The Magic Behind Decorating a Home for under $1,500!

Reduce! Reuse! Repurpose!

Taking a leap into the Sunshine State after many years of RVing, this couple from Cleveland, Ohio have settled very comfortably in a double wide manufactured home. It is in a quiet, neat park just west of Tampa.
Their new home had great bones but was decorated in dark colours and traditional, stuffy furniture.
So they literally drenched everything in white; walls, cabinets and furniture to display an eclectic collection of finds. This allowed Cheryl a clear canvas to express her personality.
Then came the hunt. Culling collectives from their winter home, they added finds from the roadside, thrift shops, Habitat for Humanity, and a local hotel liquidator.

Creative Art from Recycled Materials

The new buzz word - upcycling!

At the Fine Arts Festival in Tarpon Springs, it was apparent that the selection committee was impressed by artists using recycled materials. Upcycling was the aim of many participants; silver spoons appeared in jewellery, driftwood in carvings, barnboard in framing for stained glass, lake glass shards in pendants, and on it went.

The miniature creatures created Melissa Menzer were intriguing. She uses pieces of jewelry from the 1920's and 1930's, wiring them onto each bird or animal by hand.

For a truly whimsical use of recycled paper, bottles and cans, check out Joyce Curvin's website at www.joycecurvin.com. Her collection of almost life-size dogs, cats and birds are adorable. All in bright colours, they amuse and remind us the cartoons of our childhood. Somehow she makes the paper mâché exteriors look like clay.

A nice way to browse a way a warm Sunday morning in Florida.

Interview - David Finkelstein

Interview - David Finkelstein



1-800   RID-OF-IT   Helping out when they can.  Our second annual donation of musical instruments to those who need it the most.

Make Your Own Recycled Paper

By: Vicki Alexopoulos

How often would you say you waste paper? If you look into your recycling bin, or perhaps even your garbage, you would be surprised at how much wasted paper you throw out on average. From printing on the wrong side of the sheet, to tossing away old notes, the average office generates around 73kgs of waste each year, 80% of which is recyclable. To make newspapers alone, about 40, 000 trees are cut down each day.

An easy and fun way of getting either you or your family involved in saving trees and remembering to recycle paper is by actually making your own paper. The following are the steps you can take to make your old notes into beautiful hand made paper, perfect for gifts, notebooks or anything of your choosing!

Make Your Own Recycled Paper:

You will need:
- Scrap pieces of paper
- A small strainer
- A blender
- A plastic container
- Old news papers
- Optional: A rolling pin

Directions:

Fill the blender about 2/3 of the way full with the scrap pieces of paper and fill the rest with water. Blend until you reach a creamy consistency and it looks pulp like. Pour contents of the blender into a plastic container, and continue to blend paper until you have your desired amount. Then take the strainer, scoop some pulp, and wait for the water to drain out. Then place on a hard surface, pat down with old news papers to absorb the remaining water, and roll out with a rolling pin (keep the news paper on top, and roll on the news paper to avoid unwanted messes). Finally, put out into a warm sunny place, preferably outside and wait to dry.

*Tip: For coloured paper, add some drops of food colouring to the pulp mixture.

Volia! Enjoy junk lovers.