PETER DAHMEN

This is a very clever make your own paper sculpture from Peter Dahmen. Downloadable A4 sheets and and video on how to make a paper sculpture. Have a go! Let me know how you get on.

To see more of his paper sculptures click HERE.

ARBEE CARDS

I love the idea of recycling greeting cards once they have been taken down from the mantlepiece. These cards from Arbee Cards are actually plantable.

The plantable paper is handmade from cotton (tree-free!) and is UK-made (no travel - low carbon) and contains a mix of wildflower seeds which look like small black specks in the paper: Catchfly, English Daisy, Sweet Alyssum, Snapdragon, Corn Poppy and Black Eyed Susan. 

The entire card is planted in soil or compost (patio pot, windowbox or garden bed) and must be kept moist and preferable in a sunny spot and should germinate in a few weeks. The paper itself breaks down in the soil and is bleach-free and completely eco-friendly. The card has a textured side from the process of handmade paper-making, with the upside of the paper feeling like a heavyweight artists' paper. 

As Rachel Law of ArbeeCards said "I use it for making cards & wedding stationery. Mother's Day plantable cards were so popular with people just loving the idea of posting their mum some flowers for her to grow. They are becoming increasingly popular for weddings, with plantable place cards doubling as favours - people get some lovely flower seeds for the garden to take home instead of wasteful expensive favours, keeping everything environmentally-friendly. Really, who needs more sugared almonds in a chiffon bag! I try to encourage couples to make their white wedding green - and much of my cards & stationery is recycled card, upcycled vintage papers, buttons, lace and re-used cards & papers'.

To see Arbee Cards website click HERE.      To shop online click HERE. 

RECYCLED JEWELLERY

KATE HAMILTON-HUNTER

Above: Recycled vintage tin jewellery

Kate Hamilton-Hunter uses recycled biscuit tins, tea caddies, sweet tins, toffee and tobacco tins in her jewellery designs. After 4 years in college and five years teaching Art & Design, a career change was brought about for Kate through the discovery of metal. She started with aluminium, copper and brass, but she soon discovered a new material to make jewellery from – recycled and reclaimed biscuit tins. Kate says "Friends and family give us lots of them, especially after Christmas, and we buy more from charity shops, antique shops and bay." Next time you have a Spring clean, don't throw away any old tis that you think Kate could use! send them over to her studio.

Above: Recycled vintage tin cuff-links

RECYCLED DRESSES

GARY HARVEY

Ethical fashion designer Gary Hemingway created this dress out of throw away packaging. To see more of Gary Hemingway's work click HERE.

SUSAN STOCKWELL

Susan Stockwell's dress titled "Colonial Dress" was made out of world maps, wire and glue. To see more of her dresses click HERE.

WAYNE HEMINGWAY

This green union Jack dress was designed by Wayne Hemingway for 'Green Britain Day' made entirely from recycled fabrics. To see more of Wayne Hemingway's work click HERE.

JOHN PETREY

A dress made out of bottle caps by sculpter John Petrey

Visit the website to see more, by clicking HERE

JOLIS PAONS

I know I have featured this dress before, but I really love this one made out of telephone books by Jolis Paons. To see more images of this stunning dress click HERE.

CLOTHES, CAMERA AND COFFEE

Above: I love that Roz of Clothes, Camera & Coffee has used old negatives to recreate a 1920's flapper dress. To read more about How Roz created this dress click HERE.

JANE LAWRENCE

Comic Strip dress by Jane Lawrence. To see more of her work click HERE.

MELISSA FERREIRA

Above: this dress is made from reclaimed stretch wool sweaters by Melissa Ferreira. To see more of her work of clothes using quality recycled materials click HERE.

LIRA LEIRNER

Lira Leirner has made this fantastic dress out of an old Royal Mail bag. For her website click HERE.

ECO BAGS

I have selected 7 of the best eco bags made out of all sorts of products that would have otherwise been tossed into landfill. Recycled bags are no longer what they used to be, these bags are all very stylish in design, very durable and ecologically friendly.

FIRE HOSES

ELVIS and KREESE

Discarded fire Hose bag from Elvis & Kresse. This innovative Fire-Hose range is made exclusively from genuine de-commissioned British fire brigade hoses which, after a didtinguised career fighting fires and saving lives, would have been destined for landfill. To see Elvis & Kresse website click HERE.

DISCARDED BANNER VINYL

ELBOW GREASE DESIGNS

Eco bags designed by Jenny Hurth of Elbow Grease Designs are hand sewn from discarded vinyl signs and banners. Originally printed for trade shows, conventions, etc. These banners would otherwise end up in landfill. To see Elbow Grease Designs click HERE.

COFFEE SACKS

YOUNG BRITISH DESIGNERS

A reversible upcycled luxury eco tote bag made from fair trade coffee sack with contrasting lining found on Young British Designers website. To see the eco bag click HERE.

To see the Young British Designers website click HERE.

CAR SEAT BELTS

BELT UP BAGS

Eco friendly designer bags made from real (some recycled) seat belts with beautiful inside fabrics.

Available from Belt up Bags. For their website click HERE.

CAR INNERTUBES

RE-COLLECT

Handcrafted bags made from upcycled car innertubes & strap from recycled car seat belt. Designed by Katcha Bilek of Re-Collect. To see her website click HERE.

ROYAL MAIL BAGS

LIRA LEIRNER

These Royal Mail Sack bags by Lira Leirner are show stoppers! They come in a variety of colours, and are sturdy yet supple, lined and architecturally supported and structured with fabric tape and fastened with magnetic studs. Created by Lira Leirner in collaboration with the designer Stuart Bannocks. To see the website click HERE.

CAR LICENSE PLATES

LITTLEARTH

Bags created out of old license Plates. You can actually send your old license plate to Littlearth and they will make it up into a bag for you. To see their website click HERE.

GREEN POST

Above: Mini eco card set - 5 folded cards with handmade envelopes.

Kendra Zvonik makes 100% recycled handmade papercrafts. Her company GREEN POST was created with the intentions to re-use, recycle and upcycle all the "junk" paper that comes into our lives (such as junk mail, useless bills, receipts, tags, etc). As Kendra says, "Paper is one of the easiest and most forgiving materials to work with and to recycle. Paper is everywhere and can be re-used (possibly) infinitely."

Kendra makes the most wonderful Eco plantable gift tags. Tags that you can use and then later plant to grow wild flowers! A really creative eco friendly wedding/party/business favour. Made from recycled papers (created out of "junk" paper collected by the artist). Seeds are incased inside the pulp paper. The paper is then pressed and air dried. They hang on a 12" piece of natural hemp twine through a punched hole. They are then stamped on the back with SOY INK. All the contents is 100% recycled.

You can buy Green Post products via the Etsy shop HERE.

KELLY SWALLOW

"A swatch of vintage fabric is a little piece of history"

Stunning armchair by Kelly Swallow (above & below) - has just been made and the first time this particularly piece has been seen.

I have recently discovered the work of Kelly Swallow. A fantastic source for creatively recycling fabric pieces. Kelly's chairs & Sofas are made by using individually sourced vintage pieces of fabric. Each piece of furniture is a one off and with its own unique charm. The personality of every piece is rediscovered by painstakingly and lovingly choosing an exciting collection of fabrics to create unique pieces with newfound splendour. The fabrics range from vintage to designer including: Kenzo, Zoffany, Liberty, Andrew Martin, Designers Guild, Osborne & Little, Lorca, Mulberry - an eclectic mix with exciting and surprising contrasts.

Kelly has always collected fabrics (in fact, her house is full of fabric pieces!). She says that she cannot pass by a fabric shop without buying a remnant. She loves using vintage fabrics and also pattern books and is a big fan of Designer's Guild. The company Zoffany also now gives her all their amazing off cuts.

Kelly Swallow, based in Hertfordshire, specialises in doing bespoke pieces, involving the client to achieve stunning results which are truly tailor made.

To see more of her stunning work click HERE.

Kelly Swallow's grain sack armchairs.

VINTAGE SIMPLICITY

Have you ever thought of hiring Vintage China to give your party/wedding a real twist? Vintage Simplicity are a company based in South West London and they supply an eclectic mix of unique vintage china and accessories for Weddings, Corporate Events, Garden Parties, Productions & Photo Shoots.

If, like me, you are crazy about vintage china and unusual pieces all mixed together to make up one stunning set, you love this web site. Great photos of past events in their News Page page with yummy pieces of vintage china. It will make you think twice from now on when she see one lovely cup and saucer in your local Charity shop.

Really recommend this company to give your wedding or special party a stylish vintage feel.

For more information on their website click HERE.

LARGEST RECYCLED ARTWORK

In a bid to encourage consumers to recycle their cans and bottles the world's largest recycled artwork was created. 200,000 aluminium cans were used to create this piece in East Sussex to mark Recycle Week June 2009. Transforming thousands of used aluminium cans collected from around the UK, the sculpture, called Precious Metal, took a team of artists a week to complete and can only be fully viewed from the air. The artwork is inspired by a classic 1949 summer poster from the Coca-Cola archives of a swimsuit-clad lady relaxing in the sun. It was led by the award-winning Cornish sculptor Robert Bradford.

MODERN VINTAGE

I have just spotted these great bangles form Modern Vintage in USA. Crafted in a state-of-the-art polyurethane resin, slices of recycled cans have been embedded within each bangle. The cans themselves are made from 51% metal that has been previously recycled,

Each bangle is a unique work of art. No two are identical. When you order, you can expect the overall effect and colors to be the same as pictured, but the details vary.

Completely hand-cast from a custom mold in my workshop, lovingly finished, and polished to perfection.

To see more or to buy, click HERE.