How to Make a Repurposed New Year's Tree

Like many I'm happy to ring in the new year but sad to see all the holiday decorations come down so quickly; especially, the Christmas tree. Your Christmas tree doesn't have to be stored away just yet if you follow my lead below. This post is a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) craft project, which is based around a repurposed (recycled) item. We want to share with our population-we™readers that Earth Day should be commemorated every day of the year! For The Brown's: a recycled home project evokes something you already had around the house; were given specifically for repurposing; picked up thrifting or bought at a ReStore. To be classified as population-we™ repurposed project: one- or all- components should be recycled in the project. In this case, you'll see below we used items already on hand. Here's our post--two repurposed craft projects that will greet house guests this New Year.

Inspiration for Project:
In the past, we've hosted huge blow out New Year's Eve parties and had a lot of leftovers. So, instead of throwing away the decorations and party favors, we repurposed them to decorate our Christmas tree to celebrate the New Year. This year, I had two helpers and embarked on decorating two trees instead. First, a mini fake evergreen tree. We have two huge planters out front, which I change out for the season year-after-year, but one artificial pine tree snapped from the epic winds we get here in Elkhorn, Neb. So, instead of throwing it away we used it for this repurposed craft project. Second, we redecorated our 7-foot Christmas tree with repurposed New Year's decorations and party favors too. See how we used repurposed items to create two New Year's trees below.

Repurposed Components:

Party Favors.

Planter.

Fake Tree Without Ornaments.

  

Mini Fake Tree.

 




Mini Tree Step-by-Step Instructions:
Step 1: Pull the fake poinsettias out of the planter.
Step 2: Place the mini fake evergreen tree stem in the planter.
Step 3: Decorate with party decorations and favors.

Finished Mini New Year's Tree.

Big Tree Step-by-Step Instructions:
Step 1: Take the Christmas ornaments off the fake tree.
Step 2: Play concentration game described below.
Step 3: Decorate with party decorations and favors.

Finished 7-foot New Year's Tree.

Re-purpose Tip! 

Make it fun and enlist helpers.

You too can do this yourself. Every DIY project is better done with friends or family. In this case, I gave my two nieces, Brooke and Bridget, full reigns to decorate their very own mini New Year's Tree (see picture above). Also, I enlisted their help to take the ornaments off our 7-foot-Christmas tree. You know from our 12 days-of-ornaments post; The Brown's love Christmas ornaments. However, to make it fun and go faster--I made the project a concentration game. I'd show the girls a box and they both would walk around the tree looking for the ornament to match. Happy New Year and repurpose DIYing!

-population-we™ blog post by Becky Bohan Brown

© 2014 population-we, LLC 
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How to Make a Repurposed Winter Outdoor Holiday Decoration

Since our first Christmas our holiday decorations have always been a hodgepodge of old and new. Some passed down and others bought off the clearance rack; since, Brian and I were both in college when we first got married. So, indeed we've been penny pincher's from the start. These days the torch has been passed and The Bohan Brown's household now hosts Christmas--so it's all about curb appeal.

This post is a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) craft project, which is based around a repurposed (recycled) item. We want to share with our population-we™ readers that Earth Day should be commemorated every day of the year! For The Brown's: a recycled home project evokes something you already had around the house; were given specifically for repurposing; picked up thrifting or bought at a ReStore. To be classified as population-we™repurposed project: one- or all- components should be recycled in the project. In this case, you'll see below we used items already on hand. Here's our post--a repurposed craft project that will greet a passersby and any house guests pulling up to our house on Christmas day 2013.

Inspiration for Project:
We have two huge planters out front, which I change out for the season year-after-year. For Christmas and through spring we've decorated it with fake pine trees and candy canes bought from the local dollar store. However, one artificial pine tree snapped from the epic winds we get here in Elkhorn. So, instead of going to the store to pick up a brand new tree; I decided to embark on a repurposed craft project. See how we repurposed items into an outdoor holiday decoration below.

Repurposed Components:

The planter with grass.

Pine tree branches.

Laundry bags and mini straw hay bales.

Rope and used candle decoration.

Other Things You'll Need:

Wheel barrel, clippers and saw.

Staple gun and scissors.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Step 1: Pull the dead flowers but the grass out of the planter.
Step 2: Grab the wheel barrel, saw, clippers and scissors.
Step 3: Cut or saw the branches from the pine tree.
Step 4: Place branches in planter with dollar tree candy canes on each side.
Step 5: Place mini straw hay bales on waterproof laundry bag.
Step 6: Cut to size.
Step 7: Wrap like a present.
Step 8: Staple in place on each end.
Step 9:  Place twine around the present and tie into place.
Step 10:  Cut item from candle decoration and place on top as the bow.

Finished outdoor winter holiday decor. 

Re-purpose Tip! 

Ms. Pepper, the helper.

Bobby pins.

You too can do this yourself. Every DIY project is better done with a friend. In my case, our 15-year-old rescue dog, Pepper, was on-hand for this project (see the helper above). Also, use your imagination. I used a torn waterproof laundry bag as our wrapping paper. So, finding something on-hand that is waterproof is key, as well as something heavy (like a hay bale) that won't blow away with gail force winds. Lastly, I ran out of supplies for my staple gun and used bobby pins instead. Happy Holidays and repurpose DIYing!

-population-we™ blog post by Becky Bohan Brown

© 2013 population-we, LLC 
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How to Make a Repurposed Thanksgiving Door Decoration

The biggest way to think we before me is to be stewards of our environment. Check! Many family and population-we™ readers already know of The Brown's commitment to be green. Brian and I have both blogged about our earth-friendly efforts since we both became bloggers. Also, every April our blog has dedicated all that month's blog posts to Earth Day, a cause near and dear to our hearts. So, we are recyclers through and through! Now we are embarking on yet another venture featuring our recycling and green lifestyle efforts and welcome our readers to join us!

Watch for articles sprinkled through our posts each month about Do-It-Yourself (DIY) household as well as arts and crafts projects based around repurposed (recycled) items. More importantly, we want to share with our population-we™ readers that Earth Day should be commemorated every day of the year! For The Brown's: a recycled home or craft project evokes something you already had around the house; were given specifically for repurposing; picked up thrifting or bought at a restore it store. To be classified as population-we™ repurposed project: one- or all- components should be recycled in the project. In this case, you'll see below we used items already on hand. Here's our very first post--a repurposed craft project that will greet our house guests entering The Brown's home this Thanksgiving.

Inspiration for Project:

Recently our 15-year-old rescue dog, Pepper, had a house guest over for a long weekend. Like any good fur-friend, Pepper shared her toys with one-and-a-half-year-old Australian Shepard, Zoey (watch Vine video above or at this link). Unfortunately, one dog toy did not make it. Enter the repurposed idea: I'd been decorating for our upcoming Thanksgiving gathering and didn't have a door decoration yet. So, instead of tossing the dog toy's rope in the trash--see how we recycled it into a Thanksgiving or Autumn Door Decoration.

Repurposed Components:

Rope from broken dog toy.

Over-sized fake leaf.

Other Things You'll Need:

Scissors and Duck Tape.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Step 1: Take the scissors and cut the rope off of the dog toy.
Step 2: Rip off two small and two larger pieces of duck tape.

After Steps 3 & 4 below.

Step 3: Fasten each small piece of duck tape to the end of the frayed rope.
Step 4: Turn over leaf and fasten the rope to the back with the remaining two large pieces of duck tape.

Finished repurposed craft on the door.

Re-purpose Tip! 

You too can do this yourself. Don't have an over-sized fake leaf? If so, use a real leaf of any size from your yard. No industrial dog strength rope either? No worries Mon, just fasten it to the back with any twine or rope. Wool-ah you have a Thanksgiving Door Decoration, too. Happy Thanksgiving and repurpose DIYing!

-population-we™ blog post by Becky Bohan Brown

© 2013 population-we, LLC 
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[Earth Day Edition] pop-we Highlights Greater Omaha SCUBA Club's Project AWARE Efforts

Lake cleanup at Louisville State Park swimming lake.

Today, April 22, is officially Earth Day 2013! On this day people from all around the world are celebrating on land and under the sea. Since waters in Nebraska are a chilly 42 degrees members of the Greater Omaha SCUBA Club will be there only in spirit. This post is dedicated to those SCUBA divers who are donating their time today and throughout the year to clean up our waterways from debris.

Below is a Q&A with SCUBA Instructor Mark "Skippy" Sidwell who is vice president of the Greater Omaha SCUBA Club.

Q. What got you into SCUBA diving?
A. A 21 day trip to Australia. I figured, if I'm going half way around the world, I'm going to learn to dive.

Q. What is the coldest conditions you've dove in?
A. 58 degrees in Atlantic, Iowa. Did a check out dive with a student late in the season. They were going on vacation in early November and wanted to get it done before hand.

Q. Tell us about the Greater Omaha SCUBA Club?
A. The club was officially started in 2007; so its been around for approximately six years. We are not technically a non-profit organization but we are a not-for-profit organization. We are not tax deductible, if you donate to us. The whole goal of the club is to get people active in diving; whether, you're a diver or non diver, we want you active in diving. Even if you're a non diver we want you active in the aquatic world. Be it just enjoying the aquatic world; conservation efforts and understanding how the ocean plays a role in our world, that is the basic gist the club is for.

Q. What reaction do you get when you tell someone you belong to a dive club in Omaha, Nebraska?
A. What? That is the reaction. Most people are basically confused because they ask where is there to dive in Omaha, Nebraska? Technically speaking there are not a lot of places to dive in Omaha, Nebraska. But there are a lot of places to dive in the local area within one- to three- hours drive.

World O! Water debris.

Q. What is Project AWARE?
A. Project AWARE is an organization started by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors). Aquatic water awareness responsibility and education is key. The basic goal is to teach people the role of what water is; not just about water itself but the ecosystem within the water. Because without the oceans we can't feed half of the world. We abuse water resources beyond their capacity to handle it. That is one of the main reasons why Project AWARE came about because the water resources we have on this planet are dwindling. The vast majority of the world does not have access to clean fresh water for drinking, which is terrible. Project AWARE also talks about natural water resources: lakes, rivers and oceans. How to keep them clean and how to maintain them, as well as how to use them responsibly.

Q. Why did you get involved with Project AWARE?
A.  Because without conservation and education of water resources, I won't have anywhere to dive.

Q. Doing lake cleanups what is the strangest item you've found?
A. A Mountain Dew banner. It was a huge promotional banner. I thought it was a tent at first!

Q. What is the strangest thing another club member has found?
A. A safe.

Q. What is the worst visibility conditions you've dove in for a lake cleanup?
A. Zero.

Q. What do you think is the biggest culprit of trash in our waterways?
A. Plastic. The problem is most governments don't require manufacturers to put a recycle label (i.e. the type of plastic) on all plastic items. Most plastic items you have no idea that type of plastic it is. Most people don't recycle anyway.

Q. What's the message the Greater Omaha SCUBA Club wants to relay to kids?
A. Whatever you throw out winds up in the water. So, be very, very cognizant of what you throw away. Even if you throw it away responsibly; doesn't mean that whoever picks that trash up is going to be responsible with it. So, you have to be careful with that, and that is why recycling is such a big thing.

To find out more about the Greater Omaha SCUBA Club or any upcoming lake cleanups, visit the club's website, official Facebook page or follow them on Twitter.

"I think diving has made me much more aware why we need to recycle," he said. Since 2009, Sidwell has participated in 12 lake cleanups in Nebraska. He ended the Q&A interview by saying: "I love the opportunity to talk about my passion [SCUBA diving]! I love the planet -- we only got one -- so we got to take care of it."


Editor's note: In celebration of the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day population-we™ staffers will celebrate our love for planet earth with green posts this month!  

- population-we™ blog post by Becky Bohan Brown 

© 2013 population-we, LLC

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