Of Course I Talk To Myself When Crafting ... I Need Expert Advice.. Creativity from recycling is Art

`Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep` - Scott Adams

The whole making your house a livable lovely space is a process. I always knew this I just thought in my mind it would be a much more speedier process. In some ways being slow was a good thing, it gave us time to think, time to save, and time to get to know the house.

The problem was we had a failing house, things were breaking down and our question was how long before work starts so we don`t spend any more money than we have to.

We fixed things to prolong its life a little more but there was only so much time we could do this for. We had no choice but to wait, be patient and do whatever it took to keep the important things working, however, on a positive we had kicked off the process so we were on our journey to having a beautiful house . We were now waiting for our designs so in the meantime we continued with clearing the house, and upcycling items we came across.

Pallet Furniture

This garden furniture set was our first attempt at upcycling, pallatte furniture from old pallattes, and chalk painting to get an even more distressed look. Not bad for a first attempt. Bodhi Approved but didn`t approve of the photo being taken Look at that `you have just woken me` grumpy face look. You can also tell its covid time no one has been to the hairdressers not even Bodhi.

Pallet Sofa

My second attempt (I should say our second attempt) I did have help. was a boot/shoe rack made from old shelving and curtain poles. You do start to look at things differently. I constantly question if we can reuse items. I now never throw anything away if we can upcycle or repurpose. I was really chuffed with this boot rack , worked a treat, no spiders in those wellies!! I didn`t make the wine, I was just celebrating my achievement

Wellie Rack

I love the thought process of what you can do. Sometimes ideas are very apparent and its an easy design process but other times I use platforms such as Pinterest to gain ideas, and then put my own spin on it with the items we have to use. The creative world is your lobster you can do and achieve anything by recycling and it doesn`t then cost a fortune

As you have seen from a previous post we had to cut down many trees. A very sad thing to do when we are all trying to preserve our nature and environment.

So I started to repurpose the wood. Give it a new life so it can be enjoyed in other ways.

Wood Slice Cake Stand

Wood Slice Coffee Table

In the main our trees were pine. We sliced them into smaller pieces and left them to dry out. Once they were dry enough we sanded the slices and cleaned up the wood and left them in a natural state to use as cake stands, or cheese boards.

I have made chopping boards for friends and treated them with a food safe wax such as a bees wax or butcher block wax.

I started to learn pyrography. This is a very therapeutic craft, and meant I could then put hand burned designs on to our wood. here are just a few things I have made for friends and family

Wood Slice Candle Display

Wood Slice Bottle Opener

This rustic candle holder started life as a chopping board, has a beeswax coating over it so it does make the wood darker but food safe. The owner of this thought it was too nice to use as a chopping board so it now lovingly displays candles.

This bottle opener was a fun piece to make. This was requested for a party, and was quite the talking point.As you can see Creativity from recycling is an Art form.

Happy Hippy

From the smaller slices I made coaters These were alot of fun to make.

WoodSlice and Macrame Plant Hanger

Hippy Campervan coasters.

I have now started to incorporate macrame. Recycling Wool Jute String and Cord trying to keep the creativity from recycling. I wanted to learn this craft as I want to use this in our house decor.

I made this macrame wood slice shelf, Boho relaxed Style With Glass Beads.

Pine Cone Firestarters

We had buckets full of Pine Cones. I cleaned these up by soaking overnight in water and vinegar then rinsing them off. It was then a case of being very patient and allowing them to dry naturally or if you are not so patient like me! you can dry them in the oven on a low heat keeping an eye not to burn them. This should also help the cone to open fully. I then wrapped a wick around them (you can buy rolls of natural wicks very cheap. I then dipped them in wax and essential oil allowed to dry and made Pine cone fire starters.

It is amazing what you can make from what you have.

` You use a glass mirror to see your face. You use works of art to see your soul>` George Bernard Shaw