Upcycled Retro Vintage Soda Bottles

Remember those heavy, unbreakable soda bottles from the 60s and 70s.  We do, (actually we don’t because we’re not that old).  Anyhow, we’ve found a way to put those old bottles back up for display as tiki torches and wall vases and we’d like to share them with you.

I was fortunate enough to pick up over 70 soda bottles from an estate auction, just a couple miles from my house.  It was a brisk Winter day, which deterred most treasure hunters from even attempting to come out in the cold.  Lucky for me, I was there, bundled up and ready to buy.  I purchased 5 truck loads of stuff from this auction including several boxes of old dusty soda bottles. 

Now here’s the best part…..I only paid $2 total for all the bottles, which probably totals over 70 of them, but I’ve never counted them.  I got Coke, Pepsi, NEHI, Hires, Crass, and some other odd bottles that I’ve never heard of.

We’re constantly looking around our pile of junk to figure out what to make next and it hit me….why don’t we make wall vases and torches out of these old bottles….after all we’re already upcycling Wine Bottles into torches and wall vases.

Here’s the results



Be sure to Like us on FaceBook, as we’re always making something new in hopes to inspire your next project:  All these products are also available for sale in our Etsy shop.

Bicycle Chain and Glass Insulator “love” Sign – DIY

 

I’ve been wanting to create a “message” sign out of old hardware or metal materials for a while now and one day got around to digging through our pile of rusty goodness we’d collected.  We have the start of a good variety of hinges, chains, springs and other odds and ends.  I pulled out a few pieces of old bicycle chain and started working and twisting it until it eventually spelled out “love”.. something I’m lucky to have a lot of….  

So this was the base for my design..  I had thought about mounting it in between two mason jar vases but decided to go with glass insulator candle holders.  (Look for the mason jars in future projects…)

Then I had to decide what to mount it all to…  weathered barn wood is always an option..  but I had something different in mind.  I wanted to created a collage of beautiful chalk paint colors and that’s just what I did..  the design was complete, here’s how I pulled it off!

I needed a larger board to mount everything to so I grabbed a piece of scrap lumber my husband had in the shed.  For the mosaic of chalk painted boards I purchased a piece of trim board from Lowes.. it comes in 7ft pieces, which was just enough for this project.  My first step was creating my pattern and cutting the trim board into smaller pieces.

Next, I stained all of the pieces with a dark stain.  The large base board because it’s sides were going to be exposed and so the dark color would serve as a background for any cracks between my smaller pieces.  The small mosaic pieces so that the dark color would come through after chalk painted and sanded.

After staining and wiping down, I chalk painted the smaller pieces.  I chose to use three colors I felt go well together.  I make my own chalk paint using a simple recipe of 3 parts paint to 1 part Plaster of Paris, also available at Lowes. 

After painting and allowing to dry (which literally takes minutes with chalk paint) I sanded each piece to give it that lovely worn look and allow the dark stain color to come through.

Next up was attaching these painted boards to my larger base board.  For this I simply used wood glue and allowed to dry overnight while weighted.

The next day I started by attaching the glass insulators.  I decided to attach them with twine, and the first step was drilling two holes for the twine to feed through.

The twine is wrapped around the glass insulator and each end is fed through one of the holes, then tied and stapled to the back of my base board.

I repeated this for the other glass insulator, then it was on to attaching my “love” bicycle chain.  For this I used E-6000 glue, picked up at Walmart in the craft aisle. 

I allowed that to dry overnight with a few books on top to weigh it down.  I screwed an old chain to the back of my base board for hanging, and my “love” sign was complete!

On to the next project!

Upcycling Wooden Crates

Never Underestimate the Use of an Old Wooden Crate!
I’ve observed that wooden crates are the most plentiful item at flea markets and antique malls.  Perhaps this is because I live in the unofficial “Apple Capital of the World”, the great Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.  Apple, soda, and ammunition crates are so plentiful around these parts, that you would probably find 10 of them at one stop, and pay less than $8 for each.  Most people just see them as old weathered wooden crates, but those of us with the upcycling bug see things a bit different.  Tap into the right side of your brain as you enjoy these great new uses for old wooden crates.
Explosive Box Wall Signs

Milk Crate Dog Bed (Sammy's Backyard Crafts)

Shipping Crate Table (MsRekamepip)

7-Up Dog Bowl (SummerOfSeventy)

Pepsi Crate Jewelry Holder (DwayneBullaDesigns)

Gardening Box (Joe Crayton)

Ammunition Box Table (Kristen Villalobos)

Soda Crate Stairs (Corinne Davis)

How do you use your crates?  Post a comment and link in the comments section to share your ideas and projects.

Upcycled Lighting–Wire Up Your Junk

What is Upcycled Lighting?
The concept is fairly simple….you take an ordinary object and transform it into a working light by wiring it up with a lamp kit. 

Our Upcycled Lights (Handmade and for sale)
http://www.upcycled-lighting.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HarvestMoonShoppes
The Upcycle Process

1. Find a Fixture: What types of items can become light fixtures? The answer to this depends on your imagination and creativity. I suppose you could say that anything can become a light, be it a suitcase, a stapler, a bucket, or a fish tank. In reality, you’d probably want to choose an item that has characteristics of modern day lighting….for two reasons, 1) so wiring it up doesn’t take weeks, and 2) so people don’t think you’re crazy for converting your pool skimmer into a chandelier. Be creative, but keep it realistic! Some of my favorite items are antique egg baskets, steel, galvanized, and copper buckets, anything that resembles a pot or a bucket, antique pie tins, vintage ceramic cooking pots, and ball jars. I started with the more traditional fixtures like buckets and baskets, but have since gotten a bit more creative by using an antique cream separator bowl.

You’ll find more than enough items with just one trip to a local flea market or during a mornings worth of yardsales. You’ll likely get a good deal on these items too, since they’re aren’t as desirable to most people. Remember, you’re turning trash into treasure here, so don’t spend more than $10 or $20 on any given fixture. 2. Add Some Character: This is the fun part! You may choose to pepper your bowl with a shotgun, like I tend to do, or you may decide to just put a few coats of clear coat in it. Whatever your flavor, just have fun with it. 3. Wire it Up: Purchase a pendant light kit from your local hardware store, or build your own lamp kit by purchasing individual parts. The kits are by far the best route to go, since you get everything you need to install the fixture in any setting.

Some of My Upcycled Lights

Galvanized Bucket

Antique Egg Baskets

Antique Copper Bucket (Character added by 4 shots with a .410 shotgun.)

Antique Cream Separator Bowl

All of our lights come with a 12’ cord with a plug on the end, as well as an on off switch.

I hope you enjoyed the info and the pics.  Feel free to share pics of your own upcycled light by joining us on Facebook, Twitter, Etsy, and at www.harvestmoonshoppes.com.

What is Upcycling?

I can’t look at junk or trash now without thinking.. 

“How can I make that into something new?”

You may have seen us posting about upcycling and our upcycled projects.. and some of you may not even know what upcycling is.  In a nutshell it’s turning..

Trash into Treasure

You’re taking something that would have gone into the trash and giving it new life with a new purpose.  What could be more eco-friendly than that?!?


Our Own Upcycled Lights:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/HarvestMoonShoppes & http://www.upcycled-lighting.com

For example.. our wine bottle torches and vases.  What would you normally do with that bottle after you finish it off?  Throw it in the trashcan…  or hopefully recycle it.  We take them and give them a new purpose.. what once was a bottle for holding your wine is now a decorative tiki torch or wall vase.

A Little History..
The concept first appeared as the theme of the 1999 book with the same title written by Johannes F. Hartkemeyer. The concept was later incorporated by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their 2002 book Cradle to Cradle:  Remaking the Way we Make Things. They state that the goal of upcycling is to prevent wasting potentially useful materials by making use of existing ones. This reduces the consumption of new raw materials when creating new products. Reducing the use of new raw materials can result in a reduction of energy usage, air pollution, water pollution and even greenhouse gas emissions.
You might be wondering how recycling plays a role.  Well upcycling is one half of the recycling process.  The other being the more well known downcycling which involves converting materials and products into new materials of lesser quality. Upcycling on the other hand converts them into new materials and products of higher quality.
Upcycling = The Cool Thing to Do
Upcycling is definitely gaining popularity.  Not only is it good for the earth.. but it lets people like us use their creativity to design new products.  We have a lot of fun with it..  and it makes it hard to throw away something without first exploring how it could be given new life. 

Several businesses, blogs, shops, etc. have been created to serve this new concept. 

TerraCycle has created partnerships with major brands to upcycle their packing into new products all while donating money to schools and charities.  For example..  they take Capri Sun packaging and turn them into products such as this backpack.  So cool! 


Hipcycle is an online retailer which offers a wide array of unique, durable, artistically appealing upcycled products like this clock made from reclaimed wood.









Upcycled products have also become very popular on Etsy.  By searching “upcycled” you’re given a wide selection of handcrafted products, including our own.  The same goes for Pinterest.. search “upcycyled” and array of products and DIY projects for you to try on your own appear. 
Hopefully this gave you a little more insight into this fairly new concept and possibly even inspiration to try your own upcycled project!
A great resource for upcycled projects are blogs… here are a few of my favorites:
http://love2upcycle.blogspot.com/
http://bluevelvetchair.blogspot.com/
http://remadesimpleblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.upcycledstuff.blogspot.com/

We are continuously posting upcycling project ideas on our Facebook page!  Like us to keep in touch!

Happy Upcycling!

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upcycling