Recycled Lego Bracelet by Emiko Oye

Recycled Lego Bracelet by Emiko Oye

What a sweet little find! Artist Emiko Oye creates amazing necklaces (imagine something a queen would wear to her coronation) by recycling those ubiquitous plastic building blocks, legos. The photo at left is a much simpler version, available in her etsy shop, but I really enjoy the color combinations she comes up with and how she sneaks in translucent and architectural legos.

wooden building blocks

wooden building blocks

My kids have too many toys. I keep trying to purge the piles, thankfully we’re avid freecyclers so nothing really goes to waste. Now that the kids are getting bigger, I’m finding that I’m the one more attached to some of the things they’ve stopped playing with. I did put a small box of Wyatt’s beloved train tracks away, just in case I have grand babies someday, and I’ll save the rolly-poly chime ball (which was one of my favorite things as a child- the musical chimes have so much depth and beauty compared to sharp electronic noises) but the rest will have to go at some point.

I debated over saving the wood blocks- and then I realized that was kind of silly. Those I should still be able to find in 20+ years with little effort, why do I want to haul those around?! So while I was planning on giving those away, I realized they’d make really great somethings. I haven’t decided just yet what they’ll become- and well- there are alot of them, so they’ll probably end up becoming lots of things…

I love my little Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter. This little baby is amazing, I can create just about anything I want in Adobe Illustrator and it will cut it out! I currently use the built-in Robo Master program to cut .DXF files, but I have the instructions somewhere to cut directly from Illustrator, but I like some of the controls I get . I do need to order some new backer sheets though. (It comes with one, and had I been smarter, I wouldn’t have leaned my sweater-clad arm on the sticky surface…DOH!) Hoping to order one this week, and then start designing some new pieces. I’ll be offering my custom-designed cutter files in the shop for instant download as well!

Yuken Teruya "corner forest"

Yuken Teruya "corner forest"

I came across the work of Yuken Teruya, and I had to share- I thought these were absolutely beautiful. I really love the play between the negative branch, and the dimensional extended arm… wait till you see what he does with paper bags!

“Yuken Teruya manipulates everyday objects, transforming their meanings to reflect on contemporary society and culture. Cutting trees out of paper bags and cardboard toilet paper rolls, he creates meticulous and intricate art works, small and enchanting worlds, which relate to broader concerns.”

So much more here…