If you're any kind of DIYer, social media influencer or follower, mom or just a human on earth these days I'm sure you've seen hashtags like these. Pretty much everyone knows what recycling is but what does upcycle mean?
According to Wikipedia Upcycling is defined as " Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality and environmental value. "
What exactly does that mean though? Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words so here's a few examples:
Here is a stocking and 2 ornaments I made from an old Air Force uniform, I scratched out the name for obvious reasons. Not only is it a great way to repurpose something that isn't being used but it also keeps it out of the landfills and makes one hell of a gift! What better way to preserve memories!
Here's a few more good examples of upcycling. The bottle is an old liquor bottle that I wrapped in twine. The flowers were parts manuals that were in the garbage can and scraps of scrap booking paper I had left over from other projects. I thought the contrast was appealing (upcycling can also be pretty!) and perfect for Harley colors. I used leftover beads and old bolts, nuts and allen hole plugs for the centers of the flowers. The "bow" is just some cording that parts came in that I repurposed. This is sitting on my desk at work ( I do have a day job) and I get so many compliments on it and it's a great way to bring up the subject of upcycling!
This is a work in progress. It will be a blue jean cathedral quilt. Obviously it is denim from old jeans and the fabric in the "windows" are scraps from an endless supply of projects. I plan on not having any repeat fabric in it.
I tend to primarily upcycle textiles. Recycling and donating are great but there is so much waste involved. Gas to transport it, space to store it, water to "recycle", energy wasted. Upcycling uses the energy of the person re-creating something and gives a creative, therapeutic outlet in the process.
Here is an incredible article on the amount of textiles that are in our landfills. What do you do when a pen explodes in the dryer all over your clothes or your kids come home with an unidentifiable stain or a suspicious hole that looks like a cigarette burn in your teens new sweatshirt? Most people throw it away or toss it in the Goodwill bin. Why not make a memory quilt from all those t- shirts? A door (or window) draft catcher out of old socks? A pillow from that sweatshirt or a rug from those ripped up jeans? The left over scraps make great pillow stuffing, baskets, insulation, etc. On top of helping save the planet upcycled items make great gifts and are great for #preservingmemories
That is just the tip of the iceberg but it gives you a little introduction into the movement and a lot of what goes on here.
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