Repurposing an old suitcase

Recycled old, shabby, vintage suitcases can refresh your home decoration. They can be reused in many ways. In this story you will see how you can transform them into a table, desk or a nightstand.

Enjoy!

 

Step-by-step tutorials can be found on:

savedbylovecreations.com 

woonblog.typepad.com 

artsyvava.blogspot.ca

theweathereddoor.blogspot.com

Extra tip: if your're feeling extra crafty, take on this challenge.

DIY: Recycle an Old Juice Carton and Create a Coin Purse

Reuse those little juice cartons (tetra pak) and turn them into practical (and green) coin purses! 

Pictured step by step tutorial is available here.

Extra tip: try this idea with bigger carton and make a folder. Post a photo of your result in the comment ssection, please!

Upcycle a mouse trap and create a magnetic note holder

Here's a way how to make unique note holders out of mousetraps! Yes, that's right! This girl had a totally original idea! I would just add, in spirit of this specific blog, don't buy new traps, just reuse those from your grandma's house. Let the mice be (or get a cat?)

Extra tip:  as a bonus, in this tutorial you'll find out how to make realistic 3D effect with papers!

DIY: a cheap & eco light bulb made out of a recycled plastic bottle

This brilliant affordable idea is actually a part of a Liter of Light project. It's about finding sustainable light solutions for those living in low-cost homes without electricty.

You can see the whole proces of making a bottle bulb:

And here you can find more details on the project.

Extra tip: you can try this idea on your improvised garden or tool sheds or a garage. You can also participate in the project either by volunteering or donating - more.

Remember the article about melting plastic bags? Here's one idea on what you can do with that material. It's pretty simple - cut it and create simple and effective coasters! Try out different bags combos.

Extra tip: This is also a great gift idea, don't you think? 

DIY: a simple cosmetic & art assistant

Upcycle pringles - like can and make a brush holder!

Extra tip: you can use a carboard tube as an alternative for this little project, but only for cosmetic brushes!

Upcycle CDs- build an eco-friendly & wallet-friendly roof!

Put in one place all those old, damaged CDs. Count them. Compare that number with the number on this page. If you haven't got enough CDs - ask a friend, or wait and be patient! If you have enough CDs start making your new roof! You can do it with your neighbours and help somebody who can't afford roof fixing.

Extra tip: beside CDs you can also use vinyl records, as shown here:

DIY: recycle an old phone book - make a pen organizer

If you happens to have an expired phone book STOP before you get rid of it. Check out this original idea!

Extra tip: you can make each compartment of different height and color:

An original DIY project: a cell phone holder from an upcycled lotion or shampoo bottle

Depending on the type of cell phone charger you have, you might find this idea useful. Also, there will be no more wires across the room to stumble over.

I'm a bit concerned about the weight of the whole installation on the plugging, but no one mentioned the possibility of the plug slipping out. An alternative - you can just make a cell holder such as this one (you don't need a hole then):

Or this one:

Extra tip: decoration possibilities are endless - wrapping paper, pieces of fabric, stickers....

DIY: an original and practical door mat out of a recycled garden hose!

Well, here's a swell idea! This DIY project is:

1) unique

2) practical

3) 100% eco friendly

By unique I mean - not many people have a garden hose door mat! And not all hoses are the same!

By practical I mean - visualize late autumn rain, your wet boots and puddles in your hallway. The material from which the garden hose is made is also ideal for making a shoe rack where your wet footwear can be left to dry.

By eco friendly I mean- all projects on this page are eco friendly! The bonus of this is that the environment of the object isn't changed. The garden hose stays in its natural habitat, but is used for a different purpose ( + the water was present in its original usage, and it's present now)!

Click and study it!

Extra tip: you can also place it in your bathroom or hallway for those wet boots!

Recycle a magazine- from old paper to a coaster, a bowl or a bracelet

Take those old magazines you’ve stored up and get cracking ! Make strips out of them and twine them together.

Here’s the first, the easier suggestion:

And the second one:

Extra tip: you can use this technique to make all sorts of things, even a piece of jewellery :

More ideas coming up, stay tuned!

Upcycle plastic bottle caps - make a unique soap dish

Remember those ideas for the poorly furnished apartment where you’re only temporarily staying? We talked about brooms and dustpans. You may want to have a soap holder too.

Here's a cheap and original idea on how to make it. You will need plastic bottle caps, a little plastic container and some pebbles.

Extra tip: instead of using pebbles and a plastic container, you can try and glue the caps together with a hot glue gun. Keep in mind -  it's questionable that the glue cansurvive water and soap!

A simple DIY dustpan - upcycle an old milk jug

Here’s a simple accessory for your plastic bottle broom. It's a handy milk jug dustpan! I presume it's also legit to use a detergent jug.

See?

Click on this link and find out the details!

Extra tip: this little shovel is also a lovely toy to be used on a beach , in a sandbox or when it’s snowing.

Upcycle PVC pipes - reuse them in your bathroom!

Let's say you had to renovate the plumbing system in your house. After the workers had done all the work and left, you ended up with a few extra PVC pipes (if you were persuasive enough and they let you have them). Here's a suggestion on how to repurpose them. It is very, very simple!

Extra tip: colors are welcome!

DIY: Make your own broom: upcycle a plastic bottle

This is an awesome idea! Let’s say you’re moving house, renting a flat or staying in a poorly furnished apartment for a while, and you don't want to waste your money on a new broom, but you’d still like to keep the place tidy and clean while you're staying there- you can simply use a 1.5liter plastic bottle for this purpose. Upcycle it into a handy broom!

Here's how you do it!

Extra tip: a broomstick doesn't have to be long. You can even use some branches!