![Most people would look at an old copper fireplace coal bin — if they bothered to notice it at all — and see something ready for the junk heap. Brian Carlisle [of GadgetSponge.com] saw a birdhouse.
“It just spoke to me when I looked at and I could envision a bird hole in front and a roof on top,” he told TreeHugger in an email. “From there, I saw lots of opportunities with many other metal items that most folks throw away or keep for no reason.” The quirky, whimsical results are both retro and futuristic, and strangely beautiful.
Scouring Thrift Stores For Supplies
Carlisle gathers his birdhouse-making supplies — percolators, flour sifters, tea pots, hard hats, license plates, galvanized gas cans, sugar canisters, trophies, watering cans, even a metal space heater — at flea markets, thrift shops, and antique stores, or through donations from family and friends.
Read the rest: One-of-a-Kind Birdhouses Made from Scrap Metal : TreeHugger
Check out Brian’s range of birdhouses available from his Etsy store here.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsblgrysuc1qzv12bo1_400.jpg)
Most people would look at an old copper fireplace coal bin — if they bothered to notice it at all — and see something ready for the junk heap. Brian Carlisle [of GadgetSponge.com] saw a birdhouse.
“It just spoke to me when I looked at and I could envision a bird hole in front and a roof on top,” he told TreeHugger in an email. “From there, I saw lots of opportunities with many other metal items that most folks throw away or keep for no reason.” The quirky, whimsical results are both retro and futuristic, and strangely beautiful.
Scouring Thrift Stores For Supplies
Carlisle gathers his birdhouse-making supplies — percolators, flour sifters, tea pots, hard hats, license plates, galvanized gas cans, sugar canisters, trophies, watering cans, even a metal space heater — at flea markets, thrift shops, and antique stores, or through donations from family and friends.
Read the rest: One-of-a-Kind Birdhouses Made from Scrap Metal : TreeHugger
Check out Brian’s range of birdhouses available from his Etsy store here.
Hammered spoons and forks can be used for a variety of purposes, such as plant markers, wall hooks, or as table numbers or place cards, to name a few. To flatten your own flatware, check out the tutorial here.
(Via Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog; spotted on Poppytalk’s Pinterest page.)
“Sarah Goodwin, designer and founder of the creative firm Daisies & Pearls, created this custom design for a local bakeshop — perhaps the most perfect spot for a porcelain teaware lamp.”
For the how-to details/tutorial, visit Design*Sponge.
Green-minded designer JJ Evensen has created a unique coat rack using nothing but two wooden planks, screws, and old spoons. Each spoon bears a customized name of the coat’s owner. A fantastic example of creative reuse.
![Vintage rolling pin towel rack - DIY tutorial — from olive bites
Such a towel rack made from a rolling pin could dovetail well with a side table made from a vintage crate (see previous post) *if* you could bear to drill holes in a vintage crate.
(Note to self: Cross “what to do with grandmother’s old rolling pin” off list.)
[h/t @SisterDiane]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l5z8im6Z1J1qzv12bo1_250.jpg)
Vintage rolling pin towel rack - DIY tutorial — from olive bites
Such a towel rack made from a rolling pin could dovetail well with a side table made from a vintage crate (see previous post) *if* you could bear to drill holes in a vintage crate.
(Note to self: Cross “what to do with grandmother’s old rolling pin” off list.)
[h/t @SisterDiane]
