Alley Recycling Exhibition

Ashley, one of our RePlayGround instructors, was recently on a trip to Europe and saw Alley Recycling exhibition space at Design Pack gallery.  The space is located at 24 rue de Richelieu and is devoted solely to the art of packaging design.  Alley recycling states its aim is to "encourage sorting and recycling of packaging and the development of best practices for prevention and waste reduction."  Here are a few pics she took for RePlayGround readers to see!

Take a Seat: recycle a chair project

Artist Jason Eppink's latest project, which is aptly titled Take a Seat, is an ongoing series of public furniture installations in New York subway stations. Subway riders are encouraged to recycle or rescue a chair from being thrown in the landfill, and instead place it in a subway station, where it may get some good use. Eppink's goal is to increase the availability of seating in subway stations, and anyone can place a chair, take a picture of it, and send it to his blog: http://jasoneppink.com/take-a-seat/?pid=39


photo via http://jasoneppink.com/take-a-seat/?pid=39

A look back to MAD's Second Lives symposium

The Museum of Arts and Design hosted Second Lives Symposium in February 2009. The symposium covered a wide range of topics including the intersection of art, craft and DIY. Another topic was the shift from artists using one primary medium, to embracing many materials, from plastic, glass and fabric, as well as traditional canvas.

The section of the Symposium which resonated most with RePlayGround was the Second Lives discussion. The talk focused on finding artistic and functional uses for trashed items, which is dear to our hearts! Independent curator Steven Skov calls attention to artists who work in the medium of reused materials, and you can view his MAD presentation here.

Coffee Cup Art

Artist Gwyneth Leech upcycled coffee cups into art for her latest NYC exhibit. Her artwork was displayed in the glass base of the Flatiron building, and she could be seen inside as she worked on her coffee cup art during the course of the show. Leech transforms disposable coffee cup exteriors into canvas, and she has covered 800 cups in the 5 months the exhibit has spanned. Leech teaches us we can make trash into art, one cup at a time!



image by Marianne Barcellona via http://www.gwynethsfullbrew.com/

Upcycling ideas from Instructables

Here are a few of our new favorite DIY upcycling projects from Instructables.com. Click to try them out!

Budweiser Box cardboard wall mounted mail holder

Hack a VHS cassette tape into Super Pom Poms

Fuzzy bunny slippers from recycled sweaters

Ammmunition box tea organizer

RePlayGround just posted a new DIY project on Instructables.com, so take a look! See step by step instructions to make your own tea packet organizer out of a repurposed ammo cartridge box: http://www.instructables.com/id/Ammunition-Box-Tea-Organizer/

This project can also add a bang to your Valentine's Day gift giving!

Tupperware FX Pedal

The New York based band Globular Cluster has recycled flair! Guitarist Jake Adams performs with this effects pedal which is designed by artist Brendan Byrne. Byrne modifies effects pedals and rehouses them in plastic tupperware containers for easier access to the controls. This would make any Tupperware party 10X cooler.

To see more of Byrne's work, click here!

photo courtesy of Jake Adams

Create with Crates!

We recently added some upcycled storage space in our RePlayGround studio. We used discarded wooden wine crates, and stacked them to create shelving space. Colorful clamps secure the boxes together.

For a few more DIY storage crate ideas, check out these easy instructions:

Add casters to the bottom of a crate to build a moveable bookcase by Factorycraftdirect.com

Build floating kitchen shelves by planetgreen.com

Spice up your garden with these crate planters by re-nest.com

These storage projects are the cratest way to get organized!

Plastic bottle portrait

Mary Ellen Croteau created this 8 by 7 foot portrait out of bottle caps and plastic bottle parts! The design is modeled after Chuck Close's portrait style and makes for an interesting critique on consumerism. Croteau's work focuses on the effect of plastic garbage on the environment, and asks that we look at our trash in a new light.

"I firmly believe in the power of the visual, and my work is my voice: a social critique and a visual challenge to all the cultural detritus we are force-fed every day. My art is about looking at things in a slightly different way, and is intended to undermine the status quo with wit and humor."

To see more of Croteau's colorful and inventive artwork from plastic bags and bottles, see: http://www.newdream.org/resources/2011-09-artist-critiques-consumer-culture

(close up of her nose!)

Plastic bag bangles by Garbage of Eden!

This week we're featuring our friend Stephanie Huffaker of Garbage of Eden! Stephanie, who is also a RePlayGround instructor, creates beautiful bangles out of plastic bags and yogurt cups. Below you can see the process of creating the yogurt cup base. Stephanie uses pre-consumer and post-consumer waste to make her upcycled designs. Materials include misprints from companies and also used materials that are sterilized for reuse. Garbage of Eden seeks to raise consciousness about sustainability. "If we take the time to seek out and realize the positive potential in the objects around us, there is no waste." To get your own recycled bag bangle, check out the Etsy shop!

Light up used glass!

Cargo Collective offers a line of JarLamps made from re-used glass jars! A hole is drilled in the cap and a lamp fitting is offered through to create your own recycled reading lamp. Our favorite is the Nutella JarLamp! Check out more functional designs including drinking glasses made from beer bottles and a jump rope from used plastic bottles at http://cargocollective.com/upcycle

Adam Matta remixes a recycled bicycle!

This year at Maker Faire we met a cool musician who beatboxes with upcycled style! Adam Matta (as pictured at Maker Faire 2011 below) reinvented the bicycle wheel as an artistic turntable. Matta combined Marcel Duchamp's Roue de bicyclette and a deconstructed cassette tape player to make his turntable sounds. The cassette tape runs along the outside of the bicycle wheel, and as he turns the wheel the tape moves across the cassette player piece at the base of the stool. he is then able to manipulate sound into a record scratching and spinning style. To hear Matta's upcycled musical creation, see his video here!

Adam Matta is great inspiration to remix the way we recycle!

Maker Faire Fun!

Thanks to all who came to Maker Faire NYC this weekend and visited the RePlayGround booth! We taught how to make bottle cap magnets, and used the caps to build a colorful mural that spelled out MAKE.

Tiffany also ran a workshop where she taught Makers to fold their own paper picture frame. We had fun creating with all kinds of crafty people, and we're super inspired by all the amazing Makers we met! To see more photos, check out RePlayGround on Picasa!









We're already counting down to next year's Maker Faire!

go green in the garden!

Enjoy the last of the summer weather with some upcycling projects for your garden! These crafty ideas will make you think twice about those discarded items in the garage or attic.

Glass Totem

see a tutorial by Gardens & Crafts here!

Wren House with License Plate Roof

D&G Gardens and Crafts

Plastic Container Planters

instructions can be found in the ReMake It book!

The grass is always greener on the upcycled side!

art and reuse with Louise Nevelson

Artist Louise Nevelson's work is crafted from found wood objects that are arranged and painted in a monochromatic fashion. Before she became an exhibiting artist, the impoverished Nevelson collected discarded wood from the streets to burn as firewood. Her 3-dimensional collage style was born from these piles of scrap material, and now grace the walls of major art galleries worldwide. Nevelson used everything from boxes and crates to bowling pins and wood bannister posts. For a detailed biography, check out http://www.louisenevelsonfoundation.org/

Mark your Calendar for Maker Faire

Thanks to all who came out this weekend for some RePlayGround fun! We had a blast teaching craft projects and talkin' trash at the New York Hall of Science Maker Days and Summer Streets NYC event.

To view photos of the events, click here and here.

If you missed out on all the fun, not to fear! We'll be back at the NY Hall of Science for Maker Faire NYC in September. This year's event includes robotics, textile arts and crafts, biotech and chemistry experiments and much more! Be sure to stop by the RePlayGround table for some hands-on eco-crafty projects to make and take.

What: Maker Faire NYC

When: Sept. 17-18 2011

Where: NY Hall of Science, 47-01 111th St, Queens NY

RePlayGround fun this weekend!

Are you looking for some recycling fun this weekend? Drop by one of our events and make a free craft project! We'll be at Summer Streets NYC at the GoGo Squeez tent, where you can make a gift bow and a wallet out of recycled GoGo Squeez applesauce wrapper. You can also find us at Maker Days at the NY Hall of Science, where you'll learn how to craft envelopes and gift bows out of old magazines.

Summer Streets NYC

August 20, 2011 7AM-1PM

Foley Square, NYC

Maker Days

August 20-21, 2011 12-5PM

NY Hall of Science

47-01 111th St. Queens, NY 11368

See you there for some eco-crafty fun!

Cigar Box Jewelry Box

This week we found a new use for an empty cigar box! We started by cutting down chopsticks to serve as compartment dividers. After hot gluing the chopsticks to the bottom of the box, we cut out magazine pages to fit in the compartments, and glued the squares down with a glue stick. We found you can also give the inside of the box a more finished look by spraying on a few coats of glossy lacquer.

We picked this box up at Refugio Cigar House around the corner from our RePlayGround studios. A lot of cigar stores have empty boxes that pile up by the end of each week, so if you'd like to try this project, ask your local store for any cast-off boxes.

Check out our other crafty cigar box projects at Craftzine.

This smokin' hot jewelry box makes a great summer project!

Another "Junked" item Rescue Story!

A few weeks ago we asked for stories of ways you rediscovered or reused a "junked" or thrift store item. This week we're featuring Garbage of Eden founder and fellow trash-lover, Stephanie Huffaker's lost and found story:

A couple years ago, I bought a cute vintage necklace for $7 from a thrift shop. It was one of those large wooden-beaded necklaces from the 70's. It was a fun shape and it was black so it went with everything. I loved it and wore it all the time.

It fell off a lot because the clasp was loose, but since it was kind of big I usually noticed when it fell off and just put it right back on. I kept telling myself that I should restring the whole thing and replace the clasp but I just kept putting it off.

One day, I was running errands around my neighborhood when I noticed that my necklace was missing. I retraced my steps for a few blocks, but it was nowhere to be found. My favorite necklace was gone for good. :(

About a month later I invited a friend of mine to go shopping at the Salvation Army near my apartment. We got in line with the spoils of our thrifting adventures and...what to my wondering eyes?!

A black, 1970's wooden-beaded necklace was hanging by the checkout! I looked closer....it had a nick on one of the beads where I had stepped on it by mistake- it was my favorite necklace!

And this time it only cost me $1.00. :)

If you have a story you'd like to share, let us know! Email us at kathy (at) replayground (dot) com

Summer Soda Tab Ideas!

Looking for some upcycling summer fun? Take a look at these cool and crafty soda tab creations. For Earth Day, we taught how to make soda tab bracelets and belts at Etsy Labs, which you can view here. We met some creative people who took their own spin on on soda tabs, so we thought we'd share their ideas for your own recycling inspiration!

Crocheted Soda Tab Flower

Soda Tab Headband (laced with ribbon)

Double Stacker Soda Tab Bracelet

Add some soda tab pizzaz to a summer tote or t-shirt with this DIY project from our book! This DIY soda tab flower is one of 95 projects featured in our book ReMake It! Recycling Projects from the Stuff You Usually Scrap!

Have fun ReMaking it!