There are 50 all-time favourite new uses for old things over at Real Simple, like this toilet roll cord organiser and tomato sauce bottle pancake batter dispenser.  I’ll add one of my own new things made from old toilet rolls.  Take a look.

50 All-Time Favorite New Uses for Old Things [Real Simple]
Recycled loo roll art [High on butterfly wings]

For full instructions on how to make a bird’s nest, visit Growing Up Creative.

If you make one, please post a link to your image in comments, we’d love to see your works of art.

How-to make a bird’s nest [Growing Up Creative]

The rest of them are here.

chandeliers [artwork by marin camille]
Recycled works by Marin Hood [Recyclart]

The designs are silk screened with water-based inks onto 100% recycled cotton tote bags by Eco-Bags.

mini Christmas tree

Make miniature Christmas trees from a few twigs, or make a bigger tree with thicker branches and a threaded rod on a base, that you can decorate like a traditional Christmas tree with garlands and balls. Make recycled stars and baubles for your tree too.

mini Christmas tree [esprit cabane]

wintry stars

In the past, glass bottle bases were recycled to make tiles. Today, we can recycle the bottoms of plastic water, juice or olive oil bottles into twinkling stars with just a pair of scissors.

These transparent Christmas stars reflect light from every direction and make beautiful beaded garlands or hanging decorations suspended from a bit of wire.

wintry stars [esprit cabane]

creative Christmas balls

Make these fun balls yourself out of aluminium cans. They’re perfect for decorating your home-made tree with, or any other tree for that matter.

creative Christmas balls [esprit cabane]

Radical Nature draws on ideas that have emerged out of Land Art, environmental activism, experimental architecture and utopianism. The exhibition is designed as one fantastical landscape, with each piece introducing into the gallery space a dramatic portion of nature. Work by pioneering figures such as the architectural collective Ant Farm and visionary architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, artists Joseph Beuys, Agnes Denes, Hans Haacke and Robert Smithson are shown alongside pieces by a younger generation of practitioners including Heather and Ivan Morison, R&Sie(n), Philippe Rahm architects and Simon Starling. Radical Nature also features specially commissioned and restaged historical installations, some of which are located in the outdoor spaces around the Barbican while a satellite project by the architectural collective EXYZT is situated off site.

The exhibition is on until the 18th of October and if you’d like to stand a chance of winning a ticket, simply add a comment telling us about something you do in your daily life that reduces your footprint on our planet.

This competition ends on Friday 9th of October. Two winners will be drawn out of a hat and notified by email.

There’s something particularly special about the Cape Town Green Map launch that I wanted to share with you. It’s probably the lowest carbon launch of all the Green Maps, and I’m quoting from the launch invitation to illustrate why/how:

The venue is “your laptop, PC or iPhone so there are no travel costs or [additional] carbon footprint. The dres code is “optional – but locally designed garb from hemp/bamboo/organic cotton is encouraged”. There are no speakers – “an untold saving on hot air and CO2 emissions”.

In addition there are “no printed invitations (save on ink/chemicals, paper/trees), no printed media packs (save on ink/chemicals, paper/trees and packaging), no travel to the venue (save on CO2 emissions, time and roadwork frustration), no food or beverages (save on packaging, waste, energy and food miles) and no speakers, official openings, ‘live’ performers (save on CO2 emissions, uncomfortable silences and the effort to look impressed)”.

Isn’t that cool? And in this very wet weather I’m extra-specially glad not to be going anywhere!

Here’s a bit more about Cape Town Green Map for Capetonians who are interested in giving it a test-drive:

Cape Town Green Map is updated by interested green Capetonians, making it a direct, democratic communication of local knowledge and action. You can find community gardens, craft centres, recycling drop-offs, areas of natural beauty, shops and markets that sell green and organic products, restaurants and bars who serve organic food and drinks and more. If you know about somewhere green that’s not on the map, you can suggest it to the mapmakers, or become a mapmaker yourself.

More great green news for Cape Town is that in October A&C Maps, who print “Not the official guide to Cape Town”, the “Pink Map” and the “Food Map” will be bringing out a printed version of the Cape Town Green Map. Look out for it!

A big thanks to Open Green Map, the City of Cape Town, urban sprout and A&C Maps for this great tool.

*Read Treehugger’s great article about why maps are such a good tool for helping us go green.

Pure Design is a UK-based social enterprise that seeks out the latest talents and designer eco products and makes them available via an online boutique. They represent established as well as emerging eco designers and artists, and offers an exclusive collection of eco-friendly pieces selected for their craftsmanship, style and eco credentials.

The Pure Design website has been given a stylish makeover, making the site a pleasure to browse and incorporating more product images to make shopping easier. They have also added some new designers to the fold including Katie Chaplin’s hand-made one-of-a-kind Kimono Brooches, EaKo’s cool reclaimed fire-hose accessories and Studiomold’s jaw-dropping statement piece the Spaghetti Princess chandelier.

To celebrate the launch of the new site, Pure Design is offering 20% off all products for the month of May. Delivery is free if you spend over £150.

What have you made out of driftwood? Leave a comment.

driftwood aircraft [esprit cabane]

1. The plastic bag football
“Where the world sees trash, Africa recycles. Found all over Africa, these are the balls that children create out of old trash to play soccer.” – White African

2. The drink can 2CV
“Need a new car? African recycling craftwork.” – Gertrud K.

3. The Coke Scooter
“African recycling craftwork – Karneval der Kulturen 2006, Berlin Straßenfest” – Gertrud K.

4. Old gear dumbells
“Old gears make great weights. From Ashifi in Ghana.” – White African


5. The recycled plastic beaded curtain
“Rubbish curtain.” – NeonMan

unjenesaisquoideco

6. The wire truck
“The truck. This is a common past-time of South African children and many African children in general. This flippin’ thing is hand created and features functional steering, wheels, flat bed and even rear-view mirrors, all out of recycled materials. Unbelievable.” – Sunshine Rabbit

7. The recycled plastic lampshade
unjenesaisquoideco

8. The old tyre planters
“Old, painted tires make great flower pots. From Ashifi in Ghana.” – White African

9. The plastic bag chicken
Rev. Santino

10. The recycled plastic trophies
“Ecological trophies” – unjenesaisquoideco

11. The recycled rubbish township scene
“African art” – Vilseskogen

12. The scrap-metal animals
“Zimbabwean Elephant. I love recycled scrap-metal objects from Zimbabwe. Purchased these from a vendor in Grahamstown, South Africa. ” – caribbeanfreephoto

caribbeanfreephoto

13. The recycled home
“Informal settlement wall detail” – John Charalambous

“Informal settlement shack” – John Charalambous

“Informal settlement window detail” – John Charalambous