Recycled Colander into Pendant Light – very cool!

I’m always peeking at the recycled-and-upcycled offerings over on Etsy – and today I found this great looking pendant light.

Recycled Colander Pendant Light from SpokenStitch on Etsy

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 🙂

January 13th, 2012 | Tags: | Category: Eco friendly, Reuse Recycle Repurpose | Comments are closed

Kanji earrings that say Woman

Even though I’m not supposed to say it, I am crazy about these earrings – I love the color, I love the floral accent, and I think the Japanese kanji is graceful 🙂

Deep Pink Paper Earrings...the Japanese kanji says Onna, or Woman

The deep pink adds a burst of color to your winter outfit – and it looks great in Spring, too. The kanji says Onna, or Woman.

The earrings are lightweight of course, and not too big (about 1-1/4″ long) and the earwires are sterling silver. This is the way jewelry ought to be (I know I’m biased, but still) – fun to wear, a little bit funky or crazy, and comfy.

And did I mention pretty?

January 11th, 2012 | Tags: , | Category: Gifts for mom, kanji jewelry | Comments are closed

DIY Recycled Paper Organizer

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:

Recycled Paper Organizer - do it yourself and save

Start with empty boxes like this:

Empty cardboard boxes to recycle into an organizer

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!

How to cut the boxes for your recycled paper organizer

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!

January 9th, 2012 | Tags: | Category: DIY, Reuse Recycle Repurpose | Comments are closed