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One of the biggest challenges for many indie biz owners is that customers are not usually used to paying for products that have a living wage built into the price. It’s easy to charge $5 for a necklace when it was made in a sweatshop. For a handmade artisan trying to keep the lights on, though, that price point is not sustainable. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? People gravitate toward handmade because they want no-sweat, high quality, unique goods, but they don’t always put together that this means paying more for handmade products....

An engineer and a fabric designer have recently teamed up to create cotton fabric that comes in a can. Imperial College of London’s particle engineer Paul Luckham teamed up with fashion designer Manel Torres to launch Fabrican Ltd. to create a spray on fabric. The company is working on mass-producing this fabric in a can. Could this new fabric help the industry become closer to a zero waste fashion ideal, or do the product’s drawbacks outweigh the potential benefits?...

Betz White, author of Sewing Green, launched her premiere fabric line this summer: the Family Cottage collection! Betz spent a long time looking for a manufacturer to print on organics. When the search didn’t work out, she decided to produce her own fabric line. All of the designs are “professionally printed in the US on an organic cotton and hemp blend canvas.” She also uses water-based, non-toxic pigment dyes. Not only are the dyes themselves easy on the environment, but the dye process uses less water than conventional methods....

We’ve talked about banana cloth and spider silk, and this week we’ve got another unusual fabric for you: fiber grown from sugary green tea! Designer Suzanne Lee has come up with a way to grow her own fabric by feeding bacteria with a sugary green tea solution. The base sounds a lot like the tea you’d make to brew a batch of kombucha: sugar to feed the bacteria and caffeinated tea as a catalyst....

We talked not too long ago about the impact that conventional fabric dye has on the environment. Denim in particular stood out as a fabric responsible for quite a bit of pollution. So, what’s a green crafter to do? There are a couple of choices for eco-friendly denims. Organic Denim Organic denim is tricky to track down. Daisy Janie has a couple of organic denims in her shop, but they’re printed which might not work for all of your denimy projects....

I’m pretty much in love with these hand-printed fabrics from Canadian crafty duo Repeat! Roisin Fagan lives in London and her partner Arounna Khounnoraj is from Toronto. The pair met when they were neighbors at a craft show in Toronto almost three years ago, and they hit it off immediately. After running into each other at several other Toronto shows over the years, where folks kept asking them if they sold their fabrics, they decided to do just that and to do it together!...

Butterflies are beautiful, and their ephemerality is a reminder of the graces and the inevitabilities of the seasons. Because of their beauty, their symmetry, their simplicity – and because of what the often represent to us of beauty and simplicity and freedom – people have long created crafts that symbolize the butterfly. Some crafts are outstanding works of art, some are excellent activities to do with children, and some are of unmitigated practicality....

1. Dining Room or Office Chair These chairs are abundant at thrift stores, or maybe you have one laying around your house that you would like to update. Centsational Girl gives us a fantastic and detailed how-to on a complete chair makeover. Having a nice and cheery workspace keeps us motivated. Next » Coffee Table 2. Coffee Table Sew Many Ways gives us a great tutorial for using old book pages to create a unique coffee table....

Next » Skirt and Shrug Set

I’m completely in love with her dryer sachets. They’re made from recycled fabric and stuffed with lavender buds. Each one lasts through about 10 loads of laundry, but she encourages customers to “recharge the scent with a few drops of lavender essential oil.” What a perfect alternative to those icky, chemical-laden dryer sheets! Connie says she gets her inspiration from: It’s really hard to resist spoiling my kitties with a set of her Sally Cat’s favorite catnip mice!...

From your costume to treats to decorations, Halloween has a lot of stuff that goes with it. Some of that stuff is recyclable, and some isn’t. Knowing what’s what can be a little bit tricky. I dove into some of the stuff we collect around Halloween to see what we can and can’t recycle. It might feel early to talk about Halloween recycling tips, but this is actually the perfect time to start thinking about post-holiday waste....

Next » Denim Stocking 1. Denim Stocking Just Kat Stuff shows us how to make a stocking out of old jeans. Denim is sturdy and will last a long time. Plus, the top and lining have endless possibilities when it comes to patterns and colors. Next » Felted Sweater Stocking 2. Felted Sweater Stocking Our very own Julie Finn gives us a great tutorial on making a felted sweater stocking....

Want an eco-friendly Halloween? This is the place to be, and now is the time to start! Check out these green Halloween projects, all of which are made using recycled materials. Whether you’re looking for costumes or decorations, we’ve got you covered: DECORATIONS COSTUMES For even more eco-friendly Halloween crafts, check out our Green Fall and Halloween Ideas pinboard. Have a favorite Halloween project that’s made from recycled materials? Link to it in the comments!...

This week I was researching some ideas for a wedding shower that I’m hosting at the end of this month. The shower is for one of my friends that I’ve known since pre-school, so I really want it to be special (after all, I am the maid of honor). I came across this beautiful dessert table set up from Hostess With the Mostess and I thought, “I bet I could make that with recycled materials!...

What You Will Need: Toilet paper rolls. I probably used 1 and 1/2 rolls for this project, but it depends on how many “lights” you want to create. Twine. Like I’ve mentioned in previous posts, hemp twine is more eco-friendly! Paper. I used red, green, and brown scrap paper that I had left over from another project. Hot glue/Hot glue gun. Scissors. How To Do It: Cut your toilet paper rolls into 1/4 inch sections....

Do you remember my Upcycled Candle Holder into a Mini Easter Basket post? Well, I decided to give my candle holders another makeover so that I could use them daily, instead of once a year. Grab your candle holders, candle jars, or any small jar that you may have, and transform them into colorful organizers! What You Will Need: Candle holders, candle jars, or any small jar Magazine pages...

Start with an old tile. You might have some stash tiles leftover from a kitchen or bathroom remodel–ours are leftover from a craft project in which we painted white tiles with ceramics markers. If you don’t have any stash tiles of your own, Freecycle and the ReStore are both good bets for scoring someone else’s stash tiles. Wash the tile, then dry it well. Next »

Frosted glass is easy to DIY, and there are a ton of different methods to do it. The easiest method, and the one that I’m going to show you here, is as simple as adding a couple of coats of spray paint to a squeaky clean glass surface. Here are my two vintage Coca-Cola bottles before being frosted. One I’ve left clear, and the other I’ve already spray painted a color that turned out to be WAY brighter than I wanted....

Want to attract some birds to your backyard for summer birdwatching? See how to make a bird feeder using an old paint can. Sara at Mom Endeavors bought new empty paint cans to make her DIY bird feeders, but that doesn’t mean you have to buy new to do this craft. Next time you finish off a can of zero VOC paint, leave it out to dry completely, and you can reuse that empty can instead of buying new....

And bonus points for style, because broken Fiestaware is awesome for crafting! Of course, you can use all kinds of broken dishes for crafting, but I am particularly fond of this colorful and cute broken dish pendant that I recently made from my dearly departed yellow Fiestaware plate. It’s easier than you think to cut ceramics with a couple of standard tools, and there are loads of ways to finish off the pendant to your taste....