Today we talk to our friend Lisa Leisy of Romantique Vintage. Her love for antiques and history started as a child and has blossomed from there. She loves to surround her home with history and a link to the past.  Like all good upcyclers, Lisa thinks outside of the box and her creativity is inspiring. We love her upcycled items and we think you will too. Learn more about her and her passion for upcycling with our Five Questions with an Artist. 1.  Tell us your …

How many of us have had the experience of wanting an adorable shabby chic item, but find ourselves wishing it fit our color palette just a bit better or wishing the top of the piece had a more durable finish and a bit heavier antiquing on the bottom of the piece? And so many of us can relate to the creative art teacher who has the most tremendous ideas, but the most limiting budget! Rebecca Stephens is a creative mind and artist that has been creating, thrifting, and …

At Dog Days Guitar Straps, founder Bryan Kaufman has a simple, yet bold mission: Create the ultimate guitar straps out of the ultimate designer fabrics. He offers a growing selection of guitar straps that are available in over 40 different fabric styles, including some very special, upcycled, vintage fabrics from the 1960s and beyond. Bryan has created his business model thoughtfully, supporting the notion that upcycling is a critical addition because “sustainable practices are essential to giving to future generations on this planet the opportunity to preserve a high quality …

Happy Independence Day! Today in the United States we will be celebrating our independence and we thought it would be a great time to discuss what to do with your old worn out American flags. If your flag is made out of wool or cotton then burning them following a retirement ceremony is the best method to use. You can drop off your worn flags at your local American Legion or contact your local Boy Scout or Girl Scout counsel for help with disposing of your worn flags. Many …

Here is a great video from the folks at www.permies.com. This free tutorial outlines the steps for turning an old refrigerator or freezer into a food dehydrator. We love this idea! I have tried a few homemade solar dehydrators but they didn’t really work because of humidity. This appears to take care of that problem and prevents the purchase of a new dehydrator while keeping an old appliance out of the land fill.      

    One of the best gifts I ever gave my now husband was a life-size, stand-up, cardboard Storm Trooper. He is a Star Wars fan and when I came across the Storm Trooper, well…I had no choice but to buy it. My dear friend loaded it in her car and drove it across the state with me so I could give it to him. Ahhh, love! Interestingly,  after college and  having kids we really didn’t need a big Storm Trooper anymore. We sold it at a garage …

Felting wool from old sweaters is a wonderful way to give something old a new life. If the sweater is out of style, out of size or even if it has been attacked by moths you can give it  a new use by felting. Do not be intimidated by this process. It is fun and really easy. Remember that the process is irreversible. Felting wool sweaters: 1. Select your sweaters. If you notice any holes, you can repair them now by closing the holes with a few stiches. …

We are still counting our blessings here and enjoying the Thanksgiving Season. This week we are focusing on getting our homes and families ready for a day of gratefulness. It’s not Christmas yet… First up, a scrapy little pumpkin. Made with fall colored material scraps and stuffed with old newspaper. It is fun, easy and looks great in any room of your house. Materials: 1. Material scraps in a variety of fall colors. 2. Twine 3. Newspaper or upcycled wrapping or tissue paper 4. A very small amount …

Upcycled soap? I know… I was slightly skeptical when this review first crossed my desk. Until that day, I had never considered upcycled soap. By the time, the package was 6 inches from my nose I had already started my conversion. Summit Soap smells FANTASTIC! The primary ingredient in this upcycled soap is cooking oil from Rocky Mountain, Colorado restaurants. The vegetable cooking oil is then purified and quality tested. The fabulous scent comes from fresh herbs and essential oils. I have used the soap for a week …

I grew up in the country, right in the middle of corn fields and farms. Every evening when we cleaned up the dinner table we had a bowl for kitchen scraps. The bowl was either dumped in the corner of the garden or given to the pigs. I never thought to do anything else with kitchen scraps. That was, until I went to college. I clearly remember the first meal I made in my college apartment. When it came time to clean-up, I didn’t know what to do …