Like a lot of crafters, Brooke grew up in a handmade household. Her mom even ran a crafty business in the 80’s selling handmade “hair poofs.” Mom’s craftiness didn’t stop there! She also made a lot of Brooke’s clothes, including “this crazy pair of poofy overalls” out of old curtains. Now, Brooke makes clothes, accessories and housewares constructed out of repurposed materials, like vintage fabric and linens, for her own crafty business....
The gifts are all gifted, and maybe the ambitious among you have even recycled your Christmas tree already. Here’s your chance to show off all of your holiday hard work! We’d love to see your handmade gifts and decor. Feel free to share away in the comments! Pictured above are what several of my pals got this year: jars of curried lentil soup mix. Here’s how you make it: In a one pint mason jar, layer:...
Baker’s twine is all the rage, but conventional cotton leaves a lot to be desired, from an eco perspective. Hemp twine to the rescue! Oh, baker’s twine! You are so beautiful. Unfortunately, since baker’s twine is made from conventional cotton, that means it’s also most likely genetically modified and it’s definitely grown with a huge amount of toxic pesticides. Luckily, green crafters don’t have to forgo all of the bakers twin-y fun thanks to the power of hemp....
A great big thank you to everyone who entered our Hemptique giveaway last week! The giveaway is now closed, and we’ve chosen our winner. And the winner is…… Carrie who said: We will be emailing you to get your shipping information, so that Hemptique can send you your prize. Thank you all again, and a big thank you to Hemptique for supplying the prize pack! Did you miss out on this giveaway?...
Every time I order Chinese food, there’s always a small box of white rice tucked inside the delivery bag. I haven’t eaten white rice in about 20 years and throwing away good food makes me nuts – so I had to really think about this one. So one night as I was just about to give in and pitch that week-old container of rice – it hit me! I use dried rice for craft projects every once in a while, why not use my left over Chinese food for something creative?...
I love giving furniture multiple purposes while giving it a unique look. This week, I transformed a coffee table into a display for some of my souvenirs and memories from Thailand. Instead of tucking your memories into a scrapbook, turn your coffee table into a “scrapbook” that is viewed daily! What You Will Need: A coffee table with glass (if your coffee table doesn’t have have a piece of glass on top, you can get one cut to size at most hardware stores)....
Party decor can mean a lot of waste, but it doesn’t have to! Instead of heading to the party supply store for generic decorations, you can raid your recycle bin and upcycle yourself some pinwheel party decorations instead. My friend Kip turned 30 last week, so a big blow-out party was in order! Her party’s theme was a kid’s party with a grown-up twist, and we had tons of fun deciding on party games and decor to fit the theme (think: a kiddie pool instead of a beer cooler and curried PB&J finger sandwiches)....
The majority of my clothespins are pretty weathered from being used on my outdoor clothesline eight months of the year, but this project works best with the nice, new-looking ones, the ones that lived their former lives on the indoor laundry line, or the ones that I’ve picked up at garage sales. Clothespins are easy to paint with acrylic paints, but my preferred method, as it is for all the unfinished wood that I craft with, is to stain the clothespins using liquid watercolors....
Got some stash light-colored fabric? Got a bored kid? These bean bags don’t take much material, so any light-colored fabric from your scrap bin is great for this project. Your kiddos will have a fabulous time decorating them with fabric pens or fabric paints, and when they’re done, just a few straight seams and a handful of beans turns them into a super-fun soft toy. Kid-decorated bean bags make great gifts for children to help make for other children–perfect for all those summer birthday parties that you’re constantly shuttling them off to....
A message in a bottle makes a fun invitation for a pirate- or ocean-themed party. You can make this invitation almost entirely out of upcycled materials, and yes–you can mail it! There are several components to this project that make it special, so start working on it on a Saturday with plans to mail it on Monday. 1. Prepare the glass bottles. Any color glass bottle will work, but the labels and sticky glue must be removed....
Instead of tossing that old map that, make a paper garland to preserve your memories! Don’t you just love old maps? Whether they’re from a town where you used to live or a special road trip, maps remind us of where we’ve been. Next time you discover an old map, you can make a paper garland instead of tossing it in the recycle bin. What I love best about this project is that it’s super simple, and it’s scalable....
Don’t send your kid to school with a decorated paper bag on Valentine’s Day! Go the extra mile to make this quick, easy, and adorable realistic Valentine mailbox, and you’ll be the parent that everyone else is gossiping about for a while. If you want to put your kid’s Valentines in a paper bag, then that’s totally cool by me. I am all about the paper bag. However, if you want to bring it up a notch this Valentine’s Day, if you want to be known by all the other classroom parents as “THAT mom/dad,” if you want your kid to have not just any Valentine mailbox, but the best, most super-awesome Valentine mailbox, then have I got the project for you!...
Using silk ties that are destined for Good Will, a bit of scrap fabric, and boiling water, you can dye eggs. Yup, dye them with the ties! It is sort of like magic, or chemical reactions even. Take your silk ties and cut a swatch of the fabric, enough to cover your egg. Get out your scrap muslin or plain cotton and cut the same swatch of this fabric. Cover the egg with the silk fabric, then cover with the scrap muslin....
You can make this eco-friendly ghost instead of buying some cheap “Made in (insert country here)” plastic ghosts, shipped from thousands miles away, to adorn tabletops, stairs, or hallways. It’s made with everyday item you’d find in your kitchen and totally non-toxic. You can even hang them on your porch or out the window. These little guys are light and yet sturdy enough to stand on their own. Make one or a dozen....
Outgrown tights don’t have to be destined for the trash, especially not in the autumn, when there are chilly bare arms to cover! These comfortable arm warmers are easily made from an old pair of wool or heavy cotton tights. You don’t need any sewing skills to upcycle tights in this way, just a sharp pair of scissors. And if you have the tights in one hand and the scissors in the other, then you can probably be holding your new pair of arm warmers in approximately one minute....
I win at life. I love the Hamilton soundtrack. I belt it while wandering around the house. So the other day, as I was aimlessly tidying and singing–like a BOSS, I should add–“Rise up! When you’re living on your knees, you rise up! Tell your brother that he’s gotta rise up!”, I happened to look out my bedroom window, spotted my early spring garden, and thought to myself, “Oh, HELL yeah!...
If you’re a Bolivian kid with PDA (Persistent Ductus Arteriosus–a blood vessel that in the womb allowed blood flow to bypass your non-working lungs didn’t close at it should have when you were born, so your heart and your lungs have to work too hard now to keep you breathing), chances are that your heart defect will be treated with a Nit Occlud PDA-R. And chances are that Nit Occlud PDA-R will be knitted for you by a Bolivian woman....
Looking for a little more love in your life? Then check out this love-themed artist trading card swap, run by Mark Montano of Big-Ass Craft Book fame (although I recognize him more from Make Your Mark on PBS, because I’m a nerd). The ATC swap is sponsored by Deco Art, so you’re encouraged to use a Deco Art product on your artist trading card, but the rest is up to you, and my absolute favorite thing about artist trading cards is how accessible they are to upcycling....
I talked on Wednesday about more of the trouble with conventional cotton, but don’t fret, my fellow seamsters! There are plenty of organic cotton resources out there to help you sew cute without any green guilt. There are all kinds of companies – big and small – that are printing gorgeous designs on organic cotton and hemp/organic cotton blends. There are not only a range of company sizes here but prices as well....
What You Will Need: An old shutter. I found mine at a garage sale for a few dollars! You should be able to find one at thrift stores or antique stores as well. Eco-friendly paint. You will want to use several different colors — we used black, blue, pink, red, yellow, and white. Several sizes of small paint brushes How To Do It: This is the step where I admit that my talented Mom did most of the work because she is artistically inclined....
