paper and trees

Nifty little notebooks are an absolute essential to record thoughts and reminders, and are made especially appealing when they are made out of recycled materials - so it's practical and environmentally friendly too. The pages in these cute notebooks from Subu are made from discarded printer paper, so they may have images or words on one side. Sounds interesting to me to never know what you may find when you flip a page!

little thatched roofs

These miniature houses measure about 3 by 1 1/2 inches on average and are a little crooked to add to their quirkiness. Plus, such creativity stems from making good use of only recycled, upcycled and vintage materials. Found at My Whimsy Creations by Amy Larson.

Use UK

At Use UK, scrap materials are the source of beautifully-designed home and fashion accessories. For example, bags are made with leather cast-offs from the furniture industry, limited edition lampshades made from recycled cardboard, and remnants from salvaged fabric sample books are used to create one-of-a-kind cushion covers. 

Clockwise from left: (1) Gondola bag in cream leather; (2) Cushion set 10; (3) Large clutch bag in cream and black textured leather and (4) Iris lamp shade.

reinventing the plastic bag

(Image by Moriza)

There is something haunting about this picture, even though it may seem like just an artistic snapshot of a busy sidewalk on a regular weekday. Maybe it is because the colours of the plastic bags stand out in such sharp contrast, which only serves to emphasise the daily chore the environment is made to undergo by our needs for convenience. 

Hence it was to my delight that I found the following products that have creatively upcycled plastic bags that would otherwise be trashed.

Clockwise from top left: (1) Who would have guessed that the interesting texture to these bangles are the product of winding up used plastic bags? Available at BTC Elements; (2) Plastic bags cleverly folded into daisies for hair pins! From Strewth; (3) Using plastic bags in lieu of yarn makes this clutch by Cara Taylor interesting and waterproof (4) Weaving together plastic bags of various colours gives an unpredictable touch to this belt by Bill and Silvia.

geography nerds

I am no big fan of geography as a subject, but I sure like the idea of incorporating maps in home decor. Especially if you are an avid traveller, you can put to good use the volume of maps acquired from past trips, and let them serve as testament to memories past. One way is simply to frame up one such map as a centrepiece as Jawcey (top left) has done, to the more challenging use of national geographic maps as an eco-friendly and cheap alternative to wallpaper (Joyce/Pedal Power, top right). I also really liked how Chez Larrson used maps as part of an overarching theme, using it to personalise a lamp shade (bottom left), and having map-print pillows to complement the wall art (bottom right). 

And here are some great goods that have infused new life into old maps:

Clockwise from top left: (1) Kent map decoupage coffee table from Bombus; (2) Recycled Map Stationery from Dote; (3)  Metro Map Bowl // San Francisco from Pica Pica Designs; (4) Air Routes Map Journal from Bower Box.

green grocers

Not too long ago, there was this big craze over Anya Hindmarch's I'm not a Plastic Bag canvas tote. Yes it's sold out now, though you can still find it online at many times the price. But why bother though, when there are so many other more affordable choices in the market? Being environmentally friendly should not have to be expensive, but yes it can still be stylish. Below are some fresh picks ranging from $12 to $24.

Clockwise from top left: (1) Market Tote from First of May; (2) Picked Fresh Daily Apples Tote by the Craft Pantry; (3) Eco-Trend Shopping Bag from Trendy Girl Collections; and (4) Peace, Love, the Earth Grocery Tote Bag by Melissa Vest.