We have also been entering contests too! Who doesn’t love to win something, right?!

Contest #1

Upcycled Stuff is featuring an Upcycled Challenge this month in honor of National Sewing Month.  Participants signed up to received a package of “trash” in the mail.  Here was mine…

The challenge… I had to upcycle some of all of the different pieces of trash I received.

So I decided to make decorative fabric balls!

How did I make them from trash?!

First I opened up the tie and removed the lining inside. My children were doing their homework while I did this project, and they said the balls had to make noise, so I tore up some of the paper tags and placed them inside the plastic ball containers I had received.

Some of the paper tags had some thread on their edges, so I unraveled it and used it to secure the tie fabric around the balls. This was the hardest part, short pieces of string and a curved surface.

They didn’t turn out perfect, but for a crafter that only knows how to sew buttons on pants I was very pleased.

What can I win? Entries will be voted on and I have a chance to win an awesome shopping spree from Upcycled Stuffed!

Contest #2

The second crafty contest I entered this month is held by Team Upcyclers on Etsy and hosted by Idle Hands Yarn Supply.  It is simple… use part or all of an old t-shirt and upcycle it into something new!

Last winter, I loved to make tshirt scarves so I had a lot of extra hems in my craft bag.  I used them to make a new headband and new bracelet for this contest.

I simply braided the headband and left extra at the ends to tie it behind my neck.

For the bracelet I stretched the tshirt string and wrapped it around an old tarnished bangle and secured it with a dot of glue.

What can I win? All entries are featured on the Love 2 Upcycle Blog and two winners will be selected to have their Etsy shop’s advertised for a month for FREE!

Fingers Crossed!

Thanks, Bee

A Cherry Pack by Saved by Grace Designs

Through an Upcyclers contest, I won a Hot/Cold Cherry Pit Pack!  It is made from a 100% cotton shell, filled with dried cherry pits. Pack can be microwaved or frozen, and I have especially enjoyed the frozen pack on my sore neck.  With concern for the environment, Saved by Grace Designs, created a socially conscious hot/cool pack without using a food source, or chemically manufactured products.  We were lucky to win one of this quality made packs!

Handmade Toque from Lambkin Toques, etc.

Excuse the phone camera photo, but I won this cute slouchy hat from Lambkin Toques etc. Located in Canada, this handmade Etsy shop uses recycled wool to make these awesome hats. I love the chocolate color and the soft wool of this hat.  Now I just need it to get cold enough in Florida to wear it.

Personalized Key Chain by Beadsoul

Beadsoul, where I have previously shopped, held a Facebook giveaway not long ago. I won a hand stamped personalize key chain. I love it! Lisa, from Beadsoul, uses great communication and her talents to make some high quality customized pieces!

Ladies Organic T-Shirt by WOMB Apparel

Again, please excuse the camera phone image. I won this cool t-shirt on the Love 2 Upcycle blog.  Wisdom of Mind and Body (WOMB) Apparel sponsored a giveaway on this upcycled website.  I won this 100% preshrunk organic cotton ladies t-shirt!  It has kept its color through washes and is very nicely made.

On Earth Day I won a $10 gift certificate to Our Children’s Earth, where I selected some felt play food for my two year old,  It is made from recycled felt, including some that was made from recycled plastic bottles in the USA!  My daughter loves playing with it in her kitchen, and we love this eco-friendly shop!

Locally, at a Leukemia Lymphoma Fundraiser I won a $500 for laser hair removal gift certificate, a paper beaded necklace, and one month gym membership. Cha-ching! Here’s the recycled paper beaded necklace…

AND many of you know I LOVE to garden! So I am happy to report while tweeting on Twitter’s #gardenchat, I won a $250 gift certificate to Subaru Gear, which afforded me this awesome collapsible wagon.  I have been using like crazy! Here we are at the farmers market.

Can’t you believe I’ve won all that?!!  This comes from a girl that a year ago would have told you she never wins anything. lol  Not sure how long my luck will last, but I am excited to have received such awesome creations. Most giveaways took just a second with a like on Facebook, a comment on a photo, or a share on Twitter.  So next time you see a giveaway come across your social media networks, take a minute to check it out. It might just pay off!

‘Love me some corks!’ by thewoodenbee

Great for eco crafting: garland, key chains, coasters, trivets, bulletin boards, the list goes on… Colored corks make unique creations; from wreaths & ornaments, to vase fillers & wedding favors. Corks are a versatile eco-friendly craft supply!

Colored Wine Corks – Gr… TheWoodenBee $8.00	Red Wine Corks – eco cr… TheWoodenBee $7.00	25 SOLID Synthetic Wine… TheWoodenBee $4.25	Purple Wine Corks – eco… TheWoodenBee $5.00
Purple Wine Corks – eco… TheWoodenBee $7.00	Colored Wine Corks – OR… TheWoodenBee $8.00	Colored Wine Corks – De… TheWoodenBee $8.00	Upcycled Wine Corks, Lu… TheWoodenBee $4.00
Oak Wine Corks for eco … TheWoodenBee $1.75	Colored Wine Corks – TE… TheWoodenBee $8.00	Upcycled Wine Corks, Fu… TheWoodenBee $4.00	Colored Wine Corks – Gr… TheWoodenBee $7.00
20 Wood Grain Wine Cork… TheWoodenBee $4.00	Purple Wine Corks – lot… TheWoodenBee $5.00	Colored Wine Corks – OR… TheWoodenBee $8.00	Dyed Oak Wine Corks – u… TheWoodenBee $3.75

How-to Upcycled Scarves, made from old t-shirts

Before we get started, let’s talk t-shirt selection:

~ Different size shirts create different size scarves. I like the length of a scarf made from a men’s t-shirt. I can double it or wear it long. I think women’s t-shirts make good children’s scarves. I used the leg of a pair of sweatpants to make my toddler a scarf.

~ I recommend a solid t-shirt because the design is going to stretch and distort.

~ Always check sides of t-shirts for seams. It is possible to make a scarf from a shirt with two side seams, but for this look, it is better to select a t-shirt without side seams.

~ Since there is a stretching of the material, I think the thicker the t-shirt material the nicer the scarf.

~ The scarves really do keep you warm.  A white scarf is my favorite.  They can make any color jacket or shirt look new.

Okay, let’s get started…

This was a t-shirt my sis & I purchased to irritate our dad when we were young.

Lay the tube of your shirt flat on a surface and return the cut ends out. The sides of the shirt will be top and bottom. Start cutting lines/stripes in the shirt. Do not cut all the way through the shirt. You will want to leave at least one to three inches uncut on one side of the shirt tube.

The width of the cuts depends on the look of your scarf. The smaller the cuts, the more layers/strings your scarf will have, the wider you cuts the chunkier your scarf layers/strings.  I wouldn’t make cuts smaller than a half inch, or bigger than four inches. I like scarves with about two inch cuts. It is all a preference. You can make thin and thick cuts in the same scarf for a different look as well.

Once you have finished cutting, you need to stretch your scarf and your done!  I think the easiest way to do this is to run your arm through the uncut side of the shirt tube, and then just pull or stretch each cut strip to get your desired look. You can pull some harder or lighter than others for variations, or all with the same resistance. Just be sure to pull firm enough so the cuts disappear and the layers/strings look soft on the edges.

Simple, frugal, handmade, upcycled, and stylish. Love it! You can find more (some elaborate) t-shirt tutorials on my Pinterest board.

Happy Crafting!

Our first year on Etsy we had 101 online sales.  Since September 2011 we have had 90 online sales.

DIY Bulletin Board Kit

Distressed Wall Hanger with reclaimed copper knobs

Reclaimed Cabinet Door with Mirror & Hooks

Distressed Wall Hanger for keys & more...

With just days until Christmas we are all ready and super excited for our Christmas company to arrive!  I hope you have found time to craft this holiday season.  We wanted to share a few crafty things new and old.

Our neighbor didn’t want the above pictured snowman bags anymore, so we filled them with wine corks and hung them in the dining room for a little extra decorating!  I’ll have to add another line to my ever growing list of wine cork uses… stuffing.  Yes, leftover wine corks make great stuffing for decorations.  We could have stuffed them with more corks, and they would have been able to stand up themselves.  We decided to hang them for space.  Additionally, the corks were a great size for my two year to help stuff. She loves our new “noman” decorations.

This year, one blog subscriber made wine cork trees from last year’s craft post.

Another subscriber made our upcycle gift bows (and won our gift tag contest).

This month our holiday craft tutorials have been featured on this Florida blog:

Wine Cork Garland

Wine Cork Trees

Magnolia Wreaths

AND we are featured in an awesome little interview! Check out our answers on nash pop!

I hope you have found some time to create and share this busy holiday season.

Happy Crafting, Bee

Enter coupon code CYBERMONDAY

for 25% off your entire order!

Offer good Monday, November 28th ONLY. Enter code at checkout. Not applicable on custom orders.

Other Wooden Bee Happenings to report:

~We only have 3 of 5 holiday ornaments still available (above), and they have only been available since the 19th of November!

~Limited Time $5 SHIPPING SALE on Select Items

~We were excited to be featured in this article:  Turn Your Corks Into Home Décor

~We have a new Pinterest board: Wine Corks It features a ton of wine corking ideas!

Lastly, we have a great article on Upcycled Gift Wrap out, with a little giveaway to help you get started!

Happy Monday,

Bee

Like last year, FREE eco-friendly gift wrap will be available upon request on all orders. Buyers just need to request the free gift wrap in the buyers note section of their order.   Free gift wrap offer is good November 26th through December 20th, 2011.   Here is what we are offering this year:

Eco-friendly, recycled brown wrapping paper handstamped with the words “One Earth.”  All gift wrap materials, including ribbons, gifts tags and bows, will be recycled and upcycled.  Our goal this year is to make use of the large craft supply collection we have accumulated.  You should see my boxes of ribbons!

Each gift wrapped order will vary because of the upcycled materials, but all will include our hand stamped recycled paper and upcycled paper bows.

I decided to make paper bows out of discarded toliet & paper towel rolls. I’ve had a big stash of them for awhile now so I wanted to use them up.  I’ve blogged about crafting with paper rolls here before and this time we just used the same concept, except we glued the paper roll pieces to each other instead of to the paper.  I can tie them up with ribbon or attach them to gift wrap now.

I had to make sure I considered shipping methods when deciding my eco-friendly gift wrap.  The flat bows will work great with shipping, and the recycle brown paper will help protect our wood creations.

Of course, our free gift wrap will include a gift tag!  I searched high and low for upcycled gift tag ideas.  I settled for this simple recycled christmas card gift tag.  I had a container of beautiful christmas cards that I had saved over the years.  I enjoyed punching out the cards so much that I punched too many!

So I decided to share the upcycled love and give some away. Just comment on this post and you could be selected to WIN 20 recycled gift tags! Tags are shown in above photo, along with many others.  Make sure your comment has an email address for contact.  Winner will be randomly selected by random.org at 10pm on Thursday December 1st, 2011.

It was important to me that our gift wrap help promote the fact that our wood is eco-friendly and we are an sustainable shop.

Look for our next blog post to have information on our Holiday Sales, especially our Cyber Monday coupon!  It’s our biggest deal of the year.  Until then please check out two of my upcycled gift wrap posts on Upcyclers for more upcycled gift wrapping ideas!

Upcycled Gift Wrapping Ideas

Upcycled Gift Bows & Tags Ideas

Happy Wrapping!

Bee

What you need:

recycled tin cans
drill
paint
candles

First we washed and cleaned a few of our leftover tin cans.  Then we decided what design we wanted them to have. (BOO is what my two year old says when she sees the Halloween decorations)! I used a permanent marker to write each letter on each can.  Then I drilled holes around the lines of the letters.

After drilling the holes, we painted the cans first with gesso and then with a burnt orange acrylic paint.  I’m sure you could omit the gesso (primer) and just paint a few extra coats of color instead.  We also sponged a black design on the cans so they looked decorative when they weren’t lit.

We dropped some pumpkin scented candles in our creation, turned off the lights, and Boo!

We kept this project easy and fun. We didn’t worry how far apart the holes were drilled and left them looking handmade and spooky!

Happy Halloween!

Some of our other Fall decorating ideas:

Hairy Herb Pumpkins

Fall Button Trees

One year later, I love my job! I love taking pictures of the completed merchandise. I love getting unique shipments of reclaimed wood and trying to figure out what to do with it. I love discussing custom orders.  I love working with my husband. And, I love that I’m still home with my children.

I thought I’d share some of our annual stats:

• ~Our handmade marketplace is Etsy, and since first listing a reclaimed trivet kit on Sept. 1st, 2010 we have sold 96 items.
• ~We have shipped our reclaimed wood to 29 US states.
• ~We have shipped Internationally to Canada and Austrailia.
• ~We have handcrafted over 50 custom orders here locally in Florida, especially on the east coast.

our first logo

our new logo

Online we have spread our wings. Last year we were featured on many websites! Here are some of the highlights:

• ~featured on a Wine Enthusiast Blog for our wine cork thumb tack tutorial
• ~featured on Upcyclers for the same thumb tack tutorial & then asked to write our own articles on sustainable living
• ~featured on a Handmade Top Ten Eco Etsy List
• ~featured in an online interview with Glue & Glitter
• ~featured in an online interview with Beyond Junk
• ~featured in a business logos article on EcoEtsy
• ~our reclaimed hardware was featured on ReMaryd Originals
• ~winner of a few EcoEtsy design contests for free adverstising

I was well received by the online handmade community. Thank you!!!

So, who wants free stuff?

I can easily say we had an amazing year, so we would like to celebrate with our customers the entire month of August!

To our blog subcribers, those that get every post via email, you can reply to thewoodenbee@gmail.com to request your private 20% coupon code!!! Thank you for listening to me all year!

To celebrate we are also hosting a blog giveaway!

Win this DIY reclaimed wood coaster set!!! Wine cork supplies and shipping are included for a $20 value!  To enter just comment on this post! Yes, that’s it! Leave me a comment and email address and you could win the pictured coaster set! Winner will be selected by random.org on August 16th. (Extra entries for those who subscribe to our blog).

On August 17th, we will kick off our Facebook Giveaway!

You could win this one of a kind completed trivet! Follow us on Facebook and look for details! (Extra entries for those that subscribe to our blog).

To everyone, all month long… shop & save with our coupon code ANNIVERSARY for 10% off your order! Get a jump start on your Holiday shopping with our special anniversary savings! All offers expire on August 31st, 2011.

Good luck and many recycled thanks for making this experience a blessing!
~Bee