Upcycling Project: Part 1

So, what do you do when an old styrofoam cooler is about to get thrown out? Use as much of it as possible for some crafty projects, duh!

We were cleaning out our closet and ruthlessly throwing things away when we happened upon this styrofoam cooler that was very nifty but rarely used. Hating to throw styrofoam away, I put it aside with the intentions of using as much as possible in some projects. 

For the first of many projects, I decided to make some letters (more accurately, an H and ampersand).  I printed templates out, taped them down and used a knife to carve them out.

I decided to use some beautiful paper scraps I had (which I have plenty of because I have a problem with throwing away scraps of pretty paper) to decoupage the H.

An easy-peasy, cheap, upcycled project! Stay tuned because there's more styrofoam where that came from...way more.  Perhaps there may be some paper mache-ing involved...and a frame or two...who knows.

Decoupage Collage

Last summer I bought several plastic pots from Target's clearance section. You can't beat $.60 for a pot, right? Fast forward a year and after the harps stopped playing as my irrational head-over-heels love for the cheap pots faded, I realized how ugly they are.  I haven't filled them with anything because I didn't want them in my house.  So, what began as a bargain 60 cents (times four pots) ended up being a waste of 60 cents (times four pots).

Well, I in the midst of a horrible case of DIY ADD (you should read all about the symptoms of this crafty virus to ensure you haven't caught the germ), I decided to do a little makeover.  Mod podge plus pretty paper plus paint equals awesome pot makeover. Really!

Thanks to my insane inability to throw away scraps of beautiful paper, I was able to make a collage of sorts on the pot.

With all the random blank spots, I simply painted on my new favorite color of craft paint (Bird Egg) and voila!

I started these flowers from seeds and now I can't remember what type of flowers they are. Guess we'll be surprised when they bloom!!



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Five Minute Improvement

I love quick fixes, especially quick fixes that fix a problem that's been plaguing for years.

I've had a stack of these coasters that were given to me for my birthday about five years ago...maybe longer. They were fun in college and grad school when we had many wine-filled gatherings but they stick out like a sore thumb now.  I hated the thought of buying new coasters when we had a stack of great ones but it was time for something new. Enter the five minute improvement.

I had some scraps of paper from my decoupaged pot and decided to finally do something about our coasters.

Before

I traced the coasters onto the paper, glued them down using mod podge and then painted an additional layer of mod podge on top.

After

Simple!

Decoupage Pot Fix

A few years ago, before I really knew my style or what a style even was, I bought a pot. This pot was facing away from me and I was under the impression it was a plain white pot.  When I got home, I realized it wasn't a plain white pot but this.

Instead of returning it I decided to simply turn it around, no biggie.

Three years later and my poor little plant was growing lopsided!  So, I took a scrap piece of pretty paper and used mod podge to decoupage it over the not-for-me tile.

Now it's more colorful, happy, and matches our style more than the vintage wine label did.

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