Are you a tea-drinker like I am? Next time you finish off a mug, save that spent tea bag! Here are 15 fun ways to reuse tea bags instead of throwing them in the trash. Saving those tea bags for crafting might seem a little bit strange at first, but we grow, harvest, process, brew, and drink millions of tea leaves every year. That’s a lot of tea bags in our landfills....
A friend of mine in Hawaii sent me a photo of these DIY beer can “ornaments,” and they were too hilarious not to share with you guys! Obviously, these are meant to be a joke decoration, but there are lots of fun ornaments that you actually can make from empty soda cans! Metal recycling is pretty efficient as recycling goes, but reusing old cans instead of sending them to the landfill or recycle center is even better....
If you’re wanting to garden but are dealing with a small space or bad soil, check out these container garden ideas and tips to get you growing and keep those plants alive! I know Garden Week doesn’t start until Monday, but I wanted to get a jump on talking about gardening goodness! My husband and I have a few fun projects in the works for our own garden, so I’ve been on the lookout for garden inspiration!...
If you haven’t been feeding the birds all winter, this is a great time to start! And if you have been feeding them all winter, this is a great time to mix things up by adding some new homemade bird feeders to welcome the spring migrants. Wherever you are in the “We Love our Feathered Friends” game, there are homemade bird feeders on this list for you. Whether you make your bird feeder out of a water bottle (you can!...
But bird feeders are, of course, just as entertaining for us human cats as they are for the cat cats. And Spring is a terrific time to freshen up your stash of bird feeders by crafting a few more from eco-friendly materials. The birds love them, you love them, and the environment loves them! Here, then, are some of my favorite free tutorials for DIY bird feeders made from eco-friendly materials:...
Look no further than the recycling bin for your next Christmas craft project–you can make any of these 26 upcycled Christmas crafts from recycling, stash, scraps, and even trash! 1. 3D bookpage star. Here’s your new tree topper! 2. 12 Days of Christmas Advent calendar. Seriously, who has time for a 25-day Advent calendar!?! In this tute, Scott solves the problem, and he upcycles old containers to do it! 3....
1. Truffles Chocolate is a nearly universal crowd pleaser. This raw truffle recipe from Eat Drink Better is an extra special way to give someone chocolates this season. Try rolling them in different toppings and experimenting with flavors. 2. Magnets and Push Pins Give your co-workers something nice to spruce up their cubicle with. These marble magnets from Not Martha are a great way to do just that. You can easily personalize them by using images and colors that your recipient loves....
Did you enter the giveaway for your own set of Earth Paints for Children, an organic, eco–friendly, mineral-based painting kit from Earth Paint? If you did, then today may be your lucky day! Read on to see who our winner is. For our Earth Paints for Children giveaway, the lucky number is: which means that our lucky winner is: Congratulations, Elisabeth! Take lots of photos, and be sure to write back and tell me if your kiddos love their new paints as much as my kiddos did....
“So much stuff!” That’s what I kept saying last night as I began my dreaded Christmas cleanup. The only bright spot in the process was finding new materials for my craft stash. And I’m not talking about bows, wrap and cards. Those are no-brainers. So here are five Christmas leftovers that you can now use to craft your way through 2015. GIFT CARDS Once they’re tapped out, I use plastic gift cards as a mini palettes for paints....
We’ve already told you how you can donate hair and natural fibers to create oil booms, but as a crafter is there more you can do? Step in Craft Hope, a “love inspired project designed to share handmade crafts with those who need them.” Craft Hope has already stepped in and helped with donations to the earthquake recovery in Haiti, collected booties, hats, and baby blankets for the Miracle Foundation and beanbags to the Liberia Orphan Education Project....
Who taught you to sew? When I was in sixth grade, I took a mandatory sewing/cooking class- we learned how to make nachos and duffle bags…need I say more? Our teacher was the biggest nerd- it wasn’t a very serious class, but I took it pretty seriously. I remember everything so vividly- I bought all this white cotton fabric with little blue cows and red hearts printed all over it and a pin cushion that looked like a mouse, and for my final project I made a stuffed animal rabbit!...
The best part is that unlike actual medicine, which your kids will fight to avoid taking and which probably includes a bunch of stuff you don’t want them to have, kids LOVE baths, and they’re going to take them anyway, so you might as well just pop some of this good stuff in and let them feel the benefits of a detox bath. Beyond the Detox Bath: 7 More Herbal Recipes for Kids Detox baths aren’t the only place where you can gently sneak some of those healing herbs and oils into a kid’s system....
Give your kitchen a face lift with these diy kitchen ideas from reclaimed materials. Less money and less waste? Yes, please! My husband and I just finished a kitchen makeover, and dang, y’all. Redoing the kitchen is not cheap. I am still in sticker shock, but our kitchen is still in need of a few touches to finish it up. Since we splurged on a fancy recycled sink and countertops, I want to do the rest of our kitchen decor on the cheap....
Searching for last minute Easter crafts? Make these simple chalkboard place cards! With Easter just a few days away, I came up with a super easy craft that anyone can make: chalkboard place cards in the shape of an egg! They are the perfect way to add a little fun to your Easter table this year! Easter Crafts: Make Chalkboard Place Cards! What You Will Need: Recycled cardboard Scissors...
These sellers should serve as an inspiration to us all when it comes to packaging. One thing you will notice with all of these sellers is the ephemera is simple, but lovely. Your packaging does not have to be extravagant or expensive. Instead aim for simple and thoughtful as these sellers have.
Back? Ok, good. What is the one thing that they probably have in common? Does it say somewhere “use in well ventilated area” or some similar warning? Well, that warning often accompanies many of the glue and adhesive products found on the shelf at the crafting supply store and in crafters’ homes. That warning is there because of the chemicals used in the adhesives. Chemicals that, if inhaled in concentrated amounts, can be bad for you, hence the “well ventilated” part....
Organic Cotton Voile – This is the lightest weight of the three, perfect for clothing or any project where you want things to move a bit. If you used a stabilizer, you could still use the sateen in heavier duty projects like pillows and other housewares. Organic Cotton Sateen – Sort of a medium-light weight, the sateen is very versatile. It might be a bit light for something that’s going to get a lot of heavy wear, but if you used stabilizer, you could even use it for the body of a purse or a pillow....
2 Kinds of Recycled Felt It’s easy as pie to make your own recycled wool felt. All you need is a wool sweater, a washing machine, and possibly your dryer. If you’re not into tracking down and felting your own wool sweaters, you can find felted wool sellers on Etsy, like The Do Dad Chick. Kunin makes crafting felt from recycled plastic soda bottles. Every pound of Eco-fi felt we use translates to 10 plastic bottles diverted from the landfills and instead turned into something cute and new....
Mod Green Pod creates 100% cotton organic fabrics for home decorating. The fabrics are silk-screened by hand with water-based non-toxic inks and finished without nasty chemicals. And did I mention they’re gorgeous? If you’ve seen the cover of this month’s Domino, of course, you already know that, because the cute fabric on the sofa is their Atticus print in green. Their designs are drawn from nature, but they’re very sophisticated....
Earth Safe Finishes claims this is an eco-friendly, water based, no VOC, no BPA, no heavy metals, two part epoxy/resin. I haven’t tried it yet but I think I’d like to. Earth Safe Finishes say it is waterproof, flexible but strong, crack resistant and heat resistant up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. It can be used as an adhesive, a topcoat, a sealer, or a moulding medium. It easily cleans up with soap and water and you can sand it and paint it....
