Rekindle, Christchurch

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Lightbulb Baubles

Christmas is a perfect time to get reusing. There are so many opportunities to make decorations, cards, Christmas trees and gifts from old Christmas items or unwanted objects you would easily find around your home. As an example, I took four lightbulbs which no longer work, and used some leftover beads and ribbon to upcycle them into Christmassy baubles for the Christmas tree.

Step 1: Find unusable light bulbs in that drawer of things you have no use for, but keep hoping they may work one day.

Step 2: Gather an assortment of craft items to decorate your bauble. I used beads and a gold pen, but you could use whatever you like. Buttons, glitter, ribbons and sequins would be fun too!

Step 3: Draw quick sketches of your ideal baubles to play around with layout of materials and ideas. It will make the making process easier!

Step 4: Use a glue gun or superglue to attach decorations to the lightbulb as you like. Leave to dry.

Step 5: Hang on your Christmas tree and show all your friends!

If you fancy making your own baubles, you can enter the Lightbulbs direct competition! email a link to your blog post entry to competition@lightbulbs-direct.com and visit the website for all the terms and conditions of entry.

The Clothing Exchange

The Clothing Exchange is a Australian initiative, coordinating volunteers to run exchange events in councils around the country to promote swapping over shopping. I volunteered to help out at one event in North Sydney at the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability last month and was impressed by the venue, the turnout (between 40-50 women), the food and drinks provided and the volume of clothing that was swapped! Definitely the best clothing swap I have been to and I even managed to find a dress for myself in the small pile of clothing that was left over at the end of the night.

The Bower Reuse & Repair Centre Co-op

Another brilliant thing about the Addison Road Centre, in addition to Reverse Garbage and the Sunday market is the Bower Reuse and Repair Centre Cooperative. Check out their website for more information and you can also follow them on social media.

Addison Road Market

The best stall of them all...
Responsibly Gorgeous, made in Marrickville.

Blue t-shirt dress

My friend Adam had two long sleeved t-shirts he had stopped wearing due to the size (too small) and a little wear and tear.

I wanted a new dress for the races at the weekend.

Only one thing to do, upcycle them!

Reverse Garbage

I've been working at this awesome place, Australia's largest creative re-use centre! Check out the Reverse Garbage website and social media for more info and the latest stock updates.

Addison Road Organic Market

Every Sunday, the wonderful Addison Road Community Centre hosts an open air organic market, attracting many people to enjoy the delicious goods from the stalls and laid back atmosphere. The awesome Reverse Garbage was also buzzing with people on Sunday, a brilliant day all round! Check out the Addison Road Community Centre website for more information.