Colorful Embroidery On Old Upcycled Tennis Rackets

I love coming across something that is a combination of art and upcycle, something unexpected, clever, and in some way beautiful. 

South African creative Danielle Clough created just that when she combined yarn embroidery with vintage tennis rackets and squash rackets! Using the woven racket as her canvas, Danielle creates brilliantly colored designs with yarn on the rackets. My favorite are the floral designs. 

Her prices for these range around $500, so that’s quite a great profit for recycled materials! Check them out! 

Check out more of Danielle's work here

What do you think? 

Have a great week!

 Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs

Article copyright ©Laura Beth Love for Dishfunctional Designs™ 2018

all rights reserved

How To Upcycle Thrift Shop Finds Into Trendy Home Decor: Part Two!

Thrift Shop Hot! What to look for right now...

In my previous post, "How To Upcycle Thrift Shop Finds Into Trendy Home Decor"  I shared some great tips for upcycling common thrift shop finds into swanky home decor and crafts, including silver plated serving trays, vintage scarves, maps and globes, picture frames, and old cashmere sweaters. 

(If you haven't read that article, you can play catch-up by reading it here!)

Now I'm going to share with you some MORE items commonly found at thrift shops that are perfect for upcycling into fun home decor and crafts. Again, these items are great because not only are they inexpensive, but they are very much in style as current home decor. Check it out! 

What should you be looking for right now?

1)  Vintage Pie Tins & Cake Pans
I always see lots of old pie tins (aka pie plates) and pie pans when I go thrifting, and they're usually inexpensively priced from about $1 each. The neat thing about old pie tins is that you can sometimes find ones with bottoms that are embossed with vintage advertising.  

What to do with them?

Hang a collection of them on a wall as you would china plates, making a display that works well in a kitchen.
(Click here for more wall-display grouping ideas)
Or, collect a few and construct a tiered organizer or pedistal server using thrift shop found candle sticks in between. These are great for displaying items and for chic organization! Check out the photos below for inspiration.

Vintage pie tin

Make a vintage inspired kitchen wall display with vintage pie tins (via BHG)

Three tiered kitchen organizer (above and below) by Kaytie Yost via Etsy

Pie plate pedestals by Sweet Girl Expressions

Pie tin mirrors 

2)  T-Shirts

Usually there are so many t-shirts at the thrift shops I visit that the shops organize them by color instead of by size. Why are they a great deal? T-shirts are abundant at thrift shops and also cost next to nothing. They come in a wide range of colors and patterns, so they are great for repurposing and upcycling into all sorts of things.

What to do with them?
T-shirts can be quickly and easily repurposed into many different items; shopping bags, quilts, and they can even be used to cover throw pillows. My favorite thing to do with them is to restructure them into entirely new shirts. I love to do this with my old concert shirts and have made quite a few for myself!

Craft an easy to make recycled t-shirt tote bag

Make an awesome recycled t-shirt rug 

No-sew t-shirt hula hoop rug 

DIY instructions for old t-shirt bibs from A Little Tipsy

Pillow made from an old t-shirt (tutorial)

This quilt was made from old children's clothes - click for tutorial

3)  Vintage Framed Art

I always make a point to flip through the wall art at thrift shops. As I always say, you never know what you might find! As well as looking for unusual and unique frames, I'm always on the lookout for interesting artwork too. Some things to look for that make great collections are vintage framed needlepoints, old paint by numbers art (see the first two images below), as well as original amateur art paintings and "sofa art" (that's mass produced paintings that are created for the furniture industry.

What to do with them?
Display a unique collection as a gallery wall in your home, or, if you're the artsy type, try your hand at creating an altered thrift shop painting by adding an interesting or unexpected element to an already existing scene. See below. 

Paint by numbers collection 

Altered thrift store art by Coy Powers

(Click here for lots more gallery wall ideas!)

4)  Vintage Costume Jewelry

Vintage enamel flower pins, brooches, old clip on earrings - you get the picture. These vintage treasures are abundant at thrift shops, flea markets and estate sales, and the great part is that you can often find them for sale by the bagful for just a few dollars. 

What to do with them?
Not only are these great to wear as-is, they're also perfect for upcycling into new items for yourself, your family, and your home. Check out the photos below for a few examples of how some creative folks turned old costume jewelry into unique accessories.

Create a vintage brooch bridal bouquet

Brooch bouquet with locket by Amanda Jane Heer via Etsy

Create a necklace with vintage brooches and ribbon. DIY instructions from Martha Stewart

DIY Fridge magnets made from old jewelry from Country Living

Create a brooch bouquet topiary

Frame made with vintage costume jewelry by Kat Smith via Etsy

(Click here to see lots more ideas for what to do with vintage costume jewelry!)

5)  Old Books & Outdated Encyclopedias
Just like road maps, encyclopedias become outdated and are replaced with new, up to date versions. Thrift shops are the best place to find old obsolete encyclopedias, dictionaries, and the like.

What to do with them?
Use the pages for decoupage projects, or create some wonderful book page art by drawing or painting directly onto the page. Or, run the pages directly through your computer printer to create some unique personalized art (think black & white family photos printed on the old pages as shown below).

Computer printed art on old book page by Prrint via Etsy (above and below)

Coasters made from vintage encyclopedia pages by The Painted Lily via Etsy

(Check out my previous post Bookish for lots of ideas of things you can make with old books and pages!)

What do you think?
What's your favorite way to repurpose thrift shop finds?

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I hope you enjoyed this post! 

Please leave a comment below! 

Which is your favorite? 

Have a great week!

Laura

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Article copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2020 and may not be republished in print or other media without express written permission from the author. For any link corrections please leave correct info in comment area.

Originally published July 3, 2012, refreshed and updated for relevancy

More Greenhouses Made With Salvaged Windows

What better way to recycle old salvaged windows than to build them into a unique garden greenhouse or potting shed?

Old windows, doors, and other salvaged lumber - along with a little bit of thought and planning, can be turned into something fantastic for very little cost. 

Not only are these building projects environmentally friendly, they're also unique; each is one of a kind. Check out what some creative folks have crafted using reclaimed old salvaged windows and doors, and maybe you'll be inspired to create your own.

Where can you find these salvaged building supplies?

~ Ask friends and neighbors for castoffs they might have lying around in their attics or garage. You might be surprised at what folks stow away!

~ Check out Habitat For Humanity's ReStore

~ Keep an eye on the curb! But remember, never take any old castoffs from construction sites without asking first.

~  Use caution with doors or windows that have old peeling paint. Most old paint contains lead. Avoid using these doors in areas where there are children or food. Pick up a lead test at your local hardware store to test for lead paint. Never remove lead paint, but paint over it instead. 

I love all the elements - and colors - of this pretty greenhouse

Homemade greenhouse

I love the arched windows and old doors used in this greenhouse by Dreyne

10 x 10' Greenhouse built by Linda J & her husband via Hometalk

Pretty garden shed greenhouse from fadedprairie.com

Pretty purple greenhouse via Penick

Salvaged window greenhouse via Apartment Therapy (above and below)

Greenhouse made with recycled windows and doors

Window greenhouse by Angela Davis at Gardening In My Rubber Boots

Greenhouse instructions by Michael Taeuber via Instructables

Reclaimed window greenhouse (above and below) via BHG 

Simple greenhouse made from old windows. I love the red! 

Baby greenhouse by Design Dreams by Anne

Mini greenhouses by Linda at Bluegate

Another greenhouse example

Window greenhouses by North Peace 

Create a tabletop mini greenhouse from old picture frames via Country Living 

     

What do you think?

I hope you have a great week! Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs

Article, images, and designs copyright ©Laura Beth Love for Dishfunctional Designs™ 2018

all rights reserved