Upcycle Living

I have this thing about candles. Plain white or colourful candles, decorative or burning candles, or even melted wax; it's all so beautiful. I do however, hate the fact that they don't always burn perfectly and leaving me with lots of half-burned candles, or candles that can't be used anymore because the wick is stuck inside the wax, etc. This is what I often get left with, and I'm certainly not going to let them go to waste. So I'm going to have a big melt down - for the wax 😀 It's not a very complicated process, just a little tedious and hot. What I need are: A big pot Some used disposable chopsticks Some parcel string (as I haven't any wicks readily at home) Glass containers/candle holders - to clean up glass candle holders: boiling hot water   First is to melt the old wax (different colours separately) in hot water in the pot, with the string tied to the chopstick placed over the glass container. The string can ...

I love aprons: the design, the look, wearing it. But let's face it, aprons are not cheap. And to think that it's something that I wear to block off oil stains and dirt from cooking, it just doesn't make sense to spend money on it. Oh I'm such a stingy hag 😈 This was a sundress I had but worn off over time, and I'd ripped a whole somewhere on the back. Can't give it to charity, didn't want to cut it off into cleaning cloth (not yet), so I had to do something about it, and with it. Since my old apron has become so manky, it deserves a retirement. This old spaghetti strap dress came ready handy as it came ready with 2 attached belts for back tie bow, so all I needed to do was to separate the front and the back (keep the spaghetti straps and belt attached to the front portion), hem the edges to tidy up any loose edge and threads. Only took me one afternoon (hand stitching). Introducing my new apron, formerly called sundress 😎 ...

Recently I've got into a bit of a walk for charity with a Trekmiles app , to stay fit (or rather to not stay unfit 😅, so to say. I haven't been doing anything of this sort for years so I had to do a little preparation. Suitable shoes & socks, checked. Suitable clothing, yes there are enough to make do with. Water bottle, got it. Now there's something missing: the right bag. I've got quite a few bags lying about but they are all sling bags that would keep knocking about on just one shoulder. Referring to my first rule of eco consumption, no unnecessary purchase if I can help it. After all, who knows how long I'm going to sustain this new habit 😛? I do happen to have some denim fabric which I'd cut off a pair of old ripped (as in ripped in area that I certainly aren't allowed to wear them anymore) jeans. After a few nights of stitching away, I finally got my little drawstring knapsack enough for a bottle, a phone, and keys etc. ...