RECYCLING JUNK INTO ART
Friday, February 21, 2014
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
DIY NIGHT LIGHT- UPCYCLED WATER BOTTLE
Voila! An upcycled night light made using just the top of a small water bottle. I hand painted the edges only. This project cost no more than $2.00. |
This makes a great gift and cost no more than $2.00 to get started. the paint was on sale for .88 cents. This small container of paint could paint many flowers and last a long time. How great is that?
Here is the simple night light I bought for a dollar. Boring but functional. |
Sincerely,
Mary Helen
Here I shaped the leaves, then used a soy candle to shape the flower. I then painted the edges and let it dry. |
So much prettier now, and still functional! I'm a happy camper. But I might add some leaves later. |
Friday, May 3, 2013
ANOTHER FOREVER BOUQUET USING PLASTIC BOTTLES
I am getting ready for Mother's Day and hope to get some orders. LOL, hey, I need to find a way to keep this blog, "Recycling Junk Into Art" alive right? So yes, you can make money off these pretty flowers, and yes they make great gifts.
Another shot of the bouquet and how simple it is to put together with assorted dried twigs. |
OK, another secret that I recently let out of the bag on one of my other blogs at, www.maryhelentremors.blogspot.com. I was born with Essential Tremors, aka ET. I hve a full body tremor which makes it difficult to have a steady hand while I am awake. Three years ago I had brain surgery where the neurosurgeon implanted a DBS stimulator which help to control most of my tremors. I still tremor, just not as severe. Anyway, I love to paint and be creative but am unable to do any real detail work that requires a steady hand. However, with these paints, tremors can help to an extent. They leave a lot of room for trial and error. So I finally found my "happy place". Thank God.
There are no errors with these inks. Lol. I have to work with what I have, and I am not going to let some tremors get in the way as long as they are not major. Today I can paint, perhaps tomorrow I cannot. I just work with it. It's what I've been given.
Anyway, back to business. I've searched high and low, and so far I found a great price for these inks at www.samsclub.com. The link to purchase these inks is down below for your convenience if you are unable to purchase these Adirondack Alcohol Inks in your area.
Here I used greens, yellows, blues, and grey Adirondack Alcohol Inks. |
Here's a close up shot, giving you a better view of how pretty the flowers come out using just any colors of these inks. Don't forget these flowers were once, plastic water bottles. |
Well, thanks for dropping by. That's about it for now. Till the next time...stay safe and many blessings.
Sincerely,
Mary Helen.
A good shot of the flower painted with the Adirondack Alcohol Inks. Trust me, I am no artist, just a DIY crafter. |
Last close up... |
Goodnight all. God Bless you and stay safe! Mary Helen:) |
Monday, April 22, 2013
LIGHTED RE-CYCLYED BOTTLE MOBILE SUN-CATCHER
Hi everyone, as you can tell, I am still making flowers out of plastic bottles and am always looking for ways to present them. I was browsing across the street at Bed Bath when I saw this simple table place mat. Immediately, I imagined my plastic flowers around them with lights. Say no more, that's exactly what I did.
This placemat was sturdy enough to stand on it own. I mean it's pretty stiff. I picked the flowers I wanted for the outer edge. I had previously cut, molded, and painted the flowers out of small plastic water bottles. Again, I used my favorite Adirondack Alcohol Inks. Just love the way it stains these flowers. You can find a link below if you have a problem looking for alcohol inks.
I drilled holes in the middle of the flowers making sure the holes were large enough to fit a small mini string light bulb. I weaved the lights in place and attached a flower to each bulb using a glue gun. Careful not to glue the bulb. I glue the flower to the mat. That alone does the trick.
The flower below I used for the middle is a three layer flower. It consists of two, two liter soda bottles, and one small water bottle. The bottom layer represents the bottom leaves. It is a green bottle, and a small water bottle for the center. I finished it with a glittered bottle top I made earlier. I didn't try to capture the glitter look in this shot. Sorry, but I wanted to show the way the alcohol works here. Nice, right?
This placemat was sturdy enough to stand on it own. I mean it's pretty stiff. I picked the flowers I wanted for the outer edge. I had previously cut, molded, and painted the flowers out of small plastic water bottles. Again, I used my favorite Adirondack Alcohol Inks. Just love the way it stains these flowers. You can find a link below if you have a problem looking for alcohol inks.
There is a mini light bulb in the middle of each small flower. |
Small water bottle flower with a mini tree light |
This plastic flower looks like glass. |
The flower below I used for the middle is a three layer flower. It consists of two, two liter soda bottles, and one small water bottle. The bottom layer represents the bottom leaves. It is a green bottle, and a small water bottle for the center. I finished it with a glittered bottle top I made earlier. I didn't try to capture the glitter look in this shot. Sorry, but I wanted to show the way the alcohol works here. Nice, right?
This is the three layered flower as described above. |
I have very large panoramic window. I hung it up with a strong but light hemp cord. |
Lights on at dusk! |
A bigger view with the lights on. I could hardly wait till dusk to turn on my lights. |
Sincerely,
Mary Helen
Sunday, April 21, 2013
JACK IN THE BOX PLASTIC CUP FLOWER
Here's a quick and easy flower Sofia my favorite 5 1/2 year old made with my help. I love her like a granddaughter, and she loves me like a Nana. I never get to see my own grandchildren, so the Lord sends me little angels like Sofie and her mom. Anyway, I am always looking for projects we can do together when she comes to visit me.
I will keep this short, as I think the pictures suffice as a tutorial.
Now it's Little Ms. Sofie's turn. I did the cutting and gluing. Sofie got to paint it. She really got into it watching the alcohol inks bleed. She was amazed, and felt like a true artist with her gloves and mask on.
I will keep this short, as I think the pictures suffice as a tutorial.
Here is a large JACK IN THE BOX plastic soda cup. that I washed and cut as shown. |
This is what the backside should look like when you are done. |
And this is the front side. All white. See Jack peeking out. |
I quickly stained it with semi home-made alcohol inks. Tumeric soaked in alcohol does adhere to plastic with it's staining properties. I then added 1/2 bottle of Adirondack Alcohol Inks in yellow. |
Sofie is a busy little bee having so much fun. And I had fun watching her. |
Sincerely,
Mary Helen
Mary Helen
3 Foot Plastic Bottle Flower Arrangements
Just wanted to share what I did with some of the plastic bottles I up-cycled into flowers. The flowers alone are absolutely stunning. However, I felt they needed something extra to complete this bouquet. Baby's breath was too delicate and would be messy. They would not withstand time like the flower. Instead, I bought these sturdy twigs at my local craft store. They were $8.00 for a small bunch. I was able to use this one bunch of twigs to make three arrangements. I sure wish I had my old back yard where I had access to all the free twigs I needed. Oh well, If you are lucky and have access to free twigs, drying and painting them would make a great addition for your flower arrangements.
Same flower arrangement, just another view reflecting a nice artistic statement by a large scenic window. |
Same arrangement, just showing the clear glass vase. I partially filled it withgreen flat glass marbles. The marbles hold the flowers upright and look nice too. |
I have essential tremors so when my tremors allow me to work, I paint. Because I tremor, and it progresses with age, using alcohol inks allows for errors. When I get ink in the wrong spot, it bleeds and just gives it character. Lol. I love it!
I also use bottle caps that I painted, or stuffed with polymer. I even add glue and glitter to some of the bottle caps. I finish that by adding a resin cap. This is really awesome and just adds to the stained glass effect. That's another post coming up soon.
Once you make the bouquet, a nice ribbon wrapped around the stems would also make a great gift. Don't you think? I think I ran out of ribbon, but those were my attentions.
Note to self: Add ribbon to supply list. Check.
Below is a link for the Adirondack Alcohol inks. www.samsclub.com. Like I said before, they are the cheapest anywhere. I use a lot of ink, so I usually shop around looking for the best deal. If you find a cheaper spot, let me know please.
This is the great link I was telling you about.
Well that's about it, I need to finish up another post about a McDonalds cup. Yes, I made a flower out of it. I will post that soon. It was such a fun project for my favorite 5 1/2 year old friend Sofie. Actually, she's my friends daughter whom I love like my own granddaughter. Anyway, thank you for visiting and feel free to share, by clicking one of the links below.
Imagine how pretty the world would be if we could see some more pretty tinted flowers, instead of landfills. If you have any questions, ask away. Any comments are appreciated too. And if you do something creative...do tell. Let me know how and what you did. After all, sharing is caring right. Till the next...STAY SAFE and Many Blessings.
Sincerely,
Mary Helen
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
5 FOOT FLOWER MOBILE FROM PLASTIC BOTTLES
Hi again everyone. I told you I would be back soon. Well, I made this 5 foot hanging mobile early February. I am just now getting ready to post it. I've been either busy or unable. Thank God, today I am able.
Today I am sharing with you this mobile I made. I used one top of a two liter soda bottle and nine bottoms of small water bottles. You can use as many as you like but 5 feet is tall enough for me. Besides, my cat Cisco would get tangled up. Funny because he loves to play with it, especially since it is right over an air vent. It twinkles for him, and taunts him. But he is kind with it...it's still hanging.
I also used small silver fired glass beads that really sparkle when the light hits it. I bought them online from Fire Mountain Gems.com I strung them on hemp cord. Trust me that was not an easy task. (Note to self, try fishing line). I cut nine pieces of hemp cord, each one approximately 6 inches longer than the previous one to get this spiral effect. I hung a flower at the end of each cord.
To see how I make these flowers please go to my home page and see my first post here. Anyway after I molded each flower over a candle, I painted them by hand using my favorite Adirondack Alcohol Inks. I carefully glued a small but bright LED light at the base, making sure not to glue it closed. It's a screw on, screw off switch which makes it real easy to turn on or off...if your 6 feet tall. So far I haven't figured that one out yet. I need to make one that has a reachable switch. Especially since I am a whopping 5'2 stretching it. LOL
Well that's it, I'm done for the evening. I just had to share. If you have any questions or comments. PLEASE feel free to ask away. I am here to share, and see we can make pretty things out of junk that might have never made a recycle bin. Don't forget to like or share this whichever way you can. Together we can help recycle those plastic bottles, and beautify your neighborhood.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and to you I say...many blessings.
Sincerely,
Mary Helen
Here is a close up of the top base. Perhaps I should call it the bottom of a soda bottle. |
A close up of the small water bottle bottoms. |
Cisco the cat::) |
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