Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Tiniest jack-o-lantern edition!
I have not been very involved in re-doing stuff lately, but this week I took a little time to give some acorns a seasonal makeover.  I got the idea from the Family Fun site, though the acorns from the massive oak tree in our front yard are much smaller than the ones pictured there.  Since we have no shortage of acorns, I got all I needed right from the porch.  (We actually have so many that pile up near the sidewalk that it can be like walking on marbles.  Farcicle.)  Family Fun doesn't indicate how tricky it might be to cover little acorns evenly with acrylic paint.  If I were to do it again, I might use spray paint instead.  They turned out well, we love them and all the people we shared them with loved them!

  

I love my new kitchen tablecloth.

(fabric from Hobby Lobby)

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

What can you do with plastic bags?  One idea is to fuse them into a stronger plastic.  Cut off the handles and the seam at the bottom of a bag, flatten it out, fold it up to 8-ply, sandwich it between pieces of paper (they use wax paper in this video, I used parchment paper) and iron it with a medium-heat iron for about 20-30 seconds, moving the iron continuously.  The new thicker plastic can then be sewn up as you like to make something new.  In this video, they show you how to make a laptop case.  To skip the goofy parts and get to the project, start at minute 1:00.

I tried this for the first time today and haven't made anything with my fused pieces yet but will post when I do. I would love to see comments if you have tried this or links to your finished projects!

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Check out this photo I found with mother nature network's article about one of my favorite facebook communities, ReUse Connection.  I love it!  (I bet a cat would too!)

Photo: gellenburg/Flickr

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

This is the place to link to any projects in which you have repurposed or upcycled something.  Thanks for linking up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Ready to link up?

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Today I want to share a couple of my favorite repurposed storage ideas.  The first is made from 2-gallon water jugs.

by randofo at Instructables

Another idea to corral lots of odds and ends is from kcli and can also be found at Instructables.  

I love this idea!  Look at all those containers being reused!

Can't you just see this with smart looking labels 

and maybe a little Mod Podge action?

Finally, you really need to go see Apartment Therapy's Inspiration: Vintage Storage.  That's where I found this.

These are apple crates available from Baileys Home and Garden 

You should browse around there too! 

Lots of simple, lovely stuff.

It's not clear if they deliver to the US.

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday! (and Plastic Bottle Caps)

Did you know that plastic bottle caps are not accepted at some recycling centers?  They are made from a type of plastic (#5) called polypropylene.  You can check Earth911 to see what type of recycling is available in your area.  It says my local Whole Foods accepts #5 plastic (and even Brita filters!) Also worth looking into is Recycle Caps with Aveda is a program in which caps are collected throughout the community, by salons, in school, etc. and then made into caps for Aveda products.

Kiwi magazine has a great idea for repurposing plastic caps.  I would love to find more ideas like this!

Go here to see the directions for making these super-fun magnets!

Time to link up!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Last week we had the best turn out so far for VSF.  I hope it keeps getting better and better!  I love to see your ideas and share them with my readers.

Vintage Suitcase Friday! (and The Boot!)

Welcome to Vintage Suitcase Friday and Day 4 of Theme Week: Totally 80s!
Here's what I'm working with today:

It has a good shape but that 

peach ribbon and lace has to go!

I wanted a bluish green wash and luckily I had this paper on hand from Basic Grey (which must be the most ironic name ever).  

Should I have left it like this?

It looks pretty good!

It was hard to decide what kind of "trim" to put at the top.  One of my favorite things about this piece is that curvy line at the top of the boot and I didn't want it masked like it had been with the lace.  In the end I decided on some flower paper, cutting out the petals along the bottom to make a sort of lacy edge.

 

Then I needed some blue paint to match the paper but I wanted it to be somewhat transparent so you could still see the washed look of the paper.  The glitter paint I used on my frame yesterday was the perfect solution!  I mixed it with Mod Podge and piled it on.

Much better!

Click here for the grand finale of Theme Week:Totally 80s!

See how I transformed this!

(You're gonna love it!)

Link up here!

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

Today I want to highlight an entry from last week.  This is what it's all about, folks!  Repurposing at its finest.  Lisa at Recaptured Charm redid a cabinet that she got for free and that was, as she says, "really one step from the garbage.  It was cracked everywhere, warped and filled with holes."  She not only made it beautiful, it is now also very useful. 

before

after

She even used branches from her yard for handles!

Go to Recaptured Charm and see what the hidden purpose of the new cabinet is.  It's amazing.

Time to link up!  What have you repurposed or given a new life to?

Vintage Suitcase Friday!

It's Vintage Suitcase Friday again!  Here is my favorite repurposed find this week. I would love to see it implemented but so far all we have is the thrift store picture and an idea.

(Yes, that's Beck.)

I found it the idea on Curbly (a site you should definitely check out if you haven't already) though it was originally posted on Re-Nest (the green section of Apartment Therapy).  The idea is to put whatever art you like in the mirror area and recess it into a wall so that you only see a framed picture.  It's a secret cubby!  Or extra storage for a minimalist space!  Or hang up a series of three in the kitchen to use as a spice cabinet as suggested on Re-Nest!
The photo is from Flickr member JonnyXandtheGroadies, licensed for use by Creative Commons.


Link up below!  (When entering your link, please take care to link to a specific project you have done, not your blog's main page. Thanks!)
:)