Friday, March 15, 2013

Re-vive

I propose adding the concept of "revive" to the mantra "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."  There's much from our collective past that's worth bringing back again.  Once upon a time, road travelers were entertained by Burma Shave signs.  I would give much to see them back again, and ubiquitous on highways and byways.

I cracked open my old Highway 17 Almanack & Gazetteer which I acquired when I lived, 'lo these many years ago, in Santa Cruz.  Therein I found a nice collection of Burma Shave sign transcripts.  Here are a few of my favorites:

       1939
 At crossroads
   Don't just
 Trust to luck
 The other car
May be a truck
  Burma Shave

     1943
 Big mistake
 Many make
Rely on horn
   Instead
  Of brake
Burma Shave

       1952
     Why is it
    When you
   Try to pass
 The guy in front
Goes twice as fast
   Burma Shave

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Book List

I am maintaining a book list at amazon.com with a collection of idea books for how to re-use typical, everyday items.  This list will change as I evaluate the books themselves, and also as I find new resources.  Check it out via this link:

Re-using, Re-purposing, Upcycling

Monday, March 11, 2013

Natural Egg Dyes

Found on Facebook --

Bluish-Gray: Mix 1 cup frozen blueberries with 1 cup water, bring to room temperature, and remove blueberries.

Blue: Cut 1/4 head of red cabbage into chunks and add to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. vinegar. Let cool to room temperature and remove cabbage with a slotted spoon.

Jade Green: Peel the skin from 6 red onions and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 3 tsp. white vinegar.

Faint Green-Yellow: Peel the skin from 6 yellow apples. Simmer in 1-1/2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Simmer 4 oz. chopped fennel tops in 1-1/2 cups of water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Orange: Take the skin of 6 yellow onions and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 3 tsp. white vinegar.

Faint Red-Orange: Stir 2 Tbsp. paprika into 1 cup boiling water; add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Rich yellow: Simmer 4 oz. chopped carrot tops in 1-1/2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Mustard-yellow: Stir 2 tsp. turmeric into 1 cup boiling water; add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Various shades: Steep 4 bags of chamomile or green tea in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes.

Pale yellow: Chop 4 oz. goldenrod and simmer in 2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Faint yellow: Simmer the peels of 6 oranges in 1-1/2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. vinegar.

Brown-Gold: Simmer 2 Tbsp. dill seed in 1 cup water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Brown: Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup strong coffee.

Faint pink: Chop 4 oz. amaranth flowers and simmer in 2 cups water; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Simmer the skins from 6 avocados in 1-1/2 cup water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Mix 1 cup pickled beet juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar.

Dark pink: Cut 1 medium beet into chunks and add to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. vinegar and let cool to room temperature; remove beets.

Lavender: Mix 1 cup grape juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar.

Resource~betterhomesandgardens.com

Welcome to my Modest Blog

Hi.  My name is Teresa Newton and I welcome you to my blog.  I am beginning this modest blog to catalog my attempts and investigate what others have attempted in what has come to be called "upcycling" - that is, turning something old and useless into something new and useful.  You could begin with a worn out chair, torn jeans, plastic for recycling, or a pallet.  With time, tools and ingenuity, you could end up with a raised garden, a new rug or an intriguing new shelf. 

One main focus of mine is on kids, as I have one.  I like to create opportunities for my son to creatively recycle stuff.  He's sold his own things at garage sales - the ultimate upcycle as your old stuff is directly upcycled into cash.  He also plays with hot-gluing recycling together to make boats to float down the gutter.  Right now, he's finger weaving my leftover yarn which we will then over/under weave on a hula hoop to make a circular rug.

Another strong motivator for me is to keep my contribution to landfills low.  As it stands, I already only put out my extra small trash can once a month.  Until I get to the point where I have time to manage my own compost, I will still need a trash can.  My goal would be to do away with it altogether.

More about me and why I care about this is in my profile.  :-)

Right now, as I'm just beginning, most of what you'll find here are links to ideas, other people's projects, and a link to my Pinterest board (which I update often). 

I am developing a table of activities and displays which I plan to share at both the Seattle and Portland Maker Fairs.  The Seattle one has typically been held the first weekend of June, and last year's Portland Fair was later in the summer.  It was the first one, so I don't know if the next ones will be held at the same time.  Watch this space!  At this table, I plan to display some completed upcycling projects, and to offer some hands-on opportunities to practice upcycling.  One idea to share is hot-gluing interesting recycling together to make art or boats or towers or whatever strikes their fancy.  I'm also planning on demonstrating making and using plarn - plastic yarn upcycled from plastic shopping bags. 

I am also investigating seed swapping.  At the moment, my attempts to participate in this scene is only in the very beginning stages, but I hope to have more information to share very soon.

I hope to see you at the Maker Fairs!