Tea & Toast:: Funky Upcycling Town

 

It’s Tea & Toast time again. Don’t the weeks just fly by?

Today I want to take you on a really fun meander through funky city. Let’s call it Funky Upcycle Town.

Upcycling is an age old concept of reuse. In the old days nothing much was thrown away – people couldn’t afford it. If something broke or wore out, some very creative, thrifty person would turn it into something else just as useful.

I love the idea of this. It sickens me when I think about the waste in the society we live in. Nothing is made to last and any teensy tiny fault in a product renders it useless. So much is simply thrown away for un-biodegradable land fill. Buy another one! Ugh! {and I have to admit that I’ve been guilty of it myself}.

My Dad is one of those thrifty upcyclers. He’s always coming up with uses for discarded bits of wood, old metal table legs, cupboard draws, fence palings. Just last week he made a beautiful cutlery holder, complete with handle, out of an old cupboard draw he found at the tip. I’ve got lots of lovely feathery pieces that Dad has made for me out of old stuff and I treasure them dearly.

So, come on, let’s meander down Funky Upcycle Town and drool at all the possibilities that upcycling offers…

 

For starters, I love this idea for an old bird cage…

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This next idea is more art, in my mind, but so very, very clever, don’t you think? Though I think I could manage a funky ladder creation like that…

 

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And who would’ve though - a cheese grater pencil holder?

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Old packing pallets have become an ultra popular building material lately. Here are a couple of ideas but I’ve seen so many on my googling drool fests that I think another packing crate post is on the cards.

 

I love this next idea. A cupboard made out of mis-matched drawers!

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Cupboard door fronts made out of old signs…

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The next 3 images are pieces made out of recycled scrap wood. The creator, Piet Hein Eek sells them here…

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How about upcycling an old bedside table and turning it into a cute kitchen set for the kidlets? …

 

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And old Pyrex dishes into light fittings? …

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And tea cups into candles? …

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And light bulbs into hanging vases? …

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The ideas are endless!

Have you got any upcycled pieces in your nest?

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

Kim xx