Five Fabulous Up-cycling Crafts
I started Up-cycling about a year ago. I had just been laid off, and when I wasn't job hunting I was stuck at home with little entertainment. I had an itch to do some serious crafting but didn't have a penny to spare on supplies. I gathered all of my scraps and stock craft supplies and got to work!
The first up-cycling craft adventure I went on was the soup can makeover. I loved the idea of taking a soup can, I would normally throw in the trash and some paper and ribbon scraps to create something beautiful and useful. I currently use decorated soup cans as pencil holders, cosmetic holders, bobby pin holders and so much more. You can find different styled soup cans all through my house, and most people can not even tell they once held my dinner! Find the tutorial to make yours here.
Cigarette box to beautiful button holder.
My lovely sister in law has a great blog, Chasing 2 Monkeys, where you'll find a great up-cycling tutorial on transforming an old cigarette box into a beautiful trinket holder. I have made these beauties and currently use mine to hold buttons! As you can see by the list of materials below, if you can get your hands on the cigarette box and you're a craft person you probably have the rest of the supplies on hand! Check out the tutorial by clicking on the blog link above; it's easy to follow and there are great step by step pictures!
- Mod Podge
- Cigarette box
- Scissors
- Scrapbook paper
- 2 buttons
- Hot glue
- Embroidery floss
- Craft knife
- Foam brush or paint brush
Cabinet Door Serving Tray
I love functional crafts and this serving tray should be a staple in every home. Not only could it be used for breakfast in bed, but it can easily have many more purposes. I am considering making one similar to display perfume bottles on. I think they would also make lovely trays for a guest room or a matching set for a couple as a wedding gift. Find the tutorial from Six in the Suburbs here.
Lotion Bottle Cell Phone Charger Holder
This up-cycled lotion bottle has been seen all over Pinterest and for good reasons! It's brilliant and beautiful. I haven't tried this craft just yet; I don't have a bottle yet that would work and it is one of the more time consuming crafts I've found. A lot of the tools and products used in the cigarette box craft can be spotted being used in this tutorial as well. Check out Make It and Love It for the complete directions with easy to follow photos!
Pringles Bangle Bracelet
I am a fashion fanatic and keeping up with the trends can get expensive! These beautiful bracelets, believe it or not, were made from empty chip cans! If you have the essentials to make the lotion bottle or Cigarette boxes then grab an empty Pringles can and get crafting! Erin Shakespear shows you how to make these gorgeous bracelets step by step, photos included. Looking at all of her finished bracelets you would never know they were made from something most of us throw away! These bracelets would make great gifts for your girlfriends and great crafts for young girls who don't have a jewelry budget. I also suggest making these as bridesmaids gifts in your wedding colors, your girls are sure to love them.
I hope we all can take more time to up cycle and find new ways to turn trash into treasure! The possibilities are endless with the all the crafts I've shown you here and there are so many more lovely ideas out there. These five crafts show that even on a budget you can make beautiful items that are functional and even gift worthy. What have you up cycled recently?