Upcyled Green - Our Daily Green

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Upcyled Green

Over the past several months, Our Daily Green has pondered the future of printed-on-paper media in the digital age.

The beginning
of obsession
Will paper media become obsolete, gradually replaced by digital? As Our Daily Green simultaneously confesses and asks for absolution, we do have a magazine fetish. I am a fan of magazines and cannot resist the offers for discounted or free issues. We try to select magazines that can be recycled or reused or are printed on such materials, opting for publications with earth friendly policies. (Current favorites include Yes and Ode).

cricket magazine
Inaugural issue
This magazine fetish began as a child, when I would receive a monthly Cricket magazine. In fact, I regularly submitted letters, stories and drawings to Cricket, dreaming of fame and fortune. Instead, we learned the art of rejection on a regular basis, setting me up for a career as a writer.

I did save all my Crickets, I believe the photo is a stunning example of perhaps the world's most comprehensive Cricket collection, including the inaugural issue from September 1973.

(note to readers: I was honored to become an affiliate for Cricket magazine, hearkening back to my youth and a love I've shared with my children... I am proud to say that I will receive a small commission if you subscribe to any of their publications via this site).
To absolve myself of some of the magazine love guilt, I was thrilled to discover all the repurposed, upcycle uses for old magazines.

upcycled, magazine beads
Magazine Beads
Personally, Our Daily Green has cut magazines into mosaic squares to create amazing craft projects for Sunday School and other assorted outreach projects. Colorful, glossy magazine pages bring out the artist in everyone.

Many Fair Trade companies roll pages into beads or frames and have discovered other incredible ways to turn the colorful inviting pages of a magazine into permanent, artistic pieces, from jewelry to handbags to bowls.

With a little research, magazine addiction can quickly become guilt free when repurposed and upcycled!

Happy greening!




2 comments :

Beth Sommerer said...

I LOVED Cricket when I was a kid!! That is where I met Frog and Toad by Alfred Loebel. My mom got each of the kids a subscription, since they now have so many choices. W gets Click now and K gets Ladybug. They love getting mail, but they think I'm a little nuts about wanting to read it with them all the time.

FreshGreenKim said...

Oh how cool, Beth! That's when I first met Frog & Toad, too! "Now seeds, start growing!" :)

FYI, my old Crickets will NEVER EVER EVER become frames, bowls or beads.