We’re officially in the thick of summer, and that means cookouts and BBQs galore! Here are some crafty ideas to fancy up your next cookout and divert some trash from the bin all at the same time! Give your setup a little pizazz with a sweet bouquet displayed in a reused wine or beer bottle. (pictured above) Nothing dresses up the table at a summer cookout like a bright, cheery oilcloth on the table....
1. Skirt from a Pair of Pants Upcycle by Mandy Made Do you have an old pair of pants that you’re just not sure what to do with? Here’s an awesome project for you from Mandy Made! She gives detailed instructions on how to transform your old pair of pants into an adorable skirt! Check out her tutorial to see how she did it! Next» Upcycled Flower Carrier by EcoScrapbook [Photo via Mandy Made, used with permission]
Vintage flour sacks are still fairly easy to obtain and not too spendy, but nevertheless quite lovely, and they make excellent crafting supplies. But what, pray tell, does one DO with a vintage flour sack? Why, any of the following awesome projects! 1. apron. There isn’t a tute to accompany this beautiful flour sack apron, but you can use your favorite apron pattern, fussy cutting so that the graphic looks nice on the front....
Well, meet Ecological Arts who offers a small amount of handspun, organic and naturally dyed yarns. Not only are these yarns, handspun, organic and naturally dyed, the fibers are locally sourced as well as the plants used in the dyes. Their organic cotton yarn is from an heirloom variety cotton grown in the North Central Valley of California. Its color is naturally occurring and doesn’t require dying. Their wool yarns are organic and sourced from a local farm, found not 30 miles from Ecological Arts....
Corn, soy and bamboo are all very similar in texture and feel, being very smooth, silky and soft. The soy was totally easy to work with, in fact it was like a crochet dream come true – it never got caught on the hook like the funky acrylics do, it pulled through so easy my project went twice as fast, and the end product was soft and pretty. I didn’t get to try my banana fiber yarn yet, but the texture is really fascinating – it looks a little wild, frayed and fun…could possibly get caught on the hook?...
Some of you have your own father to celebrate this year for Father’s Day, and from where I’m sitting this morning, that seems like it must be pretty awesome for you. I have a dead-beat biological father, sure, but my Pappa, who raised me, died in December, and so far this upcoming holiday seems like one more thing that’s going to suck without him. See how I just brought the mood waaaaay on down there?...
Keep some plastic out of the landfill with these water bottle crafts! Of course the best way to reduce plastic pollution is to avoid single use plastic water bottles in the first place, but if you do find yourself with an empty bottle on your hands, using it in one of these water bottle crafts is the next best thing. Unfortunately, plastic water bottles are pretty ubiquitous, so if you want to find some to craft with, you don’t need to work hard....
1. Ornament Mobile I fell in love with Not Martha’s ornament tree mobile, but we didn’t really have a place to put something like that. Once the tree is packed away, though, I’m thinking about putting together something similar as a shiny touch to our New Year’s party! Rather than suspending the ornaments in a tree shape, I’m thinking about doing random-looking placements with some of the blue and white ornaments we have left from Christmas....
From all of us at Crafting a Green World to all of you around the real world, we wish you a very crafty Christmas and a Happy New Year! P.S. Because our SEO software won’t greenlight my post with just 36 words and a very sincere holiday greeting, wouldn’t you like to re-read C. Clement Moore’s much-beloved and never-copyrighted poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas”? Oh, you would? Well, here you go, Friends!...
Since I don’t work in an office, How to Fill an Office with Packing Peanuts seems out. Which is too bad because it looks like an awesome prank! The next best thing to do with them, if you don’t have an office to pull off the prank, is to use them for what they were made for in the first place – packing! Sentimental Holiday ornaments and decorations can be safe and snug for the next year when you reuse the peanuts as you put away these things....
As a crafter, no matter your craft, Artist Trading Cards are a fun, easy, and accessible way to translate your work into artwork. Here’s how to get started: Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are trading card sized artworks that are freely exchanged between other creators and collectors. There are only two rules for an ATC: The artwork MUST be official trading card size: 2.5″x3.5″. These are trading cards, just like baseball cards, and this is the rule....
Bell bottoms, of course! Bell bottoms are a simple DIY, when made from an existing pair of well-fitting pants and some scrap fabric. This project does require some careful measuring, a bit of geometry, and precise sewing. Fortunately, none of that is hard… just a little painstaking, perhaps. And you’ll be glad that you measured and sewed so carefully when you see how beautifully your bell bottoms turn out! This tutorial results in a pair of bell bottoms with a medium amount of flare....
Paper dolls have always been an exercise in upcycling and creative re-use. You think Ma Ingalls bought special fancy paper to make dolls for Laura and Mary? Or cut their paper dolls out of a Dover paper doll book? Hell, no she didn’t! Seriously, this is the same woman who had her kid carrying around a corn cob wrapped in a handkerchief as a doll. My kids are pretty gullible, but I don’t think even I could pull that one off....
Winter was extra rough on my feet this year for some reason. Usually, I am eager to ditch my boots in favor of summer sandals, but this year my feet were in bad shape. This super simple, 2-ingredient food scrub fixed me up in under a week. Here’s how to make it and how to make it work. 2-Ingredient Magical Foot Scrub Ingredients: 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup olive oil (or coconut oil) Directions:...
This week I worked on my fall mantle decor! I needed a fun, pop of color, so I created these bright recycled cardboard letters! What You Will Need: Recycled Cardboard. I used a cereal box. A pencil Scissors Spray paint. If you can, opt for low VOC spray paint! Scrap pieces of paper How To Do It: Use a text editor (like Microsoft Word) and decide what kind of font you want to use....
Next » Cereal Box Gift Box 1. Cereal Box Gift Box Designer Anna Rosenlund has shown us, on Eco-Artware, how to make a nice treat package from a cereal box. These are the perfect size for a few delicious nibbles. Next » Scrap Paper Origami Box 2. Scrap Paper Origami Box This video on Instructables shows us how to make a simple box from one sheet of paper. There is also this video on Video Jug that gives us a thorough step-by-step in creating a folded box with a lid....
Maybe this year you could consider a faux tree. No, I’m not talking about an artificial tree made from PVC and all kinds of nasty chemicals. I’m talking about a handmade tree made from scraps, upcycled materials and art supplies. Here are five more crafty alternatives to inspire your own Christmas creativity. 1. Soda Can Tree First we’ll start with the most extreme handmade Christmas tree I stumbled across: it is made from empty Mountain Dew cans!...
They’ve also got a selection of recycled glass necklaces. Check out this teal one made from a Bombay Sapphire bottle: Part of the challenge with this sort of glass work is finding bottles with screen printing that can stand up to the heat, especially when they’re flattening them for spoon rests and coasters. Not only do their products keep some waste out of the landfill, they’re gorgeous to boot! They find some interesting bottles to use....
The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists! If you want to have a totally handmade holiday, now is the time to get started. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be posting about recycled gifts and giftwrap you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale!...
Want an eco-friendly wedding with plenty of handmade components, but you don’t necessarily want it to look like it was cobbled together by a gang of amateur crafters? Rustic chic is the look that you’re looking for. A rustic chic wedding emphasizes vintage and natural materials, and a simplicity of construction that both makes the projects more do-able, and keeps them from looking overdone. With rustic chic’s additional emphasis on salvaged, one-of-a-kind components over mass-produced commodities, it’s also a look that works well with modest budgets....
