Upcycled Design Lab Blog

Paper Jewlery Tutorial - TP Cuff Bracelet

Psst.... I am going to let you in on a little secret. I am an Upcycling Snob. Have you ever heard of such a thing? It is really quite absurd isn't it? Could there be a bigger oxymoron than being stuck up about playing with trash? It's ridicules and yet it is true. Here is one example. It is my theory that you can upcycle anything and I mean anything into a piece of jewelry. This in itself may not seem too snobby but having said that I also tend to be mostly underwhelmed by most upcycled jewelry projects. See.....Snob-O-Rama!!!!... Read more →

For the birds? - Upcycled bird feeder tutorial

My Grandmother loved watching the birds in her yard. I can remember sitting at her kitchen table and being a little bored with the whole bird thing. I was a teen aged high school know it all, but I sat with her and listened to her talk about the birds because I loved her and sometimes there was a giant banana split involved. None of the bird information ever sank in, I was probably too busy debating which was the better topping Chocolate or Caramel? So I still don't know a thing about birds. Last summer I made this upcycled... Read more →

One New Shoe (upcycled paper mache shoe tutorial)

Happy Summer Days Everyone. Is it just me or is the summer rushing by full speed ahead? I am finding it more difficult to squeeze crafting and blogging in between all the projects and chores the outdoors seems to require of me lately. But today finally I have another project (well to be honest half of a project) to post about. The story begins with this blue pair of shoes. Not really my color and they were scuffed in a couple of places. The soles and heels were in pretty good shape and originally, I had intended just to paint... Read more →