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You know coffee grounds are useful in the garden, but I bet you haven’t potted a plant in them! Save those coffee grounds to make a biodegradable plant pot. Over at Instructables there’s an awesome tutorial for turning used coffee grounds into a biodegradable plant pot. If you’ve ever had to dispose of a cracked terra cotta pot, you know that pots don’t last forever. When these biodegradable pots eventually crack you can just bury them in the garden or even toss them into your compost heap....

In part one of this mini-series on flower girl baskets, I’ll discuss the various basket containers you can repurpose to fit the style and feel of any wedding. If you are you planning an outdoor wedding, such as in a romantic garden or peaceful park, a transformed watering can is the perfect flower petal holder for your flower girl. All’s you need is an old watering can. The condition of your watering can will determine what needs to be done to it....

Welcome to the fifth Carnival of Green Crafts! Another carnival, another bunch of craft-a-licious green goodness. A bunch of, um, somewhat disturbing craftiness. Glue sniffing. Hitting things with sticks. Metal saws. What the heck are you people up to out there? Before we begin, a few administrative notes: The sixth Carnival will head to Canada on October 2nd to be hosted at Smidge! Send in your posts via the carnival submission form today!...

Homemade cleaning supplies are the best. There. I said it. They’re cheaper than store-bought. You can store them in reused containers to reduce waste. And you control the ingredients, so you can be sure you’re not “cleaning” your home with toxic chemicals. Before I began making my own cleaning supplies, I didn’t think that they could clean as well as nasty chemicals like those in bleach either. Acidic natural cleaners like vinegar are actually as effective as bleach at killing germs but without the super toxic chlorine....

One of the fun things about having older kids (at last count, mine are 10 and 11), is that they can really take charge of their own craft projects now. They can handle the materials carefully and with intention, and–for better or worse!–they have their own vision about the outcome. An upcycling book that the kids have been into lately is This Belongs to Me. (Full disclosure: I DID receive this for free from a publicist, but that was, like, over three years ago....

First, came the disappointing news from some of our former and potential sponsors that such contributions had been stricken from their budget. Then, I started hearing the various woes of crafters. They couldn’t afford to travel here due to gas prices. They had to go back to working “real” jobs full-time. Their small businesses were no longer financially sustainable. Disheartening as that is, a silver lining is unmistakable. I see a definite surge in resourcefulness....

Sort of. Although not really. The only thing recycled on a Crayola marker “made with recycled plastic” is that teeny, tiny plastic plug at the end of the marker. Big whoop, right? I mean, yay for recycling, of course, but that teeny, tiny plastic plug is the absolute smallest part of the Crayola marker, and yet the fact that it’s made with recycled plastic is what gets the entire box branded as “made with recycled plastic....

350.org is spreading the word far and wide about the importance of the number 350 and you can help! Together with Craftster, Etsy, Craft Magazine, Burda Style and Thrifty Fun — 350.org has launched the Creativity 350 partnership and contest to draw creative energy and attention to 350.org’s goal of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million to stave off dangerous climate change. The contest is in two parts; a 350-themed craft contest and a 350-themed T-shirt design contest....

Mason jars are one of my favorite supplies for DIY crafts. Here are 30 awesome ways you can upcycle them! From my recycling bin to thrift stores and garage sales, I always seem to have or find mason jars. Luckily for me, there are tons of projects that allow me to upcycle the jars into something incredible (and also justify hoarding them in my craft closet). Click through our list of 30 DIY projects that we love to see how many uses your upcycled jars have....

Whether it’s a few potted herbs on the patio or a whole back yard full of flowers and veggies, you can take your garden to the next level with some hand made garden art! So you’ve got your worm bin going, and your plants are planted. It’s time to add some crafty flair to your garden! Planting a garden is all well and good, but it would hardly feel like your own if you didn’t use your DIY skills to add a little bit of color and sparkle!...

The end of the school year is nigh, and that means it’s time to treat your favorite teachers to a little something special. These DIY teacher appreciation gift ideas are things that teachers actually want. Really. My mom has been teaching for more than 30 years, and I asked her. Apparently, what teachers love most are coffee, tea, flowers, and things related to those items. Glitter Mason Jars – I made these as a gift for my son’s very first preschool teacher and filled it with fresh flowers and herbs from our garden....

Hosting a big Thanksgiving dinner can be a little bit overwhelming, especially if it’s your first year doing it. Making decorations and a DIY Thanksgiving centerpiece might be the last things on your mind. But DIY Thanksgiving decorations are totally within reach, whether you want to go super simple or very elaborate. The list of centerpieces below includes lots of different styles and levels of complexity. Check them out, and see which ones work for your table!...

On Wednesday we shared a video tutorial on how to make your own fingerpaint, but let’s be honest here: you are busy. Sometimes, you just don’t want to do everything from scratch, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of! If making your own fingerpaint is not on your list of things to do, you can still use paints that are healthier for your child than most commercial fingerpaint. I did a little digging and found a few companies that make fingerpaints that are much healthier and more eco-friendly than the ones you’d normally find on store shelves....

I’m totally smitten with these gorgeous vintage kimono fabrics from Shibori! She stocks all sorts of weights, from delicate silk to cotton and wool. Owner Juliet and her husband Richard are ordained Zen Buddhist priests. She says she’s struck by, “the sense of history and culture when you handle Japanese kimono silk.” I have to say, I can totally see where she’s coming from. On top of being absolutely beautiful, the patterns on her kimono fabrics make you think of a different place and time....

Oliveira Textiles is a new kid on the block when it comes to organic fabrics. Their first fabrics, called the Ocean Collection, came out just last September. The Press section of their website shows that people are definitely noticing. Domino, At Home, Design New England, and Home and Garden magazines have already covered them. So have websites Design Sponge, Treehugger, decor8, ecofabulous, Salon, and more. So what’s all the fuss about?...

Lucky for me, vintage kimono fabric is available elsewhere without the bother of glass cases and security guards. I found out about online shop Ah! Kimono when I came across Maitreya’s cute flower pin on Craftlog. Ah! Kimono imports used and vintage kimono from Japan and resells the fabric. Owner Cheri Bridges describes the founding of Ah! Kimono as follows: Ah! Kimono offers five different fabric packs that include cuts of different sizes, from 4×6 inches to 14×28 inches....

Want to make something whimsical and imaginative? Want a miniature garden that’s as lovely as large one? Want to share your love of growing things with a kid? Fairy gardening is a great kid craft, but fairy gardens aren’t just for kids; they’re for anyone who has an imagination and a desire to grow something green. Using the books Fairy Gardening and Fairy Gardening 101 (both of which I received for free from the publisher), my kids and I created a couple of beautiful fairy gardens for their bedroom....

Searching for simple fall crafts to spruce up your decor? Revamp faux pumpkins with recycled paper! While thrifting, I came across several faux pumpkins– you know, the plastic kind that are kind of tacky? While faux pumpkins aren’t exactly eco-friendly, reusing is green! I bought the faux pumpkins with this book page pumpkin tutorial in mind. Here’s how you can take your faux pumpkins from drab to fab! What You Will Need: A faux pumpkin that needs revamping....

Have your tomato plants been producing like crazy? Are your cucumbers and green beans blowing up? If you’re producing more than you can eat, it’s a great time to preserve some of your summer bounty for winter! Here are some home canning tips, along with a great five-part series of videos on the topic! Canning Tips and Tricks While canning is not exactly rocket science, you do want to take precautions to keep things sterile and ensure that your food is safe....

Not sure what you want to be for Halloween yet? Or don’t have the time to whip up something new? Check out National Costume Swap Day! Green Halloween and Kiwi Magazine have teamed up to create National Costume Swap Day as a way to keep costumes out of landfills and put them in the hands of children and families looking for new to them costumes without spending a fortune. And by swapping just half of the costumes kids wear at Halloween in one year, over 6,250 tons of waste can be saved from landfills!...