upcycle Archives - Everyday Edits

Simple Ideas to Repurpose Plastic Spray Bottles

August 5, 2019

I blame genetics for my obsession to find simple ideas to repurpose plastic spray bottles. I carry the repurpose gene from my Ireland- to- Appalachia great grandparents. And, the Catholic guilt for just about everything. #wink

That is the only way to explain my guilt and inability to toss my stash of empty spray bottles from my favorite HomeGoods finds.

Simple Ideas to Repurpose Plastic Spray Bottles

I have an unusally high feeling of guilt over the plastic spray nozzles. The plastic spray nozzles have no chance at a repurposed life once they end up in a landfill.

To balance the purchased cleaning products, I buy vinegar and baking soda in bulk. Then I just play junior high chemist to create eco-friendly cleaning products. I use my plastic spray bottles to stash around the house.

My sister told me about Nature’s Miracle for pet accidents and stinky workout gear. As she explained, the vinegar neturalizes the odors. Eventually, I switched to purchasing a gallon of vinergar for less than the cost of a latte.

I removed the labels and glue from the spray bottles and used chalk labels or scrap paper to identify the bottles. This fun dog print was perfect for the vinegar based cleaning products for dog messes. The puppy print was the visual the family needed to clean up the pet messes and puppy puddles.

I loved these chalk friendly labels but added a layer of clear packing tape to keep the labels dry.

Last summer was the summer of Snapple at our house (until I saw the sugar content). I had saved dozens of Snapple bottles. With a few minutes of boredom, I realized the Snapple bottles were the perfect to size to store dish soap and baking soda.

Check out this list for Good Housekeeping’s uses for baking soda.

And, a little sprinkle of baking soda to add sparkle to the sink and a great way to remove rust from serving trays.

With 19 Snapple bottles left, I stored Dawn dish soap in bottles for the laundry room. Dawn worked great to remove oil-based makeup stains.

I tucked these spray bottles into closets for quick cleanups or fresh scent smell. No more running around the house to find a surface-specific cleaner.

How do you upcycle plastic spray bottles? Do you have any suggestions for my Snapple bottles or spray bottles? Looking for other ways to repurpose, check out this Earth Day is Everyday post.

A Vintage Mailbox Find for My Office

July 17, 2019

I love when I find something I did not know I wanted. Doyou know what I mean? That is what happened when I discovered a vintage mailbox find for my office.

It happened when I stopped by a popular antique store located between Denver and Colorado Springs. I was early for a meeting and there was parking spot right out front. Parking can be the biggest challenge when I shop outside the comforts of the suburbs.

The Barn was packed with vintage finds, candles, clothing and so much more. In between the antiques and farmhouse, chippy trays, I found a brassy, tired vintage mailbox. It was under $20.00 and it had good bones.

Vintage Mailbox

With an ongoing office refresh, the vintage mailbox found a new home in my office, right next to the door. I painted it a sloppy coat of Hale Navy paint to give a pop of color on the Revere Pewter walls. Of course, I did not grab a before photo. Epic blog fail!

This vintage mailbox was a cute addition above the light switch. I loved the serendipty moment when I realized the mailbox ended up next to a door. Maybe not the front door, but the door to my office. Serendipity right?

In today’s email packed inboxes, this little mailbox no longer holds the mail, but I bet it holds a lot of stories.

With the tiny door lift, centered on the front of the mailbox, it was ready to store something fun. Sometimes, practical is overrated!

Although this mailbox no longer holds the local newspaper I want to find a purpose for the scrolled arms.

But, what I love most about this mailbox is it reminds us of the low tech version of mail delivery. The little key entry on the front panel suggests an earlier simpler version of security.

I found this fun read about the history of mailboxes. Did you know in 1923 it was mandatory that every home had a mailbox. You can read the why here.

I love this mailbox find. And, it looks like it was meant to be a part of my home office. Not to be confused with my husband’s corner office in the basement. I would love your suggestions on what to store in the front compartment. I love the metal scroll detail

Why I Wish Retailers Used Pretty Shipping Boxes

June 10, 2019

Have you ever fell in love with a particular retailer for a very specific reason. For example, I love the candles at Anthropologie. I can not walk into an Anthropologie store without buying a Capri Blue candle. If Tori Spelling’s mom had a gift wrap room, I can defend a candle cabinet. I fell in love with Bath & Body Works because the retailer used pretty shipping boxes.

Sometimes I order online just for the heavy cardboard boxes. I have talked at length about my favorite Bath & Body Works shipping boxes here. The familiar blue plaid interior sided boxes deserve a repurposed life. But you know what I don’t understand is why more retailers have not jumped on the pretty shipping boxes like Bath & Body Works.

I shared my first Bath & Body boxes upcycle idea for my home office here. But I had a stack of boxes from my online purchases of three wick candles and hand foaming soaps from last fall.

After I converted our entry hall closet to a storage closet I had a lot of white space to fill. My overhaul was designed to accommodate more light bulbs than coats. With of stack of blue gingham print boxes, it was a no brainer to upcycle these pretty boxes rather than buy plastic bins.

I love the pretty boxes against the freshly painted white shelves and interior closet walls. Upcycling the boxes to store the essentials made so much sense for an under-achieving entry coat closet.

I made no frill labels in a word document and attached with clear packing tape. That’s it! Remember, do not overthink an upcycle project.

I might make cuter tags, but at my house clearly marked, no frill boxes reduce confusion.

How cute would it be if Chewy used pretty shipping boxes with paw prints on the inside of the box? What do you think of a new trend to produce patterned shipping boxes? Would you repurpose a pretty shipping box?

How to Make Embroidery Hoop Orbs

May 9, 2019

I am so excited to share these embroidery hoop orbs. I am a sloppy crafter which means my craft projects will never trend on Pinterest. And, I am good with that. So when I was asked to join an embroidery hoop craft challenge I thought this was my chance to get my craft on.

But, first I Googled “embroidery hoops” to confirm they were what I thought they were.

I ordered a “lot” of embroidery hoops on eBay because I wasn’t sure what I was going to make or how many hoops I would need. Let’s just save I can make a dozen orbs.

I decided to make orbs because I liked the look of similar projects on Pinterest and orbs matched my decor style.

embroidery hoops

I knew I wanted to stain these. I took the lazy route and didn’t separate the hoops.

Do as I suggest, not as I d0.

Take a few minutes to detach the hoops, it made a huge difference in the time it takes to stain and the quality of the finished look. I used a foam brush and a small paintbrush to get around the metal fasteners. After I stained the embroidery hoops I decided it was harder to stain hoops than furniture.

I loved the difference the stain made to the embroidery hoops. The stain gave them an instant Pottery Barn like finish. This craft project was headed in the right direction.

The stained orbs looked great with our shelves on the opposite ends of our this updated fireplace.

I wanted an easy way to attach the hoops, but finally committed to the power drill to drill pilot holes and then attach a small screw at the top and bottom of the orb. The wood was soft enough that with a little muscle you could secure both ends with a tack.

I figured this out when my drill’s battery died mid-drill.

I love the finished look of the orb. The embroidery hoop’s stained wood finish added much-needed character to the shelves. I have a few more embroidery hoop orbs “in production.”

On a side note, I love the shadows created from the lighting above the orbs onto the white shelf.

5 Simple Ways to Celebrate Earth Day Every Day

April 22, 2019

Just like Christmas, I tend to think about the earth during the year and not just on Earth Day. If you know me you know I love a good up-cycle project. Sometimes I think my up-cycle enthusiasm is from my grandparents and my parents’ generations. They learned at an early age to save, recycle, repurpose and reuse everyday objects. Oh, and then repeat those steps. My mom has a stack of aluminum foil in her pantry.

But today we use fancy words like up-cycle and repurpose. So in honor of the big day here are five simple ways to celebrate Earth Day every day.

How to Up-cycle Chipped Dishes

April 16, 2019

This up-cycle project is the result of a split second decision to consider a second life for a tired item. Usually, I either toss or donate an item that is passed it’s prime. And, that’s almost what I did when my crock pot shaped soup bowls began to chip. Here’s a fun way to up-cycle chipped dishes.

This up-cycle project works great for those small chipped dishes that might not be table worthy for guests, but still, have a lot of potential uses.

I had a few crock soup bowls with chips and I got this idea that these cute bowls be perfect on my tiny deck. It was the perfect size to add to my tiny cylinder table. I pulled those clumps of grass that always migrate to the other side of the border. You know those clumps of grasses that think the grass is greener on the other side? wink

The clumps of grass worked out well because they are easy to maintain and they grow vertical. The grass added some much-needed greenery to a tiny space.

This would be a fun craft project this summer with kids, cousins and gran, children. Everyone goes home with chipped dishes filled with freshly pulled grass!

Before you leave, here is another fun up-cycle if you have a small side table in the basement or garage.

Pottery Barn Kitchen Table Knockoff

March 14, 2019

I was this close to selling my kitchen table on Craig’s List when I saw this table on Pottery Barn’s website. In just a few minutes of side glances over my shoulder and back at the screen I knew I had a PB kitchen table knockoff in the works!

I looked at this table, zoomed in on the base and looked over to my World Market clearance table. This white PB kitchen table turned out to be the inspiration for my Pottery Barn kitchen table knockoff I finished last summer.

My veneer-ish, shiny black table was mix-matched with the shades of blue. I was so close to trading it in for something new.

I painted my round table with this Benjamin Moore color. It is Mascarpone and it is a favorite white at my house. The hardest part about this creamy white is spelling it correctly. I have to Google it everytime.

And, this Pottery Barn kitchen table knockoff is one of my favorites! My kitchen table went from a shiny, veneer-ish finish to a creamy color to brighten the space.

kitchen-table-pottery-barn-knockoff-feature

I think this table is the longest I have kept a piece of furniture free from new paint. Yes, I do touch it up, but I have not wavered in my decision to paint it a different color. I love it!

How to Upcycle Candle Jars

January 24, 2019

I love candles and any excuse to light a few. I love to light candles on rainy evenings and snowy weekends. Just a forecast for snow gets me excited to light candles. love candles over three day weekends in the winter.

My favorite places to shop for candles are Bath & Body Works and the Capri candles at Anthropologie are a favorite.

And, I can’t walk into a HomeGoods without taking a peek down the candle section. All of these candles have one thing in common: great packaging! The jars are glass and metal which makes them perfect for an upcycle.

For me, candles are the closest thing to a wood-burning fireplace in a state that has largely banned wood-burning fireplaces in residential homes. I wonder if candle sales are higher in Colorado than states that allow wood-burning fireplaces?

Candles give many of us a feeling of warmth, home, comfort and peace.

So with almost empty glass jars piling up after the holidays, I figured out how to upcycle candle jars.

And, I discovered the key to cleaning out the wax was to freeze the jars, followed by hot water. That’s it! For an entire month, my freezer had a 1/2 dozen candle jars.

And, when I had a few minutes I boiled water and watched the frozen wax pop out or break down into smaller pieces. The wax residue just needed soapy water and a little elbow grease.

The results were awesome and all of sudden these beautiful candle jars can be re-purposed for new uses. Stay tuned!

Twigs & Branches Centerpiece

October 25, 2018

It was the best (my first) curbside find the day I asked an arborist to help me parallel park my car in Denver. I didn’t actually have him park my car. I just needed some eyes on the curb and hand signals. Once parked I asked the arborist about the stack of twigs and branches next to the curb. Before I could finish my offer to take some of the branches, his crew was loading the twigs and branches into the back of my car. The leaves and bugs were included.

He asked me what I was going to do with them.

I told him I didn’t have a clue…

but, I would figure it out.

Which is basically my motto in life.

With a car full of twigs and branches and bugs I was on a mission to get home and spend time on Pinterest.

Well, the other thing about me is I stink at crafts. I don’t have the patience or the discipline to follow the directions. I take shortcuts. And, with my vision of a twigs and branches centerpiece, I made shortcuts. Get it?