Playing the same tune

I was just visiting family for the holidays and my 11 year old niece game me my own mini-concert showing off her flute playing skills. To me the most noteable thing about the flute was that it's the same flute that I had in middle school X number of years ago, and it's still perfectly fine. It always makes me happy to see good quality products having a chance to replay again.

I think the only new addition is the rainbow colored smiley face stickers on the keypads. :)

ReLIT NY Book Drive

ReLIT NY is a free book donation and reading program that collects your unwanted books and recycles them back to the public.  This organization seeks to redistribute books at no cost, and you can find ReLIT books being handed out at various New York City subway stations every month.  What a cool way to reuse!  To take part in the next book drive, drop by the Union Square Station on June 18 at 5:30PM.

For more information on ReLIT NY, click here.

art and reuse with Louise Nevelson

Artist Louise Nevelson's work is crafted from found wood objects that are arranged and painted in a monochromatic fashion. Before she became an exhibiting artist, the impoverished Nevelson collected discarded wood from the streets to burn as firewood. Her 3-dimensional collage style was born from these piles of scrap material, and now grace the walls of major art galleries worldwide. Nevelson used everything from boxes and crates to bowling pins and wood bannister posts. For a detailed biography, check out http://www.louisenevelsonfoundation.org/

Times for upcycled office designs!

Hey there RePlayGround readers!

Here's a great article that came out yesterday in the New York Times. It's titled Making Designs out of Rubbish by Penelope Green. It talks about my work with the uber-awesome-upcycling company TerraCycle and about our upcycled office renovations that I put together with the rest of the design crew.

If you're interested in having your own office space upcycled, let me know!

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/

Another "Junked" item Rescue Story!

A few weeks ago we asked for stories of ways you rediscovered or reused a "junked" or thrift store item. This week we're featuring Garbage of Eden founder and fellow trash-lover, Stephanie Huffaker's lost and found story:

A couple years ago, I bought a cute vintage necklace for $7 from a thrift shop. It was one of those large wooden-beaded necklaces from the 70's. It was a fun shape and it was black so it went with everything. I loved it and wore it all the time.

It fell off a lot because the clasp was loose, but since it was kind of big I usually noticed when it fell off and just put it right back on. I kept telling myself that I should restring the whole thing and replace the clasp but I just kept putting it off.

One day, I was running errands around my neighborhood when I noticed that my necklace was missing. I retraced my steps for a few blocks, but it was nowhere to be found. My favorite necklace was gone for good. :(

About a month later I invited a friend of mine to go shopping at the Salvation Army near my apartment. We got in line with the spoils of our thrifting adventures and...what to my wondering eyes?!

A black, 1970's wooden-beaded necklace was hanging by the checkout! I looked closer....it had a nick on one of the beads where I had stepped on it by mistake- it was my favorite necklace!

And this time it only cost me $1.00. :)

If you have a story you'd like to share, let us know! Email us at kathy (at) replayground (dot) com

Merry Geek Christmas!

If December is a time for giving, make January a time for regifting!

I attended my first geek Christmas last week and it was a big tech swap with people exchanging gadgets and other technology gizmos to trade. There was the big coil of Ethernet cable (that looked like a wreath – wreathernet cable perhaps?), blinky lights, old microphones, and loads of other tech gadgets well beyond my expertise. It’s like the geek version of a clothing swap! Each person takes a turn to explain what he or she brought and everyone else fights over the free findings. If more than one person want a particular item, they each share their intended use. The original owner of the item deems the winner and passes over the newly coveted item.

It was super fun, super geeky and all over upcycled. My favorite kind of party.
Check out the time-elapsed video from this year's and videos of Geek Christmas past.

Consider holding your own geek Christmas and spread some technology cheer!


photos courtesy Nick Normal

ReMaking It!

Woo hoo! My first book is here!!

I just received my own book (with my own name printed on it!) in the mail this past week. I have to tell you, RePlayGround blog-readers, that it's pretty rewarding to receive something like this that you've and worked really really hard on and to finally have it in print and hold it in your hands.

What's even more exciting is that this isn't the only copy that exists. Many more copies on their way to a store near you starting this March. The purpose of this book is to empower everyone to ReMake projects from objects that they find discarded around them every day. This book can be used as a garbage cookbook of sorts. We'll have the recipes you need to turn your old CDs into a table lamp, your empty cereal box into a magazine holder, and your old sweater into a scarf. It's packed with 95 do-it-yourself recycling projects from the stuff you usually scrap. Yep, 95.

If you can't wait to start remaking it, then you can preorder your copy of ReMake It on Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com. At $12.95 suggested retail, and even further discounts at online retailers, it's cheap! And if you're all connected into social media, feel free to "like" it on these sites.

The great things about all of these projects are that they're all functional objects that can be incorporated back into your everyday life. In that picture above, I have two clocks from the book already hanging on my wall - one made out of a vinyl record and the other from a paint can lid. In fact, I have a lot of the projects from the book already decorating my apartment.

Grab a copy of the book and you can ReMake It, too!!

Candy wrapper napkin ring project

As your Halloween candy pile has dwindles into a pile of wrappers, we have a great upcycling project to satisfy your crafty cravings. Here we’ll show you an upcycling trick to transform wrappers into napkin rings – the perfect treat for your Thanksgiving celebration. Then, in the true spirit of recycling, you can reuse them again and again. It’s a sweet way to decorate your dinner party without spending a dime.



You can follow the video above, or get the complete how-to by clicking below!


Materials:
candy wrappers
scissors
pen or permanent marker
ruler
glue stick



Instructions:
1. Cut your candy wrappers to 1.75” x 4” rectangles. You’ll need 16 pieces to make a 2” diameter napkin ring.
2. Take one wrapper and fold it in half lengthwise with the printed side facing out. Open it back up.
3. Run your glue stick along the inside of the wrapper. Fold both sides of the wrapper in to the center fold line.
4. Run your glue stick along the folded side of the wrapper. Then, fold the wrapper in half lengthwise again, so it is now a narrow rectangle.
5. Fold the wrapper in half widthwise and open it back up.
6. Fold both ends in toward the center fold line.
7. Repeat steps 2 through 6 on another wrapper.
8. Now take your two folded wrappers and fit the two tabs from one piece into the slots of the other.
9. Keep repeating steps 2 through 8 for all 15 pieces.
10. To finish your napkin ring, follow steps 2 through 5 to fold your last wrapper. Push this piece through the two open ends of your bracelet. Then, tuck the two ends into the center of this piece. Your sweet, new napkin ring is ready for dinner. As an eco-bonus, use cloth napkins that can be reused over and over.

You can also upcycle your candy wrappers through the TerraCycle collection brigade. For every candy wrapper you send in, you earn 2 cents for your favorite charity. It’s a sweet treat when you can raise money and upcycle at the same time!

Do the T-shirt Trash Can Twist!

Hi again! I hope you've all been thinking of fun designs for your ReMake It! Trash Can. Here's my new DIY trash can project of the week. It's the T-shirt Trash Can!



Materials:
ReMake It plastic bag trash can frame
A few t-shirts (we used 3)
Scissors
Ruler
Time:
About an hour

1) Find some old T-shirts that you are ready to recycle! Cut the t-shirts into strips 40” long X 2” wide. You will need a total of 17 strips. I chose 3 colors, but use as many different fabrics as you like!

2) Tie the end of each strip to a spoke towards the bottom of the trash can.

3) Starting with one strip, wrap the strip over the spoke to the right of the spoke the strip is tied to. Complete the wrap around by pulling the strip up between the two spokes. Now wrap around the spoke the fabric is tied to and pull the strip back up between the two spokes. Repeat until you’ve reached the top rim of the trash can.


4) Knot the strip to the top rim of the trash can. With the excess fabric, tuck neatly back down into the top weave. Trim any extra fabric that sticks out.


5) Take the strip tied to the left of the spokes you just finished. Repeat steps 4 and 5 from above for all strips, overlapping the last strip you just finished weaving. You may need to spread apart the already weaved strip so you can loop the new strip over the metal.


When you’ve tied on your last T-shirt strip, your new trash fashion will be this season’s must-have trashion accessory.

Have fun! I'll be back next week with a brand new design!

Upcycle away,

Kathy

ReMake your Halloween - Crafty Inspiration

Halloween is coming up fast and there is no shortage of ideas for recycled costumes and decor. I picked out a few favorites that I hope will inspire you to ReMake your Halloween!

The cardboard box robot is a classic, and you can find tons of inspiration online - including detailed instructions on this very blog!

If you've got some boxes you need to use up, and don't feel so robotic, try being a Lego instead.

Evil Mad Scientist shares a fantastic bat costume made from used umbrellas.

I'm a sucker (ha, ha) for octopus and squid, so I am totally charmed by Dollar Store Crafts' no-sew Octopus costume (made with socks and an old sweatshirt). You can also see some great ideas for Halloween decor on the same site - like the scary lighted skulls made from plastic milk bottles.

(And on November 1st, don't forget to save your candy wrappers to make upcycled jewelry!)

We're in a generation T!

I'm pretty busy these days creating DIY projects of my own, so it's not often that I find time to follow a project that someone else has created. But there are times when I'm feeling a little crafty and come across that perfect project that is clever and just plain simple. Like this tank top project - from my friend, Megan Nicolay's newest book - Generation T - Beyond Fashion. This style is "The Best of Two Tees" and you can get the book and do-it-yourself just like I did. Super clever, super easy, super-duper DIY!

Plus in true making stuff DIY style - you can see Megan's recent blog post about my t-shirt skirt on her blog.

And if you're in the NYC area this weekend, you can catch Megan, myself, and a whole slew of DIYers at the biggest DIY event around - the World Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science. If you can MAKE it here, you can make it anywhere.

New Life for Shredded Paper

On a lunchtime stroll the other day I noticed that someone was putting shredded paper to good use in a tree pit.

We covered something similar in our Rethink/Reuse series last year, and it's always nice to see "trash" being used for noble purposes, like keeping our hard-working street trees* a little bit healthier. (*Did you know that each year, 272 tons of air pollution are intercepted or absorbed by trees in NYC? And that street trees raise surrounding property values? Learn more here.)

T-shirts and tomatoes

It was a year ago today that my good friend Josette and I got ready for the tomato festival of our lives - La Tomatina in Bunol, Spain. Imagine a city-wide food fight with only tomatoes to throw. Most anyone who knows me knows of my love of tomatoes, particularly of the homegrown variety. But I must say after having tomatoes thrown, smeared and smushed all over you, you kind of lose the taste for salsa for a while. It's been a year now and I've long been back on the tomato wagon, partaking in this summer's bounty.

In preparation for last year's exciting event, I didn't want to wear just any old shirt. I wanted to show off a little crafty New York love. Here's the how-to for turning an old I heart NY tee into a one-of-a-kind tank.

Materials:
2 old t-shirts
fabric scissors
safety pin
ruler
sewing machine or needle and thread
iron

Transform a t-shirt into a tank:
1. Cut the arms off the t-shirt. Then cut straight across the top, just under the neckline.
2. Fold in the edges .25” around the armpit. Iron down. Sew in place. Then, fold .25” under on both flat sides across the top. Iron. Then fold under again by 1” and iron. Then hem along this edge. These sewn strips across the top will become the casing for the top ties.
3. Cut 1” wide strips off of the bottom of another t-shirt. Pull on the ends to make the edges roll in. Tip: you can also use ribbon in place of t-shirt strips.
4. Attach a safety pin to one end of the t-shirt strip. Work it through the casing. Repeat with another strip for the other side. Tie the ends in a bow on either side. Your new tank is ready to wear!

Etsy Recyclers Guild

A fellow design junkie and friend, Erin Stevens, turned me on to the Etsy Recyclers Guild which is "A GLOBAL community of eco-artists, crafters, and vintage sellers who have united in the name of green."

We love Etsy, we love recycling, and we love supporting communities of eco-artists. Stop on by for a visit and support your fellow trash lovers. There's even a shop that puts members' upcycled goods all in one convenient shopping spot.

Be sure to check out Erin's "trashy" couture site like this necktie camisole. I own a similar one and get compliments every time I wear it.

Reader DIY "favor"ite project

Jocelyn, a RePlay blog reader shared her own image from this Wine Cork Keychain project we did for CraftZine last year.

Here's what she said
"I've been waiting to get started on this project since it was posted on the blog. We're having my daughter's Bat Mitzvah at a winery in October, so this was the perfect favor (for the adults, anyway). We've made a bunch, so I thought I would share the picture with you. Hope you enjoy seeing your clever idea come to fruition. We're delighted with how cute (and green) they are. It's also free advertising for the winery, which is great for them.

Thanks for such an original project. Definitely a first for a Bat Mitzvah favor, I'm sure!

Jocelyn (and Amanda, the Bat Mitzvah girl)"

I just love seeing it when DIY recycling goodness makes it into hands of the talented and crafty. Just look how easy do-it-yourselfing is! Happy Bat Mitzvah, Amanda!

The NY Hall of Science will Make your weekend!

If you’re in the NYC area this weekend and looking for something fun and crafty to get your hands on, stop on by the NY Hall of Science.

In preparation for the Maker Faire this fall, the NY Hall of Science is loading up their weekends with extra DIY opportunities around the Musuem.
RePlayGround will be on-site this weekend, July 17-18 and on August 7-8 from 12 AM to 5 PM showing everyone how to ReMake items into new. You can also catch us at the granddaddy of all Maker Faires at the first ever held in New York on September 25-26. We wouldn’t even dream of missing that one. And you shouldn’t either if you’re in the area.

This weekend we’ll be showing off all of our Crafty favorites. Saturday is cereal boxes galore with cereal box pencil cases and wallets, Sunday will be food wrapper focused with collapsible dishes, wallets, and more.

Stop on by and RePlay with us. All of the projects are free with general admission to the museum. Just bring your crafty self and join us for some good ole fashioned ReMake fun!

ReMake It: Mint Tin Puzzle

Puzzled by what to do with old mint tins? Here's an easy upcycling project demonstrated by my supercute niece. Grab a pair of scissors, a mint tin, an old photo, flexible magnet, and some glue. And get ready to ReMake It!

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!)

ReMake It: Record album folder

Here's the latest in cuteness from my niece - showin' us all how easy it is to ReMake It!

In this one she's turning a record album cover into a folder. Watch the video, then ReMake one for yourself!