Make it Reusable: Contest Results

Here at the Reuse Centre, we are all about encouraging creative reuse of the items on our accepted-donations list, so we were thrilled with the entries to our "How Do You Make It Reusable?" contest. Each and every entrant produced something amazing from items that they found here. Several entrants submitted multiple projects, and we couldn't be happier to see such innovation and enthusiasm for reuse!

With so many interesting and unique entries, our team of Reuse Experts had a heck of a time choosing a winner. After much deliberation (and maybe a back-room brawl or two) we made our decision.

Nancy's Lucky Bamboo sure did the trick for her; we were all in awe of her fabulous felt crafting!

 

This little cutie has a detachable pot and bendable leafstalks. The outer surface is made entirely of Reuse Centre felt, and the shape is given by a bit of stuffing, a few pieces of cardboard in the pot, and wire in the stalks. Most of the piece was hand-stitched, and the brown growth rings around the stalks were glued on. From a distance it looks realistic and up close, and all of our judges were impressed with the level of detail and the obvious time commitment something like this must have taken.

When we asked Nancy how many hours she had spent on this, she replied "Too many!" with a smile and a laugh, and went on to say that much of the construction had taken place on a camping trip, in stolen moments when her youngest son was napping.

When Nancy came to pick up her prize basket, she was kind enough to bring along her winning submission and the book containing the pattern, which was chock-full of amazing and cute things to make out of felt. This blogger sure knows what she'll be making her niece and nephew for Christmas this year!

Nancy accepting her prize basket from Reuse Centre staff.

Of course, our contest would not have been a success without all of the amazing entries, so here, in no particular order, are the others if you missed them on our Facebook page:

Three art pieces by Rob:

We loved the innovation and imagination in these pieces, as well as the breadth of materials used!

Child's jumper by Natasha:

The perfect jumper for enjoying a booster-juice as big as your own torso on a hot summer day! We loved the usability of this submission and of course, the adorable model didn't hurt either!

Binky blankies and geocaches by Jody:

     

We loved the practical nature of these submissions, and the way that both are excellent scrap-crafts!

Thanks again to all our wonderful entrants for sharing with us!

-Sarah (Volunteer)