Upcycle Living

2 years ago I made my own Christmas tree out of used A4 and A3 paper, but it can't be reused as it was glued to a fixed shape. So last year I made a 2-D foldable one from old cardboard box so that I can store it in my Christmas box for future use. However, when I dug it out a few days ago, the edges were rather bent due to the space constraint and the extreme humidity here in the tropics. It's still usable, I guess. But then the stack of old CDs on my shelf caught my eyes and gave me an idea: perhaps I could do something with them and make a Christmas tree that can be reassembled completely. How to make a Christmas tree out of old CDs? I started drawing out plans and decided that a 3-sided pyramid-like tree is possible. But I may need more CDs than what I already have so I asked for help on FreeCycle KL Yahoo Group . Within days I managed to get more CDs contributed by some of the kind members. (Big thanks to them!) CD Christmas tree - The basic framework ...

Greeting cards are one of the biggest consumerism scams to get people to keep spending and "saving" time on writing sincere messages to their friends and family. Yes the cards can be so pretty that you can easily be tempted into buying some and send it to someone. But the clutter it creates is beyond imagination. I don't encourage anyone to send me cards, nor do I buy any greeting cards to give to anyone. But, as and when I can, I will try to make some cards using used and/or old material (not the type you make from ready-made trimmings and decoration/stickers you buy from the shops). I have just made 8 Christmas cards (one of them already sealed in the envelope) to send to our family and friends - exactly 8 families. They are all made according to whatever I can find in my craft box: old felt I collected from God-knows-where, pretty pictures cut out from old magazines, old greeting cards, old mince pies boxes, tissue wrapping paper saved from packaging, sequins...