here - My Make Do and Mend Life

 To celebrate the first ever #NationalUpcyclingDay (24th June 2015), EcoCreate, Make Do and Mend-­‐able, and Remade in Britain have teamed up to bring you their A-­‐Z of Upcycling! With ideas for Things to Upcycle from EcoCreate, Upcycling Techniques from Make Do and Mend-­‐able, and an A-­‐Z of the Remade in Britain Upcyclers, this guide should inspire and inform, and get everyone joining in with the #UpcycleRevolution! Our thanks to Gumtree for making this happen, and inventing a whole day for Upcyclers to come together and make some noise! “I am delighted and privileged to be a part of the UK’s first National Upcycling
Day.
During the last 13 years as an upcycler I have met and worked with some
incredible people. The upcycling movement is full of inspirational and motivated
individuals who continue to amaze me with their passion and creativity.
I am delighted that Gumtree have united us to celebrate these designers who are
really trying to make a difference in the world of British design and
manufacturing.”
Max McMurdo
National Upcycling Day 2015 The A-Z of Upcycling
The A-­‐Z of Things That Can Be Upcycled Thank you to Jen at Make Do and Mend-­‐able for including us in this A-­‐Z to mark National Upcycling Day 2015. We have had lots of fun compiling it, revisiting old favourites and discovering new creations and artisans. Some of the letters were particularly challenging while others we could have filled many times over! We hope you love the creations listed here as much as we do. Kirstie & Charlotte x www.eco-­‐create.co.uk #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
#UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
A – Apple Juice Cartons Upcycling pioneer Lois Walpole is a basket weaver working in homegrown and upcycled materials. The apple shape laundry basket made from from apple cartons is one of her most popular creations. It can be found in the Crafts council collection. Photo Credit: Lois Walpole B – Books Upcycled books feature regularly in the work of Kate Kato (Kasasagi). She beautifully captures elements from the natural world, showcasing them in carefully selected unwanted objects, inspired by museum style exhibits. C – Crisp Packets Upcycling seamstress Vicky Myers has a fantastic blog packed with wonderful ideas for reuse, this crisp packet apron is our personal favourite. Photo Credit: Vicky Myers Creations D – Denim Artist Ian Berry works entirely in denim to create absolutely stunning artwork that will cause you to do a double take. He somehow manages to achieve a wonderful sense of realism, no mean feat in this medium. #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
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The A-Z of Upcycling
E – Electrical Components Julie Alice Chappell's popular upcycled insect sculptures are created from electrical waste components. Photo Credit: Julie Alice Chappell F -­‐ Files Greenwood worker Paul Adamson, of Woodsman crafts, reforges files and rasps to create blades for his bushcraft knifes G – Glass Jars Glass jars are often used in upcycling projects, this candle project by Charlotte Rhoades is one of our favourite ways to make use of them. Photo Credit: EcoCreate H -­‐ Horse Shoe From garden games to wine racks, horse shoes have been spotted in many upcycling projects. At Stained Glass Garden, Peter Wiltshire upcycles horseshoes for stained glass garden ornaments and sun catchers. I – International Postage Stamps Tangle Crafts Journals are made using a rainbow of upcycled postage stamps from around the world! Photo Credit: Tangle Crafts Journals #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
#UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
J – Jumpers The Woolly Pedlar creates fabulous clothing and homewares by upcycling unwanted jumpers and other knitwear. The results are gorgeous! www.woollypedlar.co.uk K – Keys Paperise use lovely vintage keys in their pretty upcycled creations, combined with vintage fabrics and doilies, they make for a fantastic wedding range. Photo Credit: Paperise L – Linens Amanda Jayne Handmade creates beautiful textile art using vintage linens & curios in her work. Gorgeous stitched hoops and canvas creations with beautiful sentiment. M – Magazines Kirstie Adamson is a magazine collage artist, using ripped and cut magazines as an alternative to paint. Photo Credit: Kirstie Adamson N – Nuts & Bolts KL Metal Art uses nuts and bolts as well as a variety of other waste metal to create fabulous upcycled sculptures. O – Old Coins The Hairy Growler makes the most amazing pieces of jewellery using old coins that he has worked his magic on. Photo Credit: Hairy Growler #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
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The A-Z of Upcycling
P – Pallet Wood The Unique Gift Company have a fantastic range of upcycled pallet wood creations, we love this coat rack. Q – Quilt covers The Captain & Lovely use vintage and upcyled quilt covers and sheets to create the backing for their crocheted heirloom blankets R – Rags EcoAmor had a fantastic range of creations produced from rags obtained mainly from old clothing, diverting it from landfill. S – Sheet Music Decoupage with sheet music is a great way to upcycle, we love this frame by Made By Messy Muppet. Photo Credit: Made By Messy Muppet T – Tin Cans Make Do & Mend-­‐able have some fantastic ideas on how to upcycle tin cans. U – Umberellas Dukes and Duchesses have a wonderful upcycling blog. Have a look at their post on 10 ways to upcycle an umbrella. #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
Photo Credit: Dukes & Duchesses #UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
V – Vehicles Parts from cars, aeroplanes and other vehicles are appearing more and more in upcycling projects. This fabulous V8 engine coffee table from Reestore is a fantastic example. W – Water Bottles Water bottles are extremely versatile when it comes to upcycling ingredients, Rehash Panache do this particularly well! X – X-­‐Ray X-­‐rays make fantastic upcycled lighting features, there is a great example over at RecyclArt: Photo Credit: Recyclart Y – Yarn Oddments Trashtastic Knits uses everyone elses leftover yarn to produce her gorgeous range of knitwear. Z – Zips Rezipit have a stunning range of upcycled zipper items, beautiful flower brooches, zip earrings and rings. #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
Photo Credit: Rezipit #UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
The A-­‐Z of Upcycling Techniques This really got me racking my brains…! Some of these are admittedly a little tenuous, and possibly not ‘true’ upcycling, but they are all still really useful techniques to know about. Thanks to everyone on Twitter and Facebook who helped me out with inspiration and ideas! Jen xx www.makedoandmend-­‐able.co.uk #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
#UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
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Applique “Ornamental needlework in which pieces of fabric are sewn or stuck on to a larger piece to form a picture or pattern.” There’s a tutorial here from Anna Joyce on the Liberty blog, using the technique to decorate a cushion, but it can be used to great effect to revamp tired clothes and even to decorate plain curtains and blinds. Photo Credit: Liberty Blog Antique Effect Paint Or how to Shabby Chic…! This piece from the Guardian talks you through how to use chalk paint to achieve an ‘antique’ effect on wooden furniture. B
Book Folding or “Bookami” A technique for upcycling old books into art by folding them to create images and words! Photo Credit: Bookami Bleaching Bleaching wood: Just as you can put colour into wood with stains, you cantake the colour out of it using bleaching techniques. Check out this guide to “Understanding and Using Wood Bleaches” from the Cornwall Association of Wood Turners Bleaching fabric: Fabric can be bleached to create great effects, and can even be tie-­‐dyed with bleach! There’s a how to for tie-­‐dyeing black jeans here on the Oh Comely blog, but again, you could use this technique to great effect on fabric as part of a bigger upcycle. #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
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The A-Z of Upcycling
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Cutting Everything from cutting glass bottles to make wine glasses, and chandeliers, or cutting up baths to make chairs, (we couldn’t persuade Max to spill the beans on how to do this-­‐I’m guessing it involves a very large power tool…) upcyclers love to cut stuff up! Photo Credit: Max McMurdo Collage “A piece of art made by sticking various different materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric on to a backing.” Creating collages from fabric, or old magazines, or old pictures is a great way to create your very own unique wallpaper, or to spruce up old furniture. Traditionally collages have been done in with 2D materials, but there is a whole trend for creating 3D collages and using them for lamp stands or picture frames, like the talented Ryan McElhinney: #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
Photo Credit: Ryan McElhinney #UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
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Decopatch ‘Proper’ decopatch involves the use of special decopatch papers and glues, like this great jam jar upcycle from Fred the Thread, but you can essentially decopatch with anything: old comics, sheet music, newspaper, and even fabric. You can even decopatch your shoes: Photo Credit: DIY and Crafts Ideas Distressing Similar to the antique effects above. Here’s a different way to achieve that shabby chic look, using paint, and good old vinegar. Dyeing Dyeing old clothes may not be ‘true’ upcycling, but it is a great way to revive tired clothes, and to give them a whole new lease of life! You can buy conventional dyes to use in the machine or the sink, or how about experimenting with natural dyes. #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
#UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
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Embellishing “To improve or beautify by adding detail or ornament” So anything you add to something else for the express purpose of making it look better, is by definition an embellishment! Embriodery Sashiko is a form of embroidery from Japan, that literally means ‘little stabs’. It can be used to great effect for visible mending, or for embellishing clothes. Embossing Embossing refers to the creation of an impression of some kind of design, decoration, lettering or pattern on another surface like paper, cloth, metal and even leather, to make a relief. (From Whatisembossing.com) There’s a great tutorial here for embossing soda cans without any technical kit! Photo Credit: Stow & Tellu F
Folding Possibly slightly tenuous, but you can fold old books, maps or magazines to make gift bags, or DIY envelopes. Photo Credit: Hey Wanderer Felting Felting old woolly jumpers makes them ideal for then cutting up to use to make all kids of things, from hot water bottle covers, to patchwork blankets. Make sure the jumper is at least 80% wool and the label doesn’t say machine washable! Chuck it in the washing machine on a hot wash (>60C) with a pair of jeans (to help the ‘agitation’) and hey presto, your jumper should shrink and felt, and you can then cut it without it unravelling! #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
#UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
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Glueing Glue has to be an upcyclers best friend! Here’s a fairly comprehensive guide from U-­‐create: Photo Credit: U Create Gilding “The process of applying gold leaf or gold paint” There are seven projects here to give the effect of gilding without the expense of actual gold leaf..! H
Hemming Again, maybe not a true ‘upcycle’ but a great technique to have in your arsenal, for shortening anything from skirts and trousers to curtains. The team at Love Your Clothes have got it all sewn up (sorry!) I
Inscribing “To write or carve (words or symbols) on something, especially as a formal or permanent record” How about a spot of wood burning, or pyrography, to inscribe some wood and make a name plate (tenuous I know…!) #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
#UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
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Japanese Lacquering I know! I’d never heard of it either. Thanks to Diana at Is Was Cottage for helping me out with this one via Twitter! K
Knitting You can knit with anything! Upcycle old plastic bags into ‘plarn’, old t-­‐shirts into ‘tarn’ and even knit strips of old sheets on massive needles. Photo Credit: Creative Jewish Mom L Laminate Or how to paint laminate furniture…! Jenny at Little Green Notebook shows you how. M
Melting Did you know you could melt plastic milk bottle lids to make bowls? Or how about the good old LP melt and bend to make bowls and bookends? Photo Credit: Amylulitasays #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
#UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
Mosaic You can mosaic anything you like, from old DVDs and CDs to 1p coins (I so want one of these tables!) Photo Credit: Epbot Macrame Macrame is making a comeback! Check out all this modern macramé on Andrea’s notebook. N
Needle Felting Needle felting can be put to great effect for a spot of visible mending on an old woollen jumper, or you can add cute elbow patches: Photo Credit: Honestly wtf O
Origami Because we all need teeny tiny paper rabbits made from book pages in our lives. #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
Photo Credit: Alix Bigois Jeambrum #UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
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Patchwork This is a really traditional technique for using up scraps of fabric, but it can be used with all sorts of fabric from old jeans, to woolly jumpers, like the Woolly Pedlar’s fabulous creations: Photo Credit: The Woolly Pedlar Painting Obviously! You can watch the Chalk Paint Queen, Annie Sloan herself in action here on You Tube. Q
Quilling “The art or craft of making decorative designs out of thin strips of rolled paper” Again, you can upcycle any paper to do this-­‐old magazine pages work well. Photo Credit: Craftster R
Rag Rugging You can use any fabric scraps for this, but old t-­‐shirts work especially well. And if you are lucky enough to find an old coffee sack, these work perfectly as the backing. Double upcycling! S
Sanding Sanding is a necessary evil for many upcycling projects. There are even ‘rules for sanding’…! #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
#UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
Stamping Good old potato stamping can count as upcycling! You can upcycle your own gift wrap, or even make your own unique fabric designs if you use fabric paint. Metal stamping old silver spoons has become a popular way to upcycle them into anything from place holders, and plant labels Photo Credit: Elizabeth Ann Designs Sewing The ultimate upcycling technique? Tilly of Tilly and the Buttons has a great range of tutorials to get you started if you’ve never tackled a sewing machine before! T
Twine Upcycle your fabric scraps into Twine to use in all kinds of crafty projects. #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
Photo Credit: My Poppet #UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
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Upholstery Re-­‐upholstering your kitchen or dining chairs is a pretty simple process, and a great introduction to upholstery. Photo Credit: Country Skills for Modern Life V
Varnishing Varnishing is vital if you want your upcycled creation to live outdoors. Here’s a guide to the different types, and what to use when! W
Welding If you fancy upcycling the odd aeroplane or two like Stuart from Stu-­‐art Aviation Furniture, then you will need to be able to weld…! Here are 10 welding tutorial videos. Weaving Weave willow, fabric, or newspapers into baskets. X
X-­‐stitch (!) You can cross stitch onto fabric and then use that decorate or embellish your upcycled project, or you can actually use it straight onto your furniture like the talented team at Mollie Makes! Photo Credit: Mollie Makes #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
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The A-Z of Upcycling
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Yarn Bombing Who doesn’t love a spot of yarn bombing..? Find out more from Knit the City. Photo Credit: Knit the City Z
Hmmm, have to admit I’m struggling now. How about Zzzzzzzz? Because all upcyclers need their sleep…! Photo Credit: Recyclart #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
#UpcycleRevolution
The A-Z of Upcycling
The A-­‐Z of Remade In Britain Retailers (aka Upcyclers Extraordinaire!) We're delighted that there is a National Upcycling Day for Recycling Week and excited that to celebrate it, we get to share something from each of our talented retailers. We just want to thank the whole community for always being so inviting and we know, that together we are only going to grow upcycling more Donna and The Remade in Britain Team #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
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The A-Z of Upcycling
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Aircraft Workshop Alijoe Designs Alison Gorman allCRAP AlyBond Amanda Jayne Handmade Amanda Kinghorn Photog Anecdotes design Annie Duquemin ANNIKA-­‐N Annoco Designs Art Etc. Art of Recycling Austameric bad dog studio Best Loved Bunting Big Beautiful Bunting Blondie and the Bear Bluebells Vintage BLURECO Bond's Custom Cabinets Bough to Beauty Brighton Beautiful Bubble on a Stream Photo Credit: Aircraft Workshop C
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Caitlin Rose Designs Carefully Cluttered Carly's Vintage Casa del Duende Cheryl Mullins Cheshire Bespoke Inter Chiara Gennari Chic Mouldings Coolskys Corinne Young Counting Teacups Country Modern Cowbridge Interiors Craft and Crumpet Crafty Caravan Crossbones Crafts Cup O' Candle Cute Little Crayons #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
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D.N.A. furniture for h Dawn Cansdale dECOrative designs Déjà vu Deja Vu Upcycling Den of Uniquity Dies, das und jenes Done Ups Donna Walker Design Doodledash Interiors Duttons For Buttons E
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Earth Angel Coats Ebee Creative Designs Elaborate Designs Emily Rose Vintage Emma Whyte engoreal Enigma Motorsport Ethos Upcycling example Expressions The A-Z of Upcycling
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Faites Jolie Fancy Tat Farm Farm Chic Flextiles Florence & Baker For The Love Of Old From Loft To Loved From Skip To Hip Funk It Up Designs Funked up furnishings Furniture Finds Furniture ReFab #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
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The A-Z of Upcycling
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Gabriela Szulman Art Georgina Kirby Gibbs Design Furniture Gizmobots glorious green Goldbird Green In Mind Reworked Green Wedding Boutique Greg Drzymalski Design H
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The A-Z of Upcycling
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Lamite Jars Leah Rose Designs Lear's Creative Interi Lick of Paint Light-­‐cycle Little Peg Lamps Love All Vintage Love Kitty Pink Love Wood Kitchens Love Your Vintage Home Loved In Lydia Swann Designs M
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Mariposas Memento Exclusives Millsy Art Milly and Me MiniPrint Vintage Modoo Home Mr Bluebell Mr G Loves Miss B Mrs Bavill's Beauties My Sister Mabel Mytakeonpretty Photo Credit: Alison Gorman N
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The A-Z of Upcycling
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Past Life Bears Pentre Upcycling Phoenix Antiques Barn Pig and Sally piklthings Pipnstuff Pittura Pollypaintpot Painted Pop It Like Its Art Pouch preloved-­‐homeinteriors Purepallets Purple Parrot R
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Rag and Bone Furniture Rag Rug Textiles Random I.D Raspberry Makes Re-­‐Frmd Furniture Co Re-­‐Sit RE:SOURCE Vintage Realcycle UK Rebecca New Recover Team Recycling for Developm Recycling Peasant Recycloanalyst Redmayes Reefer Sails Reestore Refunked Reinkarnation Remade Books Remade In Britain Home Remade in Britain Salv Remagineit Remarkable Furniture Restoration and Revive retro arsenal jersey f RetroAdverts Rework London Reworked for Oxfam Richard Palmer-­‐Romero Rosi Thornton Rosie-­‐Lee Vintage #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
Photo Credit: BLUERECO #UpcycleRevolution
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Saffron Cottage Furnit Saggy Cat Gifts Sally White Designs SANDRA HEWITT DESIGNS Sarah Barber Sarah Brelsford Studio Sarah Turner -­‐ Eco Art Scott's WoodnStuff Sea Drift Design ShoeShoes Silver Penguin siop gardd Sloth Junk Sophie Hannah Items of Sprigasaurus Stained Glass Garden A Storm Furniture Stripy Kite STU-­‐ART Aviation furni Stuff From Stuff Stunning Seats Surface Candy Photo Credit: Chiara Gennari #NationalUpcyclingDay2015
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The A-Z of Upcycling
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TangleCrafts That Vintage Feeling The Bobbin Collective The Buttoneer The Community Warehous The Happy Button The Happy Stamp Gift C The Harrogate Furnitur The Old Yard the owl & the Puss The Pallet House The Purple Finch The Shop at Forty The Vaudeville Home The Wine Barrel Furnit The Woodyard Thrashion Tildy's Room Tilly Lane Treasures Tilly Mint's Emporium Timber Wonderland Timid Elk Total Reuse CIC Totes Adore Trong Upcycling Twice Lovely Twiggeez TwoJays Corner Antique Ty Hapus Tyger Photo Credit: allCRAP U
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The A-Z of Upcycling
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Velo-­‐Culture Vicky Myers Creations VinatageArthur Vinella Krupa Vintage Revival Vintage Visage W
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Walter and Co WhipsWoodWork Whitesnapper Wholly Unique wooden magpie furnitur Woodshed Surfboards WOW Trash Treasures Wremade Z
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