DIY projects — repurposing trophies This morning,...

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Consumption is a word used to describe acts of acquisition – generally, the acquisition of things, in exchange for money.

Unconsumption is a word used to describe everything that happens after an act of acquisition.

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Unconsumption means the accomplishment of properly recycling your old cellphone, rather than the guilt of letting it sit in a drawer.

Unconsumption means the thrill of finding a new use for something that you were about to throw away.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a service like Freecycle (or Craigslist, Goodwill, or Salvation Army) to find a new home for the functioning DVD player you just replaced, rather than throwing it in the garbage.

Unconsumption means enjoying the things you own to the fullest – not just at the moment of acquisition.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a pair of sneakers until they are truly worn out – as opposed to the nagging feeling of defeat when they simply go out of style.

Unconsumption means feeling good about the simple act of turning off the lights when you leave the room.

Unconsumption is not about the rejection of things, or the demonization of things. It’s not a bunch of rules.

Unconsumption is an idea, a set of behaviors, a way of thinking about consumption itself from a new perspective.

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5:43 pm - Sun, Feb 19, 2012: 203 notes

DIY projects — repurposing trophies

This morning, while looking at Cathe Holden’s latest post on her Just Something I Made blog, in which Cathe explains how she made cupcake stands using parts of old trophies (go ahead and take a couple of minutes to check out Cathe’s great tutorial and photos; I’ll wait), these bottle stoppers caught my eye, as wine-related repurposing often does. (Exhibit A: See the Unconsumption series of “wine o’clock” posts here.)

Shannon Vance and Robin Sweeney of Stash Style made the stoppers from new corks, but I think some used wine corks could work for this.

How-to / DIY:

If you’re using a new cork, drill a 1/8-inch-wide hole halfway down the cork. (Used corks will already have a corkscrew-made hole in them, obviously.) Apply superglue to both the underside of the base of a trophy’s top and the screw that extends from it. Insert the screw into the cork, and twist together the trophy top and cork until flush and a tight bond forms. Allow to dry before using.

Want another trophy repurposing idea? Use old trophies as wall hooks (previously mentioned on Unconsumption here).