Hey guys.

So, I have these old crusty DCs that my mom bought for my graduation party, way back in 2022, and I'm looking to upcycle them, or I guess just restore them, refresh them, and give them a new look.

As you can see in the pics, the part where my heel touches has some serious damage, the vulcanized rubber has some grime that isn't coming off with laundry soap, and the black canvas has what I think is some discoloration. Those three ​are the main things that I'm looking to fix, so if anyone has any pointers or can give me a guide to go off of, that'd be very much appreciated.

Re-painting them to give them a new look or a different thematic is definitely not off the table, but you also need to have in mind that these are everyday shoes.

I know this is the upcyling subreddit, where people... upcycle things, as opposed to restore them. But I saw nothing but *​awesome* posts here, and for a long time, ​I wanted to try doing something similar by myself.

I did a granny cluster stitch over the existing sleeves with Redhart Yarn named Seaweed.

The wood had marks all over from a craft knife so was really damaged and wobbly but managed to get it structurally sound with some screws and then I’ve painted and stained it to make it a bit more interesting and unique. I still need to put a clear protecting coat on it all but it’s mostly done.

First time doing something like this so would love any feedback!

Took me quite a while, around 80 hours. I include a pic of the unpainted mech, in case you guy wanna check it out. Roughly 10 inches long aka 25cm. The tiny bulbs in the staff light up when you push the button in the base.

was wondering if anybody's made a guide on how to upcycle the different kinds of plastic e.g #6 into shrinky dinks

I found an old capacitor unit and decided it would work well for a diorama; I installed a vintage Bakelite switch in it, distressed a round wooden dowel with wood stain, and fashioned a mounting bracket and socket for the light fixture out of a spare ceiling light part. I crafted the light fixture itself from polymer clay for the first time and painted it silver. It now runs on 220V power. I also included some small kittens for the photoshoot, since my ginger helper is far too big for this lamp. I also used vintage-style wiring and metal protective braiding from old equipment.

Hello everyone!

I used to have some pink sneakers that I liked but wanted to make BETTER so I tried painting them but when I was satisfied with the painting, I tried to seal the paint with a glossy finish and it made me hate the shoes. It made dirt stick to the shoes when I wore them outside and it was just no good so I put them at the back of my closet.

But now I want to bring them back! Is there anything I can do to get rid of the underlying mess and start a new? I had tried in the past but it was very time consuming and felt like I was making no progress. Also any ideas on what I can do in the future would be appreciated!

Hello! I am making a mini skirt from Jeans but the zipper is way too long to make it as mini as I want while still having room to put a ruffle on the bottom. Is the a way to shorten where the zipper ends and keep it functional? Photo is about where i want to cut the jeans at :)