Tropical Handbag Gift Bag

Hello, and welcome to another upcycling tutorial! This time I will be showing you how to transform an ordinary, cheap gift bag into a fabulous, designer-worthy handbag gift bag!

Over the years, I've been given so many of these gift bags, and I've saved them, thinking that one day I will be inspired to create something new out of them. Now I can't wait to share with you what I've made, and show you how to make one for yourself!

Doesn't it look amazing! 😍

This is the gift bag that I started off with. The label on the base showed that it came from Tesco and was called T.Tropical Gift Bag, but as I was given it so long ago, I doubt if it's still available.

Take a look at my video tutorial below showing how I made the handbag!

Here's a close up view of the rosette on the front. The button was also repurposed from an old cardigan.

Here's a view of the handbag from the back.

It's still very roomy inside, and still folds flat!

I just love how the pattern on the two handles matches up perfectly!

I am so pleased with how this bag has turned out, and can't wait to get started on another one!

Revolving Desk Tidy

Time for another upcycling project! ♻️

This amazing desk tidy is easily made using some basic materials, but the best thing about it, is that it turns around! It gives you 360° access to all of your bits and bobs! No more cluttered workspaces!

DIY Upcycled Hanging Star Decorations

For the last few weeks I've been sorting through my huge pile of used Christmas cards, wondering what I could possibly do with them...

Most of them had glitter on them and were donated to me last year because they couldn't be recycled. So I started to come up with some ideas of how to upcycle them into new creations. The first of which is these fabulous hanging star decorations!

Memory Baubles

Following on from my Christmas memory bauble tutorial, where I upcycled my old Christmas cards and Advent calendar, I have started to create lots of memory baubles based on different themes!

Pringles Tube Lighthouse

In previous posts, I showed you how to create a postbox and a mailbox out of an empty Pringles tube. I seem to be finding more and more ways of upcycling these versatile cardboard tubes, and so this time, I am going to show you how to turn one into a lighthouse.

DIY Upcycled Love Heart Gift Box

Welcome to another upcycling project! This time I am going to show you how to turn an empty cheese triangle box into a super cute love heart gift box, perfect for Valentine's Day! ❤️

You can include your own personal message inside, then fill the box with chocolates or other small treats and present it to that special someone in your life! ❤️

DIY Woven Paper Heart

In this tutorial, you will discover how to turn an old envelope, or some scraps of paper, into a gorgeous woven paper heart! Perfect for Valentine's Day, they are easy to make, and would look adorable attached to a card or gift for that special someone in your life!

Upcycled Christmas Card Baubles

Happy New Year!

My first upcycling project of 2020 has begun, and I am using all of my old Christmas cards, and a used Advent calendar, to create some super cute Christmas card baubles!

Aren't they fabulous!?

They are so easy to make, and the best thing is you can use any materials left over from Christmas to decorate them.

To make one, you will need:

• used Christmas cards / old Advent calendar / glittery card crackers
• circle punch (I used a 1.5" scalloped edge craft punch)
• pencil
• ruler
• scissors
• strong craft glue
• thread, string, ribbon or wool for hanging

Envelope Tote Bag

There are so many different tutorials showing how to make a paper tote bag, but I am going to show you how to make one using an old envelope. As you know, I love to upcycle whenever I can, and these little bags are so cute and so easy to make, they are perfect for last minute favour bags!

DIY YouTube Play Button

Time for another upcycling tutorial! This time, I will be showing you how to turn an empty pastille tin into a YouTube play button.

TicTac Box Fairy House

Another upcycling project! This time I will be showing you how to create a cute, little fairy house out of a TicTac box. This is a great way to use up some of those small scraps of coloured paper that get stashed away so frequently. It's also fun to make with kids as it really doesn't have to be precise. In fact, the more natural and organic it looks, the better!

So, let's get started!

To make your very own fairy house, you will need:

• an empty TicTac box
• a glass of water
• nail polish remover
• a cotton bud
• scraps of coloured paper and thin card
• pencil and fineliner pen
• circle guide (optional)
• scissors
• craft knife, ruler and cutting mat
• double-sided tape and gluestick
• small craft punches (optional)

First, fill the empty TicTac box with water, close the lid and place it in a glass of water. (The water inside the box helps it to sink.)

 After a couple of hours (or overnight) empty the water out of the box and begin to scrape the label off with your thumbnail.

Then, using a small amount of nail polish remover on a cotton bud, gently rub over the use by date printed on the box, and over any remaining glue from the label.

Next, draw around the TicTac box onto a piece of coloured paper (approx A5 size). You need to draw around each of the four sides and the base making sure that no gaps are left. Then add a tab against one side, and a tab below each of the sides.

Cut this out, then draw some windows. I used a circle guide, putting a small one on the front and a larger one on the back, but it may look more natural if it is drawn freehand. Cut these out carfeully using a craft knife.

You then need to draw the window frames on another scrap of coloured paper. (Make sure the inside circle is smaller than the window circle you just cut out.)

Carefully cut these out using a craft knife, then glue them over the windows.

Apply double-sided tape around the edges of the TicTac box and along the top and bottom of the front and back. Then carefully position the coloured paper so that it wraps around the box. You may need some glue to hold the final tabs down on the base.

Once this is done, cut a small arch-shaped door out of another scrap of coloured paper and glue it to the front of the house.

To add some decoration, punch several flowers out of patterned card and glue them to the front and back of the house, then draw on some detail using a brown permanent fineliner pen.

FRONT

BACK

Using the following template for the roof, draw around it onto some thin patterned card and cut it out. Score along the dashed lines and fold them as shown to create the roof shape.

For added decoration, punch two hearts out of red paper and glue these to either side of the roof, then finish it off with more fineliner pen detail.

For the chimney, cut a small rectangle of paper (the same colour as the house if you wish) and, using doudle-sided tape, wrap it around the TicTac box lid.

Ta-Dah! A cute, little fairy house is complete!

I really hope you enjoyed this project and that you will soon start creating your own little fairy houses. Maybe you could make a row of them, or hide them around your home in the hope that the fairies will find them and move in!

*UPDATE* I have added a video tutorial for this on my YouTube channel, so check it out for more details!

Happy crafting!

Milk Bottle Owl

This is my little upcycled owl, made entirely out of plastic items that would otherwise have ended up in the recycling bin. He is super cute and easy to make, and can be used as a handy desk tidy.

To make one, you will need:

• a one pint plastic milk bottle
• a two pint plastic milk bottle
• 2 plastic milk bottle lids
• 2 smaller plastic lids (e.g. from a drinks carton)
• 2 small bendy plastic drinking straws
• Mod Podge or PVA glue
• acrylic paint and soft paintbrush
• hot glue gun or super glue
• permanent marker pen (e.g. Sharpie)

To begin, cut 2 wing shapes out of the 2 pint milk bottle (one from either side), then cut the ridged section from the front of the bottle and a small diamond shape from one of the sides. Fold the diamond shape in half to form a beak before the next step.

Cover the cut out pieces, the 1 pint milk bottle, the milk bottle lids and the straws with a thick layer of Mod Podge or PVA glue using a soft paintbrush. This helps the paint to stick.

Once dry, fold the straws at the bend and cut one side as shown. Then, using a hot glue gun or super glue, attach the cut off piece to the centre of the bend and cut this to the same size. Finally, cover the straws with a thick layer of brown acrylic paint.

   

    

Cover the 1 pint milk bottle and the three cut out pieces with several thick layers of white acrylic paint. The two larger plastic lids and the plastic diamond (beak) need to be covered with brown acrylic paint.

        

        

Attach the smaller plastic lids to the larger lids using a hot glue gun or superglue.

Then glue all of the pieces in place.

        

    

To make the owl stand up straight, glue the pieces of cut off straw to the base of the bottle at the back.

Next, using a permanent pen, draw the centres of the eyes, leaving a small highlight if you wish, and a few v-shaped feathers on the owl's chest.

Trim each of the straws at an angle, then cover the whole owl with Mod Podge or PVA glue to seal it.

    

Once dry, your little upcycled owl is complete. It can be used to hold paintbrushes, pencils, dried flowers, fresh flowers, or smaller items such as paper clips.