Cool Stuff Made From Reclaimed and Recycled Materials

Just for fun, I've been going through the archives here at House Revivals.  Here are a few fun projects made from reclaimed and re-purposed materials, in honor of our upcoming Earth Day!

(This post is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. M is for Made. See the link in my sidebar.)

This burnt edge peony is perfect for spring!  It was one of my first tutorials, and has been especially popular with readers who are planning weddings.  It was created using recycled textiles.

This oval wreath made from vintage book pages, jute webbing, and felt roses was made as a gift for a friend. The wreath form was cut from cardboard in the  recycling bin, the book was rescued from the Goodwill Outlet (often the last stop for Goodwill merchandise before the landfill). The roses were made from an old felted wool sweater.

This decoupaged Union Jack with these faux tin letters -- made from recycled newspapers -- spelling LOVE, is one of the most popular projects on House Revivals. The Union Jack was cut from old shirts.

This square wreath is one of my very favorite projects -- in fact, it still hangs on my front door.  Although I glittered the leaves and made it specifically to hang over the holidays, I think it looks great all year long. and it makes me happy. Learn how to make your own wreath using all reclaimed and vintage materials!

Another "early blog" project was this Wild Pants Lamp! It was a little crazy, and I'm pretty sure my husband hated it, but I loved it. It was made using..................... wait for it............................ Wild Pants!

The lamp didn't last too long, however, after our daughter's sweet pup, Dexter, arrived in our home!

His mommy tried to fix it.... with duct tape. We actually used it like this for several more months, while our household goods were in storage!  Lately, it has been stashed in a closet awaiting a proper repair.

Who can stay mad at a face like that?

Do you like to make things?  Do you enjoy working with reclaimed materials?  Be sure to leave a comment, so I know you stopped by!

Mums, Peonies, and More Blog Theft

Most of my projects, lately, have been "house" related, but I recently squeezed in a new singed flower design.

Many of you are familiar with the burned edge poppies...

...and the burned edge peonies that I designed last year. 

Well, I've had it in the back of my mind to do a chrysanthemum for quite a while.  I wanted to see if it had already been done, and did some Google searches for burnt, and burned, and singed flowers, and guess what?  Images from my own tutorials were popping up for another blog.  I'm not talking about when other bloggers feature your project, with a link and a credit.  I'm talking about out and out theft.  I would encourage other bloggers to randomly search for content from their own blogs -- especially popular posts, to see if your own content is being hijacked.

I have begun the long process of watermarking my photos, starting with the woven star tutorial (yes, it's been hijacked by multiple blogs).  This doesn't actually stop the hijackers, but it will at least take away their credibility, right? 

For now, I will just make a quick pass over the most popular posts, and watermark the most important images, but eventually, I will need to watermark everything.  It is going to take months.  Seriously.  Especially with two renovations in progress, and several burnt edge chrysanthemums to finish up for our Thanksgiving place settings :)

Here's a peek at the project:

No pressure.  Just a few handmade fabric mums to whip up between painting some cupboards and preparing for house guests.  Easy peasy, right?  What kinds of projects and dishes are you working on to prepare for Thanksgiving?