Pallet Jack Project

Image: Tres Chere

Why has the Union Jack become such a fashion icon?

Well, because it's iconic.

Fashion designers and now interior designers (across the pond, I might add) have embraced Cool Britannia and emblazoned everything from painted furniture, art prints, clothing, rugs, and pillows with a blast of bold red, white and blue.

Jar Lantern Project

For the first time this year we have been able enjoy sitting outside at night and not freeze our socks off.
And so, as we all recover from a weekend of late night BBQ's, we take with us a few lessons learnt.

A. Always have enough beer.
B. Burgers taste so much better from a BBQ.
C. Candles, candles, candles. Hanging candles everywhere.

To find out how to make the hanging jars in the photo below, check out TheBeatThatMyHeartSkipped
for a simple tutorial.

Image: TheBeatThatMyHeartSkipped

Textured Planter Project

If you are into your gardening and are tired of all the same old boring planters that are available commercially then this is a really simple way to transform the ones you have with a few bits and pieces of recycled materials.

Image: Design*Sponge

Wine Cork Noticeboard Project

Ryan Gosling might have revved the engines of most women, and admittedly some men too, in the feature film 'Drive' but I left the movie with only one thing on my mind.

Corks.

I've seen lots of ideas for projects using recycled corks and one idea in particular keeps cropping up and wouldn't you know, but there it is in the movie Drive.

In one scene, Goslings nameless character talks on the phone to a bad guy and offers him an ultimatum. In the background of the said bad guy's restaurant - 'Nino's Pizzeria', is a noticeboard made out of wine corks.

Image: Drive

To be honest, I've not thought much about making one, mainly because you need about 200+ corks to do it.
But why should that stop you?

Soda Can Box Project

Image: Atomic Shrimp

The aluminium can, invented in the late 1950's, launched a revolution in the beverage industry and planted a seed of environmentalism in the mindset of the World. 

Today, when we think of recycling, drink cans are usually at the top of our list which makes them the most recycled beverage container, at a rate of 69% worldwide.

Weathered Wood Project

My obsession with making things from pallets continued this week when I made these vintage style crates and display trays for the Honest2Goodness market, which takes place every Saturday and Wednesday in Glasnevin.

Vintage Crates

Image: Patent Pending Projects

 Display Trays

Image: Patent Pending Projects

The 'vintage style' element of the crates was pretty easy to achieve as the the wood used was fairly weathered already. However, what if you are using relatively new wood and need to create that old worn look?

Stencilled Table Project

So it's time to get a new dinner table. Or is it?

Unless your table is on it's last legs, literally and figuratively, then I urge you to consider all possibilities before posting it on Free Trade, abandon it in a skip, or in my case, reclaiming any wood worth saving.

There are lots of tutorials and how-to's when it comes to restoring furniture but this idea is one of the simplest and more effective ways to help revive an old piece of furniture, saving you the need to replace it.

Stencilled Table

Image: Design*Sponge

Here's what you'll need:

Make Your Own Board Game Project

It's another cold and dreary day in cold and dreary Ireland but hopefully, with today being the 30th of April, that's the end of the infamous April showers. If not, here's fun idea to help keep the kids entertained indoors on  rainy day #120.

Check out these websites for ideas and inspirations when making your own board game.

Try alphamom
Use Lego pieces, recycled colour paint chips and add instructions like 'make a funny face' or 'do a silly dance'.

Image: alphamom

Or how about... One Crafty Mumma
Make your way to the fabulous farm house, picking up treats along the way.

Plastic Cap 'ABC' Magnets Project

Image: The green art classroom

Most plastic soda, water and milk bottles are made from Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET #1 plastic and their caps are most commonly made from polypropylene, or plastic #5. These two different types of plastic melt at different temperatures during the recycling process and therefore, need to be processed separately.

If you are a dedicated  recycler and find that you have a pile of bottle tops at the end of the week, then this easy craft will have you putting them to even better use and help your child learn the alphabet.

Cardboard Shape Sorter Project

This project, found over at play and grow, appeals to 3 of my ongoing obsessions.

Image: play and grow

To start with, Evengy Kudryavtsev recycles cardboard, mostly Pampers boxes which I have in abundance, into educational toys for toddlers. That's two out of three obsessions right there. Thirdly, he's Russian, which you may or may not have guessed from his name.

When I first saw this I just felt so stupid that I had not thought of it sooner for my own son. I've looked at different wooden shape sorting toys and made plans for making one myself but this is such a wonderful idea that has just been staring me in the face. I guess that's the thing with the best ideas, they're just so simple.