Upcycle: t-shirt rope toy for dogs

I started creating t-shirt rope toys for my dog a couple years ago. For one, as my t-shirts get holey or stained, I only need so many painting or yard work clothes. Second, my Labrador retriever, Meeko, can chew through toys as fast as we can buy them. The good news? Turning t-shirts into rope toys takes just a few minutes and is free!

All you need:

• an old t-shirt (or 2 or 3 if you want to mix colors)
• a good pair of scissors

From the bottom hem of the t-shirt, cut strips about 2" wide. You can end up with any number of strips but aim for multiples of 3. For this toy, I cut 9 strips. When you count both the front and back of the t-shirt, this will mean, 18 layers of cotton total.

Line up all the strips on top of each other, and tie one end into a knot.

Divide the strips into 3 sections. In this case, it's 3 strips each. I hold the knot between my knees to hold it still. Then proceed with a simple braid. I keep pulling the braid tight as I go. Since the t-shirt material is stretchy, I want the braid as tight as possible for extra durability.

When you get to the end, tie a knot in the other end.

You're all done! You now have a surprisingly durable toy for your dog to chew on, or for you to play tug-of-war with together. Because it's just strips of t-shirt, it's easily washed.

Savings: about $5.

Upcycle and Reuse: Shopping Bag Art

With the holidays full ablaze, the shopping bags are especially festive. I first noticed the awesome design for Nordstrom as giant wood cutouts in their window displays. Obviously, I couldn't con them into giving me a giant deer post-holidays, nor would T be super excited to have a giant deer in our home.

Fortunately, I later saw shoppers with the same design on the shopping bags. Problem solved: I've been needing some sweaters anyway. Let's go shopping!

Now that I've acquired the bag (and technically free!!), it's time to figure out what to do with it. 

On to Lifelong Thrift. I write about Goodwill a lot because I happen to have 3 great locations in my work, home, and play areas, but there are so many other wonderful thrift stores. 

We LOVE Lifelong Thrift because they not only have great selection, but they also support a great cause. The proceeds go to Lifelong AIDS Alliance, who provides services to those with HIV/AIDS. 

I headed to Lifelong Thrift and found two picture frames for just $3 each! Spend a few minutes cutting the graphics out of the shopping bag, put the cutouts into the frames, and voila: some fun seasonal art for your home.

Spotlight: Give Back Box

Hi friends and followers!

I just learned about a great company through their partnership with Amazon, though they have many other partners.

Give Back Box is a company that facilitates donating to Goodwill, by providing free mailing labels so you can send in goods with any spare boxes you have lying around. They were founded in 2012 by Monika Wiela and Biz Debnath, who wanted to

"Give Every Cardboard Box A Second Life, Give Someone a Second Chance"

The idea is:

• your online shopping boxes get an additional use, and then recycled. 
• you save a trip on dropping off your goods at the local thrift shop during their open hours. 
• you can drop off the box with UPS or USPS or arrange for pickup. 
• the goods are received at Goodwill like any other donation. 
• you can still receive a tax receipt. 

 If you aren't nearby a Goodwill or work odd hours, this is a total win!

You can learn more about the new Amazon partnership here, or see a list of additional partners here. While these partners are helping promote the program, you can ultimately use any box, and aren't limited to the partner brands.

If you're anything like me, you've been doing a ton of holiday shopping online. So keep those boxes for Spring Cleaning, and let Give Back Box do the rest!

Reuse: Ugly Christmas Sweaters

The holidays are the perfect time to go thrifting. Who wants to spend full price on a festive sweater or cocktail dress that you'll only wear once a year, or once ever?

The weather's turned super cold here (Seattle cold. 32 degrees.). I stopped by Goodwill to stock up on some more sweaters and scored this gem. I love how meta it is with the penguin wearing a holiday sweater on a holiday sweater. :) I'm not sure if this falls into the Ugly Sweater category or adorable sweater category.

 

An extra bonus? It was new-with-tags from Macy's. 

Goodwill price: $19.99

Macy's price: $49.99

Savings: $30 / 60%

Holiday cheer: Priceless

 

Upcycle: Penguin Family

T and I decided to treat ourselves to our favorite breakfast place in old Kent, WA today and were pleasantly surprised on our approach. Just a block from the restaurant was a giant sculpture of a penguin and hungry baby that appeared to be made out of... silverware!

We enjoyed our respective Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine, than walked back to the sculpture for a closer look.

Sure enough, papa penguin's body is made out of spoons, his beak out of spoon handles, 

and his wings and back feathers out of inner tubes. 

Baby penguin is primarily made from forks and saw blades for wings. At a distance this gives Baby a fuzzy downy-feathered look, but up close, he's dangerous to the touch! 

 

They are standing on a patch of ice or gravel made from mosaic-ed broken tile. 

Based on a quick search online, we were lucky enough to stumble across this temporary art installation just the day after it was installed.

The penguins were built by welding artists Greg Bartol, Debbie Drllevich and Anita Schuler. It's awesome to see how everyday materials can be re-imagined into incredible works of art.

Additional Info: http://www.kentreporter.com/news/penguins-migrate-to-kent-as-temporary-art-landmark/