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Upcycled Wire Lampshade
Following on from the oriental lamp upcycling post, here’s part 2: the upcycled wire lampshade. For this I used: An old circular lampshade (I got mine for a couple of pounds at a charity shop) Fencing wire Wire cutters Floristry wire Spray paint (I used copper) Sticks from the garden First I removed the material from the lampshade, leaving the wire frame. I washed the frame with warm water and a scouring pad to get rid of any glue. Then I measured how tall I wanted the lampshade to be and cut the wire to size. Watch out with cutting the wire, I cut my fingers several times on the…
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Upcycled lamp
Kitsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer containing precious metal, celebrating the full life of the piece and making something beautiful out of something broken. This was my inspiration for this upcycled lamp. As you can see, it is an old lamp base made out of an oriental style vase and had a lot of areas where the paint had chipped away. I used gold leaf to fill in these gaps before painting over with a clear varnish (I actually used nail varnish here!). I think it looks a lot better and means I can keep it in our guest bedroom rather than throwing it away!…
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Upcycle – Welsh Dresser
I found this dark wood dresser in a charity shop a few years ago and loved the half circle designs and pane glass windows, plus it had great storage cupboards for toys and games. It was crying out for a bold colour to upcycle this welsh dresser. So I grabbed a can of peacock coloured paint that was suitable for wood and got painting. I like to see the original colour of the piece so focused on the drawers, cupboards and back of the piece while keeping the shelves original. To pick out the details, I used a drybrush technique on the patterns to make them stand out more. What…
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Bedside table upcycle
An upcycled bedside table
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Rope Rainbow Hair Clip Storage
After seeing a hair clip rainbow from the fantastic Nerdy Knits, I wanted to have a go at making something for my little one’s growing collection of hair clips and hair bands. After a lengthy discussion involving mermaids and unicorns, we landed on a rainbow hair clip storage solution. You will need: Macrame rope (I used 10mm thick) Wool in your choice of colours Ribbon for hanging Fabric Button Needle and thread Hot glue gun (or use the needle and thread to attach) I used the same method to make the rainbow as in my Rope Rainbow post, except I used three lengths and cut the rope long so there…
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Easy upcycled face mask using a pair of leggings
I was so impressed when my daughter made this easy upcycled face mask from a pair of leggings that I wanted to share it with all of you! This pattern will fit a small adult’s face (the elastic is a little tight on me!) or a child. Firstly, take a pair of child’s leggings, ideally ones that have been outgrown or are never worn. Cut off the legs so you have about 22cm of fabric. Pin a 2cm hem each side. Sew the hems. You can use running stitch or backstitch or whip stitch if you don’t want the stitches to show. Make sure you leave a good sized channel…
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Pallet den
A wooden den, made from upcycling pallets
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Mosaic Splashback
After my son smashed one of my favourite mugs, I couldn’t bear to throw the pieces away. So, I began to collect any broken crockery that I particularly liked, mostly in blue and white with the thought that I’d do something with them some day. That day came when discussing what to do about a splashback. Here was an opportunity to use up my beloved smashed cups and plates and create a unique mosaic for the kitchen. First, I cut an offcut of plyboard to size to fit the space between my cooker and the extractor fan. Next, I started to place pieces of ceramic on it and soon realised…
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Upcycled lampshade
This make was a quick upcycled lampshade after I managed to get a great lamp base from a freecycle group but wasn’t happy with my plain lampshade. I wanted a quirky lamp for my craft room and cream wasn’t going to cut it! So I took a small existing lampshade I already had, some wool from my craft stash, some pom pom trim in a gorgeous hot pink and my trusty glue gun to transform from drab to fab. First I glued some wool from my stash (similar to this in teal) to the inside of the lampshade. Then, I wound it round and round the shade until it was…
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Sewing Cabinet
I was super excited when I found this sewing cabinet on ebay for £60. After checking with the seller that it worked, I clicked “buy it now” and it arrived just in time for lock down to start. I knew that I’d have to do something to cover the mid-century laminate styling and decided to use chalk paint and replace the handles. Not having primer and not wanting to buy anything new, I sanded it down and then used 3 coats of white chalk paint similar to this one. Then I took off the old handles, used wood filler and replaced with these cute button handles I had found on…
