Upcycle Living

One of the problems with iPad holders is its reaction to the climate, especially in the tropics.The extreme humidity makes the material (PVC/rubber/leather) break and even disintegrate so easily. I can't remember how many holders I had replaced due to that reason, and buying a new one is getting harder because they just stopped making the holders for older iPad models. After numerous iPad-holder-search trips, I gave up and decided that I'll try to do a DIY repair. Afterall, as you can see in the picture below the state of the ripped iPad case - what have I got to lose? I have a PVC tablecloth which I bought from one of my favourite stores - Daiso for £1 some time ago (I was planning to cover up the old book shelves but never got around to doing so) so I thought I'd use that for my little experiment. I've used a PVA glue and spread it all over the iPad case/holder evenly, especially the ripped part, carefully pressing any sticky-outy bits down to make the...

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.

We believe in afterlife. Not in a religious way particularly, just factually :) This cushion cover is made from one of my husband's old shirts, which unfortunately had been damp stained on the collar due to the highly humid weather. We can't give it away to the charity and the material is not suitable for cleaning. I was meant to upcycle it into a wrap dress but was too lazy to do so. Whilst I was staring into the buttons the idea just came to me. It was so simple: Just lay the shirt flat, buttoned, turned inside out. Mark out the square (whatever size fits your cushion) where the button panel will fall in the middle. Secure with pins or quick stitches, cut the excess material out and sew it all around. (I did it by hand as I don't have a sewing machine) Unbutton and turn inside out. Now you have a cushion cover with ready button fastening. We probably won't buy another cushion cover - unless, of course - if there are some really nice ones.

4 good reasons that made me think of making my own hand fan: Extremely hot weather Some used disposable chopsticks and manky wooden spoons lying around Some odd old table mats I can't be bothered to spend money on an ugly ones available in the shops And the whole process can't get any simpler: Cut out 2 identical rectangles from the table mat Spread strong glue evenly on the underside of each cut out mat, leave to dry. Stick the 2 chopsticks together with strong glue.  When the chopsticks are dry and firmly in place, apply thick glue over about 2-3 inches of the smaller end (depends on the length). Now place the glued part onto the middle of one of the cut out mat's underside, then press on the other cut out mat, making sure that all sides are in line. Leave to dry. Hold the sides in place with some paperclips or even clothes pegs would do. Trim to round corners with sharp scissors. Done. As for the other one, I made it slightly different: ...

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 .

It's frustrating when you're too busy to cook and find that the onions started sprouting. Don't bin them just yet. Peel off the rotten bits if any, place each one in a glass and fill enough water to cover the roots; they will grow into some fresh, green spring onion and double up as a nice little decoration by the kitchen window. Just make sure to replace water with fresh one every other day, and they would be good for a week or so. Once the bulb starts rotting you should harvest all the spring onion and get rid of the rest. At least by then it would have served its best to you.

I shall sit under these lanterns to enjoy my mooncake with some green tea... It's been a while since we got our hands on some silly little crafty projects, about time to get those old paper lanterns out from the storage - as Mid Autumn Festival is just around the corner. Last year we turned some paper lanterns into tea light shades , and although the idea can still be reused, I thought we could do something different with the unused ones. The biggest issue we have with these paper lanterns was that they get burnt easily, so a non-fire related solution is essential. I saw some lanterns that use bulbs and thought that we can have our DIY ones: If the power sockets were designed in a more intelligent way, i.e. higher up on the wall and not all the way down close to the floor, we could have hung the lanterns horizontally, across the window. But since the angel lights cable isn't long enough and this is the furthest it can reach so it will have to ...