second life: wool

Maybe it's the current cold weather and the yearning for warmth, comfort and cosy textiles that's had me thinking about woollies and how to reuse, up-cycle or revamp old jumpers (that's sweaters for our US friends) and old balls of wool.  


I know one thing for sure, wool is certainly one of the most versatile textiles that's readily available and in a vast range of colours.


So here's this week's wrap up (get it, get it!) of my fave second life projects involving wool and woolly by-products.

Yarn Mobile

wool rug

felt flower brooch

felted sweater quilt

felted sweater fingerless mittens

snuggly felted softies

I was going to add pom-pom's to this wrap up but I thought some of you might have had enough of my talking about pom poms.  There are so many great ways to give old woollen clothing a new lease on life. Maybe you'll rethink getting rid of those warm woollens once they are of no use to you?


And to get you started, here's a quick tutorial on how to felt jumpers/sweaters for those who haven't tried it before.  Warning: highly addictive.


If you've missed the previous 'second life' posts, you can find them here.

second life: fabric scraps

If you're an avid sewer like myself, you're probably all too familiar with the piles, boxes and bags of fabric scraps that are just "too good to throw out, because you never know when you're going to need the very last 2cm x 5cm scrap of vintage floral fabric".


If this sounds familiar, then read on my friends.  This post is a quick wrap up of some of the best ways to use up those beloved scraps of fabric.  No more hoarding, no more procrastinating, make some room in your craft space and "second-life" your scraps for a worthy outcome which will see your precious scraps being brought out in all their beauty.

framed fabric hoops

scrappy lamp shade

scrap map... too cool!

party garland or bunting

appliqué cushion

kids craft idea: fabric collage

Maybe you have some awesome projects to add to this list?  Feel free to leave a comment with a link for us to check out.  More second life projects here

second life: jars

Finished that jam that you love so much?
Stop!
Don't throw away the jar. I know you were going to put it in the recycling bin and do your bit for the environment, but you can wash it out, peel the label off and make one of these projects with it instead...


Inspiration Jar



homemade cough syrup



store your buttons



pretty garden lights



craft room storage



recipe in a jar... what a lovely gift!


If you're into upcycling things that are otherwise destined for landfill, click here for more Second Life projects and inspiration.

Hope you've found some inspiration!

second life: cardboard

Welcome to a new weekly column called "second life" where I'll be bringing you inspirational and interesting projects from the interwebs which re-use materials otherwise destined for the bin.


This week we're looking at how to re-use or re-purpose cardboard.  Think packing boxes, cereal boxes, shoes boxes etc. 


Did you know: So prevalent is the cardboard box's reputation as a plaything that in 2005 a cardboard box was added to the National Toy Hall of Fame in the US, one of very few non-brand-specific toys to be honoured with inclusion.

cardboard bedroom furniture

cardboard party decorations

cardboard fortress or castle

cardboard suitcases (for the kiddies)

cardboard lemonade stand

mini notebooks from cereal boxes

There's also a site which shares how to work with cardboard and there's a book too called The Cardboard Box Book.  There are some very clever and resourceful people out there!


If you have any ideas of your own on how to re-use cardboard boxes or if you would like me to research a specific material for the next "second life" post, please leave me a comment.


I hope that this post has inspired you to upcycle your unwanted cardboard boxes into something useful - rather than buying what you need, why not make it!