Upcycling Recycled

I've finally figured out what was bothering me about the GreenCraft magazine I complained about in my previous post. It's not that bits and scraps and old used things can't be turned into lovely useful items--they can, the magazine is full of them and you have no doubt made a few yourself. The fact that my recycled trash still looks like trash makes me grumpy but doesn't make the concept any less valuable. What bugged me about the magazine was that the focus was on what to do with trash, rather than on how to make beautiful things.

I love to look at articles that show me how, if I need or want a beautiful bag, I can make one out of an old tablecloth. Etsy is awash with beautiful tablecloth tote bags. But an entire magazine telling me not to throw away my old tablecloths, plastic bags, measuring tapes, T-shirts and magazines because they can all be upcycled into other stuff just makes me feel guilty about my entire life.

Anyway, I feel better now because I gave the magazine to a woman waiting to board the subway from which I had just disembarked. Does getting two posts and a random act of kindness out of one magazine count as upcycling?

Speaking of random, here's a notice posted on the wall of a ladies' room in a bar in Amsterdam. Disturbing on several levels.