Restyled Folding Chairs

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Kat

Left: battered old chair Right: old chair is painted & seat is recovered

Thank you to one of our Irish Attic readers, Sam Marquit – independent contractor and green building enthusiast – for submitting the article below.

Recycling is an important part of conservation efforts and environmentally friendly lifestyles. However, it has a rarely used cousin that is even more helpful. This method is upcycling. It is the act of taking unwanted materials and turning it into something new. The materials used in upcycling are of less cost than new materials, making upcycling cost effective. As a result, it is has continued to rise in popularity, especially in the United States.

In 2010-2011, upcycled products on the popular shopping site Etsy increased by nearly 300%, a few months later, it had increased again by nearly 450%. The fact that upcycling seems to be gaining in popularity is great news for the environment. It is something we all can do to decrease the negative impact we have on our surroundings every day. The popularity of this is easy to see. I stumbled upon a really cool idea, “Restyled Folding Chairs”. All you need is spray paint, fabric, drill and screwdriver. Below are the steps:

1. Using a drill (or screw driver) unscrew the cushions from your chairs. (put the screws somewhere you won’t lose them, you’ll have to screw the cushion back in later.
2. In a well-ventilated area (I did it outside) spray paint your chairs and let them dry completely.
3. Cover your old cushion with new fabric and wrap it around onto the backside. Staple or use a strong adhesive to secure the fabric on the back. Tip: an even “greener” option would be to use repurposed fabric rather than new fabric. Maybe a curtain or tablecloth with a hold or stain or a skirt that you no longer want to wear but that would work great on your chair.
4. Screw your cushions back onto your chairs.

After: chairs are painted a glossy blue & recovered with recycled fabric.

Even big businesses, such as hotels, can use this concept to decrease their eco footprints. Las Vegas’ The Palazzo Hotel and Resort is a place that takes upcycling to a brilliant level. They have completely overhauled their practices and materials in hopes of achieving sustainability. They convert their trash and waste into energy for the hotel. They also have solar panels that power the various heating units. It’s work like this that earned the hotel the title of “Most Eco-Friendly Hotel in America.”

The real quality behind The Palazzo Hotel and Resort’s upcycling efforts is its self-sustainability and they are not the only ones turning to these methods to be greener and more environmentally aware. New York City hotels sit in the middle of one of the most densely populated areas on Earth. If there was any place that could make a big change by upcycling, it is New York. Some hotels there are leading the way into a greener future. The Earthcare program at ink48 Hotels is another example of responsible hospitality.

Regardless of how well self-sustaining upcycling methods work, there are always other ways to help. It is really encouraging to see large organizations and businesses practicing upcycling by turning unwanted materials into something needed. It’s important for more and more businesses to catch on and realize there is value in turning their trash into treasure. The Palazzo in just one example of the many hotels in Las Vegas that are turning trash into treasure. What an impact it would make if all hotels around the world followed suit!

If any Irish Attic readers have a project you would like to submit, please feel free to contact me at info (at) irishattic (dot) net.

Egg Carton Games & Crafts

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Kat

Chances are that after all the Easter festivities are over you’ll have a lot of egg cartons that you don’t want to stash in the trash so here are some fun craft projects and even a game that you can make with egg cartons.

Pot of Tulips

from CareFreeCrafts.com

This craft is a fun activity for a child’s birthday party or mom’s and daughters tea party. The girls can make their own table centerpieces, then take them home afterwards.

Materials for each pot:

4 to 6 separate sections from a paper egg carton
4 to 6 green pipe cleaners or wooden craft sticks
paint or markers
glue
plastic, Styrofoam or paper cup
popcorn kernels, rice, beans or coffee beans

Cut apart the egg carton so that each section is a separate little cup. Cut a V into the middle of each side of each egg carton section so it looks like a tulip. Repeat for each section. Decorate the tulips with paint and/or markers. Set aside to dry.

Pipe Cleaner Stems

Shape one end of a green pipe cleaner into a U shape.

Glue the U end of the pipe cleaner onto the bottom of the tulip. Set aside to dry. Repeat for all tulips.

Craft Stick Stems

Paint both sides of all craft sticks green or color with markers. Set tulip bottom side down on a safe cutting surface. Use a craft knife to cut a slit in the middle bottom. Draw a bead of glue along slot. Slide green craft stick through slot. Set aside to dry. Repeat for each tulip.

While waiting for tulips to dry decorate your plastic, Styrofoam or paper cup with paint and/or markers. This will be your tulip “pot”.

Fill the cup with unpopped popcorn kernels, rice, beans or coffee beans. Stand your tulips up inside the cup for a pretty spring decoration.

Dress Up Shoes

Open an egg carton and cut away (lengthwise) roughly half of the bottom of the carton (the side with the bumps). Close the carton and have your child put his/her foot in the hole to see if the hole is the right size. Cut away some more if needed and when the “shoe” fits, slip it off. Decorate so that the shoe fit’s your child’s dress up costume. When your child is ready to wear her new “shoes” tape the carton shut.

Mancala

This is a game for two players. I’ve played it successfully with children as young as five years old. I like to keep the lid attached to the bottom so I can pack the Mancala game away with all the pieces stored inside, but if you find the top gets in the way of playing the game you can remove it then when the game is over place it over the bottom and secure with a rubber band.

Decorate the bottom portion of the carton if you like – or don’t – it’s not necessary.

Place a small container at each end of the carton. Containers do not need to be attached to the carton. If you’re playing with a young child you may find it advantageous to label the each player’s container with his or her name. These containers are called Mancala’s.

To Play: Sit across from your opponent and place the carton between the two of you so that your Mancala is to your right and your opponent’s Mancala is to your left. Fill each egg section with four tokens (peanuts, buttons, large beads or beans, Tip: experience suggests that chocolate chips don’t work well). The object of the game is to collect the most tokens in your Mancala.

We usually start by allowing the youngest player to go first. Player 1 picks up all tokens in any one bin on his side of the game, which is the row facing him. Player 1 places a token in the bin to the right of the empty bin and continues dropping tokens one by one counterclockwise. If he reaches his Mancala, he drops a token in the container and continues dropping tokens into his opponent’s side until all tokens in his hand are distributed. Do not drop a token in your opponent’s Mancala.

If your last token ends in your Mancala you get to go again.

If your last token lands on your side of the game in an empty section you can take all of your opponent’s tokens from his section that is directly opposite your previously empty bin. Place captured tokens in your Mancala.

When all sections from one side of the game are empty, the game is over. The player with the most tokens in his Mancala wins!

Egg Carton Crafting on Mega Drive!

Artist Makes Challenger II Tank From 5,016 Egg Cartons For Charity

Get crafting!

7 Easy Ways to Stay Green

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Mezzy

More and more people each year are starting to embrace the idea of going green. Many people think of it as an expensive habit, but it does not have to be if you go about it in the right ways. There are so many different ways to go green within your home, but you can also go green in the work place.

Since you spend about 8 hours of your day at work, why not think about ways to go green at your office.

Continue to read on to learn 7 unique ways that you can go green in your workplace.

Put Recycling Bins in your work area

There are more things than what you think that can be recycled nowadays. If you work in a large office and you are constantly dealing with paper work and other matters on a daily basis you should think about putting a recycling bin in your work office, and even in your office kitchen (if you have one).

Digital Business Cards

Try to do anything that you possibly can to avoid using paper so often. Our world is changing slowly but surely to doing everything digital. How about using digital business cards which can be transferred to others through an SMS or an email? Many people use their phones nowadays for business purposes so digital business cards will come in handy and in the future they will most likely be used more than paper.

Virtual Meeting Rooms

Video conference rooms are less time consuming and they are much more cost effective compared to actually meeting up in at an actual conference room. Reasons for this would be that you would not have to worry about using gas to drive to the location. You would not have to worry about paying for materials that you need for the representation; you might still need some materials but not as many when performing a demonstration online.

Monitoring Carbon Footprint

If for some reason you end up having to travel to meetings for work, you can minimize your CO2 by using RouteRank; this is a green travel planning website. You can also use devices that are not very expensive such as Belkin’s Conserve Insight Energy Use Monitor. It will help you to learn about how much energy a certain device has and what the best way is to use it without wasting resources.

Don’t Use Paper Invoices

If you have a paper billing system then maybe you should consider changing it over to an e-billing method. For one thing it is easier and more convenient to use the e-billing method as opposed to the paper billing which can cause you to stress. Waste less paper and use e-billing.

Reduce Emissions throughout your Office

Use the PowerMeter software and TED 5000 device to help people around your business become aware of what they need to do to reduce emission uses around the office.

Use Electronic Marking Materials

For many years several companies always printed out the materials that they needed for co-workers. Why waste paper when you can send materials out to employees electronically? All promotional items can be shifted to PDF files and even sent in video formats.

There are numerous ways to live more green, but the 7 mentioned above will give you a great start.

Do you have any tips that you can share about how you live green? Take a few minutes and share them with us.

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Written on behalf of innovativecompany.com, the official suppliers and experts of Magic Salt.

What Do You Do with a Potato Chip Tube?

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Kat

Quite a bit apparently.

Wrap it and use it as a gift container for cookies.

Homemade soap using a Pringles can as a mold.

Kalidescope

pinhole camera

They’re also great for …

Bank: Cut a thin rectangle out of the lid using an Exacto knife. Decorate can to taste.

Safe Bank: Glue a few chips to the inside lid of the can. Keep it in your pantry as a safe place to store valuables. Few burglers will even bother to glance twice at the can, but if they do they’ll see the potato chips through the lid and hopefully won’t bother to open the can. As further insurance instead of gluing chips to the lid you can put your valuables inside, then stack chips on top of them. It will be harder for you to retrieve your goodies when you want them but they will be safer from prying hands.

Flower Vase: Set a jar or plastic tumbler into a decorated potato chip can.

Kitchen Utensil Holder: Prepare plaster of paris according to package directions. Pour 1″ to 2″ into utensil holder to make it more stable. Allow to dry before adding kitchen utensils!

Safe Mailer: Use an empty Pringles container with its original lid to mail cookies, other baked goods and breakable items. Just fill with goodies, securely tape the lid in place, wrap in plain paper, address and mail. Don’t forget to label your package “Fragile”, although I actually label all my packages “Breakable” and “Glass” to insure they are treated gently.

School/Class Materials Carrier: Carry your pencils, artist brushes or other class materials.

Decorate any of the above using:
• wallpaper sample or leftovers
• decoupage pictures
• decorative napkins
• aluminum flashing
• mosaic tiles
• paper mache
• gift wrap
• construction paper
• book cover
• decorative contact paper
• paint

They’re also great for storing knitting needles and paintbrushes, small craft projects, an easy way to take food on a picnic or to the beach, a small poster tube, store documents without creasing … What will you do with your next Pringles can?