Recycled cast iron bathtub garden

This bathtub was on Craigslist for free, with some fire damage. We pull up to an empty lot except for this tub. There a very bad fire in the Lake Tahoe area called the Angora fire, very sad man made fire that burnt entire neighborhoods. This tub was the last thing left in a house that was burnt to the ground. The fire burned so hot it melted the enamel off the cast iron. The grid pattern on the bottom of the tub was where the rubber mat melted into the enamel. According to the original owner of the tub it was install about 2 years before the fire. It was VERY heavy, good thing we have a 78 Datsun that is low to the ground.

Now it contains our chocolate mint and spearmint garden. Anyone who has had any sort of mint know it can take over everything very quickly. All the mint and dirt came from a friends garden and compost. All summer I dry the mint in a large stainless steel bowl, store it in an vintage canister and use it to make mint tea all winter. Everyone seems to love the tea it makes and always asks for more.  If I can, I will acquire 10 more cast iron tubs for more gardens. They are self contained and you can always paint the outside of it to your liking:-)

Log footstool

We needed a footstool, but of course everything we saw was just not right. So we had an awesome log, that I stained a dark walnut. Oh I also made sure it did nto have bugs and was a good piece of wood before I started. The up is covered with some free ulphostery fabric that I had left over from another project. Inside for cushion if a small round old pillow that needed to be recovered. The edging is done with some faux suede, of course from another project LOL I did have to buy the tacks to hold the edging on. Total cost was about $8 for the upholstery tacks

Recycled cast iron bath tub

 This is what the tub looked like after we picked it up. Actually it looks better in this picture, we had already scraped tons of paint off of it. It did have 3 of the orignal feet, a shower ring and shower head set up.

This is the bath tub after its face lift. After a good scraping Mike painted the outside of the tub and the 3 egs. Can't 

Recycled cast iron bath tub

 This is bathtub shortly after we picked it up for $75, we had already scraped off alot of the old paint. It also came with the shower ring and ceiling hangers and shower head setup, we did need to buy the faucet.

Here is the bathtub afterwards and installed in the bathroom. Mike painted the outside and the 3 legs. Can't even tell it has a cinderblock foot lol. We did not have to paint the inside, it only had a very small amount of rust. To finish out this picture the lower part of the wall is a solid oak door that we found, on top of the door it thin brick, just because we loved the look of it. I am 5'10"and can fit in this tub, the water stays hot for  long time and afterwards if you do not drain the tub until the water cools it will also warm up the bath room . As I also have said we are huge recyclers and also use the tub water to fill at least 1/2 the washer. You are washing dirty clothes with soap anyway. We also leave the water in the tub so it can put some moisture in the air. Tahoe is SUPER DRY!!!!!

Recycled earrings

All of these earrings are made with recycled materials. I have use, coffee can plastic lids, binder covers, atlas paper, milk jugs, scrap suede, CD covers etc. No pair are the same. No one every seems to know that they are all recycled materials. I even made clip on earrings, with all the metal coming from thrift stores or self made with scrap wire.

Custom vanity

We found this awesome piece in a local used furniture store for $75. After a little paint job with a white glue crackle effect and the lamp shade from a floor lamp for the sink, it fit right in. After painting the piece with a dark blue and letting it dry completely, a coat of Elmers glue was used thenan off white paint as the glue was still tacky. As the glue and paint dries it crackles the top white paint to expose the dark blue underneath. I then used a marine varnish to help anique and waterproof the piece. Since we used a lamp shade for the sink regular plumbing would not work but we found that hardward for a bar sink did. We were worried the shade would be to thin but it has last for 2 years now without a chip. We also built a box to hold the faucet higher then the sink. This piece is being used on a daily basis and is holding up extremely well. The entire piece cost about $150, which is not bad since a basin sink alone cost more then that.

Recyled road maps

We had an old road map of CA and an old pic frame laying around. So I decided to make flowers. The background is tissue paper glued to cardboard. Then I outlined the flower I wanted to make on the map with black marker, cut each piece out. This the the worst part, you have to build the picture from the background up. I have made a few of these so far and find that glue sticks or good old fashioned white glue works perfectly on these. Do your home town and enjoy!

55gal indoor water garden

This is our indoor water garden. The 55 gallon fish tank started out as a regular fishtank that was filled with fish. We found it thru word of mouth and got it for free, fish and all, as long as we emptied and transported it. So we did, about a year later a fish was added and within 2 weeks we lost the entire tank to Ick. I was determined to find a more useful purpose for this tank. So after a massive cleaning with soap, water and a brush I attepted a dirt garden. At first this were great but then the rollie pollie  war began, that I lost. So after scrubbing the tank again I decided on an edible water garden. The floats are made with foam we had from a project with nylon window screen sewed to it. The bridge in the tank was left over after our red earred slider outgrew it and the submersable pump was given to us by a friend. Added on floats are mung bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts and lettuce. In the glass jars I have green onions re-growing. The onion and mung bean actually grew faster then we could use, I now make sure I grow less at a time but in stages, so we continually have fresh things coming out of the garden. I add sea kelp to the water about once a week and the plants seem to love it.

Suede Boots

I wanted a pair of soft soled boots. So I went to the local Flea market, where I knew there was a lady who sold suede. After a $32 purchase and some creative pattern making here is what I came up with. The bottoms are made from a left over piece of heavy leather I have had for years. The rest is from the suede I purchased, not including the 2 mini purses and sones steampunk aviator goggles. The pattern is winged for the most part, I just tried things until I found a setup I liked :-) The one thing I would change with the way the soles are sewn to the uppers. The sinew will wear threw quickly and an in search of a better, recycled bottom.

Vertical coffee can garden

I wanted an herb garden but really didn't have alot of room. So Mike screwed some or our coffee cans, we LOVE coffee, to our fence and drilled holed in the bottom for drainage. We started to get plants but since we started this project late in the year the snow hit before the plants could be used :-( In the spring we have a planter that will sit below this area so the run off from the verical garden will water a flower garden below it. We are also going to add many more of these in the spring to the fence.

Handsewn Wool boots

I thought I would start this blog with my lastest creation. These boots have the soles of the water shoes I wore this past summer and the uppers are made from a wool/ flannel lined hood that came off a winter cloak. The cloak was SOOO heavy and when I cut the gathering at the neck line out we had a big enough piece or wool/ flannel lined fabric that was now use it as a blanket on our large couch. It is so warm and toasty I decided to use the hood for the main part of the uppers on my boots. The rest of the fabric was some scrap gray canvas I had left over from another project. I only wished I had left part of the neoprene water shoe upper on. It would have been easier to attach and I think the fit of the soles out have been better. I will remember this for the next pair I already have in mind!!!