Petals of Pages, An Upcycled Brooch

As a community, Etsy sellers & buyers constantly inspire & motivate me. Having my work acknowledged or "favourited" is very encouraging & the most rewarding is when customers request custom orders & sincerely love their new FrameBoutique item.

A few hours ago, I put the final touches on a custom order of my upcycled brooch design using "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho & I thought I would share some great links on upcycling.

Soon, I'll post a DIY tutorial for my upcycled pom and brooch designs!

A few months ago I decided to try my hand at decorative poms, but I wanted to use my own unique design & material. That's when I found a new purpose for a very worn Noam Chomsky book. I was surprised by the amount of people that contacted me, created treasuries or favourited this small, 6 inch pom I had made.

There was also something strangely cathartic about ripping apart a book after graduating with my master's in English.

Then I started to research this movement a bit further & found some interesting facts. Upcycling is actually very different from recycling or "downcycling" since the recycling process creates a product that is of lower quality than before.

With upcycling, designers like myself (& there are thousands on Etsy) take something that would otherwise be chucked into the garbage or recycling bin & repurpose it into a new product that is of an improved, higher quality.

In an effort to combine this newfound love of upcycled items & jewelry, I designed a upcycled brooch which I call "Petals of Pages". This brooch is the perfect size, 3 inches in diameter and 1 & 1/2 inches tall.

I wanted to share some of the great free DIY designs I've stumble across. Here are some great links that are specific to upcycling: http://toponlineengineeringdegree.com/?page_id=116 or http://blog.sustainablog.org/six-creative-upcycling-projects/ or http://blog.gaiam.com/blog/don’t-recycle-that-5-cool-diy-upcycling-websites/

If you would like to share a upcycled project, post it here or shoot me an email. A great read for those interested in upcycling is Michael Braungart & William McDonough's "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things".

To see my Etsy listings, check out:
Petals of Pages: http://www.etsy.com/listing/78051501/brooch-altered-book-petals-of-pages?nc=1
Shabby Chic Pomander: http://www.etsy.com/listing/78001653/home-decor-hanging-upcycled-book-shabby