reusabit: spice container travel shaker
I emptied out a bunch of little plastic spice shakers into my space-saving new glass containers. The plastic shakers can now be used for travel-sized portions of baby powder, bath salts, and face scrubs.
5/31/2003 09:11:58 AM - 10 comments
elementary
In, oh, probably second grade, the whole class was told to bring a burnt-out lightbulb to school. In art class, we covered them with cotton balls, gave them ears and faces, making very fragile bunnies.
Did anyone else do this in school? What was your favorite/most memorable kid-friendly reuse project?
5/28/2003 06:47:56 AM - 25 comments
hee
I don't tend to keep up with my comments once a post has dropped off the front page, but I probably should. Yesterday I caught one in the archives after Megan included a link to my Bread Tab Finger and Swear Saver in her post. Heather commented there about Taxonomic Data of the Breadties of the World, and she's right, I love it! Bread tabs and taxonomy, two of my favorite things. Too funny.
5/24/2003 12:49:28 PM - 1 comments
reusabit: light bulb sleeves
An email from Azura got me thinking about the humble light bulb's corrugated paper sleeve in a new way - as storage! I have about a hundred glass Christmas bulbs and other fragile ornaments, and every time we move, I worry about their safety. I think the extra packing would make a nice, easy bit of insurance.
5/23/2003 09:20:47 AM - 2 comments
antenna on the cheap
Need to juice up your wireless network? First, get a Pringles can...
5/22/2003 07:03:28 AM - 0 comments
Guggenheim-caliber reuse (really!)
Spoonman makes jewelry, chimes, and other gifts from silverware. Check the goods out online or at the Portland Saturday Market.
5/21/2003 07:13:11 AM - 1 comments
ye olde mail bag
I've been getting lots of mail, for which I thank you! Sorry I haven't been answering it as expediently as I should be. No time like the here and now.
Kristie sent me something interesting, "well suited to small families and apartment dwellers" - vermicomposting. Or composting with worms. The appeal in this for me is born of the fact that every time I throw something down the disposal, I get a little wrench in my gut. More precious earth nutrients gone to waste.
And I think worms are kind of neat. But ex-biologists are weird that way.
I simply wouldn't have a use for the compost generated right now. But I am thinking of renting a community garden plot, so this would be perfect then.
-----------------------------------------------
Dana sends this idea for those with large gardenspaces:
-----------------------------------------------
Jake is looking for "a tutorial about how to make those plexiglass hanging frames for pics and whatnot." I know I saw this, too, but can't remember where! Any hints out there?
-----------------------------------------------
Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention the many folks who've suggested using the CD spools for storing tatting projects/yarns/ribbons/laces/misc. craft notions.
5/20/2003 06:55:40 PM - 5 comments
and the winner is...
Vanessa, who made her spool into a nifty lamp! All materials and instructions here.
The only thing I might recommend here is not leavng the top entirely enclosed, being a bit concerned about a fire hazard. With a large enough opening in the top, you could even use it for a votive.
-----------------------------------------------
I just had to create a second place prize for Rachelle's spool awards! The creativity (not to mention the costumes) was something special.
Here are Rachelle's notes:
I rise to the ReusaChallenge, for our 2000 Christmas Party I made Award Trophies out of used CD Spoolers.
*Materials used:
CD stacker
polystyrene ball
gold hobby spray paint
black hobby spray paint
clear CD blanks
acetate
craft glue
*Process:
The post of the stacker slips off the base which gets inverted, spray the post and base gold.
Spray a cd black and slip over the post and glue down to create a solid base.
Print the award text on acetate and sandwich between two CD Blanks.
Halve a gold sprayed polystyrene ball and glue one half on each side of the sprayed gold ball.
Drill a hole through the ball on an angle and glue onto the post of the sprayed gold spool.
Tips: don't use auto-spray on polystyrene or you will end up with an icky mess, same for the glue, don't use silicone to glue for the same reason.
The following year I used blue and orange which were our corporate colours but the classic gold was the best. Two years later people still have them on their desks.
-----------------------------------------------
I'd really hoped to get more entries, but I may have been jumping the gun with the idea a little. Maybe I'll try it again in a few months/another year, if/when the blog picks up a larger audience.
5/18/2003 09:20:42 PM - 7 comments
reusabit: porch gardens
You may remember the ceramic water cooler and stand we scavenged? Well, here's the finished product, and it's doing quite nicely (the verbena has become much more flowery since I took this picture):
I reused pieces of styrofoam for the drainage layer at the bottom (which also made the whole thing a lot lighter!):
I still need to find a plant small enough for the cute little leaky watering can I found.
P.S. and I forgot to add that, for scooping potting soil, I reused a clean laundry detergent scoop.
5/16/2003 03:28:07 PM - 5 comments
tomorrow...
...is the last day for ReusaChallenge entries. The judges, supplied with pizza and diet fizzy beverage, will be sitting down to cast their votes over the weekend. The winner will be announced and awarded on Monday.
5/15/2003 07:03:16 AM - 0 comments
fine time
Some cleverly reused bits make interesting watch bands.
5/11/2003 10:22:35 PM - 2 comments
reusabit: roll mailers
When I was hard core into Nervousness, I joined a TP tube exchange. Everyone filled a tube with as many little treats as could be crammed inside, taped up the ends, and mailed it off. I was skeptical at first that the Post Office would allow such blatantly aberrant mailing behavior, but apparently they do it all the time.
I needed to mail something bigger, so I adapted the idea with a paper towel roll and a little round candy tin, taping top and bottom to each end:
5/09/2003 06:31:42 AM - 0 comments
bar-raisers
I've received a few really interesting entries for the Challenge. Only one week left to get yours in!
I'm going to sit down and have a long heart-to-heart with my spool this weekend. Hopefully some good will come of it.
5/08/2003 09:03:37 AM - 0 comments
when things calm down at work, I'll have more original stuff, promise!
More uses for bread tabs (someone else does the tape tab thing). I like the scraper idea, especially (you mean I don't have to use my fingernails???). A couple may be a bit over the edge, but YMMV.
5/07/2003 03:48:17 PM - 0 comments
reusabit: bread tab cable tag
Got cords? Or cables? All mishmashed up, so that when you're at the outlet, you can't tell which goes with what?
Yeah. Me too.
Those bread tabs? Write on 'em with a Sharpie, clip 'em on the outlet end, and voila! No more guesswork.
5/02/2003 04:27:00 PM - 8 comments
I emptied out a bunch of little plastic spice shakers into my space-saving new glass containers. The plastic shakers can now be used for travel-sized portions of baby powder, bath salts, and face scrubs.
5/31/2003 09:11:58 AM - 10 comments
elementary
In, oh, probably second grade, the whole class was told to bring a burnt-out lightbulb to school. In art class, we covered them with cotton balls, gave them ears and faces, making very fragile bunnies.
Did anyone else do this in school? What was your favorite/most memorable kid-friendly reuse project?
5/28/2003 06:47:56 AM - 25 comments
hee
I don't tend to keep up with my comments once a post has dropped off the front page, but I probably should. Yesterday I caught one in the archives after Megan included a link to my Bread Tab Finger and Swear Saver in her post. Heather commented there about Taxonomic Data of the Breadties of the World, and she's right, I love it! Bread tabs and taxonomy, two of my favorite things. Too funny.
5/24/2003 12:49:28 PM - 1 comments
reusabit: light bulb sleeves
An email from Azura got me thinking about the humble light bulb's corrugated paper sleeve in a new way - as storage! I have about a hundred glass Christmas bulbs and other fragile ornaments, and every time we move, I worry about their safety. I think the extra packing would make a nice, easy bit of insurance.
5/23/2003 09:20:47 AM - 2 comments
antenna on the cheap
Need to juice up your wireless network? First, get a Pringles can...
5/22/2003 07:03:28 AM - 0 comments
Guggenheim-caliber reuse (really!)
Spoonman makes jewelry, chimes, and other gifts from silverware. Check the goods out online or at the Portland Saturday Market.
5/21/2003 07:13:11 AM - 1 comments
ye olde mail bag
I've been getting lots of mail, for which I thank you! Sorry I haven't been answering it as expediently as I should be. No time like the here and now.
Kristie sent me something interesting, "well suited to small families and apartment dwellers" - vermicomposting. Or composting with worms. The appeal in this for me is born of the fact that every time I throw something down the disposal, I get a little wrench in my gut. More precious earth nutrients gone to waste.
And I think worms are kind of neat. But ex-biologists are weird that way.
I simply wouldn't have a use for the compost generated right now. But I am thinking of renting a community garden plot, so this would be perfect then.
-----------------------------------------------
Dana sends this idea for those with large gardenspaces:
"I think it would be cool, to take old washing machines, or old stoves (you can find them by the side of the road on trash pickup day fairly easily) paint them, so that they won’t rust.An old cast-iron stove in a shady garden with viney plants growing out the top might be charming.
And use them as outdoor planters.
The washers, have the one big “basket� for larger plants, and the stoves would have the 4 places where the burners were, for smaller plants."
-----------------------------------------------
Jake is looking for "a tutorial about how to make those plexiglass hanging frames for pics and whatnot." I know I saw this, too, but can't remember where! Any hints out there?
-----------------------------------------------
Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention the many folks who've suggested using the CD spools for storing tatting projects/yarns/ribbons/laces/misc. craft notions.
5/20/2003 06:55:40 PM - 5 comments
and the winner is...
Vanessa, who made her spool into a nifty lamp! All materials and instructions here.
The only thing I might recommend here is not leavng the top entirely enclosed, being a bit concerned about a fire hazard. With a large enough opening in the top, you could even use it for a votive.
-----------------------------------------------
I just had to create a second place prize for Rachelle's spool awards! The creativity (not to mention the costumes) was something special.
Here are Rachelle's notes:
I rise to the ReusaChallenge, for our 2000 Christmas Party I made Award Trophies out of used CD Spoolers.
*Materials used:
CD stacker
polystyrene ball
gold hobby spray paint
black hobby spray paint
clear CD blanks
acetate
craft glue
*Process:
The post of the stacker slips off the base which gets inverted, spray the post and base gold.
Spray a cd black and slip over the post and glue down to create a solid base.
Print the award text on acetate and sandwich between two CD Blanks.
Halve a gold sprayed polystyrene ball and glue one half on each side of the sprayed gold ball.
Drill a hole through the ball on an angle and glue onto the post of the sprayed gold spool.
Tips: don't use auto-spray on polystyrene or you will end up with an icky mess, same for the glue, don't use silicone to glue for the same reason.
The following year I used blue and orange which were our corporate colours but the classic gold was the best. Two years later people still have them on their desks.
-----------------------------------------------
I'd really hoped to get more entries, but I may have been jumping the gun with the idea a little. Maybe I'll try it again in a few months/another year, if/when the blog picks up a larger audience.
5/18/2003 09:20:42 PM - 7 comments
reusabit: porch gardens
You may remember the ceramic water cooler and stand we scavenged? Well, here's the finished product, and it's doing quite nicely (the verbena has become much more flowery since I took this picture):
I reused pieces of styrofoam for the drainage layer at the bottom (which also made the whole thing a lot lighter!):
I still need to find a plant small enough for the cute little leaky watering can I found.
P.S. and I forgot to add that, for scooping potting soil, I reused a clean laundry detergent scoop.
5/16/2003 03:28:07 PM - 5 comments
tomorrow...
...is the last day for ReusaChallenge entries. The judges, supplied with pizza and diet fizzy beverage, will be sitting down to cast their votes over the weekend. The winner will be announced and awarded on Monday.
5/15/2003 07:03:16 AM - 0 comments
fine time
Some cleverly reused bits make interesting watch bands.
5/11/2003 10:22:35 PM - 2 comments
reusabit: roll mailers
When I was hard core into Nervousness, I joined a TP tube exchange. Everyone filled a tube with as many little treats as could be crammed inside, taped up the ends, and mailed it off. I was skeptical at first that the Post Office would allow such blatantly aberrant mailing behavior, but apparently they do it all the time.
I needed to mail something bigger, so I adapted the idea with a paper towel roll and a little round candy tin, taping top and bottom to each end:
5/09/2003 06:31:42 AM - 0 comments
bar-raisers
I've received a few really interesting entries for the Challenge. Only one week left to get yours in!
I'm going to sit down and have a long heart-to-heart with my spool this weekend. Hopefully some good will come of it.
5/08/2003 09:03:37 AM - 0 comments
when things calm down at work, I'll have more original stuff, promise!
More uses for bread tabs (someone else does the tape tab thing). I like the scraper idea, especially (you mean I don't have to use my fingernails???). A couple may be a bit over the edge, but YMMV.
5/07/2003 03:48:17 PM - 0 comments
reusabit: bread tab cable tag
Got cords? Or cables? All mishmashed up, so that when you're at the outlet, you can't tell which goes with what?
Yeah. Me too.
Those bread tabs? Write on 'em with a Sharpie, clip 'em on the outlet end, and voila! No more guesswork.
5/02/2003 04:27:00 PM - 8 comments