Second Chances For Stuff
I saw a morning show segment where Bobbie Thomas made old toothbrushes into bangle bracelets. Apparently you can do this by just boiling the toothbrushes until the plastic gets soft and them shaping them into a bracelet and adding decorations. I was surprised when the finished product didn't just look like an old bent toothbrush. I think I might try it next time I'm done with a toothbrush. And when I shop for a new one, I'll be looking for one with a nice clear glittery plastic handle.
While re-using everyday objects is an especially hot topic right now because it reduces waste, I love the idea of re-using because it feels like giving an underdog a chance.
For instance, this is the time of year I am drawn into any home and garden center with clearance signs on their nursery plants. The plants are always old and shriveled and root-bound. But they are also usually ten cents or a quarter. I always buy too many, more than I have room for. Lots of them lost their labels and have only one or two leaves left, so you have to just plant them and find out whether you're growing a grape vine or a rose bush later. I think if I have a huge backyard someday, I'll leave a place in it every summer for a whole second-chance garden. But that's not so much re-purposing the plants as giving them a second chance to be plants...
Workers in the gulf are stuffing barricades with human and pet hair to stop the oil from coming onshore.
What are other second chances we can give stuff?
-Brigitte
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Comments
Joe436 Thursday, June 24, 2010
Two weeks ago I turned a sheet of glass I found on the street to a table. It was thick enough to not worry about putting anything too heavy on it. I used the legs from a table with a broken top (not glass). The glue I had to buy, I don't know how to make glue from old stuff. Two out of three aint bad.
Pete Thursday, June 24, 2010
My sister used to make toothbrush bracelets when she was a kid. They always skeeved me out, especially if the brush in question had been used to clean grout, shoes, etc., but she loved them.
Blargal Friday, June 25, 2010
Hello,Brigitte,
On a second chance / gardening note, I have a broken piece of a flower pot in my vegetable garden. It is on its side, creating a futuer home for a toad I saw near the garden.Toads eat insects, and I have many spiderwebs around the garden as well.
Matt Friday, June 25, 2010
Beautiful picture , Brigitte..
Not just "pictures of your feet" (thank you Ms. Coppola!) ...High art, Noteworthy.
Goodwill,
-matt
romeo Friday, June 25, 2010
nice photo.. :) very romantic.