Round-Up // Happy Earth Day!

Tomorrow is Earth Day, so I thought I'd round-up a few of my favorite upcycle projects. To be honest, some of my favorite projects stem from repurposing trash-- That doesn't sound very glamorous but, to tell you the truth, you don't always need to go to the store to find your creativity.

Even with these upcycle projects, I always find myself wanting to do more-- Not just for the environment, but for my family's overall health. Lately I've been trying to "green" some of my daily chores. Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing what has worked well (and what hasn't).

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Upcycle // Papier Mache Roses from an Egg Carton

I'm craving flowers. Which can only mean one thing… Spring is almost here. Next week, March 20th!! With the kids' schedules and my own responsibilities, I haven't had much down time lately. I'm definitely someone who needs some quiet time in order to function properly and it just hasn't been happening lately. So, after several weeks of feeling uninspired and burnt-out, when a little free time presented itself, I knew it was time to remedy the situation. For me, the remedy usually means "creative therapy" --  Forget all the other stuff for a bit and create something.

On Monday morning at 8:00 sharp, right as the kids were being carted off to school by my hubby, I pulled out some supplies and got to work. I didn't feel like waiting for the stores to open, so I dug into a bag of recyclables that I've been saving for a future project. Since Earth Day is next month, what better time to start an upcycle project.

At first,  I didn't have a clear plan, but I did know that I wanted a hands-on project that is easy to make, uses recyclable materials, and breathes a little Spring into our home. I think these egg carton roses hit all the marks.

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Make // Water Lilies

With Earth Day earlier this week, and since I had a lot of milk jugs leftover from these votives, I decided to try my hand at another "milk jug" project.

Water lilies are one of my favorite flowers; They're beautiful, vibrant and they grow in ponds. Awesome. My love for water lilies goes way back. My 14-year old self had a bedroom decorated with Monet's water lilies prints (I even had an impressionist water lilies bed spread!) and when I first traveled to France 15 years ago, visiting Monet's home and gardens was one of the highlights of the trip. It was at his home in Giverny that Monet maintained a beautiful water garden which inspired his famous Water Lilies (les nymphéas) series.

So with water lilies and dreams of outdoor dining on the brain, I decided to come up with a centerpiece for our patio table.

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Make // Milk Jug Votives

Since today is Earth Day, I thought I'd dig into our recycle bin and come up with an upcycle project. 

Most upcycle projects that I see are glass-- wine bottles, jars, even beer bottles. Not too many pretty projects with plastic milk gallon jugs though. I wonder why?  ;)  I guess they aren't the most exciting in their original form, but with their vellum-like quality, I thought they would be perfect for a votive project.

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Happy Earth Day!

I have a project for Earth Day that'll be ready to share later.  In the meantime, I raided the archives and pulled together a round-up of several upcycle projects.

Have a wonderful week!

[Oh Martha Monday] Upcycle Ideas

In honor of Earth Day (I'm a little late... it was yesterday), here are some creative upcycle projects from Martha Stewart.

tshirt yarn pom-poms

pig bottle bank

dress shirt pillow

card garland

pillow case tote

button clock

decorative jar lids

tshirt necklace

I'm having a slow Monday morning... yawn.  Have a great day!