent glass earrings with sterling silver french hooks created from a broken vintage lavender plate!

Cheri Smith from Boozy Baubles loves recycling bottles, plates and jars into beautiful sparkling jewelry. She started Boozy Baubles in Oregon in 2009 on an inspiration to combine her glass skills and urban recycling efforts. Cheri was a glass artist and photographer in the 1970's with glass studios in Oregon, Tasmania and Hawaii and is happy to be working with glass again, especially in a way that touches so many people. Aside from her Etsy shop, Boozy Baubles are currently carried in the eight 'Made in Oregon' shops around the state, all University of Oregon gift stores, 'Cap'N Gulls' in Lincoln Ctiy, 'Sibling Revelry' in Corvallis and in 'Imagine Gallery' and 'Shamrock Flowers and Gifts' in Eugene. Cheri started traveling to Europe in 1999 and fell in love with statuary and gargoyles and has been taking their photographs ever since. She started her card line~ Revelation Cards in 2007. She creates greeting cards with "inspirational quotes paired with timeless images" which you can also find in her Etsy shop.

Boozy Baubles make great gifts for your 'passionate about the planet friends'. No two pieces of glass are alike making each recycled glass pair truly unique. Cheri will even create jewelry from your own sentimental vintage glass, just like she did with the earrings for our Giveaway that she made from her Aunt Pattie's plate!

Here's how to enter~

First you must be a follower of Love 2 Upcycle to enter~ not a follower? Just look to the right and click on the 'Follow' button!

Then you can submit up to 4 entries, each must be entered HERE in a separate comment.

1. Browse Boozy Baubles, and tell us here which item was your favorite.

2. 'Favorite' and 'Like' their shop, Boozy Baubles on Etsy.

3.  Like their page: Boozy Baubles on Facebook.

4. 'Tweet' or 'Like' this Giveaway using our Like or Tweet button or Share a link to our Giveaway on your Facebook fan page.

Deadline to enter is Wednesday, July 20th at midnight.

The WINNER will be randomly drawn and announced with our next giveaway~ Thursday, July 21st.

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!

Weekly Giveaway: Green Illuminations!

Congrats to Audrey~ a.k.a. The Garden Lady, for winning this week's giveaway from The Wooden Bee! Bee will contact you, Audrey, for your shipping info! Thank you to everyone who participated and to Bee for sponsoring the giveaway!

This week we have another perfect giveaway for the summer season~ Two scented 3 oz. candles in recycled beer bottle candle holders from Green Illuminations...Vata and Artemis~

Vata is a great scent that has a bit of floral and a bit of earth. Great for those that want a light summer scent that won't overwhelm your senses. Citrus, sweet, and cool. Artemis is a charming blend of notes that will keep you feeling chill on those sublime summer nights. All candles are made from 100% essential oils and locally sourced soy wax. 3oz. candles burn for approximately 20-24 hours. Our candles come individually boxes and packed in shredded recycled paper. 

Green Illuminations was founded in late 2010. As with many new ventures, this company began as a way to decorate their own home, but what was supposed to be a personal project became Green Illuminations. Originally they began making lanterns, and later they added cork products and candles to their repertoire, expanding their line.

These creations are perfect for your home, office or as that unique gift that your friends and family will remember for years to come. There are plenty of great reasons why you should purchase recycled bottle products and we hope that you, too, are enlightened to be brighter and greener.

All glass products are hand cut and sanded which often leaves them with slight imperfections, making them one of a kind. All candles are hand poured and created from 100% soy wax and essential oils.

As well as selling at many craft fairs, markets and events since beginning just 6 months ago, Green Illuminations have also helped plan centerpieces for wedding receptions using their wine bottle luminaries as well as supplying our wine bottle lanterns as decorations and candles for wedding guest gifts.

Ready to enter this week's giveaway??

Just browse, follow, tweet and share~ Here are the details:

First you must be a follower of Love 2 Upcycle to enter~ not a follower? Just look to the right and click on the 'Follow' button!

Then you can submit up to four entries, each must be entered HERE in a separate comment.

1. Browse Green Illuminations on Etsy, and tell us here which item was your favorite.

2. 'Favorite' and 'Like' their shop, Green Illuminations on Etsy.

3.  'Like'  Green Illuminations on Facebook or subscribe to their blog~ Green Illuminations.

4. 'Tweet' or 'Like' this Giveaway using our Like or Tweet button and Share a link to our Giveaway on your  Facebook fan page or become a follower of Green Illuminations on Twitter.

Deadline to enter is Wednesday, July 6th at midnight.

The WINNER will be randomly drawn and announced with our next giveaway~ Thursday, July 7th.

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!

Giveaway from InMetalJewelry!

I know you are so excited for another great giveaway! Congratulations to last week's winner - Tirabaralla who has a great blog you should all go visit! Please contact with your address in Dublin so Cat can send your great goodies!


Thank you to Corrie at InMetalJewelry for donating this beautiful piece today. 

None of her pieces are tumbled to retain the natural grain of the break

Let's get to know her....

Upcycling is not a trend for Corrie, she is very passionate about the environment due to her parents influence.

“My parents are very environmentally conscious and love the outdoors. Since I was little we would go camping and spent a great deal of time enjoying nature. Fortunately, they instilled in me a kindness for all creatures and an awareness of how we impact the planet.”

Wire wrapped seashell with bead detail

“So, I've always had it in me and have always looked for ways to enlighten others not only about conservation and the things they can do to help, but to the joys of it as well. Beauty can come from upcycling! I try to make my pieces a testament to that.”

Corrie’s shop has only been up and running for a few months, and she has had a little difficulty figuring out all the ins and outs of Etsy!

Wire wrapped Suncatcher upcycled glass

“There are so many pieces to the Etsy puzzle- promoting and figuring out SEOs and perfecting photography and tags and descriptions and on and on.”

Corrie has found setting small goals and focusing on specific area at a time has helped her maintain a positive attitude and more forward improving her shop.  

Wire wrapped upcycled mirror rosette

Even though there has been a transition from person to person sales and online sales Corrie’s husband has been her main source of encouragement to not give up and to maintain perspective.

“I love him for that!”

  

Corrie loves creating jewelry because she loves wearing jewelry!

“I love big statement pieces and sometimes it's hard to find what I like. I have also been branching out with other items like sun-catchers and keep a look out for items like keychains, mobiles, who knows what else!”

This is the gorgeous piece Corrie is giving away today!

Giveaway Rules!

1.  This giveaway is only open to followers of Love2Upcycle! (Not a follower? It’s easy! Click the follow button in the left sidebar!)

2.  Each comment only counts as one entry, so if you are entering multiple times you must comment separately.

3.  FIRST entry: Check out InMetalJewelry and post your favorite item in the comments below.

+1 Follow Corrie’s blog

+1 Like InMetalJewelry's facebook page
+1 Post on YOUR facebook about this giveaway - please post link in comments.

+1 Tweet about this giveaway - please post link in comments. 

Winner will be announced May 5th - Good luck!

Urban Mining and E-Waste by Eco Warrior Jeweller

photo by JohnJMatlock

Urban mining is a term used to described the process of reclaiming the compounds and elements in building, products and waste. Apparently,  1 gramme of gold can be reclaimed from 41 mobile phones.  Unfortunately, precious metals and base metals are needed more and more in the production of technological gadgets. Electronic goods nowadays have a life span of only a couple of years before they become e-waste, as the technology advances so fast the consumer feels the need, for different reasons to constantly update his collection of electronic gadgets. The problem is not going to go away, we need to recycle all electronic items. We should be recycling all our waste but that is not technically possible, but even more importantly we should be seriously tackling the issue of packaging, and consumerism, which in the past 25 years has increased to near unsustainable levels.

photo by manbeastextraodinaire

The recycling of electronics is not a solution to the growing problem as there are many hazardous elements that need to be extracted in adequate conditions to protect the worker. At the moment too much of the e-waste is being dumped on the developing countries to be "recycled" in more often than not primitive conditions . Greenpeace is working on trying to bring awareness to people, but it is an issue that we should all address when buying a new phone, computer, MP3, etc.

This article was originally posted by Laurette, author of Eco Warrior Jeweller. It was also reposted by Urban Mining.
Another post by the Eco Warrior Jeweller:

The Impact and Pollution of Gold Mining in the Amazon Rainforest

Laurette sells jewelry made from recycled, upcycled, salvaged and found materials in her shop, Becycle, on Etsy. She is also a member of Upcyclers, an Etsy team of artists whose members Love 2 Upcycle.

Wine and Apple Juice bottles were used to make these beads.