So after my last post I learned a new word, upcycle.  Turning this year’s Christmas cards into next years gift tags is an example. Upcycle is when you turn existing, no longer useful materials into something new, useful and of better quality or better environmental impact according to Wikipedia. Upcyling is the opposite of downcycling which is the other half of recycling. How is this different from recycling something? Well you do it yourself, it doesn’t require shredding or melting and it is more fun. So what else can you upcycle? Does wearing vintage clothing count? Better yet, deconstructing it and making new items? Remember in the movie Pretty in Pink when she made a new prom dress out of old ones? Only she did not know it was called upcycling yet. I recently attached  an old silver art deco pin to the clasp of a plain black velvet evening bag. It made both unused  items into a  new and lovely clutch without using any new materials. If you were born around 1952, then you learned this from parents who were depression babies. It was called “not being wasteful” or “being frugal or creative”. But now you can tell your snobby green friends that you not only recycle, you upcycle too. What do you upcycle?