Trash Into Treasure: 10 Rad Upcycling Projects

Celebrate Earth Day by digging through your cast-offs and would-be throwaways and turning them into new pieces of awesomeness!

1. Tape measure to belt

Sheri / Via kollabora.com

Ok, so maybe you don't want everyone to know exactly how many inches your waist is....

2. Necktie to sunglass case

Trends with Benefits / Via trendswb.blogspot.ca

How many ties do you really need anyway?

3. Fabric and hangers to bracelets

Creme de la Craft / Via cremedelacraft.com

Put those unused flimsy dry cleaning hangers to good use with 10 minutes and a few left over fabric scraps.

4. Cutting board and pencils into dish rack

Project RE- / Via project-re.blogspot.co.uk

An old cutting board and pencils can easily become a really awesome dish rack! Who knew?!

5. Shower curtain to puffy skirt

Chic Steals / Via kollabora.com

Stiff shower curtains apparently make really rad puffy skirts too!

6. Book to clutch

Mother Nature Network / Via mnn.com

We DO NOT advocate defacing perfectly readable books, but we do like the idea of showing off our literary prowess through our accessories.

7. Buttons and earrings to cocktail rings

Caitlin / Via kollabora.com

Nothing is worse than losing just one earring or button, but you can easily turn the stragglers into some eye-catching cocktail rings.

8. Men's shirt to summer top

Extra Petite / Via extrapetite.com

Just a few steps to turn a sloppy, oversized shirt into a sleek summer staple!

9. Old tees to braided basket

Corner Blog / Via bloggingcornerblog.blogspot.com

What to do with all of those beat up old tee shirts?! Rip them apart, turn them into yarn and braid them into a much needed storage basket!

10. Bootcut to riding trousers

One Little Minute Blog / Via onelittleminuteblog.com

Not for the novice DIY'er - this one requires some serious patience and sewing skills but there's nothing quite as satisfying as bringing a pair of pants from 2006 to 2014!