Colorful building blocks made out of ice are an inviting toy any time of year, but they take on added interest in the winter. Ice blocks are easy to make out of a variety of stash and upcycled containers, and everyone will enjoy using them to build outdoor structures that, if it’s below freezing outside, will actually stick around long enough to be played with over and over again. The ice blocks couldn’t be easier to make....
Handmade business cards stand out in a sea of cheap mass-printed Plain Jane cards. However, when you want to make a big impression, at a conference or with a potential agent or in a submission to a major periodical, you want even your handmade business card to stand out in a sea of other thoughtfully-produced cards. That’s why, even though it’s a little more work to create these particular business cards, made from colorful paper and stamped and embellished, they offer a lot more impact than your ordinary card....
And then I turned into a crafty lady, and I made our family a much larger set of much cuter rice pillows. Rice pillows are a mainstay in our family’s natural first aid kit. Microwaved for a minute, they turn into a heating pad perfect for anything from menstrual cramps to chilly footsies on a cold winter night. Frozen for an hour, they’re cold packs, great for everything from sore muscles to feverish foreheads....
Do you have art or craft supplies that you collect? I do! My favorites are my Prismacolor markers, felt, and quilting cotton prints in rainbow colors. If you’re out shopping the sales, however, it can be hard to remember if you have that exact color of something already, or if you should snap it up while it’s cheap. Especially for things like markers, paint, and fabrics, which come in more colors than it’s possible to own, these little swatch cards, made from upcycled paper, come in really handy....
A few months ago, I came across this altered window shutter and fell in love. I finally found some shutters at a thrift store so I could make my own altered shutters– with an eco-friendly twist, of course! What You Will Need: 1. A shutter 2. Recycled paper. I used sheet music. 3. Hot glue/hot glue gun 4. Low VOC spray paint 5. Small clothespins How To Do It: 1. Spray paint the shutter the color of your choice....
If your kid’s pants aren’t too long, then they’re too short. I swear that my kids spend maybe a week, tops, in that sweet spot where their pants fit them perfectly, and even that sweet spot inevitably falls in the hottest week of summer, when they’re only wearing shorts. Fortunately, this method that I’m going to show you is a way to both lengthen pants and, if not to actually shorten them, then at least to make the ubiquitous cuffs look intentional....
Etsy is a great shopping resource, especially for crafting supplies. When you’re looking to make your own jewelry and want one-of-a-kind beads or findings, vintage is the way to go. Making use of vintage supplies is also great for the environment because you’re recycling! Browse these great shops for rare vintage beads, metal findings, and other supplies. If you love super colorful and quirky beads and trinkets then Atomic Veggie is the shop for you....
I am a building toy connoisseur. I’ve got wooden building blocks and Kapla blocks, Lincoln logs and tree blocks. I try to avoid the plastic building toys, but even so, I’ve got LEGOs and Zome rods, Darda tracks and Hot Wheels set-ups. I mean, the KIDS have these building toys. Not me. Just the kids. …ahem. Anyway, because I know my building toys, I know what I like in a building toy....
We’ve explored some options for natural and organic sewing notions before, but it’s been a while, and there are more options out there than ever! What are sewing notions? Notions are all of those little bits and bobs that you need in order to complete a sewing project. Things like bias tape, elastic, thread, buttons, and zippers all fall under the category of sewing notions. Basically, if it’s something you’d include in a sewing project, but it isn’t fabric, it’s a sewing notion....
You don’t need a sewing machine to turn your kid into a vampire, assassin, young Jedi, ranger, or any other hooded creatures this Halloween. All you need is a wrap used for babywearing, and you’ll have this no-sew hood configured in no time. This costume works best on a medium-sized kid–mine is ten–but although the babywearing wrap may seem like too much fabric even for a ten-year-old, the material itself is quite light and stretchy, and so your kid will be able to wear her no-sew hood without feeling like she’s carrying too much weight or like she’s wrapped up like a mummy (unless it’s the mummy look that you’re going for....
Got someone on your list who has sort of a black thumb? Gift them with a plush cactus that is impossible to kill! I love a good home decor gift! This plush cactus would look so sweet on a coffee table or mantle, and the best part is that unlike a real plant, you’re not gifting the burden of remembering to water it. Most of the plush plants I’ve seen have been knit or crochet, and for those of us that don’t have any yarn skills, that basically means they’re off the table....
Did you know there was a National Quilting Day? It’s just around the corner, on March 19th. Let’s celebrate eco-friendly quilting this year with some green quilting supplies! Whether you’re working on a small project, like a quilted pillow, or something bigger like a full sized throw, there are lots of ways to green up the quilting process. From focusing on Fab Fabrics to choosing recycled and organic tools and supplies, there are quite a few places to green up your quilting adventures....
The birthday child gets one brand-new present from her parents (further presents and much-beloved cash also magically appear from far-away grandparents). The birthday child chooses one more button that is then sewn onto her birthday crown. The birthday child gets exactly the kind of cake that she wants (witness the Giant Brownie of 2008, or the Seven-Layer Rainbow Cake of 2010). The birthday child awakens to find that one of her boring old shirts has been transformed into a fabulous new birthday shirt....
The first day of spring is only a few days away! Are you getting excited about warmer weather and starting your spring garden? Raid your stash of vintage buttons and make yourself a spring-themed typographic art sign. I’m pretty much obsessed with buttons! I have a large collection from my grandma and I always grab what I can find at thrift stores or garage sales. Buttons are not only great for DIY fashion, but they’re great for DIY decor, too!...
I have three ideas that are all eco-friendly, inexpensive and a breeze to whip up. Here’s what you need: Plastic shower curtain rings Yarn Ribbon (1/4 inch works best) Glue gun DYMO label maker (The one you took from your uncle’s house in 1987 is perfect.) My Ring Rant Before we get started with the how-to part, I have a little rant about the plastic shower curtain rings we’ll be using for this Thanksgiving DIY....
Even after you’re comfortable with a particular cold-process or hot-process soap recipe, it’s still good to keep up with the resources. For instance, the tutorial on tie-dyed soap using six different colors of soap dyes that I skipped over for the longest time because it was simply above my level of expertise? Last night I read it all the way through, going “Hmmmm…..”. I sense a new technique coming my way!...
I love printables as much as the next gal. How can we make our printing as eco-friendly as our crafting? Whether we’re talking labels for green cleaning supplies or templates for baby toys, printables can make our craft projects look more professional. The trouble with printables – and really with printing in general – is that it can be a waste of resources, right? The main culprits when it comes to reducing the impact of your printables are ink cartridges and paper....
To be perfectly honest, it’s not even the consumerism itself that bothers me, because I LOVE myself some holiday-themed novelty foods. Show me a package of egg-shaped Oreos or Sriracha-flavored Peeps, and I will show you my credit card! It is literally the resultant trash that I cannot stand, the candy packaging and plastic grass and plastic eggs and cellophane wrappers and cheap decorations that everyone knows will be in a landfill by May....
Yesterday, we talked about how to get your craft on and preserve the summer bounty at the same time. Home canning is fun and rewarding, but you want to make sure that those tasty canned fruits and veggies are safe to eat when you pull them out of the pantry. Next » Follow the recipe.
They’re awesome. Balancing butterflies take the theory of gravity to a most playful, and least logical, end. By clever distribution of weight, a balancing butterfly will balance on the head of a pin, on the very forward tip of its head, perched amazingly like a real butterfly. But here’s the next logical step: That clever redistribution of weight? That’s how a mobile works. Therefore, if you’ve a mind to, you can launch a whole rabble of butterflies from your ceiling, allowing them to dance in the breeze of your ceiling fan and hang intriguingly from that one magic point at the forward tip of their heads....
