Paper Jewels

I’m one of those people who makes stuff. I sew, I do crafts, I make things for the house, etc etc. And I’m fairly knowledgeable about fabric. Felt is a fabric that used to be made out of, well, smushed up wool leftovers. It’s always offered great vivid colors, but it ‘pills’ and frays and it’s not sturdy, so oh well.

But! I have been re-educated here. Not only have I found some great colors in oh-so-useful felt, but it is made ENTIRELY from recycled stuff - even better, from recycled bottles! They’ve made a soft fabric - from bottles. And it’s not expensive!

The colors are clear and vivid - and from what the vendor writes, the fabric does NOT fray or fall apart in the wash. (Old-style felt, forget it, you wouldn’t dare toss it in the washer). And she has it in many colors! And she even has it in this camoflauge pattern!

Camouflage felt fabric!
Now honestly, that wouldn’t be my personal choice - but lots of people would love it (imagine a pillow made with this felt, sitting on your couch in the den).

I will happily promote this vendor - K and C Supplies on Etsy. She is finding / sourcing / selling a product that is not only entirely recycled, but it’s pretty and soft and nice!

Talk about the best of all possible products. Go buy some!

I saw the most amazing creation over at Ecofriend.org. This building is a teahouse, very much in the tradition of a handcrafted Japanese structure - but this one is made entirely of recycled paper.

Now this time I’m not suggesting we should go build our house out of recycled paper - at least, not without an engineer’s knowledge of materials and how to adapt them to building techniques. But I do suggest that we could all be inspired by this structure.

One, we can learn - or remember, because we already know it - the all-important concepts of reuse, rethink, recycle… and “rethink” is a real important part of that trio. Take a look at some of the stuff you’re about to discard. Some of it can have a new life. Some of it can have a very COOL new life.

And if a building out of recycled paper isn’t in your immediate future - what about an ottoman or footstool, built with “bricks” you made yourself of paper? Or… well, you’ll think of things. Unleash your Mad Creative Scientist and make something for yourself!

Now this combines several of my passions - paper (natch), recycling and even more important RE-USING… also art, making your home comfortable and attractive, DIY-ness…. lots of good stuff.

This article from Sunset.com shows an example of re-using old CD jewel cases as “frames” for your art:

.

Used in multiples like this, they make a great graphic statement - and even more special is that you can use a common theme - pics of your friends? landscapes? alien bugs? you name it! - or, maybe a similar color - all sorts of images in blue, for example. Truly it can be tailored to exactly what you like, or what you want to say.

And the graphics / pics you insert in the cases can be recycled, too. Gorgeous flower pics taken from old magazines? old pattern images?

How about cutouts from your kids’ drawings? Talk about a special, personal, and way fun decoration for your kitchen or alcove? I love that idea!

Meant to post this yesterday for Earth Day but kinda missed…. but this doesn’t need to just be an “Earth Day” idea. Hopefully we can all learn to see with new eyes. To “rethink” - how can we use this? do I need to throw it away to just fill up a landfill, or can I do something totally new with it? And NOT BUY ANYTHING. (Of course I’m all in favor of buying stuff - I’m a retailer - but even I know that we have to learn to buy selectively, to buy only if we need it or we want to give something wonderful to someone we love… you know, the *good* reasons).

Anyway I ran across this picture (sorry didn’t save the link, I was having a leaky brain day) - and am proposing it as a General Idea rather than just a specific. Take a look at this terrific colorful basket:
.

These are made from rolled-up newspapers, and I don’t have directions so would be experimenting myself. Roll the newspaper tightly to make tubes - lots of them. Start to coil your basket, securing the coils with cotton string? Clear fishing line, IF you already have some and would not be buying new…. Or, maybe colorful cotton strips torn from an old sheet (okay, cut from an old sheet - sheets are tough and strong!) Or yarn you have anyway? Anything that could be used to “sew” the coils together.

The basket would be lightweight and strong (paper is very very strong in compressed layers). I bet there are lots of adaptations we can think of, using this general idea. Let’s think of more