Create Hand-Crafted Upcycled Toys!

I have been inspired to experiment with making homemade upcycled toys for my sweet little 2 year old nephew, Bobby! I always enjoy giving him a little present every time I see him, but I hate to spend the money and support the funding of new, manufactured plastics that are ultimately littering our beautiful planet...So instead, I am now making him homemade toys from recycle materials that I have collected and found around the house. Stay tuned for more blog posts with more upcycled toy ideas that I will share! These toy books pictured ("Recycled Crafts Box" and "Creating by Recycling") have been great sources of ideas and inspiration for me and I have found them at my local library...maybe you can check them out too!

These books have inspired me to explore my "trash" and transform it into a fun, little "treasure" for my nephew to play with. Here I have transformed a package of SunSpire Almond Butter Cups (you can use any peanut butter candy cups packaging for this toy, as long as there are spaces for three candy cups).

Traffic Light:

Materials:

- 3 packages of peanut or almond butter chocolate candy cups (placed on top of one another toy make the finished product thick and durable for play...also upcylcing more plastic is great too!)

- a small piece of recycled cardboard (measured to fit the size of the nut butter candy cup package)

- clear packaging tape

- acyclic paint (in red, yellow, and green)

- coloring markers (in red, yellow, and green)

This is a great toy for keeping the little guy's attention in the backseat of the car while driving...and it's educational! Its a fun toy to play with when you drive and reach a traffic light; say "red means STOP!" and "green means GO!". My nephew pushes the lights like they are buttons...he has so much fun with this little toy!

  Please check out my Etsy Shop "Eco-Friendly Freckles" for more upcycled treasures and vintage goodies!

Upcycle One Gallon Water Bottles into Pretty Gift Baskets!

My husband and I buy Crystal Geyser spring water in one gallon plastic jugs; we go through a lot of them and I have been putting the old containers into the recycle bin. After recently watching two informative documentaries about plastics "Bag It" and "Plastic Planet" on NetFlix, I realized that "recycling" plastic may not be the best way to recirculate plastics, many companies do not what to reuse plastic and prefer manufacturing a new, "clean" product, thus many of our plastics get shipped overseas for child labor sweat shops to rummage through and reuse. It takes plastics hundreds of years to disintegrate! Now, I am inspired to UPCYCLE plastics as much as possible and transform them into something functional and beautiful.

In the picture above, it shows the lovely little gift baskets that I made out of recycled Crystal Geyser one gallon water bottles. All you need to make these is: a one gallon plastic bottle (similar to the one I used), a box cutter, some wrapping paper with a pretty design on it, scissors, and packaging tape. Cut the bottle in half with the box cutter creating a cup-like bowl, this will be your basket; then simply wrap the original base of the bottle like you would wrap a gift and secure all paper edges with packaging tape. Vwa La! You have a gorgeous, little gift basket that you can fill with all sorts of goodies for birthdays and holidays!

Stay tuned, I will soon be posting another "how-to" about an upcycling project that you can create with the leftover, funnel-like topper from this water gallon container!

Bag It!

Inspire and Inform! I recently watched this wonderful documentary called "Bag It" on NetFlix! It is very informative and gets you thinking about PLASTICS! Now I am going crazy about plastic! I have always been inspired about recycling and upcycling glass, metal, paper, and plastic all about the same...Now, my plastic upcycling is going up full throttle baby! So please stay tuned for some plastic upcycling ideas shared on my blog! As I mentioned above, this "Bag It" film can be found on Netflix and may be found at your local library...mine in Tulsa, Oklahoma has it! This film starts off talking about the infamous "plastic bag" but then ventures off on everything "plastic". Best of luck and happy upcycling to all!!!

Please visit Jessica's shop of upcycled and vintage treasures at: Eco-Friendly Freckles

Radiant Ramblers!

Today I was delightfully surprised by a blog feature from Edi of Memories for Life Scrapbooks! Thank you Edi! She featured my Vintage Sixties Rambler Car Advertisement while sharing a cute story about her own retro Rambler car! Check it out, leave a comment, and share the love! Edi also has an Etsy Shop with the same name of her blog "Memories for Life Scrapbooks".

A Special Thank You to the Integrity of Vintage Team

Reminiscent of the darling song from Rogers and Hammerstein classic film "The King and I", the wonderful Integrity of Vintage Etsy Team has reached out to "get to know" the members of the Etsy Recyclers Guild by featuring team members in their treasuries!

To thank them for the promotion they have given us, I have featured their prominent team members; and those of who created "Getting to Know You Treasuries", in this treasury for our appreciation:You Are Precisely...My Cup of "Green" Tea!

Here are the Integrity of Vintage Team "Getting To Know You" Treasuries, that I have seen, in which they have featured members of the Etsy Recyclers Guild Team!!! Please click, comment, and send your gratitude as well. ;-)

"Getting To Know You" Treasury #1

Getting To Know You" Treasury #2

Getting To Know You" Treasury #3

Merchants Menagerie

The breathtaking scene above is a picture of an vibrantly-colored painting titled "Christmas Shopping Cityscape" by Renie Britenbucher.

Christmas shoppers are already pondering over which gifts they want to get their loved ones for this years festive beloved holiday. The Etsy Recyclers Guild Team is prepared and ready to fulfill the shopper's dream as well as offer many of the hottest trends of the season; which can be found on the Etsy Blog in this month's Etsy Merchandising Desk.

In this blog article, I would like to acknowledge some of the hot trends of the season mentioned in this month's Merchandising Desk and feature Etsy Recyclers Guild Team members who have trendy, related shop items with high-quality pictures that would look AWESOME in your next Etsy Recyclers Guild Team Treasury!!!

STEAMPUNK!
"Vintage Ornate Labyrinth Art Nouveau Sterling Silver Pendant Necklace" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Team Leader Storybook Artifact

PLAID!

"Eco 13 inch Laptop Bag in Blue Black and Green Wool Plaid" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Member WrapCycle

PEACOCKS!
"60's Black Velvet Handpainted Peacock Sweet" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Member Sweet Lucies

POLKA DOTS!

"Vintage 70's Black Collar Polka Dot Dress XS Maxi Full" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Member Soulrust

HONEYSUCKLE PINK!

"Vintage 60's Honeysuckle Pink Newport Stripes Scarf" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Team Captain Eco-Friendly Freckles

LETTERPRESS BLOCKS!

"2 Piece Print Blocks Signature New Jersey Scrapbooking or Collage Mixed Media Work" by Former Etsy Recyclers Guild Team Captain RetroChalet

VIDEO GAME INSPIRED REFERENCES!

"Nintendo Notebook Journal Recycled from a Monopoly Game Board" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Member HeavenSentCrafts

OWLS!

"Large Vintage Owl Pendant Gold Pewter Metal" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Member RecycledWares

Lady's Luncheon Luxuries and GIVEAWAY!!!

Ever once in a while, ladies need to take time to confide in their friends, indulge in satisfyingly sweet treats, and delight themselves with the luxurious lovely embellishments that bring smiles to our faces and remind us of our fun femininity! Below several Etsy Recyclers Guild member feminine frills are featured that will assist the wholehearted hostess in putting together a desirable lady's luncheon; be it a bridal shower, birthday party, or maybe just for a spot of tea with the dashing dames!

But FIRST! I would like to announce that a dear friend of mine Cinderella of Cinderella Chats is hosting a BLOG GIVEAWAY for a gorgeously girly handcrafted table cloth!!!
To enter to win this adorable handmade tablecloth there are two requirements:

- Become a follower of the Cinderella Chats Blog.

-...And tell Cinderella why you would like to have the tablecloth in the comments section of her blog post.

Entries must be submitted by midnight September 30, 2011 and you may only enter one submission. The WINNER will be posted by 6pm on October 1, 2011.

"Vintage Lefton China Roses Lady Fingers Vase" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Leader Storybook Artifact
"24pc Harmony House Talk of the Town Melamac Set - Service for 6 Melamine Picnic Plastic" by RetroChalet; Former Team Captain of the Etsy Recyclers Guild

"Vintage 40's Art Deco Florentine Silver Plate Ice Tea or Dessert Spoons (Set of 6)" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Team Captain Eco-Friendly Freckles

"Four Peach and Purple Flower Vintage Linen Napkins" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Member LuvvinJewels

"Dreaming Dancer Ceramic Teapot" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Member Adrien Art

"Vintage Fifties Tablecloth Floral Harmony House Sears Roebuck" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Member Soulrust

"Vintage Mustard Yellow Sugar and Creamer, Franciscan and HH 1966 Kitschy Set" by Etsy Recyclers Guild Member RetroBabs

This blog post was contributed by Etsy Recyclers Guild Team Captain Jessica of Eco-Friendly Freckles.