One of the easiest things to do out of byclcle tyres are belts. You can even sew it by hand. The pictures speak louder than words:
Belt from bycycle tyre
All posts by Stef
Create magic with large-scale soap bubbles
It so simple to make large scale soap bubbles. Two sticks and a cotton string as well as a lot of dish washing liquid with a little bit of water. Apparently “fairy” dish washing liquid is the best but I would rather go for an eco brand.
Great for kids birthdays, festivals or other events.
From book into note holder
I truly love books but I do not think that all need to be preserved for reading. I have already posted pictures on wall art out of books. The photo here shows a pin board made out of a book. It is hanging on the wall and its pages are simply folded in half, it doubles in thickness and gives it a nice round fan-like shape.
The picture below shows how to fold it the simplest way:
From tyres to stool
I found this broken stool in the streets of Kreuzberg. On the way home I passed by my local bike store getting the days dumped tyres. With a pair of scissors, some knots, simple weaving and 1h of my time the stool was refurbished.
From flower pot to soap bar holder
Credits for this go to my flat mate, a genuine upcycling queen! I love these simple and cool upcycling ideas that are using very common waste, like those small pots you get plants in – herbs for your kitchen, flowers for the balcony or plants for the garden. They come in those plastic pots that are usually thrown away. By cutting them so that the lower fifth remains and turning them around you can create a simple and good-looking soap bar holder. Love it!
From milk carton to book cover
Trying to reduce as much packaging as possible there is still some around. Milk cartons from soy or oat milk for example – when there was no time to make it myself. Instead of throwing them away they are cut at the bottom and rinsed out. Sometimes they get a second life as a storage container for soup that goes in the freezer. In spring they are turned into tubs to grow seedlings for the garden. They also work as a book cover for note books or calendars. The silver inside of the carton is a great contrast to the outside print. With an older tough sewing machine there was no trouble getting through two layers of carton. With one of the newer “plastic” ones I would not recommend this. Instead maybe try hot glue, a staple gun or a hole puncher plus a thick string. For decoration and further attachment options I wrapped a bicycle tyre around the front cover. Inside the book cover is a school calendar. An elastic around the back of the cover allows for the attachment of an additional note book. Here is the story in pictures:
Front with pen holder and tyre deco
Last page. I did a bad sewing job at the top…getting used to the material.
First page inside. The colorful note book on the right is attached via a blue elastic that you can see in the next picture.
Last page with the calender and a drawing booklet inside.
From milk carton…
..to book cover.
Pass it on
Not giving and taking,
tit for tat,
Returning favors,
danke-bitte.
No,
it goes further.
To somebody else,
maybe unknown
maybe not,
not back
but forward.
So it surprises,
is not weigthed.
So it is selfless,
not counting.
So that somebody else’s happiness
Enriches you.
Makes your smile.
Breaks through routines.
All lit by your own
True happiness.
Postcard from Burning Man 2011
Nature is abundance
Gardening is one of the best hobbies. Even with a not so green finger there are enough plants that just love to grow no matter what. One seed into the earth, some care-taking and whoooop hundreds of seeds or leaves or fruits or flowers. Some snapshots of the last season.
Salad from beet root and zucchini with borretsch and nasturtium (Kapuzinerkresse) flowers
Fire beans
Porridge with red currant and blackberry – great jams too.
Sunflower seeds – pure or roasted
Apples and pears in all shapes and tastes.
Blackberries and red currants. Fire beans and tasty wild tomatoes (green & yellow)
white, black and red currant. red and green gooseberry.
herb pesto and nasturtium.
the tastiest radish ever
flowers as gifts, for teas, for bees or just for the eye and nose
From cigarette butts to park benches
The upcycling field is professionalizing. I previously wrote about art galleries and fashion stores in Berlin. Another interesting concept is brought forward by TerraCycle. One of their projects is turning cigarette butts into plastic products like park benches. Smokers, clubs or restaurants can collect and mail their cigarette waste to a collection point. There it is sorted and components like plastics are extracted. The project is funded by tobacco companies (it is assumingly useful for their sustainability report).
TerraCycle is mainly recycling waste that is conventionally not easy to recycle. People can send them their Colgate toothbrush, Nespresso capsules, drink pouches, diapers or electronic waste (ipods, laptops, phones). Each is collected under a different project (“Brigade”) and funded by different companies. The reward for each item send in is either a donation to a non-profit organisation or – for larger scale shipments above e.g. 100 pieces – TerraCycle points can be collected and redeemed for charitable gifts or product bundles.
Shipments are usually free and there are collection points in 9 countries such as US, Australia, Canada and Germany. More info can be found on their website: www.terracycle.eu/#/world
Flower pots from plastic waste
Waste, no its not to waste. It can be resourceful – Just a matter of perspective.
Upcycling means to give higher value to something that has lost its purpose or meaning. It means re-using things and adding value through creativity. Instead of throwing the bags that contained my coffee beans I look for their other possible functions.
One of the things with the shortest lifespan are plastic wrappings and bags. During one of my last workshops I made various flower pots from plastic bags, drink cartons, floppy disks and washing liquid plastic bottle. For the outer layer I used a good looking bag or box, for the inner pot I used a bag or box that I filled with soil and plants. Two drainage holes are cut into the bottom. For convenience the inner pot stands on the cut off bottom of a plastic bottle like in the picture below. 
The workshop table during pot production.
A beautiful plastic bag that once held rice is covering a milk carton with two drainage holes, filled with soil and plants.
And here is how to make germination pots from milk cartons. 
Even better is this vertical garden using milk cartons. When using the same package it looks pretty good! Now you just need to look after the plants 
