Turn an old chandelier into a modern light fixture. Here’s how to make a solar lantern out of a thrifted or found chandelier. When we moved into our 1960s-era home, it came with a lot of vintage light fixtures. Some had enough mid-century modern style to keep as they were. Others were just a little too dated for the look we wanted. One such fixture was an elegant brass chandelier....
Those Mason jar lid rings, also called screw bands, can be re-used (unlike the lid tops, which you aren’t supposed to re-use at all), but only until they start to rust or get bent or dinged, something that seems to happen with my rings, at least, after very few uses. Sigh. Fortunately, there are loads of ways to repurpose these rings so that you’re not just adding them to the waste stream....
This has been quite a winter. Storm after storm has plagued the Northeast for weeks. And now here in the D.C. area, where I live, we’re getting whopped with the white stuff after days of bitter cold temps. (I have to confess – I LOVE IT!) I’m very good to the birds who nest near my home all year long, but when the weather gets to be this cold and this snowy, I do worry....
We know that vegetables led me to bees, but the vegetables also got me to thinking about canning. Then the act of canning led me down the road of the cans themselves and particularly tin cans and then that naturally led me to tin can phones. Phew! The tin can is such a sturdy and mutli-purpose recyclable. I might be dating myself but, remember playing with a tin can phone?...
We do a lot of handmade gifts around here, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time brainstorming what kinds of things my little kids can actually make, and that someone else would actually want. We have, by now, a go-to list of good presents that my kiddos can make for their friends, and good presents that they can make for the beloved adults in their lives, too. But a baby?...
In their new book Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Enter if You Dare! they showcase some of the wild extremes people have used to create art out of trash. It’s extreme recycling with a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! twist. In addition to the normal Ripley’s fair the new book Enter If You Dare showcases men and women from around the world who are transforming ordinary, everyday trash into unbelievable and unique works of art....
Have you ever fallen into a crafty rut? Been stumped by something that you want to repurpose but just can’t sort out how? Searched for an eco-friendly version of a craft supply with no luck? Well, lovely readers, we want to help! You’ve probably seen a couple of our reader question posts recently. Julie came up with solutions for how to reuse a page-a-day calendar and Bonnie shared a great laundry cup project....
Because fresh air, friends, and greenness. Happy living things that ask for a reasonable amount of care (unlike my children, or the dog). I’ve got loads of these homemade hanging planters in my house, but the traditional macrame plant hanger had always been beyond me. Knots are confusing. Better just to use power tools. So this all-in-one craft kit that I received free to review had just one job to do: could Modern Macrame: 10 Simple Projects to Enhance Your Home teach me how to make a macrame plant hanger?...
Because you’ve got to give the kids something to do while you drink green beer, check out this super-cute toilet paper tube shamrock craft from Pretty Prudent. I like that it does double-duty–it’s an excellent kid craft, but it looks hella cool when an adult does it, too. It’s fun for everyone! Need a little more non-beer green for your St. Patrick’s Day celebration? Here are more eco-friendly shamrock crafts to keep you festive: 1....
Fellow Atlantans, are you ready? The Indie Craft Experience is this very weekend! This weekend marks the 14th Indie Craft Experience, and it’s going to be a doozy. Christy Petterson and Shannon Mulkey organize the twice-yearly Atlanta craft market featuring local and national vendors alike. They do an amazing job curating this show, and if you live anywhere near Atlanta, it’s definitely worth heading down to Ambient Plus Photo Studio this weekend to check it out....
While Earth Day may have been last week, there’s still a chance to get in a little bit of celebrating and enter the Earth Day Auction over at EcoEtsy. Team EcoEtsy is a group of sellers dedicated to running their shops as sustainably as possible. They work together to green their businesses and to coordinate projects like there Earth Day Auction. We love seeing crafters pulling together to make a difference, and that’s what this auction is all about!...
“I pledge to buy handmade this holiday season, and request that others do the same for me.” Dear Mom, I know that this is coming a little late for you, since you’re the kind of woman who starts asking everybody what they want for Christmas back in June, and wrapping presents in August and just sticking them under the side table because the tree won’t be up for another three months, but still, you should know: I took the handmade pledge, and I wish that you would, too....
I’m fondest of re-using my vintage papers to transform modern or trendy projects. I scrapbook with my vintage papers, and let my girls collage with them. I also use them in decorative elements around my home. This particular bunting made from vintage wallpaper samples (although any vintage paper will do) is an excellent way to add interest to a space, and the vintage beads that separate each banner encourage a detail-level examination of the work in its entirety....
There are lots of things that a quilter would absolutely adore! And even better, you get the assurance that your gift will be loved and appreciated, because people who love to make things for others also LOVE to receive gifts handmade especially for them. So check out this list of my favorite handmade gifts for quilters, below, and choose something that you think YOUR quilter would enjoy. Customize it with the fabrics and patterns that you think would appeal to them, add a fun graphic with a cute saying or an inside joke, and give it to them on the next holiday, knowing that you’re warming their heart as much as they warm yours whenever they make you something special, too....
Once you replace the well-worn pair of jeans, though, what’s next? Since I’m currently facing the demise of my favorite (and only) pair of jeans, I thought I would take a spin around the web and see what I could do with them. First up is this recycled blue jean organizer, perfect for craft supplies. Three pairs of jeans, plus a dowel, some cord, thread, and you’re good to go....
KusiKuy specializes in warm alpaca yarn from Bolivia. All of their yarns are hand spun and made from the fibers of the alpaca which remote, nomadic communities tend. Their company is culturally sensitive and respects the culture and ceremony of the animals that these communities keep. They sell a wide range of weights of the yarn, which is a strong, durable fiber, perfect for the Bolivian climate and indigenous to the area....
Most eco-friendly art materials are geared towards children but crafty artists can use them too or keep searching for the exact art supply created with an earth friendly formula. Here are 10 place where you can find eco-friendly art supplies: Where do you find your eco-friendly art and craft supplies?
These various types of mazes and labyrinths that I’ve included here are especially interesting to me because they have so many uses. You can use them as meditation tools, as fidgets or sensory toys, as logic puzzles, or just as decoration. Pop a finger maze fidget into a diaper bag for a kid to fiddle with on the go, or set a lovely clay finger labyrinth on the coffee table so guests have something to do with their hands....
Seriously, they have a LOT of rocks. Rocks are fascinating all on their own, and there’s for sure no rock shaming going on over in this house, now that the kids are home to a freshly-painted bedroom and a couple of five-gallon buckets of rocks sitting in it, but I will be spending the rest of the summer gently turning their attention to some of the fun things that you can do with rocks, other than hoard them....
I mean, who’s not into soft textures, right? But babies? Dude, babies are SUPER into soft textures! That’s basically why this particular yarn was invented. Bernat Baby Blanket yarn is super soft. The texture isn’t exactly like chenille, but it is exactly as soft as chenille is. Babies like soft stuff, so the manufacturers called the yarn “baby blanket” yarn so that everyone would know what it’s for. So yes, you can make tons of awesome baby blankets from this yarn....
