Use our free printable template to make your own recipe cards from brown paper shopping bags! These easy and quick brown paper bag recipe cards were inspired by the Brown Paper Seed Packet Business Cards. I loved the idea of repurposing brown paper bags, but didn’t really need business cards. What I needed was recipe cards to fit in a new recipe box I got as a gift. I created a recipe card design and printed it onto pieces of brown paper bag....
I love seeing the submissions as they come in, especially when one post introduces me to a whole new blog I’ve never read before. If you haven’t yet submitted something to the carnival, please do! Even if you don’t have a full-fledged article or tutorial to share, or if all of your projects right now are UFOs (unfinished objects), we’d still love to get your “take” on this whole green crafting thing....
As you could tell from the DIY mini Christmas tree that I made, I love making little Christmas trees to decorate around the house. The bad thing about many DIY mini Christmas tree projects is that they aren’t necessarily eco-friendly! However, I found five incredible eco-friendly projects that would be perfect around the house, on the Christmas dinner table, or even to give as a gift at a holiday party!...
Turn an ugly table into a statement piece with a little paper and Mod Podge. How cute is this decoupage table makeover from Fynes Designs? Virginia at Fynes Designs used kraft and tissue paper to make over her table, but the beauty of this project is that you can use any paper that you want! Vintage wallpaper or vintage wrapping paper would both look lovely, or you could do a version of this with paper scraps for a different sort of look....
Skip the impact of buying new– create your own DIY fashion like this stylish belt bracelet! Do you have a belt that doesn’t fit anymore? Perhaps it fits, but it’s just not used as often as you’d like. Either way, you can turn it into an awesome belt bracelet that is super cute! I saw this DIY belt bracelet tutorial from Henry Happened and fell in love. I remembered my multi-colored belt that was hiding in the back of my closet (am I the only one who never wears belts?...
Old potato sacks or coffee sacks make lovely, simple, DIY wall art! Here’s how I transformed some salvaged burlap sacks into display-worthy pieces. We had a large blank wall behind our living room sofa. For years, we struggled to decide what to do with it. Buying a painting or mirror that large was out of our budget, so we tried a collage of smaller pieces, but they looked too messy for such a focal point in our main living area....
Let’s find out what you can do when you burnout from green crafting or when you hit a dry spell. Crafting a Green World– Browse our ultimate website for green crafting and find a plethora of ideas on what you can do to use up that fabric stash, repurpose t-shirts or denim pants. Whatever you want to do with the leftover resources you have, chances are we’ll have tips on how to reuse them....
Scissors or paper punches going dull? Sizzix not cutting the way it should? Sewing machine acting wonky? Don’t get mad. Fix it! The list below has tips for how to mend and maintain the crafty tools that you rely on to do what you do. As a fellow green crafter, I know that you love a good mending tutorial, right? We certainly love to fix things. But what about our crafty tools?...
On top of diverting plastic from the waste stream, the Brooklyn, NY artist aims to raise awareness about plastic’s effect on our water supply through her designs. Stephanie says she finds inspiration in fiber arts, textile design, and weaving. She’s a big fan of artists like design innovator Buckminster Fuller and textile designer Lena Corwin. She is drawn to recycled materials because: Stephanie’s commitment to activism and to her community comes through in her business practices beyond the materials she uses in her work....
Clear glass Christmas ornaments are really popular, and part of that is because they’re so easy to fill with your own creative embellishments. Add sand, or glitter, or trinkets, and instantly you have your very own, personalized, custom-designed Christmas ornament. You don’t have to buy those clear glass ornaments new from the store, however; an incandescent light bulb is a perfect substitute. It’s just as beautiful, it works just as well as the store-bought clear ornaments, and it costs absolutely nothing to obtain....
I love the new smash books from K and Company. They are such fun to work with. The different themes and papers are gorgeous, and I love that each page is a surprise. I got one of these books to document my journey in 2011 and have been hard at work filling that journal up. This year I wanted to make an upcycled smash book, rather than buy one that uses all new materials....
The kid ripped a hole in her jersey knit dress. Right at the booty, that hole was. Now, I am the world’s greatest fan and practitioner of patching clothes, but even I know that you can’t put a patch right over your booty. It’s tacky. Also, it makes people look straight at your booty. Draws the eye, you know? Fortunately, I know a great method to repair a knit dress that doesn’t require a patch....
This origami box tutorial requires no glue and no tape. All that you need is a calendar, a ruler, and a pair of scissors! To start, cut out two pages from your calendar. Then, you’ll need to trim one page so that it’s 1/2″ narrower than the other. The narrower page is going to be the bottom of your box. Since calendar pages aren’t typically square, you’re going to need to make squares....
I had a free trial of CreativeBug recently, and I used it to follow this reversible sun hat tutorial. I am now obsessed with sun hats. Sun hats are one of those things that you can never find just as you want in stores, and even if you can find one that’s barely acceptable, it’s ridiculously expensive. And yet… sewing all those curves! Sewing all that interfacing! My curve sewing is not on point the way that it should be, and interfacing gets on my nerves....
I know, I know… who still has an old incandescent light bulb in their house? We do, sigh. Our new house came to us chock-full of incandescent light bulbs, and we decided to let them burn out on their own before replacing them with the LED lights that we prefer. Fortunately, this hasn’t been taking very long–I’d forgotten how quickly an incandescent bulb burns out! At least this new, limited supply of incandescent light bulbs has reminded me of how much I love to do projects with hollowed out light bulbs, and I’m happily at it again, this time teaching my kiddos, who one day will hardly remember what an incandescent bulb was like, how to craft with them, as well....
What I found was fun, innovative and all have a man vibe to them. I think they’d make great man-cave or workshop items. This great ottoman was created out of a washing machine drum. It’s a great example of upcycling. This tractor seat turned office or shop chair, is another great upcycling idea. How about a seat belt key holder? Designer Thabto has created a fun hook for your keys....
During WWI and again in WWII, women and families picked up knitting needles to help in the war effort. The American Red Cross organized many volunteer groups that knit various items for soldiers serving overseas. Socks, sweaters, helmet liners, scarfs, caps and blankets were just a few of the items that were knit up and shipped to those serving. During WWII, the knitting effort was further encouraged and women were told to “knit for defense” and “knit for victory....
Uh oh! Did you realize that there are some folks that slipped through the cracks on your Christmas list? Don’t despair! We’ve got some simple handmade last-minute gift ideas that you can whip up for anyone on your list. When time’s running short, it can be tempting to hit the big box store to fulfill those last-minute gift needs, but you don’t have to give up your ethical crafty ideals in the name of the holidays!...
My next step in greening my family’s art supplies is stickers! I know that foam stickers are just terrible, but when they’re 65% off on the day after Thanksgiving and my little ones are looking at them with adoration in their eyes, sometimes I just can’t resist. Of course, even more conventional stickers aren’t great–you can’t recycle that waxed backing, and it’s just one more thing to buy. Fortunately, I think that we’ve finally broken the sticker lust in our family this year, simply because homemade stickers that work just as well (and often better!...
And yet, handmade quilts are artwork. They are beautiful. And they are now often hung in museums. Here’s an online tour of some of the nicest permanent collections: Museum of the American Quilter’s Society, Paducah, Kentucky: Includes some documents to download on caring for or appraising antique quilts; hosts quilting competitions; and displays images of some of its collection, including its miniature quilt collection. San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, California: Concentrates on the exhibition of art quilts and beautiful textiles, and hosts an extensive outreach program and hands-on classes for local schoolchildren....
