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Re-Creative: 50 Projects for Turning Found Items Into Contemporary Design

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A self-confessed scrounger explains how to transform a wide variety of discarded and castoff items and materials into unique and stylish items for the home, with fifty creative projects, all rated by skill level and completion time, including innovative clocks, end tables, frames, and more. 40,000 first printing.

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2006

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44 people want to read

About the author

Steve Dodds

6 books

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5 stars
12 (21%)
4 stars
19 (33%)
3 stars
17 (29%)
2 stars
7 (12%)
1 star
2 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Profile Image for Amanda .
321 reviews56 followers
October 25, 2024
More tools than I have or know how to use. More than a "how-to-do", this is a "how-to-change" type of book.
Profile Image for Cookav.
43 reviews
September 1, 2015
Re-creative shows how dejected everyday objects can receive a new life through re-creation. There are lots of clever ideas, like turning old candy wrappers into a bowl, changing old records into a hanging wall organizer, and making flower vases from large cardboard tubes.

I think that all of the projects in this book are extremely innovative. Also, the projects are variable depending on what you have on hand. Each of the projects has a diagram that shows how much time the project takes and how much handyman skill you need to have to complete it. Some of the instructions seemed a little vague to me, but helpful diagrams and pictures showed where to put things and where to glue them in.
Profile Image for Ava C.
39 reviews1 follower
May 27, 2016
Re-creative shows how dejected everyday objects can receive a new life through re-creation. There are lots of clever ideas, like turning old candy wrappers into a bowl, changing old records into a hanging wall organizer, and making flower vases from large cardboard tubes.

I think that all of the projects in this book are extremely innovative. Also, the projects are variable depending on what you have on hand. Each of the projects has a diagram that shows how much time the project takes and how much handyman skill you need to have to complete it. Some of the instructions seemed a little vague to me, but helpful diagrams and pictures showed where to put things and where to glue them in.
Profile Image for Rachel.
2,839 reviews63 followers
September 25, 2012
I like the idea of using found items to make new things, so this book seemed like a perfect instruction to get started on that. I was disappointed by the lack of really cool projects and the fact that most of them you would need a professional for because I'm sure I couldn't do them on my own. I did like the ideas for the CPU computer cover case table, the Wine Crate Table, Stone Drawer Pulls, Electric Fan/Wok Lid Bowls, Tin Can Pen Rack, and the CD Case Photo Display. 3 stars.
Profile Image for Tamara.
1,459 reviews637 followers
March 2, 2008
Some cute ideas. A lot of the projects were less crafty and more construction-like in nature. (Drilling in cement blocks, etc.) Required a few too many tools that I do not own.

Plus, I'm getting a little snobby when it comes to "recycled" or "reused" crafts. When the end product has more new materials than old materials in it, can you really call it a "green" craft?

Profile Image for Kelley.
609 reviews15 followers
August 16, 2008
Excellennt projects - but I get more thrill out of reading about them than I do 'doing' these kinds of things. I DO like the front cover idea - making a clock out of an old tin and there were a few others I'll make copies of to stash away with the hopes of doing them someday.
Profile Image for Marian.
312 reviews10 followers
December 11, 2008
Just a few ideas in here of worth to me, but it was a library find and I hadn't purchased it so 3 stars
Profile Image for Kate.
650 reviews151 followers
March 27, 2009
I am completely inspired to turn my old 1962 vintage "12,000 Girl Scouts Sing!" album cover into a fabulous clock now! Soon it will hang, kitschly and proudly,on my wall!
Profile Image for Megan.
408 reviews5 followers
April 5, 2015
Not one project I would use in my home. But the concepts should be easily adapted.
296 reviews
March 6, 2017
bought it for $3 at Garden Ridge recently. Although I haven't yet made any of the projects inside, there are some really good ideas. I can't wait to get cracking!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews

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