Upcycle Living

Forgive me God, for I have been lazy... I started making my very first DIY Advent calendar in April, thinking that I have all the time in the world to finish it. But I was wrong. As I'm using 100% reused and recycled material from everything readily existing in the house, it means that all forms and shapes are made from scratch. And my plan is to make 24 individual little bags with hand stitched numbers on! The moment I started, I encountered a problem: my embroidery skills are nothing to shout about so stitching the numbers on with threads is out of the question. Thankfully, a solution came soon enough, which is to shape the numbers with colourful ribbons or strings then stitch them onto each bag. Phew... the plan went on... During the first few weeks of its production, I was gung-ho and adamant about it, watching Hallmark Christmas movies while stitching away; then I got tired because it took way longer and more complicated than I expected it to be 😭 ! Then I got busy...

Merry Christmas! Haven't been active lately due to living situation, which is why there's no Christmas tree this year ☹️ However a friend's Facebook post caught my eye and cheered me up. She found an old "Congkak" (a Malay traditional wooden game) someone threw away, and turned it into a beautiful candle stand centrepiece for Christmas. So I've asked her permission to share the recycling joy here: Photos courtesy of Miss Liew Siew Eng.

We made a Christmas tree with some tinsels and a broken tripod in both 2015 and 2016 , with a little change in the trimmings. But the tripod has finally given way to even more wear and tear over time and humidity - all the plastic parts are falling off. It's time to have a renewed theme for our Christmas tree this year! After a few nights thinking over it and several sketches later, I've decided to make use of an existing hook on the wall and make a tree hanging down from it, and wrapping a table lamp within. I found a cardboard lid for an A4 paper box that's been tossed in the office (so that it can get one more use before going for its recycle round), and cut holes around it: Putting it through the table lamp that will be the light source: Then I tied 2 separate loops using some ribbons (out of my craft box collection) through the tree top star and hang it onto the hook: What I did next is just to poke each strip of tinsel through 2 h...

Our old Christmas wreath made from old mince pie boxes has way passed its sell-by date, so it's time to have a new one made. This new one can't be easier; I found an old wire in the tool box (probably taken out from an old hanger) and bent it into a circle, with both ends twisted into small loop then tied with a bendable twist tie wire. I then twirled a strip of old silver tinsel (found in the box with old Christmas decoration) around the wire, secured by twisting the ends together. Finally slapped on a decorative bell and ribbon - again, from the Christmas decor box. Not a single penny was spent. Not even an inch of cello tape. Welcome to the first day of Advent!

Since the broken tripod from making last year's tinsel tree is still here, I thought I'd cut myself some slack this year and redo the same thing but with a little tweaking here and there. Start the long tinsel on the top with a knot then twirl it around the tripod until it's all covered up. Tie the end to one of the tripod legs to secure it. Connect all the tinsels together to make a really long one This time I first wrap up the tripod with some red net fabric we saved from a gift hamper. This way the tinsel holds better in place when twirled around the frame. And the angel lights are placed first so that the wire is not visible over the tree.

Angel lights are placed inside of the tree for a softer feel The bad news is, our tripod was broken (the top bit - heaven knows when and how that happened). The good news is, I can now use it for something else with no guilt (especially to all the photography enthusiasts out there) - as a base for our 2015 DIY Christmas tree! DIY Christmas tree from a broken tripod and some Christmas tinsel This has got to be the easiest-to-assemble Christmas tree to date. All I did was set the tripod up to the height I want, then tie the strips of Christmas tinsel around it. Everything can be packed away easily and reused for next Christmas. The wired ribbon has been used a few times on the 2012 Christmas tree on the wall , the 2010 CD Christmas tree , and our very first DIY Christmas tree in 2008 .

When I made the Mini Cardboard Tabletop Christmas Tree , I thought I was going to settle for just that. After all, we are packing up for the move; it's going to be a sad little Christmas. And as I was taking down all the 3M hooks here and there to leave the landlord a clean wall, these little 3M wonders gave me an idea. Well you see, I've bought stashed away quite a bit of the replacement 3M stickers for more than a year now; and they don't work well after hibernating in a shoebox, in a damp house in a humid country for that long. Now they will have the opportunity to shine (literally) before they announce retirement. So all together, 8 used and reused 3M wire hooks, 8 not-working-so-well 3M removable stickers, 1 good old reliable Christmas wired ribbon, angel lights from 2010 Christmas , an empty wall with a strategically existed wall lamp and power point, and under 10 minutes of my life; made us our simplest Christmas tree to date. It would also fit really w...

This Christmas is going to be a quiet one for us as we are in the midst of moving, so a big(ish) tree like previous years is just impractical. But not having a tree at all would make it even sadder. And the solution is: a tiny, mini, tabletop cardboard Christmas tree!  The making is pretty simple: View larger image in new tab or window 1. Material: some patterned or printed cardboard (old Christmas cards, Christmas merchandise packaging, etc), I cut these from last year's Christmas crackers packaging box. 2. Cut them into equal sizes: 2 per tree. 3. Take 2 and stick them together, back to back using double sided tape. 4. Make sure they are adhered nicely together, trim away any jutting out edges. 5. Cut each piece into 2 equal pieces. 6&7. Using a pencil, trace the outline of a simple pine tree onto each piece with a cut out shape prepared ahead (it can also be just a simple triangle). 8. Place 2 half-tree shapes together and secure with cellotape al...

A friend of mine is volunteering at The Heavenly Gift for Community at Heart , a non-profit organisation, to help raise funds for underprivileged children in Malaysia to grant their little Christmas wishes. The event is held at Tropicana City Mall which is in my area, so I went personally for a little donation and to see if there's anything I can help (keep them accompanied and look helpful as I'm really not a very good salesperson lol). They have a free gift wrapping service counter next to the donation table so I thought I could at least help doing some gift wrapping. Then we realised that people aren't really aware of the free service because there isn't any signage apart from one bunting standee. So I offered to make them some signboards. This one here is for the booth top. Apart from the words being printed from my own home-use black-and-white laser printer, everything is taken from existing material in my craft box: the old textured paper it is...