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Indie crafters have become notable participants in the history of making things, but have a unique opportunity to pioneer social change as well. Since the Industrial Revolution, consumers have been diverted by the science of sales, and derive pleasure largely through conspicuous consumption. I feel that we modern makers seek to lift them out of the doldrums through individual acts of creativity. Yet, as materialism tips nature’s balance, our noble pursuit of culture questions its own validity....

I am betting those art and craft supplies were not very safe. I am trying to keep items like those out of my little artists’ hands. Thankfully there are places like Stubby Pencil Studio that offer safe arts and crafts supplies for kids…and their young at heart parents. I’ve already borrowed my daughter’s pencils and markers to sketch in my notepad. This wonderful quote appears on Stubby Pencil Studio’s website: “Offering families eco-friendly art supplies that are healthy for children and the environment, like crayons made from soy – not petroleum; sketchbooks and journals made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper – not virgin trees; and pencils made from sustainably harvested wood and recycled newspapers – not dying forests....

Money on the ground will go a long way towards keeping a girl in Pakistan, Nigeria, Jordan, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and other places out of the workforce or out of a child marriage so that she can complete her education. Some organizations, such as the Malala Fund or the Conscious Connections Foundation, work directly towards this, while other charities, such as Days for Girls, spend that money to provide girls with the essential supplies that they need to be able to attend school....

Tired of wasting paper and plastic? Check out these easy sewing projects to help you replace disposables in your life with reusable alternatives! Of course as an ethical crafter you want to choose eco-friendly materials, but another side of green crafting is using your skills to replace disposable materials with reusable ones. With some beginner sewing skills, you can create reusable versions of all kind of paper and plastic products in your life....

Crafting doesn’t only have to involve Mod Podge or a sewing machine, and upcycling is more than just playing with toilet paper tubes and bottle caps. For those crafty types like me who are as happy with a soldering iron as a hot glue gun, check out this awesome upcycled flashlight made from a Tic Tacs box. The tute includes a list of the electronics supplies that you’ll need to buy or scavenge from other old tech, and a circuit diagram so that you know exactly what’s supposed to go where....

Below are some easy DIY tips to make your own homemade spa products such as refreshing sea salt scrubs, rose and cucumber facials, white and green tea spritzers and more. All of these ingredients are best organic and very easy to find. Sea salt scrubs: mixing invigorating essential oils with mineral rich sea salts is the best way to feel an inner and outer glow while cleansing. Sea salt easily eliminates tired skin and instead reveal a healthy new salt scrubbed body....

Looking for some tooth fairy ideas? Turn your Halloween candy wrappers into this cute, upcycled Tooth Fairy Tin. The grocery aisles are yet again lined with Halloween candy! And chances are, you’ve already thrown a bag or two into your shopping cart. So, have you cracked them open yet? If you have, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Let’s be real, the candy you buy for trick-or-treaters will likely be purchased a few days before All Hallows’Eve....

Supplies: Set of canisters or jars (stainless steel, glass, ceramic, etc.) 13 x 17 inch linen swatch from Cicada Studio Step By Step: Enjoy!

Get ready, Y’all, because upcycled art journals are my. New. THING! I’m in the process of prepping an upcycled art journal to use while Out and About, so you know I went into serious research mode and researched, like, every possible way to upcycle yourself an art journal. I threw out the ideas that don’t look like they’ll actually work, and the ideas that don’t actually use upcycled materials, and the ideas that just seemed, you know… bad, and so what I’m sharing with you now are the golden ideas that I was left with....

Got a stash of wine corks in a kitchen drawer? Whether you’ve got a few corks or a huge bag of them, we’ve got wine cork projects for everyone. Red, white, rosé. No matter what sort of wine you like to drink tossing those corks in the trash feels wrong somehow, doesn’t it? Wine corks are sturdy, and they have an elegance that begs to be conserved. Try some of the wine cork projects below to bust your stash of corks!...

No trumpets or bugles, just a lonely blogger trying to give her readers more earth friendly yarn options. This recycled cotton is made from t-shirt clippings and sorted by like color. It is then blended with acrylic and “other fiber,” so the actual amount of recycled content is just shy of 75%. Lion Brand offers this yarn in seven colors in fun heathers and tweeds. My favorites are Marine and Seagrass....

And so the Green Line was born. The yarn, offered in a DK and Worsted wieght, is spun from 100% organic merino wool and was hand-painted with all natural dyes. The wool is raised and certified as organic on a ranch in Argentina. Then is taken to an organically certified (IMO certification) mill in Europe for combing and carding. Then it goes on to the spinning mill where it’s conventionally processed....

Well Tahki Jeans yarn has got you covered. This tape yarn is made from 100% organic cotton and colored with low-impact dyes that are environmentally-friendly. Available is Denim, Smoke, Slate and even Kaki. Slate might be the perfect color to get your acid wash fix. So go ahead give it a whirl. Re-live the days of mall bangs and neon. Or you could try something a bit more conventional.

Fortunately, I don’t have to ruin all my pretty paper and force my recipients to coo over some kind of messily-glued monstrosity, not when there are so many ways to handmake greeting cards using my favorite craft that I’m actually really good at: sewing! Check out my list, below, of my favorite tutorials for hand-making greeting cards. These will all work with store-bought card blanks, but for bonus points, you can even DIY the cards from heavyweight cardstock, Bristol board, or watercolor paper....

All recycled art seems funky, ingenious and fun. Until, that is, digging a bit deeper, we unearthed some pieces that are either in bad taste or just plain ugly. Or are they so hideous that they become cool again? You decide. Here’s our Top Ten. Number 10 Let’s start with the giant bottle sculptures made from recycled bottles. Surely a good idea but not too easy on the eyes. Seen at Evanston Art Center, Illinois....

Now that the presents are all open and the stockings are empty, are you staring at a heap of gift wrap and feeling a little guilty? Reuse all of that pretty paper with some wrapping paper crafts! I know. You did your best. You wrapped your gifts in reusable gift wrap, because you wanted a waste free holiday. Me too! But despite your best efforts, did you maybe get a bunch of gifts for you or for your kids that were wrapped in conventional paper?...

12 Ways to Display Vintage Photographs Simply frame them. Especially if they’re black and white, often vintage photographs look their best simply mounted with photo corners into a plain frame. Use archivally-safe materials, of course! 2. Put them in a shadow box. The benefit to this is that you can also display other little treasures and found objects. 3. Clip them to chicken wire. Tack the chicken wire to the back of a frame, mount the photos using photo corners to acid-free mat board, then clip the clothespins or photo clips to the mat board, not the photos....

Pegboard is even more versatile than you thought it was! Whether you’ve got a full panel or just a few scraps leftover from your latest project, check out these crafty things to do with pegboard: cookie cutter organization. I put this pegboard cookie cutter organizer over my kitchen cabinets, because why were all of those pretty cookie cutters just stuffed into a drawer?!? 2. cross stitch pegboard. Sure, you can organize some stuff on it, but its main purpose is going to be to show off the beautiful cross stitch that you did–right on the pegboard!...

You could spend a fortune on train toys and accessories for your kids, and they’re still not going to have every train toy and accessory that there is to have. For a kid who is obsessed with trains, this is very, very, very sad-making. Fortunately, a good DIY ethic can always save the day! Check out this AWESOME train tunnel/bridge combo from Pink Stripey Socks, made entirely from upcycled cardboard....

Why not create your own DIY wine storage according to your unique tastes and needs? With a little patience and a bit of pre-planning, you’ll be ready to craft the ultimate wine cabinet or rack. Read on to discover 25 captivating DIY wine storage ideas to show off your wine collection in style — without breaking the bank. Important Details to Consider When Building DIY Wine Storage Before you start constructing a chic piece worthy of your wine bottles, consider the following technical details....