Crafting A Green World

Don’t you just love burlap? It’s eco-friendly, cheap (sometimes even free!), and gives any project a bit of Earthy, shabby chic appeal. There are lots of fun ways that you can incorporate burlap into your crafty endeavors! Here are some tips on finding burlap and a list of burlap craft projects to help kickstart your crafting. One note on sewing with burlap: this fabric tends to fray, so you want to make sure you have time to sew on the same day that you cut....

Now that Easter is over and your children have eaten all of the candy in sight, what do you do with all of those plastic Easter eggs? Of course, one option is to store them in a safe place until next year (that way you don’t have to continue to buy the eggs). If you want to get crafty, though, try out these awesome recycled Easter egg projects: 1. Plastic Easter Egg Tea Cups by Creativity in Progress I personally think this is the most creative idea I’ve seen in a long time– tea cups from plastic Easter eggs!...

Cork is harvested from the outer layer of bark of the Cork Oak tree found mostly in the Mediterranean. The bark is harvested every ten years, with each harvest producing a softer batch of cork. By keeping these trees in production, they provide homes to wildlife in about 1800 acres of cork forests and provides many jobs to the people of who harvest the cork by hand. Cork is also 100% recyclable!...

Want to create flowers that will never die? Create DIY crafts like this adorable paper flower! Paper flowers are the best! They don’t die like real flowers and they’re oh-so-cute! I recently found a paper flower at a thrift store that was made out of newspaper and felt. I was so impressed by it that I wanted to recreate it! Here’s how I made my own recycled paper flower! What You Will Need: Recycled paper....

Originally published on Feel Good Style. Want to impress your dinner guests with silverware holders? Create your own! The best part of all? There’s no sewing involved! What You Will Need: 1. Burlap or another eco-friendly fabric. I used the burlap I had left over from my eco-friendly acorn wreath. 2. Hot glue/hot glue gun 3. Scissors 4. Items to decorate your silverware holder– vintage buttons, a handmade paper flower, etc....

Luckily, you’ve got options! There are companies that print green business cards, and many of the bigger printing companies are now offering greener options. If you want to opt out of that whole system, you can also make your own business cards from reclaimed materials. Not sure where to start? Click here to check out our slide show of business card options that are perfect for your green crafty business!...

As a crafty business owner, business cards are a must! I am all about making your own business cards if you have the time, but let’s be honest: sometimes, you have to prioritize. When time doesn’t allow for making cards, the next best thing is finding business cards that are as eco-friendly as possible. There are quite a few green printers out there, and I’ve ordered cards from many of them....

Have you been wanting to ditch the toxic dryer sheets? My husband and I came up with a homemade dryer sheet replacement to keep us static-free without harsh chemicals! My husband Dave can’t stand even a little bit of static. Even in summer he is uncomfortable! We have been trying for years to stop using toxic dryer sheets for good, and we finally found something that works! We have tried all manner of store-bought dryer balls to no avail, but the homemade hearts pictured above are doing the trick!...

Both of my roommates play guitar, and they go through quite a lot of guitar picks. Instead of buying new picks all of the time, I decided to make them their own “custom” guitar picks using old credit cards! What You Will Need: Old credit cards or other plastic cards (insurance cards, membership cards, etc). Just remember to be careful with the personal information on your cards. Pen/marker Scissors...

You can also probably tell that I love making gifts for my nephews, and I’m working on a little care package for them, since we haven’t been able to visit in a while. They road trip pretty frequently, so I thought this tic tac toe game might help their momma keep the peace on long car rides. The cool thing about felt is that it sticks to itself. The bond isn’t strong like Velcro, but for something like this, it should do the trick....

I came across these adorable toilet paper roll bunnies on Pinterest and they inspired me to make an eco-friendly alternative to the average plastic Easter egg. Rather than putting your child’s Easter candy in a wasteful plastic egg, consider making a recycled Easter bunny candy holder instead! What You Will Need: A toilet paper roll Book pages or other recycled paper Tape Crayons and/or markers How To Do It: Tape the beginning of your book page to your toilet paper roll (just like I did with the Toilet Paper Roll Valentine)....

Halloween is this coming Wednesday, so if you’re going to get some last-minute Halloween festivities going, this weekend is the time to get crafty! Need a little last-minute Halloween crafty inspiration? Here are some DIY costume and decoration ideas, including lots of things that you can whip up in a flash! When time is running short, it’s tempting to hit the big box store for a costume and decorations, but that last-minute purchase has lasting effects on the planet....

There are plenty of luminary jar tutorials out there, but many of them use new materials rather than recycling what you already have on hand. You can make your own pumpkin luminary jars for Halloween using recycled jars and book pages! They are so simple, yet insanely adorable! What You Will Need: A recycled jar Book pages or other recycled paper Scissors Orange Crayon Black marker Glue or tape (you could even use eco-glue!...

Autumn recently posted The Eco-Crafters List of Demands, asking green crafters what they would like to see stocked in the craft store of their dreams. Katherine Cota of Spindle Bell had quite a few suggestions: Katherine also mentioned that she had stopped shopping at mainstream craft stores, but had concerns about the independent online retailers as well. How do you know their business practices are any better? I can definitely sympathize with Katherine....

Know a big group of kids in search of a big service project? Check out the plastic bottle greenhouse that kids in Scotland built out of approximately 1,500 2-liter bottles, and read their detailed pdf instructions for the project here. If you’d prefer to use 1.5-liter water bottles, however, instead use Ana White’s plastic bottle greenhouse plans (pictured above). Because you need SO MANY plastic bottles to construct this greenhouse, this project would make an excellent one for a school or club....

Sewing can be a great way to reduce your impact. You can make your own cloth napkins, cloth pads, or alter weirdo thrift store finds into cute wardrobe pieces. But sewing comes with its own waste, including those empty spools of thread. Luckily, you don’t have to toss those spools into the recycle bin. Try one of these cute ways to reuse spools of thread instead. DIY Picture Holder – A little washi tape and hot glue transform an old thread spool into a cute picture holder for your shelf....

If you’re sending a kid to school this year, you’re probably spending over $100 on school supplies for that kid. That doesn’t count clothes. Or electronics. Or PE uniforms. Or locker pretties. Or even a backpack and lunch bag. That $100 is JUST school supplies. And that number is from last year–the totals for this year haven’t even come out yet, but you can bet that school supplies are even more expensive this year....

My favorite thing about homemade recipes for fingerpainting, though, is how many of them there ARE! Want to fingerpaint in the bathtub? There’s a recipe for that! Want fingerpaint made just from stuff you find outside? There’s a recipe for that! Want fingerpaint that’s also edible? There are several recipes for that! So check out the following list of my favorite homemade recipes for fingerpainting. I guarantee that you’ll find some that are so fun, you’ll want to get YOUR hands dirty, too!...

Don’t toss that heart-shaped box that once held more chocolate than any one person needed to eat! Valentine candy boxes are typically trashed as soon as they’re empty, but you’ll never throw another one away again once you see all of the awesome new things that you can upcycle them into. Shamrock decoration. This is an especially apt way to upcycle your Valentine candy boxes, as it gets them used up just in time for the very next holiday!...

I always love getting cookies or homemade candy in a cute Christmas cookie tin! After all the goodies are gone, though, what should you do with the cookie tin? Save your cookie tins and give them a new purpose this season! Here are 5 awesome tutorials that will show you how to revamp your cookie tins: 1. Decorative Chalkboard Tin by Serenity Now This incredible tutorial by Serenity Now explains how to paint your old cookie tins with chalkboard paint and spray paint....