A minimalist white desk with a laptop displaying an image. Above are shelves with decorative boxes, books, and small vases, along with a framed print and a magazine page fastened using tesa tape. A black desk lamp is positioned on the desk.

Throwing Things out is no Solution

Technologies

For the past few years there’s been a sensible and sustainable trend that combats the growing mountains of trash by giving new shape to everyday objects.

The upcycling movement’s goal is to take materials and products that can no longer be used in their original form or are out of style, and transform them into functional, decorative, and above all unique objects. This lets us enrich our personal surroundings in a clever, individualized way and reduces our environmental impact.

Turn old into trendy

The transformation is really fun: With a small budget and often minimal effort, upcycling quickly leads to great results – powered by creativity and a little imagination. We provide you with ideas on how to create special pieces with a unique look, out of apparent waste. Let yourself be inspired by some of our favorite ideas.

A minimalist desk setup features a laptop, patterned boxes, and a lamp on a white surface. Books and decorative items are arranged neatly. The background is a white brick wall with posters and a small shelf displaying a vase and framed art, all perfectly held in place using tesa tape.

© tesa

Everything in its place

Upcycling with paper: A beautiful file looks great on your desk. Old magazine files get a new outfit in no time. With double-sided tesafilm®, it’s so easy that even the mini-sideboards get quick makeovers.

 

 

What we need:

Magazine files out of light wood, paper with black and white patterns, a ruler, pens, a cutter, small scissors and double-sided tesafilm®

This is how it’s done:
Close-up of a person using a ruler and utility knife to cut a sheet of white paper on a cutting mat. They are using tesa tape to hold the paper in place. The ruler is silver with measurement markings, and the persons fingernails are painted a light color.
01 – Measure the surface to be adhered and transfer it to the back of the paper. Cut the paper.

© tesa

A hand with white nail polish holds a piece of patterned white paper. Another hand uses scissors to cut out a circular shape from the paper, secured with tesa tape. A blue grid cutting mat is visible underneath.
02 – Lay the paper on the corresponding surface. Mark holes or patterns on the paper and cut them out using the small scissors.

© tesa

A person applies double-sided tesa tape onto a wooden box using a roll of tesa tape. The person’s hands are visible, and the box has a hole on top. The tesa tape appears translucent, and the persons nails are painted white.
03 – Now affix the surfaces on the edges and around the hole with double-sided tesafilm®.

© tesa

Close-up of hands applying a black and white diamond-patterned adhesive paper to a wooden birdhouse using tesa tape. The birdhouse has a circular opening in the center. The background features a blue grid pattern.
04 – Lay down the paper and press firmly.

© tesa

tesa trick: buy paper online

You can find a massive amount of black and white paper for self-printing at etsy.com. If that’s too complicated, you can also buy it at art supply stores.  Design paper is also available in blocks.

More than just appearance:

Upcycling with Glass Bottles: Sounds familiar? Vases and glassware that we never use sit at the back of shelves collecting dust. We can do something about that. There are hardly more unusual vases, and you can recreate them in no time. Behind the cardboard dummies are all kinds of glass containers for flowers.

A minimalist arrangement features white vases outlined with black, each holding white flowers and greenery. A framed text saying DO WHAT YOU FEEL LIKE is on a white brick wall. A bowl and pen are on a white surface nearby, secured neatly using tesa tape to maintain the sleek aesthetic of the space.

tesa SE

What we need:

White cardboard, vase patterns, a pencil, scissors, a wide black marker, various glassware, tesa® double-sided adhesive tape.

A crafting setup on a table includes a cutting mat with a sheet of white paper, paper vase cutouts, clear tesa tape, red scissors, a black pen, and a blue pencil. Three small glass vases are on the left side.

tesa SE

This is how it’s done:
Die Vasenvorlagen ausschneiden und mit Bleistift auf den Karton übertragen.
01 – Cut out the vase patterns and outline them with the pencil on the cardboard.

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Vasen ausschneiden.
02 – Cut out the vases.

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Konturen per schwarzem Filzstift mit etwas Abstand zur Kante nachzeichnen
03 – Outline the silhouettes with the black marker at a little distance from the edges.

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Ein Stück tesa® Doppelseitiges Klebeband abschneiden und auf die Vasen kleben. Schutzfolie abziehen.
04 – Cut a piece of tesa® double-sided adhesive tape and fix it to the vases. Pull off the protective film.

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Die Silhouetten unten mit dem Boden abschließend auf die Glasgefäße kleben.
05 – Affix the silhouettes at the bottom to the glassware.

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"To me, the idea of not carelessly discarding used objects but breathing new life into them through your own creativity is simply state-of-the-art."
Alexandra Beck-Berge

DIY Expert

Here you can download our templates as PDF files.