Thursday, May 31, 2012

Today's Happiness Share

I don't know what it is...but experiencing something like this from today's 'happiness share', even if only virtually, gives me moments of peace and faith in humanity. Take a couple of minutes to recharge. It's hard not to smile softly to yourself when you see the smiles brought to commuters on this train.

 

 This flash mob was brought to us by the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra in Denmark.

 Mike

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A Day's Worth of Inspiration - Recycle and Repurpose

The weekend is inching closer and closer, and I hope you're going to be able to set aside a slot of time to re.Create - because I've uncovered some pretty fabulous projects that are definitely worth a try. It's all in the name of another day of inspiration for recycled and repurposed design.

Can't you just see yourself overflowing with inspiration as you sit in your very own beautiful button-backed chair. What? No buttons? Well first priority for you this weekend is a trip to your nearest thrift store! Or Etsy. Or Ebay.



Now imagine yourself getting up and breezing through your own recycled tab curtains as you head outdoors for a bit of fresh air. Can you hear the soft chimes as the aluminum tabs brush against each other?



Once outside, let's have a seat in one of our fabulously funky mod podged garden chairs ...



... as we have a pot of tea, kept warm by the sweetest teapot cozy covers made from Auntie Em's old wool suit that she wore when she married Uncle Ernie.



If we sit still long enough, some of the recycled golf club wildlife that lives in the area will certainly pop in their curious little heads to catch some crumbs from our high tea scones.



Look over there in the garden - the scrap metal flowers are blooming!



I don't know Anne of Green Gables very well, but she stops to ask if we've seen her repurposed book purse. She can't seem to find it and she needs to get home to finish creating her very own rolled magazine page mirror frame.



I suggest that she look on the scrap wood nightstand in the bedroom, furthest down the hall and on the left.



But you mentioned seeing it on the repurposed LP end table in the living room.



"Oh thanks," she said. "You're both absolute recycled angels!"



There's so much recycled and repurposed goodness in the world. So, you see, I hope you find that time this weekend to create something for your own home or garden.

Until next time...
Mike



Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Fun with Repurposed Legos

We breed legos.



Or at least that's what it feels like. The little critters are everywhere underfoot! And they just seem to multiply at staggering speeds. None of them have homes anymore. They all seem to wander around the house aimlessly...waiting for greatness.

Looks like I'm gonna have to find some projects to repurpose my growing litter of legos.

I'm thinking about having a little fun with lego wigs for our next family photo shoot - wouldn't this actually be a blast for a kid's photo?




Not ready to put them on your head? Don't forget these cool lego street bombs. I'm sure you can find a wonderful little spot nearby that is just screaming out to be loved with Legos!


Lego bomb in Arnsberg, Germany


Lego bomb in Barcelona, Spain


Lego bomb in New York, New York


Lego bomb in Venice, Italy


And when you add them to your own little corner of the world, you can upload them at Dispatchwork and claim your 15 minutes of fame.

We definitely have enough to create a superstar lego mirror frame like this one. Makes me think of Star Wars.




What do you think? Do I need to find new homes for my lego litter?

Until next time...
Mike



Sunday, May 27, 2012

High Tea - Chandelier

This jaw-dropping chandelier brings new meaning to high tea!




Makes me want to hop right on the plane and head to Valencia in Spain where this boutique is located, just to stand with head tilted upwards, staring at these stunning beauties. And I am SO trying to figure out how everything is connected to create such wonderful whimsy. I understand the stacked teacup arms, but how are the plates attached?

And now I'm thinking of this teacup chandelier that I posted on Facebook back in April. How can one forget such a spectacular creation?





Seriously. It's time. Time for high tea. Time to try one of these!

Until next time...
Mike

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Magic { Recycled } Garden

I was walking through the virtual garden of Etsy today and found quite a few things I'd like to see in my magic {recycled} garden this summer.

There's only one small problem in my plan...the garden only exists in my imagination. For now. My garden looks more like a jungle, a result of 40 years of roots-secured-in-the-ground growth of bushes, non-descript plants, and weeds.

But these little glories are available on Etsy if you want to hop over and find some garden jewels for yourself.





Until next time...
Mike

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

I'm Having a Social Media Breakdown

Yes, I admit. There are days when I feel like I'm having a social media breakdown.

I open Facebook thinking I'll just take a quick scan and reply to comments.
"5 minutes max," I say to myself. Must create. Must blog. Must...must...must...
"Oooh, there's a comment from someone new."
I hop over to their FB page to learn more about them.
And because I'm a visual person I click to photos, especially for blogs or a business.
One picture of a project leads to a website.
I make the hop.
"Oooh, nice page design," I say to myself.
I wonder who's behind the blog.
I wonder if they've created something with recycled or repurposed materials.
I look for DIY projects on their site.
Oh, that's cool. Gotta pin that on Pinterest.
Wait, it's from another site.
I make the hop to the new link.
Oooh, my FB friends would love to see that.
I share the project and link on FB.
Thank goodness that's an auto link straight to Twitter.
I pin the photo on Pinterest.
Sometimes I pin it to Pinspire, too.
Hmm....that project would be a great collection theme to put together for my blog.
Open Blogspot and copy the link to a post draft for later reference.
That reminds me, I have to contact X to see if they want to be interviewed for Artizen Magazine.
I think to myself, "Should I be using Google+ ?"
Hmm...what's that site that X has linked on their page?
Oooh, another home DIY site. Should I be posting projects over here, too?
Ugh...I don't have enough time for another site. I'm losing ground.
How does everyone do it?
I can't keep up.
And now it's 3 hours later.
I need to finish replying to my FB comments.
How will I ever be able to start selling my creations?
I don't have enough time to create.
Etc.
Etc.


And yesterday I got a visual picture that made me stop dead in my tracks.



Besides the obvious omission of Pinterest (a mistake, I'm sure), this is a great visual showing the main social media software and apps by category. Imagine, this is only a sampling in many of the categories.

No wonder I'm on overload.
How will I ever keep up with 'what's new'?
How will I ever keep up with anything?
I'm having a social media breakdown.
How about you?


Until next time...
Mike

Monday, May 21, 2012

Monday Brain Works


It's Monday! Time to get the brain churning to get us through the week.

And what does that take? I heard mind puzzles are good. And coffee.

Know what else works?

A dose of "What's That ?!"

So off  we go. Can you guess what this fun and funky kitchen backsplash is made from in the very first photo?





No? Okay, I'll give you another picture to help boost the brain power. I understand, the week is young.





Are you like me, stopping and looking at the individual tile images for clues? I tried...but couldn't find any.

And when I saw a close-up photo of the tiles...still didn't register for me. How about you?





What? Really?

How can you go from this....





...to this!




With a whole lot of creativity and a wide awake brain, that's how!

Hmmm...my brain is a bit slower, and this is the only option I've got in my garage...tucked in behind the mower that I put to good use yesterday.




And I remember that K painted the backside to cover a very boring basic brown - so I flipped it over to have a look. Not bad color choice...I wonder if he'd know it's missing.




I mean I love him and all, but I've never seen him practice enough to try this...




...and he's young, so I definitely don't want to see this!





But I could definitely think about something like this.



Or even this.


via broodr


And this is just TOO COOL!





But alas, I've only got this to work with.




Anyone want to meet me at the skateboard park?




Until next time...
Mike


Friday, May 18, 2012

How to Recycle Plastic Silverware

I love colored plastic silverware..the good thick kind. And I don't just use it once - it gets washed and returned to the cabinet for the next BBQ with friends and family. But after looking around today to find a day's worth of inspiration to show how to recycle plastic silverware, I might have to retire some pieces into something more inspiring. Here's 14 of the best ideas I found out there.


A group of students saved their knives from countless lunch meetings and turned them into this glorious recycled knives lampshade - via Inhabitat



That same group of students created these recycled plastic silverware lamps as well - via Inhabitat







I love the X-ray transparancy of this recycled plastic silverware lamp when the light is on - via behance




How about a recycled plastic fork wig for bad hair days? - via Indulgy




It's bright and would be easy to make with recycled spoons - via Country Living



Love the colors, now to make it recycled! - via Addicted 2 Decorating



Recycle your plastic spoons for a special decorative touch for your DIY projects - via Shabby Beach Nest



You've seen silverware rings...this one is from a recycled plastic fork - via Flickr








As long as they've been washed, plastic spoons can be used over and over like on this party tree - via Jellyfish Jelly



I like the colors used on this recycled spoon chandelier - via Tchochkes



 

And when all else fails...build yourself a recycled plastic spoon pyramid! - via Technogad



Until next time...
Mike

Butterflies and Dragonflies - DIY Tutorial

Tutorial time!



Did you see yesterday's post with pics of the two dragonflies and their butterfly cousin? They were inspired by the great creations at Lucy Designs and you can find tutorials on her site - but here's what I used and how I did it.




The body:  I got an old table offered on our local Freecycle site and promptly removed the gorgeous legs that already had 2 different paint colors on them (I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the table top). I sanded down the outer color to show some of the green beneath. Then I added some additional acrylic blues and grays with some broad brush strokes and using a rag to wipe in the paint.

The wings:  The butterfly sports fan blade wings that I had dismantled from a thrift store fan and they were ready to simply screw onto the back of the table leg. Then it was a few nights in front of the TV with a hot glue gun and box of misc. beads and baubles to glam up those wings. 

I had some rusty metal straps - used in industrial shipping - that I'd picked up in a field and drilled a hole in the ends and screwed to the back of the table leg for the bottom wings. I loved the effect of those rusty straps and also used them for the dragonfly...and thinking about making some garden flowers as well. 

The eyes:  The final step was to get out my box of scrap metal bits that I typically pick up off the streets when walking - and soon I had eyes and antennas for my flying insects. 




Once again - a huge thanks to Lucy Designs for the original inspiration. It's a fun project and I've still got another table leg to experiment with!

Until next time...
Mike


Also partying at:
My Repurposed Life
Simple Home Life
Remodelholic
Redoux
Common Ground
The Shabby Nest




Related Post for bluevelvetchair.blogspot.com