Do you have an old sweater that it’s time to let go??  Maybe hungry moths got the best of your closet??  Or the new guy/gal in your life thinks you need a wardrobe change… OR you stumbled across a sweater with pefect colors and a quirky good pattern, but there’s no way to
make it fit onto your new holiday figure??

No worries… there are a bazillion things you can do with those old sweaters…

Sweater Lamp Shade from Country Living

Upcycled Sweater Wreath from Looploft on Papersnitch

Argyle Pig from Martha Stewart

Sweater Bag from ReIncarKnits

 
Scrappy Sweater Skirt from SnugglePants on ETSY

MORE after the BREAK >>>>>>>>>>
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Another item for the Flea Market Shopping List… DOORS are something that you should always grab whenever you stumble on them at barn sales, flea markets & antique shows.  Old doors are like a blank canvas ~ the options are limitless, the only boundary is your creativity.

Door Arbor from Confessions of a Curbshopaholic
Doors Re-LOVED & made into an arbor for a sweet garden.

Potting Bench from an Old Door from
Tami4gsd on Junk Market Style
There are tons of these online…Potting benches made from BIG doors, SMALL doors, screen doors & more.

Bench made from an OLD DOOR from Twig Decor
How perfect is this for the entry hall??  Store shoes in the bins below…
I can picture it now.

Old Doors made into a Headboard & Footboard
on Extreme Home Makeover
The doors {of course} had significant emotional signifigance.
More good ideas from Extreme Home Makeover HERE.

SCREEN DOOR at Farmstead… such a great idea!!

Door Coffee Table from Joys of Home

Door as a tile in the Ceiling from Country Living Magazine
Has to be the winner for most creative!!! 

Re-Cycle * Re-LOVE™ * Re-Deem * Re-Spend

** Click HERE for our ENTIRE **
Flea Market Shopping List!!

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Another item to add to our Flea Market Shopping List… PICTURE FRAMES.  These are another item that you should always grab at flea markets, thrift stores and garage sales because the number of ways to Re-LOVE™ them are endless!!

Picture Frame as a TRAY from Real Simple

 
Picture Frame ~add wires ~ for an Earring Organizer from Real Simple
{simple instructions included}

 
Picture Frame Shadow Box from My Repurposed Life
{simple instructions included}

Picture Frame as a Centerpiece from Ready Made

Bulletin Board in Distressed Frame

Frame within a Frame from Natural Home

This is a great way to accent an existing piece of art.  Adding a FRAME is also a good way to add size, depth and texture to your walls ~ especially important if you have a large wall and/or a small piece of art.

Re-Cycle * Re-LOVE™ * Re-Deem * Re-Spend

** Click HERE for our ENTIRE **
Flea Market Shopping List!!

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I cannot remember to take my recycle shopping bags into the grocery store.  Can. not. remember.  With that confession I will tell you that there DOZENS of plastic grocery bags in a drawer in our kitchen.  I use them for various little jobs around the house, occasionally for lunch bags when a boy forgets his lunch box, or laid under painting projects {especially handy for cleaning up after finger painting!!}, but now I learn that there is a way to make these plastic bags into fabric??  Yarn actually, which is where the name comes from, Plastic Grocery Bag + Yarn = PLARN. 

Apparently making PLARN is easy… a tutorial is included in the link ABOVE.  The instructions include the words “finesse” and “crochet hook”, both of which take me out of this DIY project ~ but you should try it and tell us how it works for you.  There are lots & lots of things you can make with the PLARN once you’ve made the yarn/plarn material.

Plarn Rug from Screaming Chee Toes on ETSY

Plarn Bag from MyRecycledBags.com

White Plarn Pillow

Plarn Amigurumi Buddies from PlasticBagCrafts.com

Plarn Checkerboard Rug from Talking Crochet

and the pièce de résistance…
Plastic Grocery Bags into Knit 1950′s Outift.
WOW.  Image via Blogher via Craft via Cathy Kasdan

 This will be the folk art of the new millennium… our grandchildren will have no concept of plastic shopping bags, but these crafts will live on once we’re gone. Forever.  Better that they live on in as kitschy tote bag or stuffed animal than in the landfills!! 

Re-Cycle * Re-LOVE™ * Re-Deem * Re-Spend

For years people have been using burlap as the material of choice when they are needing something sturdy, inexpensive, and water resistant.  Made from JUTE, burlap is used to prevent erosion on hills, for bagging feed and coffee, as well as being an important part of furniture making, giving support to the inner portions of chairs and couches.  BURLAP bags & scraps are definitely something that yous should grab up at flea markets & antique shops ~ its use as a tough fabric is endless!!

 In the design industry burlap has a significant place as people see it as a rustic material that…

• wears well
• is crazy cheap {less than $3/yard}
• comes in tons of colors {like natural, terra cotta, avocado… see ABOVE}
• has vintage charm
• can add a twist to just about style of decor.

Here in the Cactus Creek Store we have burlap curtains & tablecloths in our office area ~ they keep the heat from pouring into the big windows by my desk and keeps my plastic table that serves as a desk looking a little prettier than most.  Other ways to use BURLAP??  The list goes on and on…

 
Burlap Tote {made from a recycled burlap coffee bag} from Jalmodovar on ETSY

 
Burlap Curtains {with instructions!!} from Life to the T

Burlap clothes from Gretchen Elsner
{for those of you who can make a bag look good}

Re-Cycle * Re-LOVE™ * Re-Deem * Re-Spend

This idea will be featured this morning on the Junk in my Trunk Radio Show {JIMT} which airs every Monday, Thursday & Saturday from 10am till 11am on Kansas City’s 1140am KCXL & 1160am KCTO. You can also LISTEN LIVE on the Internet… visit JunkMafia.com and click on the Little Red Radio at the bottom of the page.

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Barn Sales, Farm Auctions, Middle-o-nowhere Estate Sales… for me these are the best places to find grungy old garage & gardening elements.  Still, the perfect wooden ladder for re-purposing is becoming more and more difficult to find.  But oh the beauty of a good ol’ ladder… and all the things you can do with one!! 

Ladder Pot Rack ~ you could even hang a chandelier from the LADDER for a fun & funky lighting fixture!!  Image via WomansDay.com

In our Flea Market Shopping List we have a long list of objects you should never pass up, after finding all of these fantastic ideas wooden ladders are on the top of my list!!  Makes me want to run away to a million little towns this weekend and track down the perfect ladder specimen…

LOVE this Ladder Shoe Rack Idea from Country Living, Sept 2009

Sideways Ladder Shelf ~ Image via Ette Studios

Image via Country Living, June 2010

DIY Ladder Shelf… great idea via Poetic Home via Maya*Made

 
Ladder as ART ~ image via houzz

Another LADDER Shelf ~ with DIY directions!! Via Mother Earth News

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Earlier this week I was having a conversation with the boys from Junk in my Trunk Radio Show and we got to talking about JARS.  We talked about how our grandparents used to save and wash their jars to re-use for dinner scraps, about how our parents used the same jars in their garages to store nails and screws.  We talked about how, as young adults, we became horribly nonchalant and just threw jars away without re~cycling or re~using them {shameful, shameful behavior} ~ but finally we have embraced the concept of Re~LOVING and we now recycle our glass jars, or, better yet, re-use them like this…

Lanterns made with re-used wire hangers from
The Home in Paradise

Baby Food Jar Chandelier from Ulula

Jar Night Light from Tree Hugger

Cupcake in a Jar from Renegade Cupcake
You can also bake cakes and pies in jars which make fantastic gifts and yummmy desserts… check out these Cakes in a Jar.

Recycled Jars for storing bulk foods, oatmeal, tea… plus 9 more ideas from Re-Nest.

DIY Mason Jar Soap Dispenser from Heather Bullard

Garden Lanterns from Gardner’s World

Finger Cymbals for kiddos from MakingFriends.com
This is one of my favorites!!

Vintage Clear Canning Jar Chandelier from Etsy

Organizing nails & screws with recycled peanut butter jars from Chez Larsson.  Just like Grandpa used to have…

Re-Cycle * Re-Purpose * Re-LOVE

This idea will be featured this morning on the Junk in my Trunk Radio Show {JIMT} which airs every Monday, Thursday & Saturday from 10am till 11am on Kansas City’s 1140am KCXL & 1160am KCTO. You can also LISTEN LIVE on the Internet… visit JunkMafia.com and click on the Little Red Radio at the bottom of the page.

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Cactus Creek’s Flea Market Shopping List features a list of items that you should NEVER pass up when shopping in a flea market, antique mall, yard sale or dumpster dive… We feature these items on the Junk in my Trunk Radio Show every Thursday morning… go to JunkMafia.com and click on the lil’ Red Radio to listen live at 10:00am CST.

Today’s JIMT Idea is GLOBES… collect em’, paint ‘em, cut ‘em up ~ here are a few ideas from the best of the best on the www.

 
Globe Clock from T.O.M.T.

 
Chalkboard Globe from Flickr

Globe Bowl from Matangi on ETSY

Globe Pendant Light from Project Create-a-Home

{look at the size of that cat ~ Oh my!!!}

Any other big ideas for GLOBES??? 

Re-Cycle * Re-Purpose * Re-LOVE

This idea will be featured this morning on the Junk in my Trunk Radio Show {JIMT} which airs every Monday, Thursday & Saturday from 10am till 11am on Kansas City’s 1140am KCXL & 1160am KCTO. You can also LISTEN LIVE on the Internet… visit JunkMafia.com and click on the Little Red Radio at the bottom of the page.

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There are no limits to what people will use to decorate their homes, use for art, or wear on their bodies.  We are in a time and culture where thinking outside the box is not only celebrated, it’s expected of the individuals who are going to rise above the rest.  That’s what our JIMT {Junk In My Trunk} Ideas are all about ~ showcasing visionary ideas for common objects.  We talk about the ideas with the Junk Mafia on the Junk In My Trunk Radio Show every Thursday morning at 10am CST ~ you should listen in sometime.

Happy Trails from Vintage Sculpture

This week we’re talking CARS.  Using old car parts, hankering for a trip to the junk yard, imagining big things for cast offs from the local mechanic, these are whimsical uses for could-be boring objects. 

Take a look at each item, are there any you can’t live without??  Anything that inspires you to salvage your own car parts??  What kind of project would you create??

 
Rat Rod Lamp Light from ETSY

Cadillac Necklace from Hi Octane Jewelry

 

2 Girls Stuff at Marburger Farm, Fall 2009
This was my very favorite vendor at Round Top Antique Week last fall & I’ve been looking for a hood like this one ever since…

Vintage 1950′s Mercedes Benz Hubcap Clock from Steven Shaver Designs

Reclaimed Car Hood Coffee Table from The Weld House

‘Pontiac Face’ Art Sculpture from Rhett Johnson

Hawk Earrings made from Recycled Car Parts by Emily Baker of Emily Baker Sustainable Jewelry/Sword + Fern

Re-Cycle * Re-Purpose * Re-LOVE

This idea will be featured this morning on the Junk in my Trunk Radio Show {JIMT} which airs every Monday, Thursday & Saturday from 10am till 11am on Kansas City’s 1140am KCXL & 1160am KCTO. You can also LISTEN LIVE on the Internet… visit JunkMafia.com and click on the Little Red Radio at the bottom of the page.

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Yesterday I had a meeting with the Junk Mafia about some upcoming projects and we started talking about STEAMPUNK. What is it?? How did it get started??  What are the key ingredients to make something register as steampunk??  And finally… how does the Steampunk idea fit into the world of Re-Cycle * Re-Purpose * Re-LOVE??

I most often see the word ‘Steampunk’ when looking through hand crafted jewelry ~ especially on ETSY.  I’ve wondered what it is but have never taken the time to research it until tonight.

 
Steampunk Tripod Floor Lamp + Sam Van Olffens’ Art from Art via Art Donovan. Steampunk Art.

STEAMPUNK defines an entire culture that is often associated with Science Ficton or fantasy.  From fashion and music, to applications of technology, Steampunk is usually set in a historical setting resembling the Victorian era.  While the Steampunk genre is set in the past, or a world resembling the past, it is the concept that modern technological developments occurred earlier in history, but were accomplished via the technology already present in that time period. For example, airships, submarines, typing tools and others objects were reimagined as mechanical devices that were powered by steam.

 
Steampunk Bracelet from EDM Designs on ETSY

Steampunk originated in the late 1980′s as an answer to society’s obsession with the rapid pace of new invention and technology, it’s a trend that pays homage to the early days of the Industrial Revolution, steam and spring powered technology.

How do you know that something fits into the category of STEAMPUNK?? 

According to MTV Steampunk MUSIC you will often feature orchestral characteristics, or possibly a Tom Waits-esque metallic, gritty sound. A lot of steampunk bands offer a merging of different tones and instruments.

Steampunk Style at Home via The Steampunk Home

Regarding FASHION MTV describes the Steampunk trend as a look that reflects the Victorian and early Edwardian eras (roughly 1801-1910). Corsets, gowns, frock coats and top hats are accompanied by goggles, ancillary wings, compasses and DIY accessories. Much like the extraordinary world of literature, steampunkers accept that everyday items can perform unconventional tasks. For example, a pocket watch would double as a time machine, or a compass could navigate you through the stars.”

Steampunk Threads

I think that the STEAMPUNK concept is best summed up byThe Steampunk Home Blog… “It’s finding a way to combine the past and the future in an aesthetic pleasing yet still punkish way. It’s living a life that looks old-fashioned, yet speaks to the future. It’s taking the detritus of our modern technological society and remaking it into useful things.”

So it’s taking old things and repurposing them to be something new that looks even older… I guess that’s Re-Cycle * Re-Purpose * Re-LOVE

This idea will be featured this morning on the Junk in my Trunk Radio Show {JIMT} which airs every Monday, Thursday & Saturday from 10am till 11am on Kansas City’s 1140am KCXL & 1160am KCTO. You can also LISTEN LIVE on the Internet… visit JunkMafia.com and click on the Little Red Radio at the bottom of the page.

{SUBSCRIBE} HERE to have the CactusCreekDaily.com BLOG delivered straight to your E-Mailbox!!