I Solemnly Promise

I will be back...I am working and learning, but I solemnly promise to post!
Can't wait....see you all soon :)

Do What Grandma Did

As I surf the internet I am amazed at the hundreds and thousands of recycling, repurposing articles I find. It makes me wonder why some people still don't get it. I think it really is quite simple, do what Grandma did. I remember my grandma - she's been gone for almost 25 years. Her sweet demeanor, her frugal ways - she was truly in touch with the land. I remember when I was about 5 or 6 scrambling through her garden, the corn stalks towering above my head. Her garden was so huge and dense that we could play hide-and-seek in it - really!! Amazing! She had a raspberry patch that must have been 30 feet by 30 feet, it was huge! And every single August and September, her kitchen was a-bustle in the midst of canning/freezing season. Every day for days on end she picked, washed, boiled, canned and froze every single vegetable and fruit she picked. We feasted on that all winter long and in the spring it started all over.
It wasn't only that, she mended, fixed, recycled and upcycled so many items - it was just the way it was then.
I know we are all far too busy to do what our grandmas did. But to try - even just a little - would be a good start. At least that is the way I see it.

Start the Car!! Start the Car!!

Yesterday I thought I would pop by our local Value Village in search of interesting material for my upcycling venture. Although I didn't find what I was looking for I did get myself two very new, barely worn, if at all, jeans. Gap and American Eagle, two pairs $22 - close to the deal of the year, but I still think the newest Cesar Milan book for 1.99 still ranks first, or maybe the small computer/lap top desk, still in the box for 7.99. Regardless I was thrilled, it was almost like the IKEA commercial, with the woman running out of the store, bags in hand - "Start the car, start the car!!" I love these kinds of deals.
Today I feel terrible, fluish-like but I think I will finish up on some of my recycling items so I can start selling them. Much of my items will be made mostly from upcycled, repurposed materials - my contribution to helping the earth.
Happy St. Patricks' Day to Everyone!

Upcycling Mania

As I was waiting for my son's hockey game to start today, I pulled out my notebook (I take it everywhere I go, in case I think of something to create) and began to write. I wanted to be sure to record all the ideas I had in my brain file that I wanted to create. I thought I had better get it down on papers before my file gets full and I begin to lose what I already had planned. Great thought! I will continue to carry that notebook around and write everytime I have a few spare minutes, it will fill up fast.
I love the idea of creating something out of what-others-no-longer-want and am excited to begin to sell my ideas. In the meantime, I will continue to tote around my little notebook.....

Nothing new to me....really

Upcycling, repurposing....make old things new. There are a hundred different ways to say it but recycling other people's unwanted items is fast becoming a popular trend. I find it quite amusing, I have been upcycling items since I was ten. I have made new things from old, decorating my bedroom when I was younger to my little apartment in my early twenties. My favorite summertime event was garage sales!

It must have been over 30 years ago that I started going to garage sales, I remember buying this heavy wooden coffee table that someone had made for $5. I didn't really want to pay five dollars but upon further inspection I decided it was well worth it. Needless to say, I still have it. That $5 handmade table has been stripped and painted several times, it has been used as a coffee table, plant stand, drawing and colouring table in my children's toy room and then moved outside to do crafts on the deck, currently it is a bench in my garden. All for $5 and some paint every few years.

During my 'shopping trips' to second hand stores and garage sales, I have purchased books ranging from how to do home repairs, learn to sew, how to upholster furniture, how to build furniture and the list goes on...generally for about a dollar or two. From there, I have taught myself how upcycle many, many items. I have learned so much from those one dollar books, simply amazing what you can find and what you can learn for so little, and at the same time saving these 'unwanted items' from hitting our landfills.

There have been a ton of books written on upcycling and repurposing things and each and every one of them brings another new idea - it's exciting, although nothing new to me....really.