Help Close the Loop: Upcycling = (Recycle + Reuse + Reduce) x DIY

646.4 Rannels - Sew Subversive

To "upcycle" means to reuse recycled materials in such a way that they retain or increase in value according the Sustainablity Dictionary. Using recycled materials for crafting or to create useful items for the home is a popular way for indivduals to practice upcycling.


Check out these upcycling links for cool ideas for projects, crafts, and more that can help you make this holiday season and all year round a little greener.

Gardening

our.windowfarms.org - A nonprofit organization supporting growing edible plants indoors in urban areas using recycled water bottles. - Here's My Farm

sustainablog - Six Creative Upcycling Projects


yougrowgirl - Make Your Own Pop Bottle Drip Irrigation System

Decorative Art/Gifts/Clothe

Upcycle Art

Crafting a Green World - Girl Reconstructed: Upcycling Old Clothes

Hippy Shopper - The Art of Upcycling: Junky Jewelry For Spring

EcoSalon - Green Your Junk: 16 Creative Ways to Upcycle Before You Recycle

More upcycling inspiration from the CCPL catalog!

J Chapman - Making Art With Fabric by Gillian Chapman

J Ross - Earth-friendly Crafts: Clever Ways to Reuse Everyday Items by Kathy Ross

J Monaghan - Organic Crafts: 75 Earth-friendly Art Activities by Kimberly Monaghan

NEW!!! (On Order) Make Your Own Purses and Bags by Anna-Marie D'Cruz

646.4 Rannels - Sew Subversive: Down and Dirty DIY For the Fabulous Fashionista by Melissa Rannels

April 18th, 2009 - Check Out CCPL at the Charleston County Recycling's Earth Day Celebration at Park Circle

Charleston County Recycling is hosting another Earth Day celebration at Park Circle in North Charleston on Saturday, April 18th, from 11 AM to 3 PM. Stop by the Charleston County Public Library for crafty fun or just to say, "Hi!".

Holiday Cheer @ Your Library!

Greening up your holiday can also save you a bundle! Recycling and reusing what you have doesn't have to cost a thing. Reducing things like wrapping paper and other waste is another great way to keep your budget on track and is one of the hottest suggestions on environmental holiday tip lists.

Check out some of these great books and websites to find a number of ways you can make this year's celebration special, budget-friendly, and environmentally conscious!

Books from the CCPL Collection

A Greener Christmas by Sheherazade Goldsmith

Sew It For Christmas by Barbara Weiland

Christmas Doughcrafts by Elisabeth Bang

Organic Crafts by Kimberly Monaghan

Earth Friendly Holidays: How to Make Fabulous Gifts and Decorations From Reusable Objects by George Pfiffner

Earth-Friendly Crafts for Kids: 50 Awesome Things to Make With Recycled Stuff by Heather Smith

Holiday Tips from Environmental Websites

SC Department of Health and Environmental Control

The Sierra Club

The Environmental Defense Fund

Treehugger

The Environmental Protection Agency

DIY: An Idea Whose Time Has Come...Again

The "do it yourself" or DIY concept fits in nicely with environmentalism. Making things rather than buying them or making something new out of things already on hand is a great way to reduce waste and packaging and to reuse and recycle.

DIY is not a new concept but a return to an older, practical lifestyle that existed before post-WWII hyper-consumerism spawned the current excess of malls, megastores, and specialty shops. In those days the average American was familiar with floursack dresses, jury rigging, and jokes about Rube Goldberg contraptions, humorous caricatures of DIY run amok.

DIY resurfaced in the late 1960's and early 1970's as part of the same "back to the land", self-sufficiency movement that also spawned Earth Day and recycling. The Whole Earth Catalog, a directory of environmentally-friendly DIY resources and activist info, which was last published in 1972, is considered a forerunner of the internet.

Today's DIY trend is considered by some afficiandos as artistry because of the handcrafting involved and also, perhaps, because it is more often a personal lifestyle choice than a necessity for many trend followers. DIY may also be considered useable/wearable/edible "art" because of the unique characteristics of each individual piece or product as compared to the soulless consistency of store-bought, manufactured goods.

Click for DIY Weblinks

Some DIY Subject Headings (Click for Catalog Links)

DIY

Handicraft

Sewing

Knitting

Canning and Preserving

Fruit Preservation

Cheesemaking also Cheese Cookery

Herb Gardening

Beer Brewing

Soap and Handicraft

Herbal Cosmetics

Household Supplies (make your own cleaning products) and House Cleaning - Environmental Aspects

Rube Goldberg Pencil Sharpener

Rube Goldberg gets his think-tank working and evolves the simplified pencil-sharpener.
Open window (A) and fly kite (B). String (C) lifts small door (D) allowing moths (E) to escape and eat red flannel shirt (F). As weight of shirt becomes less, shoe (G) steps on switch (H) which heats electric iron (I) and burns hole in pants (J). Smoke (K) enters hole in tree (L), smoking out opossum (M) which jumps into basket (N), pulling rope (O) and lifting cage (P), allowing woodpecker (Q) to chew wood from pencil (R), exposing lead. Emergency knife (S) is always handy in case opossum or the woodpecker gets sick and can't work.

From http://www.rubegoldberg.com/. Accessed 5/30/08.

KS/STA

Random News Flashes

**Slow Foods get a boost from the SC Department of Agriculture. Check out their website promoting Certified South Carolina (grown) produce. (click here) This site includes lists of seasonal fruits and vegetables, useful links, recipes, and more.

**List of Local Farmer's Markets - April 8, 2008 from the Post and Courier (http://www.charleston.net)

**On Saturday, May 3rd, 2008, The Parent's Journal on SC Educational Radio Network reviewed the book, Camp Out! The Ultimate Kids Guide by Lynn Brunelle, author and Emmy-winning television writer for Bill Nye, the Science Guy. This book has lots of great ideas for natural and/or science-oriented fun like having kids put old socks on over their shoes and walk around in the woods and then wetting the socks and sprouting the seeds on the socks. Click here for a review of this book from a book review blog.

We are putting in a request for purchase for this one at our library! Remember, that if you are a patron of Charleston County Public Library, you can ask the library to purchase books, movies, music, etc, too.

KS/STA