Upholstering a Small Bench

Posted by on May 7, 2012 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 0 comments Amazing things are happening and as you can see I have been very busy (by the minimal number of blog posts…). Weekends are stuffed with shows and fairs; means getting up at 6 driving down to Dallas, and then all the time throughout the week, getting prepared, selling online, lining up at the post office and all the awesome street finds along the way (and restoring them)!! Taught two cooking...
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Upcycling an Old Rocking Chair to Bench

Posted by on May 1, 2012 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 5 comments A while ago, I found this broken rocking chair at the curb and I knew it had potential. It’s been sitting in the garage for way too long and it was totally in my way so I decided to throw it away -tomorrow or so. And when I made that decision, I finally came up with the idea of turning it into a bench. I didn’t really have a plan, I rather went from one step to the next, hoping to...
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Upcycled Wine Bottles

Posted by on Apr 29, 2012 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 5 comments Today, I made something out of old wine bottles. Maybe someone else came up with this idea before me, but I think it’s a great and unique one. Earlier, I turned empty beer bottles (Shiner beer, yum!) into hanging vases -and someone came up with this before me, too, as I found out later! So here’s what I did… Recycle wine first (that’s the best part), then use the bottles...
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We Don’t Need Earth Day

Posted by on Apr 18, 2012 in Blog, Everything Green | 1 comment Earth day is coming up this weekend and I actually couldn’t care less about it. Do we really need a theme or a specific day to celebrate earth? Common sense please! While on the one hand, it’s nice to raise some awareness to stop malicious destruction of our planet. Because it seems like the majority hasn’t heard how we (the ones on top of the food chain) kill our own and only...
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How to Save Money on Art Equipment

Posted by on Mar 28, 2012 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments Some of you know that all my artwork is painted on all kinds of recycled materials and I am proving that it is not necessary to buy all this expensive equipment to make high quality art. Who says that you have to use artist linen from the art store? Who says that frames have to be built professionally and how does that look like? I paint with oil and I paint on anything I find. All I need to know...
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Studio Organizing Ideas

Posted by on Feb 5, 2012 in Blog, Living & Design, Upcycling & DIY | 4 comments So, here’s my office / studio -some of you have seen it before in one of my earlier posts and it looks a little different every time I write about it (like THIS...
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What to Make With an Old Window Frame

Posted by on Jan 12, 2012 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 10 comments No, I did not make a square hula hoop out of the old window frame… I always get so excited when I drive along the streets and find stuff that screams at me “no I don’t want to end up in the landfills, rescue me!”. The ugliest things get my attention because I see their value; I would say that 80% of what most people throw away could be reused, up- or recycled in some way....
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Upcycling Quiz: What Did I Make?

Posted by on Jan 4, 2012 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 6 comments Recently, I have been extremely busy with all kinds if upcycling projects because the next flea market is coming up soon! But I do hope to be kissed by the muse soon (and make time) to paint with oil -running out of canvas, gotta build some more first. So, here’s a window frame that I picked up along the street last week. Now guess, what did I make out of it?! My artist friend Therese said:...
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I Need Your HELP: Which Fabric Should I Choose?

Posted by on Dec 30, 2011 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 26 comments HELP! I picked up this chair yesterday and I am restoring it, now I need your help. Which fabric should I use? I am kind of tempted to use the flowers but not sure… I am upholstering tomorrow, so I’d need your suggestions by then! Ok, here’s all the pictures (note how I squeezed that thing into my car -definitely need something bigger): I sanded the chair (not done yet) and I...
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Upcycling Project Kids Rocking Chair

Posted by on Nov 27, 2011 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments Did I say I am not going to upholster again? I guess I did it again. My last chair was such a frustrating project that I decided this was it, no more. It’s only been a few weeks but I guess enough time had passed to forget how much I got annoyed by the project. This time, I have a small kids’ rocking chair, its backrest was broken and the fabric outdated. It used to be my...
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How To Stretch Artists’ Canvas

Posted by on Jul 3, 2011 in Art, Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 4 comments Before you start stretching canvas on a frame, you have to have a frame of course! Here’s a link to how I build my own frames. I usually use recycled wood from construction sites or other places (wherever I find leftovers..). The fabric I use is also recycled, any fabric I can find. The art supply industry makes us believe that only their expensive canvas should be used for oil paintings....
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How to Ship Large Stretched Paintings

Posted by on May 4, 2011 in Art, Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 3 comments Things you’ll need: - thin fiberboard (you can get those at home improvement stores) - table saw - plastic film - bubble wrap - package tape - large cardboard box (I keep the ones that I get from shipped items or I ask places like World Market if I can take some of their boxes they throw away anyways) - razor blade knife - patience and time! 1 ) Measure length, width and depth of painting,...
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How To Make Oil Paint From Pigments

Posted by on Apr 3, 2011 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments I use natural pigments from EarthPigments. Their variety is really nice and all pigments are non-toxic. On their website, they offer a lot of recipes for making artists’ paint, colored cement and any other paint for your home projects. For making oil paint you’ll need: 1. linseed oil 2. pigments 1. To start with, use very little of the pigment powder and make a well...
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How To Custom-Build Your Own Frames

Posted by on Feb 27, 2011 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 0 comments Have you ever thought of building your own frames and stretch your own canvas? There are several reasons why I think custom-build frames are better and more convenient than the store-bought ones (or if you have someone who builds them for you even better!). Here is why: - you can decide the size of the frame, large/small/very large - you can build frames that you won’t get at the store:...
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How To Custom-Make Free Office Organizers

Posted by on Jan 4, 2011 in Blog, Everything Green, Living & Design, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments Every time I wanted to get my office organized, I stopped half-way because I did not have the right tools and equipment to finish the job properly. So I had an excuse to drop the work and headed to my favorite store: The Container Store! I can easily spend 2-3 hours in there without actually deciding what I want, I love all their ideas. Then I decided to visit IKEA, another favorite store where I...
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Recycable And Creative Gift-Wrapping

Posted by on Dec 17, 2010 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 0 comments Don’t throw it away, use it to wrap gifts! Every time I walk up to the trash can with something to throw away, I double check first if I am be able to reuse it in some way. And yes, most of the paper gets recycled in our household. But besides old paper here’s a list of items you can use to wrap your gifts: - the easiest way is to reuse old wrapping paper from last year, just make...
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How To Recycle Turkey Leftovers

Posted by on Nov 25, 2010 in Blog, Food | 0 comments All you have to do is: take the leftover meat from the bones and keep them in your fridge or freezer to eat them later with a salad or on a sandwich. Now don’t throw the bones away! After you’ve removed all the meat, cut the bones into smaller pieces and transfer them to a large pot, cover with water and season with salt. If you still have onions, garlic, carrots and/or garlic in your...
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5 Ways To Save Money

Posted by on Nov 22, 2010 in Blog, Everything Green | 0 comments While there are a lot of options how to save money (like air-drying laundry -saves you $40/month- or get a water filter system..), I wanted to list a few things that you probably haven’t thought of: Don’t speed, always drive the exact speed limit. That will save you quite a few bucks over the months, those 5 miles more might not seem much but they actually make a difference. It...
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Are You A Pre-Cycler? ♻

Posted by on Nov 6, 2010 in Blog, Everything Green | 14 comments What does precycling mean? “Precycling is the practice of reducing waste by attempting to avoid bringing into the home or business items which will generate waste”. Recycling is good, pre-cycling is better, you can prevent trash and therefore prevent higher landfills. Recycling still uses a lot of energy to re-manufacture stuff. Here is a list of how to pre-cycle ♻ Always bring...
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