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This DIY wall art project meets all those criteria. Also customizable, requires NO talent, adjustable in size – probably free – I mean, this is a total win-win.
Okay, not entirely free. You’ll need a backing / canvas – whether it’s cardboard, posterboard, foam core, or even a real stretched canvas. A cabinet door. Whatever you’re using to as a base for your artwork. And then, some tape. And paper. Leftover paint.
And you come up with your own version of this!
You see what I mean? The link takes you to Pinterest, which takes you to the original source. But honestly, for technique anyway, you’re looking at it. Play with tape and geometric shapes, then fill in the spaces with color – whether it’s recycled magazine pages, or bits of leftover paint, or fabric, or, well, whatever you come up with.
Or start with a collage of color – magazine pages, old telephone book pages, you name it – then tape over it and create your “painting” that way.
You choose the colors, the theme if you want – the style – the whole thing. It’s entirely original – and you don’t have to be able to draw a straight line.
This is a great idea!
I found an absolutely fabulous example of how great it is to repurpose vintage finds! The credenza comes from a thrift store (and I bet you could find them cheap – or free! – Craigslist sometimes).
This was an unloved discard that nobody wanted:
And look how wonderful it is now!
Now that is seriously great style – and storage too 🙂 Learn more about this terrific transformation over at Censational Girl Blog where Kate, the inspirational blogger here, shows us some gorgeous before-and-afters, all terrific, all DIY, and all affordable. It’s a terrific – and fun – place to spend a little time!
I’m always peeking at the recycled-and-upcycled offerings over on Etsy – and today I found this great looking pendant light.
It’s made from a colander! And a lot of careful craftsmanship.
Look at all the positives: it’s recycled (a colander!). This could have gone in a landfill – and it shouldn’t have – and it didn’t. It’s handmade, which is always a good thing. (There’s enough big box stuff out there already). It uses the new energy-efficient CFL bulbs. It’s unique. It’s affordable – a pendant lamp for your place and even with the shipping, it’s only $55? Oh yeah, this is of the good.
And of course the most important thing – it LOOKS GOOD.
It’s available from SpokenStitch on Etsy – go over there and take a look, they’ve got lots of goodies, both recycled and handmade. Totally worth checking it out!
Think how great this would look in a loft space. Or a farmhouse kitchen. Or over your dining room table. (Or mine!)
You get the idea I like this lamp? I really really do 🙂
I found another great idea over at Design Sponge – truly one of the best inspirational sites you can find. This particular post shows you how to create a desk and/or wall organizer from cardboard boxes.
You know all those christmas packages with the boxes and the packaging you were just going to throw away (in the recycle bin, I hope). Don’t toss them! Convert them into an ultra-useful organizer instead. Like this one:
Start with empty boxes like this:
The full post at Design Sponge shows how they did it. Here’s one crucial clue – how to cut your boxes. I figured a pic would make more sense than trying to describe it!
It’s totally worth reading the whole post. One note – in that article, she wraps the boxes in wrapping paper before mounting them on the backing. Me, I think I’d just spray paint the whole arrangement. But either way would work.
And either way would (1) be free (or practically free, if you have to buy some paint, or maybe glue). And (2) it would give you a jump start on organizing all those odds and ends you keep *saying* you’re going to organize.
Do it! It’ll look great, it’ll help clear away clutter, and it’s cheap – or free!
I’m a member of Craftster. It’s a wonderful place to go explore ideas for do-it-yourself craft goodness – but I don’t mean “just crafts”. I mean glass work and recycled furniture and how to make a wedding dress and probably everything else you can think of.
How to make shoes. There’s threads and tutorials for those. So yeah, there are a gazillion good and useful and fun ideas to explore. You should go there and explore and learn and have fun.
But this! This one blew me away. It’s a prom dress. And as you can see from the pics, it’s a gorgeous prom dress.
 
Isn’t it beautiful (so is she!) And here’s the kicker: she made this dress from ribbon – and recycled pop can tabs, and she got inspired to do a plus size prom dresses as a collection. I am serious. LOOK at that dress! It’s lovely. It fits beautifully. And yet! Pop can tabs! Here’s a closeup of the “fabric”:
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Truly, you want to go read the whole thread. You don’t have to be a member to read the articles. It’s just that you will want to be a member after you see all the goodies over there!
And here’s a side note I thought was pretty interesting: she’s in high school – a junior if I remember correctly (if I’m wrong I’ll come back and correct that!) She had made another recycled prom dress the year before – out of Doritis packages. Really. And her principal told her she couldn’t wear the dress to her dance – possibly he thought she was going to Make a Statement, or do Something Outrageous, or whatever.
After he saw the dress he apologized to her. Publicly. And allowed her to wear the dress.
I mention this only to say: this girl has grit, and determination, and the willingness to See It Through. And she’s either talented, or knows how to get talented people (family) to help her, or both. And she’s beautiful.
We should probably keep our eyes open for her. She could go far. She can do anything.
But most of all – what a dress!
You can’t get more “fashion forward” than upcycled, newly created one of a kind garments that are made from recycled clothing 🙂
It’s the best of both (all) worlds – unique styles, handmade quality construction, AND eco-chic! Take a look at these wonderful items from Broken Ghost Couture on Etsy.
 That top is so much fun! I love the colors, you know it’ll look great with leggings or skinny jeans, and the black lace adds a cool edginess, www.shieldrepublic.com check their latest collection.
 This is such a darling dress! The colors are so happy, and it would be warm with those long sleeves, and those buttons and gathers on the skirt are adorable. Think how much your little girl would love wearing it!
The seller (creator!) on Etsy has lots of other goodies – one of a kind, original, unusual garments. You should definitely check out her shop!
PS By the way. Some people think that creating garments from recycled clothing is easier than starting from scratch with new fabric. I have to tell you, I do some sewing myself, and the truth is, it’s much more work to recycle/reconstruct, than to just cut out fabric and sew. You have to pick and choose carefully what you can use from the cast-off clothing, often you have to de-construct, and your ‘eye’ for construction must be more finely honed. It’s a demanding skill!
I have found the most marvelous artist on Etsy. Her medium here is fabric and fiber and a little faery dust, I think.
Her name is Katwise, and her Etsy shop is here.
You can see her work is colorful and fun and gorgeous and filled with LIFE. It’s also made with upcycled sweaters and thrift store goodness and many hours of work and, I suspect, love. I had a hard time selecting which picture to feature here – her work is full of color and each offering is different. I think it was the happy feeling of the picture above that spoke to me.
Here’s just a bit of her story (this is from her Etsy profile stuff):
My name is Kat. I am a crazy-yet-calm hitchhiker girl who has circled the globe too many times to count. I have always found new ways to thrive on my art and costumes. I strive to infuse everything I do with a sense of celebration. It is my hope that you put on something I make and feel some of that spirit coming through.
Go to her store or her website if you’d like to learn more about her art or her time in Tibet or Brazil. Or just go there for fun – you’ll smile and your life will be a little richer. Trust me.
Here’s a great example of indie design – fab style – and recycling too! This dress is from Amanda Vaughn-Redmon on etsy.
First and foremost of course, is that it’s a great-looking dress – it would be fun and flattering to wear!
Equally important in my book – she makes her garments in the U.S. (North Carolina) and she uses recycled/repurposed clothing for all or part of them. Of course that makes each garment one-of-a-kind, which is terrific too 🙂
Think about it – this is style at its best. It looks great, those fabrics would feel good and be super easy to care for (here, she’s used an old t-shirt, and slinky drapy poly knit) – and she’s taking what would otherwise be tossed away, and turned it into something fabulous.
Talk about a feel-good dress! Love it 🙂
So I’m back on track, yes. I’ve found a SUPER do-it-yourself project that is (1) recycled, (2) easy to do, (3) goodlooking, and (4) will fit anywhere you need art!
And it’s practically FREE.
I found this on a fun blog, Homemade Mamas Blog and they not only invented the project, they share how they did it! I’ll bet a nickel you are going to love this as much as I do:
Recycled Wall Art invented by Homemade Mamas (dot net)
Just to give you a hint: this is what the project starts with:
Recycled paper towel and toilet paper cardboard tubes
Now, you see what I mean? This really handsome, sculptural wall art – is made entirely with recycled paper tubes you just throw away anyway! Well, and a little paint, and some paper clips (you can reuse those, too).
This is an idea I am definitely going to steal!
PS I added this to my “bridal and weddingj” category, because think how you could adapt this for some beautiful wedding decorations. Make floral wall art in your wedding colors. Paint the tube(lets) and scatter them on your reception tables. Spell out the names of the bride and groom! I know you can think of more ideas. And you can make them at the bridal shower!
You know it’s fun to give presents, and it’s very nice when they’re all prettied up to make the gift even more special. And now I’ve found a way to make those fancy bows I used to buy. And to make them out of recycled paper – so (1) you don’t have to spend money on them, and (2) you can make them out of practically any paper so they can be as fun or colorful or unusual as you want to make them.
And it’s easy! Take a look at the results:
Make your own gift bows from recycled paper!
Now I can’t take credit for this – I found instructions at How About Orange Blog.
The blogger is Jessica Jones, and she gives full pics and instructions and even admits she just grabbed what she had on hand – in other words, you can do the same thing and adapt as needed. She’s got lots of other good ideas over there – go read, you’ll see how easy it is.
No more having the money to either buy the present or the wrapping/bows 🙂 Now you can find cool mag pics – fashion mag? Harley catalog? Phone book? (She used that one!)
Easy. Cheap. Recycling-and-reusing. Fun. And did I mention easy? This is of the good!
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