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Project Junktopia uses craftivism to shine a light on consumer waste, and it does it beautifully. Check out these videos! This first video is a time lapse of Junktopia’s creation: Creator Janet Schriever describes her craftivism project: The project reminds me a little bit of Asher Jay’s Garbagea. It uses consumer waste to tell the story of our throw-away society in a digestible way that still makes you think. Craftivism projects like these really blow my mind....

The other humans who live in my house are bottomless pits of hunger. Left to myself, I’d contentedly subsist on yogurt, granola, and smoothies, but these other humans continually insist on dinner–something different every day!–and breakfast, AND lunch, and in between those meals they inhale whatever else they can find. The DIY Pantry, by Kresha Faber, offers crafty options for feeding the hungry hordes. The book contains recipes for creating your own pantry staples, such as baking mixes, sauces, and spreads, but it also offers recipes that recreate, more healthfully, the kinds of yummy junk foods that my kids otherwise never get on MY watch–there’s a mock Cheez Its recipe here, and a version of those store-bought chewy “fruit” snacks that don’t contain any actual fruit (they do here!...

It was a match made in Heaven! An old towel with worn parts, bleach stains, or other flaws that take it out of service still has a lot of love, or rather fabric, to give. I cut up several old towels to piece together a cute applique mushroom, quilted it onto a couple other old towels, and now have a brand-new custom bath mat that the kids and I are delighted with....

The best way to apply your scrub is to gently massage it on with a damp washcloth, and make sure you rinse your face thoroughly when you’re done. Also, don’t miss the easy peasy toner recipe at the very bottom! A word of caution about these scrubs: you don’t want to exfoliate every day. Once or twice a week is just perfect for maintaining healthy, glowing skin! More than that can cause oiliness, dryness or breakouts as your skin compensates for the “lost” moisture....

Want to make a DIY version of those adorable little Hexbug Nano bots? Now you can! A Hexbug Nano is a collectible micro robot that uses vibration to “explore” its environment. It’s made from new plastic and a tiny motor, and you can make one yourself out of upcycled materials! Better yet: hand all these supplies over to your kiddo, because the DIY Hexbug Nano is a perfectly do-able kid build....

Could your school year benefit from some DIY organization? These hanging wall files keep things in order, and they’re cute! School has only just begun and our kitchen counters have transformed into command central for all things paperwork. There’re forms to list our contact information and others to describe my child’s strengths and weaknesses. We also have booklets, packets and so much more. The clutter of all of the papers can become a bit overwhelming; so, I took to the blogosphere for useful, inexpensive DIY organization solutions....

You know what we’re lacking, though, right? Our own projects! We are crafty people, and it’s about time that we ourselves make some sweet crafty love with our man of the day, President Obama. Sweet crafty love? Count me in! Here’s a breakdown of some craftiness you can get yourselves into: Make your own Obamicon. Paste Magazine has a cool little gadgety thing that will let you make your own version of that iconic Shepard Fairey poster of Obama....

Sometimes you just gotta get the four-legged friends into the craft-action! I think a one-of-a-kind, super-glam DIY pet tag is the perfect way to get your kitty or pooch into a DIY groove. DIY Pet Tag from an Old Bottlecap The tutorial below is for making a cute, graphic tag. You can also add your contact info to your DIY pet tag, if you like. Just write the info on your cut out circle with a fine tipped permanent marker instead of drawing a picture of your pet in step 3....

DIY Terrariums are such a fun, weather-independent way to bring a little green into even the smallest spaces. And I have been seeing some really cool ones lately! There’s something about fall that makes me crave green. Maybe there’s part of my brain that knows winter is coming, and it wants to hold on to greenery for a little bit longer? As the leaves change and the weather turns, I’ve got DIY terrariums on my mind....

Fall is officially here, guys– the crafty DIY decor and fall recipes say so! That means it’s time to bust out some fall decor. This easy recycled paper fall garland is a nice, relaxing project for the changing of the seasons. Easy Recycled Paper Fall Garland Materials recycled paper. I used book pages, but you could also use newspaper, magazines, junk mail envelopes, or sheet music. scissors twine. If you can, use hemp twine— it’s more eco-friendly!...

PET is also referred to as type 1 plastic. It’s the type used in water and sodapop bottles. So what do empty bottles have to do with fabric? Manufacturers are recycling these used bottles into polyesters fabric called rPET. That seems pretty fab, right? We keep plastic bottles out of the landfill, turning them into something useful and new. But here’s the thing about rPET: according to a recent post over at Envirosax, the supply chain for rPET is a little bit shady....

We’re on a funky fibers kick around here, it seems! From pineapple yarn to spider silk, we’ve been exploring some unusual natural fabric options. I sent my post about pineapple fabric to a friend a couple of weeks ago, and she pointed me to yet another interesting natural fabric: banana fibers. Like Piña cloth, the traditional use for the banana fibers was to make jusi, a silk used in the Barong Tagalog....

OK, so you’re ready to stock up on some eco-friendly alternatives, but maybe you’re not sure where to start. Don’t fret! We’ve got you covered with five alternatives that you can feel good about buying. 1. Organic cotton If you absolutely want to keep crafting with cotton, there are lots of organic alternatives out there. By definition, organics can’t be genetically modified, and they must be grown in a way that’s not harmful to the planet....

When that happens, I tend not to just let our surplus apples hang around in the refrigerator getting mealy. After all, in a few weeks when we have a hankering for apples again, we will still have applesauce to eat, and dried apple slices, and apple butter, and frozen apple hand pies to heat up. Instead, our surplus apples get turned into that other hallmark of harvest-time: apple crafts! From clove apples to apple votive candles, there are some really cool things that you can do with your surplus apples, and the beauty of these projects is that when you tire of them, the apples that you used can generally go right into your compost....

1. Coffe Can Lamp This sparkling star coffee can lamp would make a delightful addition to a child’s room. Imagine all the pretty images it casts onto the walls. Find the complete tutorial at Instructables Next» Coffee Can Caddy 2. Coffee Can Caddy Here’s a fun craft caddy for you or the kids. Found on Family Fun, it uses six cans to hold crayons, pencils, paint brushes, or whatever little craft supplies you like to keep on hand....

From buntings to birthday candles, most party supplies are so easy to make that they practically make themselves, so that you can save up all your money for Brie and cake. And even if you have a ton of Brie and cake left over after your party…well, life has been hard, hasn’t it? One party supply that’s actually super-easy to make but has a big impact (ahem) is the piñata....

If you read my review of the Make Your Own Gummies kit from Glee Gum, then perhaps you thought it was something that you wanted to try out for yourself. If so, you’re in luck! Glee Gum is giving away one copy of their Make Your Own Gummies kit to one lucky reader. Read on to see how YOU can be that winner! Please note: The Make Your Own Gummies kit can only be shipped to a winner within the continental United States....

The Dirty Side of Cotton Dirty Cotton: Indian Farmers Devastated Craftivism: Talking Human Rights for Blog Action Day Organic Cotton & GOTS Organic cotton is a natural choice when you’re looking for an alternative to dirty conventional cotton. But it turns out that some organic cotton is better than others. That’s where GOTS certification comes in. GOTS stands for Global Organic Textile Standard, and it’s a third-party certification that can help consumers find truly sustainable organic cotton fabric....

Remember those Crafting a Green World forums we asked you guys about back in November? We didn’t forget! Our awesome developer has been working with us to find a solution, and we are getting close to launching them! If you read Crafting a Green World via email or rss, you may not have noticed that we have a new look going on that we rolled out a few weeks ago....

Kelly recently showed us some great examples of glass bottles turned useful again, and here is another project to add to the list. How to Make a Hummingbird Feeder You will need: a glass bottle with an opening that would fit a standard cork, heavy gauge wire and cutters, and a purchased stopper for a hummingbird feeder. You can find these on pottery supply sites such as Aftosa, and occasionally at specialty garden shops....