You don’t get to have filthy hands even while you’re camping, not unless you want to hike all day back to your car while suffering from the norovirus. Pro tip: you don’t want that. Instead, make this DIY handwashing station that is so easy to assemble, a child can–and did!–do it. If you’re not much of a camper, you can use this exact same handwashing station in the garden, or even by the back door, so that muddy hands NEVER make it into your house....
We looooooove chalkboard projects here at CAGW–turning something into a chalkboard is one of the quickest, easiest refurbs that exist, and the results are always fun and useful. But what about when you’ve got your new chalkboard piece in hand? How do you make sure that your chalk art is as cute as your finished chalkboard? Even if you don’t count yourself as an artist (although you totally are!), there are some easy ways to make your chalk art look creative and professional....
It seems strange to think that we could lose knowledge, especially in today’s world of information on demand, but if you think about it, certain skills and know how are hard to come by. At the end of 2008, over one half of the world’s population lived in urban areas. Urban lifestyles come with their own characteristics and culture and so do rural lifestyles. Urban populations don’t have ready access to many of the experiences as rural populations do....
Dan Phillips is a home builder in Texas and a great advocate for sustainable building. So what does home construction have to do with crafts? A lot, it turns out! His unconventional take on materials is an attitude that most of us green crafters share. The talk is informative, inspiring, and pretty hilarious. Check it: While some of the DIY ideas in this TED talk might be a little more construction-related than crafty, I found Dan Phillips’ discussion of the houses he’s built super inspiring!...
DIY coasters also make great gifts, and since they’re so small they’re not too much trouble to whip up as a housewarming gift or, my personal favorite, a gift for a young adult. Even thrifted, dumpster-dived, or IKEA furniture deserves to be kept nice! Below, check out my list of favorite DIY coasters that involve sewing. I think that you’re going to find YOUR newest favorite stitched coaster there, too!...
What You Will Need: A boring table that needs a makeover. This is what mine looked like before: Sandpaper Chalkboard paint Painter’s tape Chalk How To Do It: Sand the top of your table. If your table is in good condition, simply sand it lightly. If your table has nicks or scratches, I would recommend sanding them as best as you can. Remember, you will be writing on the top of the table with chalk, so you will want it to be as smooth as possible....
One of the things I feel guiltiest about, when it comes to my sewing, is all of those empty spools of thread. Vintage thread comes on those lovely, wooden spools, but modern thread usually comes on plastic. Every time I finish a spool of thread, I get a little bit bummed about tossing the plastic spool into the bin. Next time you have an empty spool, don’t get sad! Turn that old spool of thread into a picture holder!...
Sure, it’s easy to pick up a pot or two while you’re shopping for plants at the garden center, but those pots come with an environmental impact (not to mention a sometimes crazy price tag!). You don’t have to go that route, though! I bet there are some things around your house right now that would make perfectly functional and even cute DIY planters with just a little crafty love....
Yes, you can quilt free-hand, and many people happily do for a variety of wonderful effects, but for a very precise, very detail-oriented look, I really like to use a quilting stencil. I love using a quilting stencil to mark patterns that I’d never have dreamed of on my own, or, if I’m feeling very brave (or impatient), I like to quilt directly from the stencil and save myself the effort of marking out my pattern first....
My first piece of political craftiness will show your above-average grasp of U.S. politics (by knowing at least one of the candidates for president). You’ll certainly be fashionable if you sport these beautiful earrings blessed with the face of a possible U.S. president-to-be! John McCain never looked more glamorous. Or more environmentally friendly! Keep your shrink plastic from going into the ocean by rotoscoping his or anyone else’s face onto it, shrink it, then add whatever it is that’s lying around your house to help adorn it with makeshift charms and doodle-e-dads!...
A commenter on our 2009 Fab Fabrics Retrospective mentioned that she’d been seeing more and more crafts from repurposed vintage fabric, and we thought it would be fun to kick off Fab Fabrics for 2010 with just that! Emma Farrell and her mother, Sharon Mansfield, came home from a trip with a dream of opening a sewing store that was “that was different than your standard quilt shop.” Rather than the usual offerings, their Loomis, CA shop offer vintage patterns, scrap packs, and notions and vintage and organic fabrics....
Oasis Canvas comes in 21 bright colors. Each color bound to be perfect for any quilting or sewing work in progress. The jewel tones seem to really pop. Understanding that environmental stewardship is not only good for your craft projects, Marcus Fabrics is also turning their sites on they way they do business. All the bolts, which their fabric comes on, is made from 100% post consumer cardboard. The company that makes these bolts are also very environmentally minded, boasting their run as the first fully-recycled paper mill in North America, complete with a closed loop water system....
When I transitioned my girls to homeschooling, I looked into buying them the same moveable alphabet set that they had both loved so much in their Montessori classroom. I found a set online, made in China out of plastic, quite expensive, and ready to ship to me across the country. Yeah…no. If you’re not crafty you still have choices, of course you could price an even more expensive wooden alphabet and ask your local toy store to special-order it for you, or shop on etsy for a handmade version, still shipped cross-country but made in the U....
How long have you been green crafting? I’ve been crafting all of my life for different reasons. My mother was a big crafter and included us kids in her craft making. As a teacher, I crafted a lot for various lessons and student projects. I began my Etsy store in November of 2007. I wanted to create a way to give back to our local food bank after they helped a family member in his time of need....
We are ending our Green Crafts Showcase, and we will now be showing off our favorite green crafts – and craft supplies! – on our brand new Pinterest account! For over a year now, we’ve enjoyed seeing all of your beautiful green craft ideas through our Green Crafts Showcase. However, putting the showcase together each month is very labor-intensive, and we wanted to find a way to show off more of your amazing crafts....
How DO you engrave rocks? With a power tool, of course! To engrave rocks in this way, you’ll need access to a multi-purpose rotary tool (I own a Dremel), but after that, the process is surprisingly easy. It’s so easy that my kids can do it, and their stuff looks legitimately great. See that dragon up there on the left? Isn’t it freaking awesome? Yeah, my eleven-year-old daughter made that....
Beeswax is good for so much more than just candlemaking and nature crafts. In particular, beeswax is an ingredient that I find myself using often in my homemade natural cleaning supplies. From my antique library table to my unfinished wood kitchen countertops to my children’s many wooden toys (especially the hand-stained wooden toys), my homemade beeswax wood polish keeps them all in good condition, with all-natural ingredients and scented with essential oils....
We’ve shared an Altoids Tin Business Card Holder, which is great for taking your business cards on the go, but what about displaying your business cards on a desk or table? I was looking for a unique way to display my business cards at my craft booth and here’s what I came up with– upcycle a teacup into a chalkboard business card holder! What You Will Need: A teacup. I found mine at a thrift store....
Here, I’ll show you how I darned a pair of my eight-year-old wool hiking socks using embroidery floss and a blunt needle. Follow the same process with socks made from cotton or bamboo, although you’ll want to change the weight of your floss or thread to match the fabric. It’s especially fun to darn super thick and cozy socks, because you can usually use fluffy yarn! Materials socks to be darned....
1. How to Fix a Separating Zipper (Or: How to Fix a Zipper that Doesn’t Close) This is my most common zipper problem, for sure, and I bet I’m not alone. Here’s how to fix a stubborn zipper that refuses to stay closed: 2. How to Replace a Broken Zipper Slide If the whole slide mechanism is broken, you can replace it with a new one: 3. How to Get Your Zipper Back on Track If one side of your zipper has fallen off of the track, you can fix it with this video tutorial:...
