DIY bead storage and beading board for bracelet and necklace making

As a member of the Chick-fil-A mom panel, we were given coupons to try their new Chicken Tortilla Soup and then challenged to make a fun DIY with their soup containers. Some of the moms did some amazing upcycling projects and created luminaries, succulent wall planters, play instruments, and all sorts of super crafty things, but I went practical. As soon as I saw the containers, I realized they would make the perfect DIY bead storage container. Chick Fil A bead containerNow, I know that doesn't sound exciting because basically I repurposed something that stored soup and used it to store beads, but stay with me.  Chick Fil A bracelet elasticI've been redoing our art supplies now that the kiddos are able to craft more on their own and this has involved a ton of organizing. I was previously the only one using the crafting supplies and therefore knew where everything was stored. But, now that they can craft on their own, I needed to give them their own storage system so anyone can find whatever they need and then know where to put it back when they are finished.

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How to host your own upcycling party {Singer VIVO Repair & Create machine}

Upcycling party with Singer
You know those times when everything in your closet just seems so boring? Whether you haven’t been shopping since you were in high school or your body has changed and you’re still wearing your old clothing, chances are you have a stack of clothes in your closet taking up space that you really don’t want to be wearing anymore. 

I know I did, as did my friends, so we decided to get together to make a negative into a very big positive. Instead of going shopping together and blowing a few hundred dollars between us while we updated our wardrobes, we did something a whole lot more fun and cost effective – we upcycled our clothing. 

For those not familiar with the term “upcycle”, the basic idea is that you use what you already have and are not using to create something new and fabulous that you would have otherwise had to buy. Think of it as the greener way to recycle.   

So, to start my party off, I had all of the guests create two bags full of stuff beforehand – stuff they like but want to make amazing in one bag and stuff they really don’t want any more but can still be used for parts in the second.

Welcome to Upcycling partyImmediately upon walking into the party, they were greeted with two felt bins – one to dump their discards into for everyone to use as material, and one for the clothing they would like to upcycle. Once everyone had arrived, we went through the contents of the first bin together so everyone could see what materials they had to work with.

The saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” comes to mind as digging through the discard bin quickly turned into a clothing swap where everyone grabbed a few new-to-them items. Hey, it's green and resourceful. 

But, our purpose wasn't just to swap clothing, we were here to make our clothing awesome, which is why we had this little baby by our side:

Singer Vivo

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