Back in the day they figured an electronic appliance should resemble a piece of furniture and thus the nickname “woody”. They were hugely popular and pretty much kicked off the console game revolution.

The Atari Dock is an app-enhanced (fancy) stereo speaker that’s bursting with sound. The digital amplifier means the speaker effortlessly produces low resonance sounds, crystal-clear acoustics and thumping bass. With the addition of 6 EQ settings, FM radio and app-enhanced technology, it offers a great combination of sound and features to effortlessly fill your room with music.

Use the Atari Dock with any music player with a 3.5mm jack. Enjoy your favourite music, movies or games from a Smartphone, MP3 player, Tablet or Laptop by connecting a 3.5mm audio cable into the line-in port.

Good news is that the unit is for sale and will make a great gift for any nostalgic gamer. As Peter rightfully says “a thing of vintage geek beauty”. For more info check out Peter on Etsy. If you were curious to check out the Google Image Breakout game then head over to Google Images and just search for “atari breakout”.

How the LUMI wine wall works

To make the LUMI wine wall, old American or French oak wine barrels are dismantled and the staves sorted according to size. The staves are then lightly sanded and finished with a special Danish oil mixture. Holes are drilled at a specific angle so that the bottles can rest comfortably while being suspended mid-air. The staves are then attached to an aircraft-grade aluminum extrusion bar by rubberized supports. The length of this bar is dependent on how many staves you’d like in your unit. Each stave holds 7 bottles but being a modular unit you can add as many staves as you want.

Then there is the LED lighting. To us this is what really sets the LUMI apart from other wine wall displays. Each stave has a Super Bright LED strip containing 24 LEDs. We really love the ambient lighting given off from the lights reflecting against the wall and creating a warm glow around the bottles.

Importantly this light source uses energy efficient Super Bright technology which saves 80% energy compared to regular Halogen lighting. The result is beautiful with the effect of turning your wine collection into an a dramatic decor feature. The staves connect electrically with either a 12V wall transformer or a 8 AA battery pack.

Want to find out more? Check out the LUMI wine wall on Kickstarter.

This tiered succulent planter is not actually edible, but makes for the most delicious home decor. It uses two old fashioned light glass covers and a candle stick. All of these can be found at your local Habitat for Humanity Restore, thrift store or might even currently be in your garage.

How to make a tiered succulent planter

The method for this one is exquisitely simple. First glue the bottom of the candle stick to the inside of the large glass cover. Then glue the small glass cover to the top of the candle stick. For this job we recommend using UV glue or silicone sealant. We don’t recommend using hot glue as the planter will be heavy once filled and you really don’t want your tiered planter to fall apart after the fact. Once you have sourced your glass covers and candle stick you can always check in on This to That for a solid glue recommendation.

Let your glue set and then fill the glass tiers with soil and add your succulents. The choice is entirely yours. If you’re looking to offset some carbon we recommend using Spekboom/Elephant’s foot which has incredible carbon storing abilities. Once you’re done planting, finish your tiered succulent planter off with some decorative rocks and admire your work.

Be sure to save us a slice!

Source: Addicted 2 Decorating

Spekboom or Elephant’s foot

Earth Day

Earth day is celebrated internationally on April 22nd. Events are held worldwide to show support for environmental issues and protection. Some communities celebrate an entire Earth week. We are partial ourselves to extending the event over few days.

Find out more about Earth Day.

How to make sumo wrestler plastic bottle bowling pins

These bowling pins are made from Aquapod bottles but you could use 6, or even 10 of any kind of plastic bottles. Cover your work area (and children) and mix up some skin colour paint using a combination of red, yellow and a bit of white. Once your paint is ready pour a little into each bottle and close the lid. Then shake your bottles to coat the insides evenly. Your little upcycler will likely love this part.

Next uncap your bottles and pour out the excess paint. Leave the caps off to let the plastic bottles dry overnight. Once your bottles are dry it’s time to paint on the sumo wrestler accessories. Sumo wrestlers classically have white loin coverings (mawashi) and top knot buns. Use white paint for the mawashi and black paint for the top knot and hair. Use a a black permanent marker to draw on the little smiling faces.

Once everything has dried you can cover all the bottles with Mod Podge/spray sealant to protect your paint from chipping with use.

Then line up your crew of sumo wrestler plastic bottle bowling pins, grab a ball and start bowling!

Source: Sugar and Dots

How to make a wine barrel bar table

If you’ve ever wanted a gorgeous 2 seater bar table then this is your moment. This wine barrel bar table is beyond easy to make and completely affordable. The first step is to find a wine barrel. These can either be found on Craigslist or purchased through a vineyard. You can likely find one for around $40. Next source a glass top. For this you can either have one cut, or might be able to find a second hand one online. You can easily affix the glass top to the wine barrel with some clear plastic discs from your local hardware store. And that’s pretty much it! If you want to you can even add some items under the glass table top for a seasonal display.

Now for the wine barrel side tables. If you can image, these are even easier to make.

How to make a wine barrel side table

For risk of sounding silly here’s how you make a wine barrel side table. Step 1, find a wine barrel. Please see above for suggestions on this. Step 2, cut the barrel in half. You can often even buy half a barrel, or 2 halves. Next turn your barrel(s) upside down and enjoy. That’s it, it’s really just that easy.

We love the simplicity of these wine barrel tables, and of course their rustic charm. Where would you put yours? Wink wink, we hear they look great on patios..

Sources:
Wine barrel bar table – Champagne Lifestyles
Wine barrel side tables - Centsational Girl

To make an upcycled milk carton planter:

1. To make your milk carton planter first cut the top third off of your half gallon or 2 litre milk carton.

2. Next tear some rough linen fabric into inch wide strips. Home Depot has some great drop cloth linen for this.

3. Working with a hot glue gun, glue the linen strips around the carton working from the top down.

4. Then place your plant inside your planter. Some starter plants growing in tin cans would be perfect for this project.

5. Finally level the top of your planter off with moss. If you need your plant to sit higher in the planter for this, just fill the bottom of the milk carton planter with crumpled wax paper.

And that’s it, you now have a fancy looking upcycled milk carton planter. The best part is that this planter is adaptable. Because milk planters are watertight you could also use this planter as a vase for fresh cut flowers.

We think this upcycled centerpiece would look gorgeous on your Easter, Passover or Spring table. Your guests will hardly guess that this dramatic centerpiece began as an empty milk carton!

Source: Family Chic

How to make an upcycled key rack

The first thing you will need to make your new key rack is a piece of wood. This is a great opportunity to repurpose bits and bobs saved from previous projects. Next you’ll need some deadbolt locks and doorknobs. If you don’t have any old ones laying about there is a great chance your local thrift shop or Habitat for Humanity Restore will.

Leave your piece of wood as is or give it a stylish stain. Then lay your locks and doorknobs out and mark where you want them to be. In order for your knobs to sit flush you will need to make a groove in the wood with a router. A router is a woodworking tool used to hollow out a piece of wood.

Once you’ve finished with your router, drill holes for attaching the door knobs and locks. At this stage your upcycled key rack will look like this:

Then, simply attach the knobs/locks and you’re done. If you don’t have the original keys from the locks then just get blank keys to add to your key ring. You can now hang up your finished doorknob key rack and give your keys a place of their own.

Source: kara paslay designs

This vertical pallet planter can be tackled at an intermediate upcycling level. You have to be prepared to sand, but there is no nailing/sawing/drilling required. Your main weapon of choice will be a staple gun.

While not too challenging, there are 2 parts to creating this beauty. Let it be known that pallets from the side of the road don’t appear pre-stained.

That said, the results of this project are strikingly gorgeous. A vertical planter is the ultimate display case for patio gardening. Dramatically packed with flora, it brings a burst of green to an outdoor urban space. This vertical planter will work your wall like a show girl and the best part is that its made from a pallet. Pallets are readily available, inexpensive and can even be found around town for free.

Part 1 – Make your pallet planter ready

Step 1 – The first step is to source a pallet, sand and paint it. Pallet wood is quite rough so we recommend using a sanding block or electric sander. Once you’ve sanded, treat the wood as per your preference. We chose a glossy russet brown stain for this project.

The original pallet planter method referenced can be found here. We tried it and ended up with a very bottom heavy planter and dirt everywhere. So we changed it up and came up with a new fabric pocket method instead. The fabric pockets are advantageous as your planter can be vertical right from the beginning and you need a lot less soil.

Part 2 – The new pocket tray method

In the pocket tray method you staple landscaping fabric from the top of back panels to the top of the front.  This creates pocket trays for your soil.

The diagram to the right shows the different pockets and how they should be stapled.

Step 1 – Measure your pocket tray lengths. You will notice that the front of the pallet has 7 beams, and the back only 4. So, pockets 1 and 2 will connect to back beam 1. Pockets 3 and 4 to back beam 2. Pockets 5 and 6 to back beam 3. Pocket 7 will be created at the end of the project when you wrap the back, sides and bottom of the pallet like a present.

Step 2 - Measure the width of the pallet compartments. Both sides of the pallet compartments should be the same, but it doesn’t hurt to check.

Step 3 - Once you’re done measuring, cut your landscaping fabric to size.

Step 4 - Working from the bottom up staple the long pockets first, so pockets 6, 4, 2 will go first (yellow lines in diagram). Then staple pockets 5, 3, 1 (red lines in diagram).

Step 5 - After the pockets are in place, wrap the bottom and sides of the pallet like a present. This will create pocket 7. The pic below shows off the present wrapping.

Step 6 - You can now stand stand your vertical pallet planter up against a wall and put soil in the pockets.

Step 7 - Fill your planter up with plants and flowers. We love succulents. We think this vertical pallet planter works best with succulents because they are so low maintenance and gorgeous. Make no mistake, your vertical pallet planter will require lots of plants to fill it up.

Side note: You should use your pallet planter for growing non-edibles only. Pallets transport all sorts of products and are chemically treated to stay bug free. You don’t want these chemicals in your edible goodies. For those dreaming of a herb pallet planter, some pallets are heat treated rather than chemically treated. These pallets are marked with an HT. They are harder to find.

There are lots of other great upcycle ideas for growing herbs. Check out this vertical plastic bottle herb garden.

And you’re done, enjoy your new vertical pallet planter. Happy upcycling!

There are so many reasons to bike: for the fun of it, health and fitness, to save money and cut down on carbon emissions. If you’re serious about saving the environment then biking is a great alternative to driving. That’s why we think this upcycle is so brilliant; it’s not just a beautiful bike but also a clever repurpose of cars. It takes one of the world’s worst carbon emitters and repurposes it into a sustainable method of transportation.

Creative agency Lola Madrid first developed these bicycles made from cars. Lola set out to create the most perfect mode of transportation, specifically the most efficient, healthy and ecological. By using salvaged cars from the junkyard, Lola began the unique project Bicycled. With Bicycled Lola achieves not only a new type of bicycle, but also a return to the historical origins of handmade bicycles. Each Bicycled bike is custom built by several artisans.

The process of making bicycles from cars

Bicycled bikes aim to use as much car waste as possible. The frame is forged from car metals. The transmission belt cut is into strips and turned into the bicycle chain. Turn signals have a new life as reflective safety lights. Car upholstery becomes covering for the seat and handle bars. Even door handles are given a new role as the seat post clamp. Each bike can be made from just one car, or several. All are unique.

The project is still in the works, but if you’re interested you can jump in the queue here to get one of the first.

Check out this video from Lola Madrid showing the process.

How to make a barstool desk

To make your own barstool desk first find 2 underutilized bar stools. Measure the soon-to-be shelf space at the bottom of the stools. Then, either leave your stools as they are, or feel free to prime and spray paint them any colour you wish. While the stools are drying cut planks for the shelves.  You can ask your local hardware shop to cut the planks to size for you if you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself. Then treat the shelves with either the same colour as the stools or stain them to replicate the look above.

When all is dry you can nail your planks onto the stools.

The top used for this desk is a 20×48″ pine panel. Pine panels like these are available in different sizes at your local hardware store. Find the size that will work the best for you. spray paint or stain the top as you see fit. When dry, lay your stools upside down on top of the desk top and screw to attach with 1 3/4″ wood screws.

That’s it, your barstool desk is now complete!

Source: Shabby 2 Chic