The 25 Best Upcycling/Repurposing Blogs of 2015
PlushBeds Awards the Top 25 Upcycling and Repurposing Blogs
Top 25 Upcycling Bloggers
We’re so excited to present to you what we think are the very best upcycling and repurposing blogs to be found on all of the Web! It was such an enjoyable experience for us to learn all we could about the following amazing individuals and groups and all of the exciting ideas they have to offer in the world of upcycling/repurposing/reclaiming/reusing/vintage. Everything they do fits in so well with mindfully taking care to preserve Mother Earth’s resources (BTW, did you know the foam from our latex mattress could potentially be repurposed for seat cushions? And, it’s biodegradable, too!) We hope you’ll take the time to review each one of these neat blogs, bookmark them, and use their posts as a sort of recipe book and for inspiration. Keep in mind that summer is just around the corner, and a lot of these projects would be perfect for you to engage in making with your children (keep them busy 
). Now, on to our superstar bloggers…
*Note: Bloggers, if we haven’t gotten permission yet to use your head shot, that’s probably why we don’t have your image next to your blog. Please get in touch with us so we can get that remedied as soon as possible. Our readers want to match a face with a blog .
Upcycle That: Upcycling Ideas and Inspiration
Judy Rom and Jacques Karsten gave life to the blog Upcycle That on the very symbolic launch date of Earth Day 2012, and within a relatively short period of time it has become one of the most popular blogs of its kind. On her blog, Judy provides great step-by-step tutorials of items you can easily construct on your own, so don’t get bogged down worrying that you have to have a degree or be a carpenter to recreate one of their beautiful and innovative formulations . You may not have the knack to make an upcycled guitar, however you shouldn’t shy away from some of the more simple works featured on her blog, such as her delightful upcycled cork planters or her fun-to-make record bowls. Whatever material that you’re most comfortable in working with, Judy has items in those categories for you to try your hand at, including fabric, glass, leather, metal, paper, plastic, rubber, wax, and wood!
You can catch more of what Upcycle That is sharing with regular updates on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram.
Mountain Modern Life: Rustic Refined Re-imagined
Katie Nathey is the artistic talent behind the blog Mountain Modern Life, adding a very elegant and feminine touch to the DIY scene. Katie has a wide assortment of wonderful DIY projects that she has worked on and learned from, and she takes great photos and gives good descriptions to make it easy to follow her lead. She’s always learning something new to spice up her surroundings, and has a good mix of both the decorative and the functional. As you follow her blog posts, you’ll love how Katie gets inspired from an expensive brand name designer item that she she’s seen while browsing the web, and then goes to work and makes and even-better-than version of it herself (at much less expense). She’s got a good eye for that, and can outdo some of the best designers. Inspired Spaces is another unique portion of Katie’s blog, whereupon she shares how you can pep up your various mini habitats in your home and surrounding to be more organized, inspiring, and creative. Katie has also designed some lovely cards and other printables that are available for free download on her site.
The number of Mountain Modern Life Facebook fans is steady swelling as are her followers on Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram. Join up for some great ideas!
Upcycle Magazine
Jill Clem heads up the blog Upcycle Magazine, where you’ll find her interviewing fabulous upcyclers to get their thoughts on how they came up with their inspiration for upcycling projects (some of which they have even turned into businesses) as well as particular tutorials that Jill highlights from around the Internet that you can follow to make some of your own upcycled and reusable crafts. Jill sprinkles in her own unique upcycling tutorials amongst the many offered on her blog, and features a healthy dose of talented guest bloggers sharing their upcycled creations as well. From time to time you’ll also find Jill doing product reviews of upcycled items that have caught her eye. The types of upcycled items covered on upcycle magazine include crafts, sewing, gardening, jewelry, clothing, furniture, cooking, arts, and shoes.
Upcycle Magazine fans the flame of upcycling on these social networks: Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
love 2 upcycle: we love 2 upcycle!
Cat Lombardo is the Team Captain of an Etsy group of over 3,000 members comprising the blog love 2 upcycle, or Upcyclers, as it’s also referred to as. This makes it a very unique blog, as there are lots of talented contributors and all kinds of classy upcycling entrepreneurs sharing ideas, each from their little corner of the world. The Blogs 2 Love category on the site is where you’ll find these compelling upcycling ideas and tutorials. You’ll also find a list on the blog of great resources, where you can learn the ins and outs of creating your own upcycled goods to sell on Etsy (or elsewhere), as well as how to market yourself, how to make your blog look stunning, a little about SEO and social media marketing, photographing your products, and more. love 2 upcycle is just jam-packed with upcycling goodness, comprised of such a wide base of knowledge from talented individuals to draw upon. Whether you want to learn to do a little bit of repurposing on your own, or you simply wish to support the economy of upcyclers that comprises this fabulous group, we think Upcyclers has a good thing goin’ !
If you too love 2 upcycle, take a moment to connect with Upcyclers on their social media outlets, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
RECYCLED CRAFTS: Creative upcycle and downcycle ideas
Stefanie Girard is Chief Editor for CraftGossip.com’s Recycled Crafts, one of Craft Gossip’s many craft-oriented blogs, the network of which was founded by Shellie Wilson. Stefanie has been repurposing for years and years. She has put out four jewelry making books as well as a more recent book called Sweater Surgery: How to Make New Things With Old Sweaters, and authors a blog after the same name, Sweater Surgery. Stefanie does an excellent job of curating and reviewing up- and down-cycled projects that creative folks all over the Internet are engaging in. One of our favorites is this water blob post that she covered from the blog Hello Wonderful. If you are looking for some fun projects to keep yourself and your children busy this summer (school’s almost out!), check out Recycled Crafts for some great ideas!
For all kinds of crafty experiences, keep up with Craft Gossip on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.
Civilian Style’s DIY Fashion Blog
Jennifer Craft’s Civilian Style DIY Fashion Blog is one that offers ideas for spicing up your wardrobe through peppy upcycled clothing and jewelry. Jennifer is also keen on vintage, and provides some great recommendations on her blog. She’s all about being thrifty while at the same time adorning yourself with beauty. If finances are tight (or you just like to save money), you’ll definitely want to check out the Fashion on a Budget section of Jennifer’s blog where she writes up great reviews on inexpensive and intriguing finds that you can mix and match. Added to all of this are some DIY tutorials, like these trendy Stars and Stripes shorts. In Jennifer’s Fashion Business Ideas section, she gives you the lowdown on her experience starting up a mobile boutique business – what a cool idea! If you decide to start your own vintage/handmade/upcycled business, Jennifer is even willing to provide you with a free marketing analysis, just because she likes to help and see others succeed .
Keep pace with Civilian Style on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Google+.
UPCYCLIST
Antonia Edwards set out to highlight some of the most interesting reuse projects around, with a concentration more towards the aesthetically pleasing rather than functional upcycled objects; thus, the UPCYCLIST came into being in 2011. Antonia seeks out notable artists from all over the globe whose works reflect the ethic of reuse, and assembles upon her blog a virtual museum as it were, as she reports on the various pieces. Whatever material or refused item you can imagine has found its way on her blog into a beautifully transformed work of art. For a sneak peak of what the blog features, check out the Gallery. The UPCYCLIST also features a shopping space for unique upcycled items. We think you’ll be impressed! Don’t forget to check out Antonia’s recently released book, Upcyclist: Reclaimed and Remade Furniture, Lighting and Interiors.
The UPCYCLIST has a loyal fan base composed of followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Creative upcycling & mixed media: Going where the creative journey leads me
Claudia Mazzie-Ballheim meshes mixed media with upcycling on the blog Creative upcycyling & mixed media. Her blog and the creations Claudia shares are a real treat. Her passion as an artist bleeds through her work as she chronicles her journey upon her blog of eclectic collected masterpieces. There are lots of great tutorials, such as sealing paper beads, making an iPad cover, and even repurposing blue jean inseams. Claudia also runs another site, WAS NOW Creations, where she concentrates her efforts on selling cases for iPads, Kindles, and other tablets that she’s made from hardback books with retro covers as well as some other lovely novelties. Claudia has a great resource page for upcycling ideas and how-to’s, coupled with some of her favorite mixed media blogs and upcycling blogs, which are featured on the left-hand margin of her blog.
You can follow Claudia on her WasNowCreations page on Facebook, and also keep up-to-date with her on bloglovin’.
Upcycled Design Lab: Crafty experiments with household cast-offs, found objects and trash
Cindy Fortin makes the mundane look so gorgeous once she’s done with it on her blog Upcycled Design Lab. This blog has such a nice look to it, and includes some beautiful photographs of Cindy’s works of art. Although she says she’s never had the nerve to call herself an artist, we beg to differ, and think she’s just being modest . Here’s more proof of her creativity. And there’s a lot more where that came from! Don’t you just love the social media icons that fits Cindy’s blog’s theme so perfectly? As well, Cindy runs two other blogs that you’ll definitely want to visit – Clothesline Apparel and More and Outside the Cocoon, which draw upon her deep well of experience in upcycling and crafting in general as well as selling on eBay.
Upcycle Design Lab makes frequent updates on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, and Instagram.
RECYCLART
Dimitri Boulze and Quentin Jeandel are the co-founders of RECYCLART, a blog that lends creative voice to dozens and dozens of artists that are reusing, recycling, and reducing all in an effort to help Mother Earth. Each post on RECYCLART is simplistic in its presentation, without much text, but rather mostly a short intro and then a picture or pictures of the end product with a link to the author’s website, which often follows up with a tutorial of how their piece was made. It’s a wonderful way for these artists to gain some exposure and get new followers for their work. Submissions are welcomed, and depending on the popularity of their posts, they are paid accordingly, which makes for a great incentive . If you are looking for a particular category of upcycled goods, just click on the EXPLORE tab in the top navigation of the site to be taken to any of a number of great posts of the type you are seeking.
RECYCLART has an ample following on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Flickr, and Tumblr.
Upcycled Stuff: TURNING YESTERDAY’S TRASH INTO TOMORROW’S UPCYCLED TREASURES
Tricia Kokoszka takes on the upcycling blogosphere on her very inspiring blog Upcycled Stuff. Each of her craft tutorials is very thorough in its presentation, and all have such spirit reverberating through them. Tricia is an excellent instructor, and has her own channel on curious.com that you’ll want to check out so you can learn how to make some of her fascinating creations by watching over her shoulder. Do you have pets and want to make a pet pillow for them? Tricia shows you how to do that using an old bathrobe. Want to learn how to make a denim bag from an old pair of jeans? Not a problem, Tricia has you covered on that, too. And impress your friends by making a pair of earrings from spoon handles. This blog is a real delight, you could spend hours upon hours digging into it and not have your creative appetite satiated there’s that much great material to be had there!
Stay in the loop by following Upcycled Stuff on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
THE Upcycle JOURNAL
THE Upcycle JOURNAL is the fascinating blog associated with the Australian based website Upcycle STUDIO, which sells fashion and homewares made from various upcycled materials. The blog itself is extremely informative, with in-depth explanations of things like sea glass (including which colors of sea glass are the rarest to come by and where some of the best of it can be found), reporting on some awesome upcycling business ventures like MotoArt, a company that upcycles aviation parts into furniture, and even an intriguing article about a couple that built the entire façade of their home from old windows in patchwork quilt style (and every piece of furniture has its own story, too). The blog, and business website, are so hip, showing how stylish and fashionable upcycled treasures can be. The message we come away with from THE Upcycle JOURNAL is that sometimes creating something new from the old can produce something better than even the original .
Thousands of folks enjoy the regular social shares provided by Upcycle STUDIO on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, and Instagram.
UPCYCLED BABY CLOTHES: UPCYCLING HINTS AND TIPS FOR EVERYONE
Kathy Russell put together an enchanting little blog called UPCYCLED BABY CLOTHES after the birth of a new granddaughter. The blog has flourished into a wonderful journal of epic works that Kathy ought to be extremely proud of. She does a fine job of instruction with tutorials on items like this cute little taggie blanket (that her granddaughter seems to be quite pleased with ), these easy make burp cloths, and this fabulous Christmas dress made from curtains. She also shares a wealth of knowledge in her sewing and quilting articles. As well, Kathy provides advice on her blog about how to make a little bit of extra money on the side, with a healthy dose of product reviews to boot. *Bonus: you can sign up to get a free eBook of baby clothes instruction from Kathy to your email inbox by providing your contact information on the upper right-hand margin of her blog!
Enjoy more of Kathy’s shares on Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+.
America Upcycles
Though not technically a blog, we felt it necessary to give the very worthy America Upcycles a mention in this roundup because of the wonderful cause it represents. America Upcycles is a charitable organization that helps non-profits, corporations, and municipalities to keep electronic waste out of landfills by transforming these electronics into funding for charitable causes throughout the world. Some of the wonderful benefits of their efforts are that the whole concept is based on not having the organizations write a check, but rather to sponsor retired electronic collection events, while also engaging employees in the wonderful cause of upcycling and waste reduction for a cleaner environment. America Upcycles also provides promotional materials to help your organization plan and execute one of these events. Being a sponsor of America Upcycles is a great way to brand your company and give it some valuable PR in the community. Anybody can join this great cause, even individuals – mail in your retired electronics today (it’s 100% tax deductible)! Provided is a list of types of electronics that are accepted.
Connect with America Upcycles on Facebook and Twitter.
Remade In Britain
Donna Fern started Remade In Britain in the fall of 2014 by borrowing a skip and having 300 of her initial signed-on retailers donate their favorite upcycled products towards creating a lounge room showcasing some of their wonderful upcycled creations. You can see how everything came together here. Jewelry, clothing, home accessories, furniture, and more are the types of things that Donna’s team of upcyclers sell from the Remade In Britain Website, the U.K.’s largest upcycling marketplace. The accompanying blog, REMADEINBRIT is a place for showcasing some of the talented upcycling artists and their work, as well as giving the reader a look at where and how Donna seeks out new talent and inspirations (at fairs, workshops, and festivals). You’ll be impressed as well as you visit their other news blog, where you can peruse guest blogs and read interviews to get the backstory on some of the great talent that Remade In Britain has attracted. Truly, Donna has figured out that very often the path to success in life for yourself is to help others shine and get what they want – what you receive in return is sometimes overwhelmingly positive. It’s kind of like upcycling a dream .
To find out what they’re up to next, follow Remade In Britain on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, and Remade TV.
Viral Upcycle: Upcycle your life’s projects!
Heather Christian Iglesias has been upcycling for the past 30-some-odd years, and finds it to be very therapeutic. Heather upcycles to save money and to be environmentally responsible. She believes anybody can do it, and we agree. She’s got a passion for saving, fixing, and creating whatever she can, which is why she started her blog Viral Upcycle, besides the fact that loves staying home with her children. Blogging is a natural extension for her love of family and upcycling. Check out this awesome Steamer Trunk that Heather upcycled. Doesn’t it look amazing from the before and after pics? Her blog contains all kinds of upcycling ideas and tutorials, including furniture upcycles, décor upcycles, organizational upcycles, holiday upcycles, kid-inspired upcycles, art upcycles, garden upcycles, home projects, and clothing and fabric upcycles. More upcycles than you can shake a stick at . Heather’s blog shows you that you can upcycle just about anything; you’re only limited by your imagination – so let it run wild and free!
You’ll find Viral Upcycle sharing all things beautiful on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
saved by LOVE CREATIONS
Johnnie Collier is the one pulling the strings behind saved by LOVE CREATIONS, a blog filled with oodles of inspiration to get you going on some of your own repurposing projects. Take this for example, a collection of 50+ Wood Pallet Projects. Who ever knew that there were so many things you could do with used wood pallets? If that gets you the slightest bit intrigued, wait ‘til you see this, a whole collection of awesome 50+ roundups. This gal has style, and she’s not afraid to show it! And, she is extremely thorough, knowing where to go to find who’s making all the very best stuff (she’s got connections). The Martha Stewart of upcycling, Johnnie also gives others a chance to shine, as she is willing to let others’ works be featured on her blog, too, in the form of guest posts. What’s more, you’ll be impressed at the amount of sharing each of her posts get, which just goes to show how much she is appreciated for all of the effort that she puts into each one individually (what with the wonderful images and very detailed instructions she provides). There’s so much to see and do on saved by LOVE CREATIONS. One of our very favorites!
Stay connected with saved by LOVE CREATIONS on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Google+, and Instagram.
Goods Home Design: Interior Design & Architecture
Goods Home Design is just like it sounds, a blog full of ideas for awesome design ideas for the home. And we do mean awesome . Take for example this idea for your bathroom – upcycled guitars for toilet seats. It doesn’t get much more creative than that unless, of course, you want to learn how to make some coke bottles into a set of drinking glasses. Or, perhaps you’d prefer to repurpose one of Dad’s shirts into a cute little dress for your daughter. Whether you need design ideas for your bedroom, bathroom, living room, or kitchen, there’s all of that and a whole lot more on Goods Home Design. There’s even a section on the blog for Hotels & Resorts, which includes this groovy upcycled bread van turned guest bedroom. So whether you want to do the upcycling yourself, or simply enjoy the repurposing and design of others, there’s something for everyone on Goods Home Design.
Goods Home Design pumps its creative juices further on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr.
My Salvaged Treasures: rescuing & repurposing one vintage beauty at a time
Betsy Holets of My Salvaged Treasures is truly a pro at repurposing. There are so many gorgeous items that she has upcycled and put up for show on her blog. One of our favorites are these jeweled abalone shells. For that matter, all of her jewelry creations are just absolutely divine. Betsy has the Midas Touch; no matter what it is, everything that she puts her hands on ends up looking so clean and distinguished. Have you ever wanted to sell some of your own repurposed wares? Here’s what you should be aiming for in your presentation . Betsy’s is one of the best vintage blogs we’ve ever seen!
Folks absolutely love what My Salvaged Treasures is sharing on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
MY {re}PURPOSED LIFE
Gail Wilson of MY {re}PURPOSED LIFE is a repurposing diva. She’s such a natural at it that she can almost make water into wine . But seriously, she makes other upcyclers and repurposers a little bit green with envy with the brain power that she has and uses on a consistent basis. She’s so innovative that she picks up discarded roadside finds and breathes new life into them like it’s no big deal at all. Gail only inspires about a half a million followers with her upcycling projects through her blog and her social networks . This repurposed door toddler bed is one of our favorite of Gail’s creations. By the way, don’t to forget to vote for it as your favorite in Bob Vila’s Thumbs Up Repurposed Door Project contest. Booyah – help her win! Have a gander at all of the lovely projects she completed last year. Thousands of people can’t wait to see what Gail comes up with next.
Won’t you join MY {re}PURPOSED LIFE on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest?
AJ’S TRASH2TREASURE BLOG
Some people just have a knack for envisaging what an unloved item could be given a little TLC. AJ Finsand is just such a person as you’ll quickly tell by checking out AJ’STRASH2TREASURE BLOG. AJ started sharing her vintage finds and make-overs via her blog with the hopes that it would inspire others to reuse, repurpose, and revamp their own outdated items instead of just tossing them into the trash and buying new. To that end, she shows photos of her transformations, and shares the how-to’s of everything she does. For her, it’s as much about inspiring and encouraging others to “give it a try” as it is rescuing an item that would otherwise be considered useless. One of the trademarks of AJ is that she does a wonderful job of making the items she works on look “distressed”, or vintage-like. Gotta love this From ‘ick!’ to ‘Oo000ooo!’ Updated old birdcage. If you’ve ever wanted to open shop and start selling repurposed items, be aware that it isn’t as easy as it looks. But, if you can get the hang of it (and crunch the numbers, making sure you can be profitable), AJ says that it can be a source of a decent second income – but just do it because you love it, and as with most things, the money will follow if it’s not your first and foremost goal . AJ’s blog is aptly named – it’s filled with repurposed treasures that are just gorgeous to behold.
VINTAGE Finds
Mallori Jarman brings a degree in interior design to the repurposed table on her blog VINTAGE Finds. She collects all kinds of antiques and does some dazzling furniture makeovers, remodels, and renovations that you won’t want to miss! Mallori ran a business for about 4 years, Jarman Interiors & Antiques. Her work gets featured all over the Internet. The photography on her blog is absolutely stunning! Take a look-see at some of the past couple of years of her top projects, here and here. And if you have any old trophies from your younger days packed away, you’ve got to check out her DIY trophy coat rack. Mallori doesn’t run her store anymore so she can spend more time with family, but she hasn’t lost her touch one iota, and it’s quite apparent that she still loves to blog. Her portfolio of made-over vintage furniture is IMpressssive!
re.: reuse, repurpose, and relove
re. is the company blog for Recreate Design Company, a fabulous business in Sweden, where Mike and Micki (Michael Helander and Michaela Holmdahl, co-founders) wear all kinds of hats – from instructing repurposing workshops to running a store to maintaining their own scrapyard. You might call them the dumpster diving, power drilling, designer mom duo (and they wouldn’t be offended ) . They’ll reuse, repurpose, and relove just about anything they can get their hands on. Check out the end result of this awesome Labor of Scrap Wood Love wall art. Pretty intense! Not convinced you should try your hand at repurposing because you don’t think you’d be good at it and might screw it up? Here’s Mike and Micki’s answer to that. If you live in their neck of the woods, they even let you rent space and tools (and gather materials from their scrapyard as well) so you can have a girls’ (or boys’) night out to get your creative groove on and make something with their Studio Share. If you’re a newbie to the DIY/repurposing scene, best get yourself some of this workshop action .
Come find out what ReCreate Design Co. is doing on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
diy inspired: REPURPOSE, REINVENT.
From simply wanting to push herself to start many new DIY projects and to inspire others at the same time, Dinah Wulf of diy inspired sure has made a name for herself and gotten plenty of notoriety in the DIY space, including being part of Martha’s Circle, being a member of the A-List Blogger Network for Real Simple Magazine, as well as being acknowledged by Mashable.com, and received a number of awards. From her blog, here are a couple of shares that we really like – this DIY scented teacup candle and this teacup birdfeeder. Here is a wonderful starting point as you dive into her immaculate blog. There you will find 56 of her repurposing ideas for ordinary household objects. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? If your projects come out half as good as Dinah’s do, you’ll be the talk of the town . Dinah aslo has a real knack for finding great stuff at thrift stores and transforming them into something wonderful!
Crowds of people follow diy inspired on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, and Instagram.
And that’s a wrap, ladies and gentlemen! Sure was fun “getting to know” all of these talented bloggers!!! Don’t forget to Like, Tweet, Pin, +1, and otherwise share this to give these deserving folks more exposure.
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