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Artful Jellyfish-like Bowls From Upcycled Plastic PET Bottles (Photos)

Artful Jellyfish-like Bowls From Upcycled Plastic PET Bottles (Photos)
Photos: Gülnur Özdağlar Plastic bottles -- that environmental bane of a disposable, modern society -- can be both an abundant form of pollution in waterways and oceans, as well as a materials source for mind-boggling art. In the skillful hands of Turkish architect and upcycling designer Gülnur Özdağlar the unremarkable PET plastic bottle is transformed into gorgeously diaphanous and functional objects like bowls and jewelry. Using simple tools like a candle, scissors and a soldering iron, Özdağlar upcycles bottles into a bewildering range of ephemeral accessories that under the light, look like fantastical, tentacled sea creatures or little undersea treasures. So from this: ... to this: That's pretty neat! Alchemy of upcyclingAs TreeHugger Lloyd has mentioned before about how 'redesign', not recycling, will be the wave of the future, Özdağlar asserts that large-scale recycling is not the solution, rather ... the real solution is "upcycling" rather than plain recycling.

Custom Furniture and Cabinetry in Boise, Idaho by J. Alexander Fine Woodworking page corner bookmarks | I Could Make That This project comes to you at the request of Twitterer @GCcapitalM. I used to believe that a person could never have too many books, or too many bookmarks. Then I moved into an apartment slightly larger than some people’s closets (and much smaller than many people’s garages) and all these beliefs got turned on their naïeve little heads. But what a person can always look for more of is really cool unique bookmarks. Placeholders special enough for the books that are special enough to remain in your culled-out-of-spacial-necessity collection. Page corner bookmarks are cute, practical and deeply under-represented in the world.* They’re easy to make, easy to customize, and will set you apart from all those same-same flat rectangular bookmarks. If you like this tutorial, here are a couple others that might be up your alley. For the monster-loving adults in the room, try some googly-eyed paper monster wine charms. What you’ll need: Putting it all together: 1) Follow steps 2 and 3 from above.

Duct Tape Spider Web Packing tape has gotten MacGyver out of many a jam, but he never managed to make an entire home out of the stuff. So he could probably learn something from Viennese/Croatian design collective For Use/Numen. The team uses nothing but packing tape to create huge, self-supporting cocoons that visitors could climb inside and explore. Installed three times in the past year, the next deployment will be next week from June 9–13 at DMY Berlin's International Design Fair, which is now in its 8th year. The installations, which look like the work of horrifyingly large arachnids, grew in scale and scope as the year progressed, first deployed inside a small Croatian gallery, then an abandoned attic during October’s Vienna Design Week. At the last installation inside Odeon, a former stock exchange building in Vienna, the group used nearly 117,000 feet and 100 pounds of tape.

Shayna Leib, Glass Artist - Sculptural Glass Art Sculptural Glass Art • Back to Sculptural Glass Art menu The Wind & Water Series Two of the most powerful elements on our planet are nearly indiscernible to the human eye, yet we are innately aware of their presence, their capacity to soothe and destroy, and their ability to weave patterns where they touch. Wind and water possess no intrinsic color, are clear to the point of invisibility, and yet move through space. They leave their mark upon our world. Click on the following link for a glimpse into the working process of the Wind & Water series: Process of Creation Photo Credits

DIY Solar Lamp: Make Your Own Eco-Friendly Sun Jars | Designs &Ideas on... The principle is simple and seductively clever: solar lights that store energy during the day and release light at night. These can be purchased ready-made in a variety of colors (yellow, blue and red) but they can also be built at home. A simple, less-technical approach involves buying a conventional solar-powered yard lamp and then essentially harvesting it for key pieces to put in a jar. This is simply a way of taking an existing solar lamp design and appropriating its parts to make something more attractive for display around a house or home. A more electronically-savvy individual can take the more complex route and built a solar lamp from the ground up using small solar panels – though the aesthetic result may not be as impressive. Whatever route you choose to go, these are fun and sustainable gadgets that make it easy to go green, automate the process of turning on lights at night and can add some color to your porch, patio, garden or windowsill.

Pic of the Day: Press-On Nails Art In her Peacocks series artist Laurel Roth, a former park ranger, uses fake fingernails, nail polish, barrettes, false eyelashes, and Swarovski crystals as her medium. “My work juxtaposes traditional craft and artisanal techniques with non-traditional materials to examine mankind’s drive to modify itself as well as its environment,” she explains. “By playing with the convergence of biology and product design to create new cultural artifacts, I try to question social constructions of need, design, and individual desire.” Click through to view more pretty peacocks. Beholder, 2010. Beholder (detail), 2010. Beloved (detail), 2007. [via Neatorama]

Dalton Ghetti Creates Amazing Art On The Tips Of Used Pencils - Green Diary Most of us will agree with the age-old saying that “patience is a virtue.” How many of you, however, would actually hang on for two years and a half to bring a piece of art into existence? Dalton Ghetti, 49, a Bridgeport artist, has spent 25 good years working with a razor blade, a sewing needle and a sculpting knife for carving his unique art on the graphite of pencil. The artist says: I don’t make money from it but I would love a gallery owner in England to fly me over and put on a show. The inclination to fashion something new did not surface all of a sudden. Water Balloon Luminaries : Candle & Soap Making Techniques - StumbleUpon A fun and easy project with a beautiful payoff. Learn how to make these Balloon Luminaries. You will need: High-Melt Paraffin Wax (IGI 1260)Party BalloonsDouble BoilerCookie Sheet Instructions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Here is an example of these luminaries when using dye.

The World's Most Complex Architectural Columns Architect and programmer Michael Hansmeyer has undertaken a most ambitious project, designing an incredibly ornate and complex column with over 16 million individual facets! Hansmeyer has taken his initiative beyond the computer design phase and actually fabricated a full-scale 2.7 meter (8.8 ft) column made from stacked cardboard sheets. Check out the pics and information below for more details on this fascinating exploration. The project involves the conception and design of a new column order based on subdivision processes. It explores how subdivision can define and embellish this column order with an elaborate system of ornament. An abstracted doric column is used as an input form to the subdivision processes. The input form is tagged to allow the subdivision process to distinguish between individual components. The result is a series of columns that exhibit both highly specific local conditions as well as an overall coherency and continuity.

Tinted Mason Jars in Rainbow I love using mason jars for decorating and a seemingly endless supply of craft projects. But rainbow tinted mason jars, just like the vintage ones you can never find anymore? This one might be my favorite project with mason jars yet! Mason Jars Mod Podge in Gloss (buy it here) Food coloring Ramekins to mix colors Newspaper or paper bag Mix food coloring with a T or so of water into individual ramekins. Add a couple T of mod podge into your mason jar Add one ramekin of color into the jar and stir to incorporate it all together With a bowl underneath, carefully twist the jar around coating the whole inside with the mod podge/food coloring mixture. Let dry upside down on the paper Do the same with the other colors. Place the jars face down on top of wax paper and a cookie sheet into an oven, set on warm. When they're ready, they'll look clear and the mixture should lose most of its streaks.

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