If you're like us, you recycle glass plastic and paper, compost your food waste and take your own shopping bag when you go to the store. Right? ("Of course!") So do you ever think, "why do I need a trash can at all?" What's going in there? Well, take a look at the leftovers, get inspired, and create some handmade treasures from so-called trash! We wanna see how you can creatively re-purpose items that you have lying around the house, unused, or that might haveotherwise ended up getting thrown 'away'. Perish the thought!
For your edification: The term 'upcycling' was coined by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, authors of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. Their belief is that we can eliminate the concept of waste altogether if everything we make is either biodegradable, infinitely recyclable, or upcycled.
How to Enter:
- Create something made of items that would have otherwise been thrown away or recycled (stained shirt, chipped glass). While we admit to being partial to embroidery, we will accept entries of any kind!
- Submit a photo of your entry by April 27, 2009 to the Sublime Stitching Customer Gallery. When you create the name for your project be sure to begin with the word "Upcycled". (For example "Upcycled Book Mark") This is important because otherwise we may not see your submission. That would be a bummer.
Prizes:
- First Prize: $50 gift certificate to Sublime Stitching, $50 gift certificate to Fred Flare, and a copy of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.
- Second Prize: Sublime Stitching Craft Pad and Sublime Stitching Lotus Flower Journal, and a copy of Amy Butler's Midwest Modern.
- Third prize: Sublime Stitching Lotus Flower Journal and Issue 8 of Mixtape Zine.
All winners will be featured in the Customer Gallery and here on our blog!
Who's the Boss?
Entries will be judged by our own Jenny Hart and the awesome Autumn Wiggins, of The Upcycle Exchange, and regular contributor to Crafting a Green World.
Looking for Inspiration?