Sentence:  As I child I made thins from "nothing." If I didn't have any store-bought materials, I would go to my closet and cut up my least favorite article of clothing and make something new with it. It just made sense to use, reuse, <WSD>upcycle</WSD> and make things from scratch. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To convert (waste materials, etc.) into new materials or products of higher quality and greater functionality. (from 1990s)