Thanks to the people over at Learn Something New.com, we came across a green tip inspired by the late Michael Jackson! Just goes to show you, almost anything can be recycled and refashioned into glitz and glam… keep getting creative with those thrift store finds and make them your own, then join the Element Eden family on our Facebook page and upload your photos to share some inspiration!!

Reworking jewelry is a personal fave of ours, adding charms, feathers and beads then changing to a longer chain length to make an old necklace piece unique to one’s personal style.. try it yourself!

Collage’s were probably the best part of art class as a kid.  The teacher would throw tons of magazines on the table for you to rip and tear to your heart’s content, all you loved and found inspiration from, then glue it on a big ol’ piece of construction paper… so it’s easy to see why collage journals are all we’re raving about, especially when you tie in the “eco-friendly” concept.

A little DIY recycled craft:

1. Cut two pieces of a thrown out cardboard box for a front and back to the journal.

2. Dig through your trash, recyclables, old magazines and even trashed books for interesting art, words and little pieces to glue masterfully on the cover piece of cardboard.

3. Then gather old school papers and use the blank backs as the pages to your journal (with the old writing side faced back).

4. Head to a place to get that beauty bound and you have yourself a fully recycled journal… and a little less “trash” for that landfill

The masterpiece pictured here is courtesy of: Norma Anne Chattin

Join Element Eden this Saturday for the Beachworks Block Party!! Have your hand in our recycled art competition to see if you can create the best work out of recycled items we will provide… winner gets an amazing Eden gift!

A common issue for going green is the cost… eco-friendly products bring all the benefits for sustainable living, but the problem comes when you find a wallet full of receipts (and turns out their value is much less compared to President Jackson on  a 20)… what we forget though is the realm of recycling and thrift shopping!  Re-use what another doesn’t want anymore…. one person’s trash is another’s treasure, and Good Will is at the end of that rainbow.

With a wine bottle’s beautifully sleek shape, it easily can be reused once the bottle is emptied… whether you peel off the label of a deep blue colored bottle and use it as a vase for bold red Gerber daisies or decorate the piece with beads, wiring and lovely torn patterned paper… the possibilities are endless.  Rather than tossing the next bottle in the recycling bin, recycle it yourself as home decor.