A dog to the rescue!

My favorite holiday gift was something that I picked out all by myself and was recycled, too! I'm pleased to share that the newest addition to my household is Tomatilla (Tia for short) who I found through Operation Ava in Philadelphia. She's super tiny at only about 8 pounds, but makes up for it with whole lot of personality and love. She was found on the streets of North Philly and they estimate her age at about 3 years old. She came very well trained and luckily does not have the habits of a yippy dog.

This Pomeranian is the best thing I could've brought home for the holidays and was a huge hit with my niece and nephew. I absolutely love her. One of my friends even called her the "cutest dog in the world" Her words, not mine. Although I do agree. I highly recommend getting your own rescue dog to spreading more recycled pet love.

Upcycled fashion design!

There's no better way to explain ReMaking than to wear it on your sleeve. So that's what we've done here! Here are a few of my favorite upcycled fashion items that I've created from something almost trashed. Can you guess each scrapped material?



The design of this dress started out a little baggy, but I transformed it into a dress with a little upcycling magic... and some help from my iron and sewing machine.


This dress fits Kathy to a T.


Perfect for a rainy day, you can even find instructions for this skirt on our website. If that isn't enough of a hint, then our clues are all dried up.

Guesses? Ideas? Have you made your own upcycled fashions?

We're getting ready for Earth Day!

Earth Day is coming up this April 22nd, and to celebrate, we'll be at festivals in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. You can find us at Earth Day New York in Grand Central Station on Vanderbilt Street this Friday, April 20 from noon-7pm and Saturday, April 21 from 11am-4pm, or drop by McCarren Park in Brooklyn for Go Green! Greenpoint! Earth Day Festival this May 5th, or stop on by the Queens Central Y on May 6th for their Earth Day Fair! We'll be teaching a different crafty recycling project at each event, so come ReMake with us and celebrate at some of the greenest parties on the planet! For a full listing of our event dates and details, check out our event page.

Volunteer for Earth Day New York!

Earth Day New York is looking for eco-minded volunteers to help out with the festivities in Times Square and Grand Central Terminal over April 21, 22, 23, 2012.

Make an impact, meet tons of people, and have fun doing it! Sign up here.

RePlayGround will host an eco-crafty table outside of Grand Central Terminal, where we'll teach you to make your own recycling project to take with you. Be sure to drop by and ReMake with us! For more details, see our event calendar.

IDSA Design Summit in NYC!

If you're looking for something fun and designery to do in NYC this week, check out the 2012 IDSA Design Summit at the Knoll Showroom on 9th Ave. There will be a very exciting panel discussion with myself and other design gurus, like Gaz Brown of Quirky, Cordy Swope of Fahrenheit-212, and Dan Fogarty of Noodles and Company. The event is organized and moderated by the lovely Angela Yeh of Yeh IDeology. Yeh! Hope to see you there!RSVP here!

Recycled Tin Ornaments

We love the eco-crafty inspiration behind the new Crate and Barrel Recycled Tin Ornament collection. These ornaments are handmade by weaving thin strips of recycled tin around an iron frame. What a cool way to add some upcycled style to your holiday decor!

Light up used glass!

Cargo Collective offers a line of JarLamps made from re-used glass jars! A hole is drilled in the cap and a lamp fitting is offered through to create your own recycled reading lamp. Our favorite is the Nutella JarLamp! Check out more functional designs including drinking glasses made from beer bottles and a jump rope from used plastic bottles at http://cargocollective.com/upcycle

Go postal AND go green!

A fellow design junkie recently alerted me to the new eco-stamps available at the US Postal Service.

She writes:
"Hi Tiffany, Have you seed the "Go Green Forever" postage stamps? I went today to our local post office and Wola! The clerk said to me 'I've never seen anyone SO excited about stamps'. Apparently I must have had an out-of-body reaction when I saw them!"

So of course I instantly went on-line and ordered my own stamp sets.

Get yours, too! And help spread the eco-word by mailing it. In the words of Stacy - Wola!!

Recycle-A-Bicycle

Recycle-A-Bicycle (RAB) is a community based bike shop that works with NYC youth to refurbish bicycles for new use. The non-profit organization salvages 1,200 bicycles a year from the landfill, and teaches students bike mechanics and repair techniques necessary to get junked bicycles back on the road! Every purchase from the store supports youth programs and environmental initiatives. RAB reaches kids and adults with programs where you can earn a bike through volunteer work, internships, and a Kid's Ride Club, along with adult education courses in maintenance and cycling skills. RAB estimates they have diverted 36,000 pounds of waste from NYC's landfills yearly. That's a big impact!

Another program RAB offers is Recycled Arts, where young people can transform old bike parts into crafty, artistic creations! We're always excited to see people getting creative with scrapped materials. Take a look at our own spin on recycled bicycle with our bike chain jewelry:

For information on how you can get involved with Recycle-A-Bicycle, or to donate a junked bike, check out http://www.recycleabicycle.org/

Brooklyn Skillshare this Saturday!

Hey, New Yorkers!

For those of you who missed us a couple of weeks ago at Maker Faire, you have a second chance to catch us in action this Saturday, October 9th, where we'll be teaching a glass etching class at Brooklyn Skillshare at The Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School in Bed-Stuy.



The event runs from 10-4 and is open to the public with a suggested donation. Our class is at 1 pm, but come early and stay all day for a great range of classes (including crafting from plastic bags, taught by our friend Stephanie over at Garbage of Eden!).

Upcycled Interiors at Caracas Arepa Bar, Brooklyn

The RePlayGround crew recently enjoyed a delicious arepa dinner at a nearby Venezuelan restaurant. We came for the food, but were extra tickled to realize that the interior design of the restaurant, by our friends at EcoSystems, was beautiful and eco-friendly.



If you're in the neighborhood, you should visit and check out the clever use of salvaged wood and other materials, and the surprisingly grown-up and tasteful use of milk crates as seating. (And then stay and enjoy a delicious meal!)

Umbrella Fabric Water Bottle Cozy

I love my reusable water bottle. I love filling it up with ice water and having a free, sparkling cold drink all day long. I do not love the way it sweats all over my hand in warm weather. My wristband repurpose was a nice stopgap measure, but I was looking for something a little more permanent, and came up with this custom quilted cozy.



Upcycled umbrella fabric is the perfect water-resistant material for lots of sewing projects, so I decided that would be the outer layer. (In fact, I made this project from the outer sleeve of a new umbrella since I knew I'd never use it for its intended purpose.)

For the inside, I just used some leftover scraps of fabric from another project and sandwiched some batting between the two layers. The batting is optional, and you could try just about any material on the inside, the more absorbent the better. (Recycled felt or a sweatshirt scrap would be ideal.) Besides fabric, you need a small piece of elastic, scissors, and needle and thread or sewing machine.

How-to:

1. Measure the height and diameter of your bottle. Cut your fabric rectangles the same height with a width slightly larger than the bottle diameter. (After you sew the pieces together, you'll lose a little width, which you'll then make up for with the elastic.)



2. Sandwich your fabric together, right sides facing in, with elastic between the two pieces of fabric. Batting or felt, if you're including it, gets pinned to the front or back.



3. Sew layers together with a 3/8" - 1/2" seam, leaving a gap of a couple inches in the end across from the elastic.



4. Turn layers inside out, leaving the same gap open, and sew around the edges again to reinforce everything - I always like to put some extra stitches at the elastic. You can also add some decorative extra stitching for a cool quilted look.



5. Put the sleeve onto your bottle and insert the end of the elastic into the gap, pinning it securely into the fabric. Sew all the layers together at this point, and voila! Your very own insulating and semi-waterproof bottle cozy!

Fine (Trashy) Art

A lot of RePlayGround projects tend to go in a more practical direction, but we appreciate upcycling in all its forms. Check out a few artists who are doing amazing things with garbage.

El Anatsui, a Ghanaian living and working in Nigeria, collects scrap metal like bottle tops and printing plates for his large-scale work.


Federico Uribe makes vibrant "paintings" with shoelaces and sculptures with castoffs like plastic forks.



And American artist Phoebe Tree makes "Smart Art" with, well, just about anything she can find!


Beautiful objects re-branded from the garbage heap - always inspiring. And this sampling is just the tip of the iceberg so be sure to check out the artists' websites and be on the lookout for more beautiful work made from "trash"!

Greening Up Shop!

Hey there eco-fabulous RePlay blog readers - Earth Month is almost here! I’m pleased to announce that my latest eco-project is TerraCycle’s Green Up Shop! We'll be open all Earth Month and will be located in New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal on the corner of 8th Ave. and 41st Steet. It’s the largest green pop-up shop of its kind. Ever.

Think over 1400 square feet jam-packed with eco-goodness. In addition to TerraCycle products, it will also feature RePlayGround goods, and other friends including our very own Carly’s Earth Spirit Yoga Bags and Abby’s Abby Valentine accessories. And it doesn’t stop there. We will have free DIY projects every day the store is open. That’s right – FREE! Stop by make a wallet from a drink pouch or food wrapper. Plus, Wednesdays we’ll have free lunchtime workout sessions. And every Thursday night there will be fun eco-events - like our fave DIY Scraptacular event on April 8th.

If you're in the NYC city area, it's a definite destination for Earth Month. Stop by and say hi - at least someone from the RePlayGround crew will be manning the store almost everyday. Hurray for Greening Upping!

Upcycled Organization

We've been working on re-organizing and streamlining our craft supplies here at the RePlayGround studio. The other day, I began to tackle (hah!) our giant pile of trim, ribbons, webbing and other sewing supplies.



Here's some of the 'before' and 'after' in progress - I used all sorts of random materials to help me put things in order. Thread went into shoeboxes and old plastic storage boxes, and webbing got wrapped around scrap cardboard.



And here's a nice trick I discovered: old, empty spools make perfect places to store ribbon and other small bits of trim. Not the most innovative reuse in the world, but certainly worth keeping in mind!

Shirt Cuff Wallet

Just wanted to share the upcycled wallet I made earlier this week.



I was using some of the fabric from an old button-down shirt for other projects, and the odds and ends (cuffs, collar, buttons) always tend to be the hardest bits of clothing to recycle. I had been wanting a wallet upgrade - just a simple, good-looking outer shell with a cash pocket, to hold a photo sleeve / card holder I already had. It turned out that these particular shirt cuffs were the perfect width for the holder. I loved this plaid fabric and was totally tickled that the size worked out.

I cut the cuff off above the hem, leaving it intact so I'd be able to use the button and buttonhole to close the wallet. Then I cut a rectangle from the front of the shirt, hemmed it, and sewed it to the cuff to serve as a pocket for cash and to hold the cards. (The top edges look a little frayed because I cut that part directly from the shirt - but I made sure to cut along the part where the cuff joined the sleeve so it wouldn't fray any further. I could have tidied it up with bias tape, but I kinda dig the weathered look.)



Less than an hour's worth of work, and bits and pieces of fabric I thought I'd have to throw away, and my cash and cards have a nifty new place to call home!

Rethink | Refuse | Reuse : Foil Trays

Here's another super simple Rethink/Refuse/Reuse that you have no excuse not to be using at home. It requires no craftiness whatsoever and is just a simple matter of making the most of the resources that make their way through your life.

Some extremely eco-minded folks avoid takeout containers entirely (I've read accounts of brave people showing up at restaurants with their own reusable containers) but, I have to admit, I am not one of them. I cook a lot, but I like to treat myself to other people's cooking occasionally, and this usually happens when I just want the easiest solution possible. So, like most people, I get my takeout in disposable containers.

It turns out that foil takeout trays fit perfectly in my toaster oven and make great mini roasting pans or cooking trays. I wouldn't buy them at the store, but if I have a few leftover from takeout orders, I wash them out and re-use a couple times. (Then if I cook something extra dirty or gunky, I can toss the container without too much guilt, since I already gave it a few more uses than it was originally intended for.) They are particularly suited for dishes you might want to make ahead, keep in the freezer, and bake later (mac and cheese, anyone?) - you can leave them in the freezer as long as you need to, and won't miss the containers like you would your favorite Pyrex baking dish.



(Bonus: the #6 clear plastic tops make great trays for paint or glue, for those of us with a crafty bent. And in one of my personal favorite little-known RePlayGround facts, they are made of the same material you'll find in Shrinky Dinks, so save them for a project!)

We can't be all green all the time - sometimes it's the little things that add up to big changes.

2009 RePlay

Woo hoo 2009! It's been a busy, trash-filled year. Here's a replay of all of the upcycling goodness that headed our way and we sent right back at-ya.

I started out full-force continuing with my Chief Design Junkieness to create loads of TerraCycle design projects.


By Earth Day, the Bronx Zoo had hired us for a month long eco-celebration and my RePlayGround crew headed up there to share their crafty upcycling skills. Kids (and adults, too) walked away with projects like the cereal box wallets, CD suncatchers, and more.


Earth Day also saw the premier of Garbage Moguls, which follows me and my TerraCycle friends on our trash-packed adventures. Even Oprah and Good Morning America took notice and recommended a watch.


I also signed a big, fancy book deal (well, as fancy as you can be with garbage anyway) at Sterling Publishing. Our book, ReMake It - over 100 projects from the stuff you usually scrap, will be hitting bookshelves in April 2011. We pushed on full-force this year and concepted, created, illustrated, and wrote instructions for over 100 do-it-yourself projects.

The superstar designer, Abby Kelly, landed on our RePlayGround just in time to help with all things book, kits, trash, and design. We're very lucky to have her talent, impeccable design style, and sense of humor around here where we look forward to creating more trashy goodness this year.


That's Carly on the left and Abby on the right

Carly Miller, our official Garbage Outreach Coordinator, continued with her overwhelming enthusiasm in demonstrating to others how to upcycle everything in your path. She headed up coordinating the big Bronx Zoo event plus birthday parties, bar mitzvahs and more. You can even catch her in person as she continues the Eco-Workshop series at Sustainable NYC in the East Village on the second Wednesday of every month. (except for a brief hiatus in January where Abby will be flexing her crafty skills).
And if you're interested in booking us for an event send an email our way.


The ReMake It recycling kits continued to sell like eco-hotcakes! They've even been picked up by Signals catalog and our friends over at Uncommon Goods. We're continuing to work with the goods people at Streamline to create the latest, greatest in ReMaking It. Keep your eyes peeled in 2010 for some new kits on their way. There will be projects with plastic bags, and some good old fashioned play-with-your-trash-type-games.

In addition to keeping up this blog, we also contributed our fair share of upcycling project goodness to our faves over at Craftzine, Ecouterre, and Planet Green.

This year we were also honored and blown away by the fantastic words featured in publications like the New York Times, Rachael Ray Magazine, Time Out New York, and many more.

More Garbage Moguls episodes were taped this year, so be sure to check out National Geographic Network in 2010 around Earth Day for a more episodes in the series - as we design our way out of garbage messes.

We wrapped up the year with a good ole fashioned ReMake the Holidays party on our RePlayGround. We drank up some good local brew sponsored by the Brooklyn Brewery. Since no good party is complete without a fun craft project, we showed party participants how to transform 6 Metrocards into this super-sweet holiday ornament.


Stay tuned to our website and blog as we continue to add, evolve and just generally upcycle everything in our path this year.
Happy 2009 and here's to an upcycled 2010!!!

DIY Coathanger Poinsettia Wreath

Our lighted poinsettia wreath made from old wire coat hangers got such a warm reception at our holiday party this weekend, I thought I'd post a little how-to. It's actually a product of a fruit-bowl-attempt-gone-bad which I'd like to look at as a happy holiday lesson. Never be afraid to play with your garbage - you never know what you'll come up with!

For our design, we used 8 wire coat hangers (you can use 6 if you like). It's really simple to do, and you don't need to worry too much about precision as any inconsistencies seem to even out nicely in the end.

1. First, bend the neck of the coat hanger so the hook is perpendicular to the rest of the hanger body.



2. Then bend the hanger at this center point, into two halves. Bend again (on top and bottom) at the middle of each half. Join the hanger tips with wire or clear tape.



3. Finally, arrange all your hanger petals, tips pointing out, into a poinsettia formation, and tape together at the top and bottom seams where they meet. (I tried using wire for this, but it slipped around too much - packing tape seemed to be the way to go.)

For added holiday cheer, wrap a string of lights around the wreath body, and hang in a place where everyone can marvel at your eco-craftiness!

NY Times "Year In Ideas": Trash Tracking

One of the items in this year's New York Times "Year in Ideas" feature caught my eye: a piece on smart garbage.

The problem: curbside recycling programs are still fairly primitive compared to today's trash output. Highly recyclable (and often toxic) items, like computer parts and cellphones, are mixed in with regular garbage because there's no easy curbside pickup. (ed. note: Though if you're currently faced with disposing of this type of item, I highly encourage you to look into donating or recycling it - lots of major electronics retailers, among other places, offer free E-waste recycling prgrams these days.)

Read about Valerie Thomas, a Georgia Tech professor working to change that - she wants to create special smart trash cans that will be able to scan, and eventually help sort, our trash. Imagine if our 'disposal' process actually helped everyone pick treasure out of the trash! (In the meantime, there's always Talkin' Trash.)