Universal Upcycling

Upcycling not only saves millions of pieces of waste from going to landfills each year, but it also decreases the amount of new products being created. This leads to less greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. With the benefit of helping the earth, comes the personal advantage. People can express themselves while knowing that they are helping the environment. Upcycling is fairly new, and can provide great decoration without the cost of normal house decor in stores. Knowing that you took something old and created a new and beautiful piece of work out of it has a huge amount of satisfaction. If more people begin to upcycle, the earth can be saved, they will save money, and they can have fun while doing all of that!  - Shruti Citati ons:  "The Positive Impacts of Upcycling."  Pachamama Alliance . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017. "How Upcycling Can Increase Your Content Marketing ROI."  SEO Blog | CognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Str...

Henna (Mehendi)         Henna is a plant from which people use the powder to create temporary designs on the body. My family has a tradition of putting henna on our hands for special holidays. This weekend some of my friends and I had a henna party, where each of us put henna on each other's hands. Henna starts out in a powder (which you can turn in to paste), but my family buys the cones that have the paste beforehand. When the henna is not fully dry (kind of moist), we soak a paper towel in lemon juice and sugar and dab it on to the henna. This prevents cracks in the henna and makes a darker stain on your skin. Keep the henna on for as long as possible. When you are ready to remove the henna, scrape it off with some Vaseline or oil to protect and improve the color of the henna. If you avoid water, the stain will usually last longer, but obviously this isn't possible when you wash your hands or take a shower. Henna usually is darker during the summer because it ...

My desk was so messy today! After picking up all of the papers and assignments, I found a huge amount of pencils and pens on my desk. I had no place to put, so I made a simple pencil holder. It took me five minutes to make, but it still looks great! Materials:  - A box - decorations (I used tape) - pebbles 1. Clean out your box. Mine had a bunch of random puzzle pieces in it from 5 years ago. :P 2. Just design the box!! I had some pretty tape, so I just wrapped it around the box.  3. Fill the 1/3 of the box up with pebbles so it doesn't tip over. Place your pens in the holder, and voila!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!! - Shruti 

This week I made a delicious mug cake! It took less than 10 minutes, and I didn't have to go buy any of the supplies. I found this recipe on  this  website. Materials: -  6 tbsp of all purpose flour. - 4 tbsp of cocoa - 4 tbsp of powdered sugar - 1/2 tsp of baking powder - a pinch of salt - 5 tbsp of oil - 6 tbsp of milk - 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract - 1 tbsp of almonds (or walnuts, peanuts, etc.) - some pieces of chocolate (I used 4 hershey's kisses) - ice cream or whipped cream (optional) 1.  Pour the all purpose flour in a separate bowl. 2. Pour in the coca. 3. Pour in the powdered sugar. 4. Pour in the baking powder. 5. Add a pinch of salt. (to add flavor) 6. Mix well. 7. Add oil. 8. Add milk. 9. Add the vanilla extract. 10. Mix well. 11. Pour the batter into the mug. 12.  Add the nuts to the batter. 13. Add the chocolate. (After trying it I found that it is better to have me...

Using a toilet paper roll, I created a simple yet cute phone stand and speaker. You can find all of the materials at home and the project does not take too long. Materials: - toilet paper roll - x-acto knife -  decorative tape - 4 tacks 1. Draw a line with two split ends on the toilet paper roll 2. Cut along the line. 3. Cover the toilet paper roll with decorative tape and fold in the slit. 4. Put the tacks on the bottom of the toilet paper roll. 5. Voila! You are done!!! - Shruti Link: http://hative.com/diy-iphone-speakers/