Eco Friendly Home Projects

Upcycle Living Has a New URL

2017-08-10T03:50:00.002-07:00

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Looking forward to seeing you at the new URL 😊 😘

Upcycled Pendant from Old Nine West Shoe Jewellery

2017-08-09T21:38:00.002-07:00

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Took less than 5 minutes, this is probably the fastest project to date. No one would've guessed its past life if I don't tell.

This was the pair of Nine West shoes I bought at a really great promotion price. Loved them, worn them to death - literally.

But I'm not quite ready to part with them completely yet, and the decorative jewels still look good. So before I binned the shoes, I removed the shoe jewellery from both shoes and turned them into pendants.

Yes I now have 2 Nine West - so to say - pendants, and why not?

Upcycled Padded iPad Case from an Old Cancer Research Canvas Bag

2017-08-02T00:01:00.003-07:00

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Since making the Passport Boarding Pass Holder from the old Cancer Research bag, my sore fingers have had some good rest so it's time to do something with the remaining material.

Using the same method as the Passport Boarding Pass Holder, I made an iPad case:

I've used an old worn out vest (the size was just nice) as the lining,

so that the case will have some kind of padding as extra protection for the iPad.

Securing the padding (old vest) with rough running stitch on both ends.

After doing proper back stitching on both ends, fold into half and stitch on both sides.

Turn inside out.

Unused hair rubber bands stitched under buttons to make loops,
then stitch 2 buttons on the other side.

In our memory, but now serving even better purposes:

The Cancer Research canvas bag before the make over

Upcycled Passport Boarding Pass Holder from Old Cancer Research Canvas Bag

2017-07-25T05:49:00.001-07:00

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An up-cycled Cancer Research wallet that my passport and any boarding pass can fit nicely in, even great for certain shopping vouchers (God knows why they made them so long!) 😍

The Cancer Research canvas bag before the make over

The process was pretty simple:
1. Measure and cut the canvas and a sheet of craft foam (as lining) to the desired size: 22cmx22cm (with excess of at least 2cm all round)
2. Fold into half and secure the foam with 2 ends wrapped over it, then sew both sides.
3. Turn it out, then secure the loops (which are unused hair rubber bands for when I had long hair) with (old) buttons on one side,

4. and stitch 2 more buttons on the other side. The rubber band can now be looped over and keep the content secure. Obviously, it won't keep coins, but that wasn't what I was after. It serves its intended purposes and I'm super happy with the result, and myself 😆

There's still a lot of leftover material from the canvas bag, so I've used it to make an iPad case 😀

Harvesting, Pruning and rooting basil edible plant

2017-07-15T01:54:00.001-07:00

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It's really pretty easy. All I do is pluck off all the leaves (for cooking or drying purposes) at the bottom, leaving top most 2 or 4 leaves of each stalk, then place them into a glass of fresh water. Over the period of a week or 2, they will start to root. Once the roots are about 2" long, I will transfer them into soil.

I also do the same when the bottom of the basil plant start to turn woody. This would be the time I prune it all down, root the upper part that is fresh and green, and uproot the woody part to refresh the soil to be ready for new plants.

7 days later:

DIY Candles from used wax remains

2017-05-26T20:38:00.001-07:00

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I have this thing about candles. Plain white or colourful candles, decorative or burning candles, or even melted wax; it's all so beautiful. I do however, hate the fact that they don't always burn perfectly and leaving me with lots of half-burned candles, or candles that can't be used anymore because the wick is stuck inside the wax, etc.

This is what I often get left with, and I'm certainly not going to let them go to waste.

So I'm going to have a big melt down - for the wax 😀

It's not a very complicated process, just a little tedious and hot.

What I need are:

A big pot

Some used disposable chopsticks

Some parcel string (as I haven't any wicks readily at home)

Glass containers/candle holders - to clean up glass candle holders: boiling hot water

First is to melt the old wax (different colours separately) in hot water in the pot, with the string tied to the chopstick placed over the glass container. The string can be fiddly. To make it easier to work with I'll dip it with some melted wax then straighten it whilst the wax dries and hardens up. That way it will stay down to the bottom.

Cooling and drying:

Once they are all cool and dry, the chopsticks can be removed and the strings can be cut to the right length for burning.

New (renew) candles! And I will keep repeating this until no wax is left to be melted down.

Handmade beaded handbag

2017-05-18T22:46:00.001-07:00

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Years ago I bought a big bag of blue crystal-like beads and made 2 handbags as gifts for 2 of my friends. I've kept the remaining 1/3 of the beads and never had the time to do anything about it. I dug them out one fine day and decided that I must finish up the beads and put them to good use.

After several hours of weaving and dismantling and reassembling, over and over again, I finally made myself a summery handbag that I'm happy with. The beads to make the hook for the loop are from my collection of old and used beads, often cut from old shoes or broken beaded accessories. Some leftovers are from my other beads projects such as bracelet and necklaces.

I can fit in it a wallet, a mobile phone, a book, a pair of sunglasses, a hat, a foldable umbrella, a spare canvas shopping bag (just in case), keys, a tube of E45 and a lipstick. So when I don't feel like carrying my big handmade multi-compartment bag, this would come in handy. Sweet!

Here is how I started the basic weaving process. 4-bead pattern gets a little tricky when making 3-D turns. I've only learned the basic pattern weaving once from an old beading book, but that did not come with a bag design manual. So I did spend many hours figuring out how to make those 3-D corners. What I did was weaving the beads into a long and wide enough piece then folded the sides to add new beads to tie them into 3-D.

This diagram is also the same basic process for the blue napkin rings.

Instant Apron from Old Dress

2017-05-11T21:58:00.001-07:00

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I love aprons: the design, the look, wearing it. But let's face it, aprons are not cheap. And to think that it's something that I wear to block off oil stains and dirt from cooking, it just doesn't make sense to spend money on it. Oh I'm such a stingy hag 😈

This was a sundress I had but worn off over time, and I'd ripped a whole somewhere on the back. Can't give it to charity, didn't want to cut it off into cleaning cloth (not yet), so I had to do something about it, and with it.

Since my old apron has become so manky, it deserves a retirement. This old spaghetti strap dress came ready handy as it came ready with 2 attached belts for back tie bow, so all I needed to do was to separate the front and the back (keep the spaghetti straps and belt attached to the front portion), hem the edges to tidy up any loose edge and threads. Only took me one afternoon (hand stitching).

Introducing my new apron, formerly called sundress 😎

Now the old apron can finally be disposed of after 8 years, and the back portion can be cut off into cleaning cloths.

Drawstring Bag Knapsack for Exercises, Made from Old Jeans

2017-05-11T02:00:00.001-07:00

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Body: one leg of old ripped jeans. Straps: unwanted belts that came with two different denim dresses.

That's all folks, for I, is off for a walk. 🏃

Upholstery for iPad Holder

2017-03-23T00:28:00.001-07:00

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I have a PVC tablecloth which I bought from one of my favourite stores - Daiso for £1 some time ago (I was planning to cover up the old book shelves but never got around to doing so) so I thought I'd use that for my little experiment.

I've used a PVA glue and spread it all over the iPad case/holder evenly, especially the ripped part, carefully pressing any sticky-outy bits down to make the surface as flat as possible.

Using a damp piece of cloth or tissue, slowly rub the material down in an outward direction, to minimize the forming of air bubbles so that the surface is as smooth as possible.

Then apply PVA glue to the excess tablecloth around the sides, "hem" it down to give the case a finishing wrap. To secure the "hem", I used some clothes pegs (or large binder clips) to hold it down whilst drying, especially the corners with thicker layers, and repeat the apply-glue-then-hold-down process where ever necessary.

I admit that the finishing could have been much better, but I'm happy for now that I don't have to worry about the iPad holder disintegrated into pieces just yet - at least for quite a while.

DIY Tinsel Christmas Tree New Lift

2016-12-03T00:36:00.002-08:00

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Connect all the tinsels together to make a really long one

This time I first wrap up the tripod with some red net fabric we saved from a gift hamper.
This way the tinsel holds better in place when twirled around the frame.

And the angel lights are placed first so that the wire is not visible over the tree.

Start the long tinsel on the top with a knot then twirl it around the tripod until it's all covered up.
Tie the end to one of the tripod legs to secure it.

DIY Christmas Wreath Zero Cost

2016-11-26T20:14:00.002-08:00

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Our old Christmas wreath made from old mince pie boxes has way passed its sell-by date, so it's time to have a new one made.

This new one can't be easier; I found an old wire in the tool box (probably taken out from an old hanger) and bent it into a circle, with both ends twisted into small loop then tied with a bendable twist tie wire. I then twirled the silver tinsel (found in the box with old Christmas decoration) around the wire, secured by twisting the ends together. Finally slapped on a decorative bell and ribbon - again, from the Christmas decor box.

Not a single penny was spent. Not even an inch of cello tape.

Welcome to the first day of Advent!

Upcycled Wine Cork Trivet

2016-10-09T23:32:00.001-07:00

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Until we started buying screw top wine, I had been painstakingly saving up all the wine corks: cleaning, drying and storing. Thanks to my inexplainable sentiment towards the little brown thing and the thought that one day I would be able to use them for something, I've filled up a whole large shoe box. And they had been in there for 7 long years!

Just when I was about to give up and decide to clean them out, I caught a glimpse of a trivet made of wine corks in the background of a TV show. Obviously this is not an original idea and surely there must be others who've already done so, but hey I managed to use up all the corks and turned them into something useful - that's good enough for me.

Most importantly: I get to keep them, not bin them ;)

What to do with damp stained shirt

2016-05-30T20:11:00.001-07:00

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This cushion cover is made from one of my husband's old shirts, which unfortunately had been damp stained on the collar due to the highly humid weather.

We can't give it away to the charity and the material is not suitable for cleaning. I was meant to upcycle it into a wrap dress but was too lazy to do so. Whilst I was staring into the buttons the idea just came to me. It was so simple:

Just lay the shirt flat, buttoned, turned inside out.
Mark out the square (whatever size fits your cushion) where the button panel will fall in the middle.
Secure with pins or quick stitches, cut the excess material out and sew it all around. (I did it by hand as I don't have a sewing machine)
Unbutton and turn inside out. Now you have a cushion cover with ready button fastening.

We probably won't buy another cushion cover - unless, of course - if there are some really nice ones.

Handmade Hand Fan

2016-03-24T22:46:00.002-07:00

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4 good reasons that made me think of making my own hand fan:

Extremely hot weather
Some used disposable chopsticks and manky wooden spoons lying around
Some odd old table mats
I can't be bothered to spend money on an ugly ones available in the shops

And the whole process can't get any simpler:

Cut out 2 identical rectangles from the table mat
Spread strong glue evenly on the underside of each cut out mat, leave to dry.
Stick the 2 chopsticks together with strong glue.
When the chopsticks are dry and firmly in place, apply thick glue over about 2-3 inches of the smaller end (depends on the length).
Now place the glued part onto the middle of one of the cut out mat's underside, then press on the other cut out mat, making sure that all sides are in line.
Leave to dry. Hold the sides in place with some paperclips or even clothes pegs would do.
Trim to round corners with sharp scissors.

Done.

As for the other one, I made it slightly different: just cut out the shape I want then glued (suitable for wood) the old wooden spoon on to the back.

It's now placed next to my TV seat, ready to serve me on a hot evening when a ceiling fan is not enough to kill the heat.

DIY Tinsel Christmas Tree

2015-12-07T23:52:00.002-08:00

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Angel lights are placed inside of the tree for a softer feel

The bad news is, our tripod was broken (the top bit - heaven knows when and how that happened). The good news is, I can now use it for something else with no guilt (especially to all the photography enthusiasts out there) - as a base for our 2015 DIY Christmas tree!

DIY Christmas tree from a broken tripod and some Christmas tinsel

This has got to be the easiest-to-assemble Christmas tree to date. All I did was set the tripod up to the height I want, then tie the strips of Christmas tinsel around it. Everything can be packed away easily and reused for next Christmas. The wired ribbon has been used a few times on the 2012 Christmas tree on the wall, the 2010 CD Christmas tree, and our very first DIY Christmas tree in 2008.

DIY Flash Drive Organizer

2015-10-18T21:24:00.002-07:00

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Due to work, I have to keep quite a few flash drives - each for a different type of job or client - in my bag. Although there are small compartments in my bag, I still find myself having to ransack through other stuff in the same pocket to get to the right flash drive. I've looked everywhere for a flash drive organizer but I just can't find one that I like; and most importantly, I do try not to make unnecessary new purchases.

So I went to get some inspiration and help from my sewing box, and made this:

I found some fabric scrap big enough for my flash drive organizer pattern, an old zip I saved from some old clothes, and an old and partly used Ikea fleece blanket (which I've used some for the snake stuffed toy). Here are the few simple steps of the making of the flash drive organizer that's now happily residing in my bag:

1. Little pockets sewn onto the inner layer, then wrapped around with the fabric.

2. Secure the sides with a basting stitch, then a running stitch all round.

3. Fold it up and stitch each side with running stitch (see needle).

4. Sew the zip onto the top open edge.

Handmade Card Tag Holder

2015-05-02T22:11:00.002-07:00

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I have to wear an access tag to work but I've never understood why the tag holders have to be designed the way they are. The lanyard that the office provides has a clip with sharp edges (red arrow), and my arms often get caught on it as I'm a naturally clumsy person. Also, the fabric based lanyard absorbs sweat and dirt so easily in this hot weather, it looks manky and disgusting. Not to mention that it is a plain ugly sight!

I tried looking for a commercially made tag holder but they are expensive yet not very user-friendly; and they don't last.

After a few scratches and losing some skin on my arms, I had to do something about it.

I dug out some fabric scraps I've been keeping for a while, and picked this one - a family member brought some really nice materials back from a trip to India and got some clothes made out of, and I kept the access fabric.

No more scratching my poor arms :)

The process is really simple - as shown here:

DIY Ang Pow Packets

2015-01-31T02:12:00.002-08:00

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Walking through the Lunar New Year decorations in the shopping mall yesterday, reminded me that we'll need to get hold of some Ang Pow packets (little red envelopes for new year money). We usually get them free with purchase from departmental stores and supermarkets, but you'll often end up with too many or too few of certain designs/sizes. I'm not entirely keen on making unnecessary purchases just for those red packets, let alone advertising for corporations who are already making money out of us.

That's when these pretty backing papers springs to mind. I thought their fancy floral patterns and festive colours would definitely make great material for some DIY Ang Pow packets.

After a few hours on a quiet Saturday mid morning (with a few TV programmes and cups of tea thrown in), I've got ourselves some custom-made, non-conventional Ang Pow packets. Every one of them has a different combination of print and their sizes may not be exactly the same, but I can definitely put my stamp on each of them.

Tip: if you have no idea how to make envelopes, open up an existing one (whatever size you fancy) and use it as a template.

Paper Mache Jack O Lantern Candy Buckets

2014-10-09T05:08:00.002-07:00

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We're going to have a family dinner right before Halloween so we gotta have something special for the kiddies. I've always wanted to let them have a little trick or treat for fun but I'm really skeptic about buying the ready made ones and make some rich business owners even richer by producing more plastic stuff. So a DIY paper maché Jack o Lantern is an obvious choice.

Here are the material used:

2 old unused balloons from last Christmas, blew them up and wrapped each up with a layer of cling film (for easy removal when the glue is dry), and these are the base mould for the pumpkins.
Old newspaper and old receipts, torn into tiny strips.
Glue made from tapioca flour
Leftover white base coat paint
Acrylic colours
String from an old wrecked drawstring bag

First layer for the shape.

Few more layers to shape the ridges.

Punched holes for the handle. Base coat done, in and out.

Getting the right colour, bit by bit.

Once the colour's done, smiley Jack-o-lantern faces are drawn using the DVD labelling markers I used for the CD coasters project (yeah I know, lasted a long time!). Then the handles are made with the strings made into thick braided pattern.

Ready for the show!

It's really simple, just like what we used to do at school when we're kids. I know it's no big deal - not like I'm creating some great sculpture, but it's really enjoyable. Just need a little time and patience. Get started a couple of weeks ahead of time would be ideal.

Sprouted Onions, Save 'em!

2014-09-28T00:59:00.002-07:00

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It's frustrating when you're too busy to cook and find that the onions started sprouting. Don't bin them just yet. Peel off the rotten bits if any, place each one in a glass and fill enough water to cover the roots; they will grow into some fresh, green spring onion and double up as a nice little decoration by the kitchen window. Just make sure to replace water with fresh one every other day, and they would be good for a week or so. Once the bulb starts rotting you should harvest all the spring onion and get rid of the rest. At least by then it would have served its best to you.

Angel Lights and Paper Lanterns

2014-08-28T18:40:00.002-07:00

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The biggest issue we have with these paper lanterns was that they get burnt easily, so a non-fire related solution is essential. I saw some lanterns that use bulbs and thought that we can have our DIY ones:

If the power sockets were designed in a more intelligent way, i.e. higher up on the wall and not all the way down close to the floor, we could have hung the lanterns horizontally, across the window. But since the angel lights cable isn't long enough and this is the furthest it can reach so it will have to do for now, until I get another light bulb above my head :)

This is what's happening inside the lanterns:
Every 7 or 8 bulbs are tied into a cluster using used twist tie wires (I saved them from all sorts: loaf of bread, electrical products, etc). Each cluster of little bulbs will create a brighter light to be fit inside each lantern (imagine in the old days people used to trap a group of fireflies in a jar to provide light in the dark).

DIY Hanging Kitchen Hand Towels

2014-05-19T00:25:00.001-07:00

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Wine Bag from Old Ikea Blanket

2013-11-02T22:01:00.002-07:00

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The old Ikea fleece blanket serves as an internal lining that will stop the glass bottles from knocking each other, while giving the bag a soft spongy feel.


1. Iron out both the fabric scraps 2. Trim the fabrics into equal size, leaving excess on the sides for the printed one. 3. Double-fold in the side of the printed material all around, securing by ironing. 4. Wrap over the trimmed old Ikea blanket, fold the excess sides around it. 5. This is how it should look now. 6. Fold the layered fabrics in half (printed one face out) and stitch the bag up, leaving the top as opening. When this is done, stitch the middle together to make 2 bottle pockets. Found an old bag strap and made it the straps.

Mid Autumn Lanterns Centre Piece

2013-09-02T02:54:00.002-07:00

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and serve as a beautiful centre piece on the coffee table:

Now they are quite safe to handle, and could probably last much longer (and I can reuse them next year!).