wine-o?

Saving corks can be fun, but what do you do with them when you end up with a massive bag of them? Recently, I asked all my friends and family to save their corks for me and my projects. I ended up with many small bags and one HUGE garbage bag FULL!! My cousin, Bones, had put the word out at work, and by happenstance, one of her co-workers has been saving corks for 20 years! I have made cork boards before and know that it takes many corks to complete a decent sized cork board. So now I have literally thousands of corks, and wanted to come up with some fancy ideas in which to use them. Cork boards are great and really unique looking, but I wanted to do other fun crafts!! So besides the standard cork boards, I have made cork/chalk/magnetic boards, used them as embellishment on purses and furniture, and made magnets out of them. I still have tons of corks, so if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them.

know your plastics!

Plastic items are marked with a resin id coding system (the number surrounded by arrows)

1. polyethyelene therephthalate (PETE)

2. high-density polyethylene (HDPE)

3. vinyl, polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

4. low-density polyethylene (LDPE)

5. ploypropylene (PP)

6. polystyrene (PS)

7. other (includes polycarbonate, acrylic, polylactic acid, fiberglass)

When it is neccesary to use plastic for food, the safest choices are: 1, 2, 4 and 5.

Preserve products accepts #5 plastics and recycles them into park benches, playground equipment and decks. Preserve Gimme 5 program

bottled water

After figuring in all the energy costs, from producing bottles to delivering them to market, the domestic (US) bottled water industry burns through an estimated 50 million barrels of oil per year.

The Container Recycling Institute estimates that in the US only 14% of empty plastic water bottles are recycled.

Reusing a disposable water bottle is not a safe reusing option. Re-use should be avoided because studies indicate they may leach DEHP—another probable human carcinogen—when they are in less-than-perfect condition.

#1 and #7 should never be reused!

Safer choices include bottles crafted from safer #2, #4 & #5. Aluminum bottles and stainless steel water bottles are also safe choices and can be reused repeatedly and eventually recycled.

Claim your baggage

I am a huge fan of old train cases and hard suitcases. I have many of them, the most recent jem in my my train case collection was used in the Marilyn Monroe movie "How to Marry a Millionaire", its old and not in the best shape, but I love it all the same. I have heard of people making tables out of old suitcases by just screwing in legs (so smart!) or using them as display cases for their wares. I have used a train case (I prefer to call them B.O.B's, boxes of beauty) since I graduated out of my caboodle when I was in Jr. High. My new favorite thing to do it to decoupage on the sides with just about anything, magazine clippings, postcards, backstage passes, concert tickets, etc... With some modge podge and a coat of lacquer each one comes out being one of a kind. I get constant comments on them when I am traveling. I am thinking of attaching some wheels to the underside of the suitcases for convenience.
Happy Travelling..

Old Windows, New Use

Old windows have amazing character. I was given a bunch of old windows by a friend and have been holding onto them for quite some time. Inspired by an old coat rack my grandfather made for his cabin with old wood and doorknobs, I decided to see how it would look on a window. I got creative and cut some foliage pictures out of magazines and glued them to the backside of the glass. I have found a love for knobs and hooks, and have used them in several different projects. But an old window hanging in an entryway adds a vintage charm that can't be beat. I still have several windows left and am looking for other ways to make them unique and functional. I have seen them used as garden decor, hanging room dividers, fashioned into tables and even a shabby chic pot rack. I'm hoping to find some old doors soon!