Blue Velvet Chair: Recycled

Showing posts with label Recycled. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Recycled Road Sign Sculptural Fence

The latest edition of Artizen Magazine is published - turn to page 32 for my article featuring an unbelievable sculptural fence made from recycled road signs in Pennsylvania (United States).

You won't want to miss this project that took nearly 10 years to build, is as long as four (4) football field lengths, and represents a true commitment to community art and sustainability.

I would be so happy driving past something like this every day in my own community. Hmmm...maybe it's time to schedule a meeting with the city council! Do I dare? Do you?

Read full article here.

Until next time,

Mike

Monday, April 16, 2012

HGTV.com Reveal

It's official! Let my 15 minutes begin.

My DIY projects made it on the pages of HGTV.com - both of them! I was approached and asked if I had any unique storage ideas for the garage. Guess what? I didn't! My first chance to be featured by a major DIY big shot and I didn't have a single thing to share for the garage. I barely have any finished projects in my house...let alone the garage! So I whipped up a couple of things and sent them to the journalist and crossed my fingers. They used them both!

See HGTV.com slideshow here.

Of course when you release your stuff to the editors, they get to pick and choose what they want. And let me tell you, taking photos inside my dark little garage didn't give the best results. But let me share with you all the pics that I shared with them.

Hanging Hubcap Shelf

Made from my growing collection of abandoned hubcaps (I have plans to make more recycled hubcap flowers)

Garden Tool Grab

Made from a scrap piece of wood, 2 pieces of driftwood, an old wire basket, and a couple of little glass plates with recycled magazine pages mod podged to the back for an extra dose of happy for the garage.

You can probably just look at them and figure out how to DIY your own, but I'll share some before and after pics later this week so you can see the various parts I pulled together.

There was an extra bonus in all of this as well. One of my favorite artisans out there is Brian Carlisle with GadgetSponge. He makes the most wonderfully whimsical bird houses. The journalist who approached me also saw one of Brian's cool license plate clocks on one of my blog posts and I introduced the two of them - and Brian's clock made the cut as well. Congrats, Brian!

I love several of the other unique garage storage solutions, especially the file cabinet turned on its side as a tool holder. But you won't be seeing any more garage DIY from me for a while. I have a LONG list of things to play and experiment with on the inside of our home and in the garden!

OK. 15 minutes are over.

Until next time...

Mike

Thursday, April 12, 2012

10 Ways to Recycle Plastic Bags

Are you planning to go shopping this weekend? Don't throw out those plastic bags - I've got some fun DIY ideas from around the world that will get the "I need to try this" juices flowing!

During my (neverending) quest to find recycled arts and crafts inspiration the world over to share with you, I've recently stumbled on some seriously fun and funky ideas coming out of South Africa. There are some fabulous artisans being developed down there...like this colorful chicken made from recycled plastic bags from WOW Imports.

I'd have no problem being caught carrying around one of these little recycled plastic handbags of joy (also made in South Africa at African Home).

The South Africans are well recognized for their wrapping technique of recycled plastic bags, which inspired this limited edition Inkuku chair available at Ryan Frank, also made with recycled plastic bags.

Did you know that the United Nations Environment Programme estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter, including plastic bags, floating in every square mile of ocean? That's why it's so important to support the creative individuals that are helping us all by reusing this 'nearly impossible to kill' material - individuals like Camila Labra in Chile who's boots are mostly made from fused plastic bags. They come in almost every color imaginable!

I keep staring at these bracelets to see if I can figure out how they are wrapped - these thrifted bracelets wound with recycled plastic bags are available from BTC Elements.

One of my dreams is to work with a company like rag-bag, a partnership between India and Holland to make these fabulous products made from recycled plastic bags, fused and repurposed. These are some of the best examples I've seen! And...if you have an extra 4 minutes to watch their motivational video, please do have a look. It's 4 minutes well spent.

It might not be breathable material, but this dress made from fused plastic bags at ThreadBanger is helping to reduce toxic plastic particles that enter our food chain via unsuspecting animals that accidently digest scrap plastic in landfills or on the streets.

I find the color combo in these recycled plastic bag trash cans to be as exciting as those found in recycled magazine page projects (like that mirror frame I made last year). Find these and LOTS of other recycled plastic products at The SPIRAL Foundation.

These massive mandalas on the wall by Virginia Fleck in the United States? That's right...recycled plastic bags fused together. Could you imagine such beauty from something that is destined for the trash each and every day?

And finally, our last showcase of the day is this fantastic recycled plastic bag carry-all from Smateria in Cambodia.

I don't want to bring down the party, but it's important to educate ourselves while we're having fun. When this little guy chews on scrap plastic found on our beaches and in our oceans, the sad fact is that he'll most likely die by starvation when the plastic clogs his intestines (info via Envirosax).

If you're not ready to DIY recycled plastic bags into a little something for yourself, make sure to find a plastic bag recycler near you - like Plastic Bag Recycling organization in the United States. Let's work towards keeping the plastic in our hands and out of the nature.

Until next time...
Mike

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

29 Recycled Easter Ideas

It's not too late to get inspired with 29 recycled Easter ideas!

Our local Metro newspaper reported that Swedes eat 6,000 tons of candy during Easter. With my very non-scientific figures that's equal to the full take-off weight of 12 Boeing 747s including passengers and cargo, or 3,600 Volvo S60s, or nearly 33 million bananas. My conclusion? That's a lot of candy!

We may not be able to recycle candy, but how about adding a recycled little bunny to your decor this year!