Upcycling and Crafting

  Upcycling is a term that I prefer to 'recycling' because I want to repurpose items that might have landed in the trash, but I want to make them better not just reuse them.... hence the word, 'upcycling'. Recently, I read a copy of the magazine, GreenCraft, and was inspired to take another look at everyday items that I would normally throw away. This empty pouch once held underwear (Costco) and it seemed perfect for upcycling, so I decided to turn it into a usable mini-tote.

Alright, gluing on some flowers doesn't seem very creative even thought it did hide the words.  I don't enjoy making multiples but I do like card sets so doing a group of five seemed manageable.

The pouch was just the right size for a set of five A2 cards.  (Paper Accents ten turquoise envelopes and cards were purchased from Ben Franklin Crafts)

I decorated the back of the pouch too because it also had the words.  I used Goo Gone to remove the sticky residue from the paper labels on the original pouch.

Here are the five cards in the set. Notice that each one is slightly different and each has a stamped word from the Paper Smoochies set. (Great company to order from because they are fast, accurate, and sometimes include a freebie!)

The decorative papers used on these cards are from my stash of oldies (Bo Bunny and American Crafts). The Prima paper flowers with the candy dots (Peebles) added are from my really ancient stash but they're still useable....ain't hoarding great?

I used a bookplate from a Sizzix holiday die set which inclued some tag shapes.  I use this die often because the bookplate can be attached with twine (like I did) or tiny brads.   After the recipient of this gift uses up the cards, I hope that she uses that pouch as a travel tote for make-up or perhaps dainty undies.... hahaha!....that would really be recycling (pantie packaging to pantie pouch) AND upcycling!