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And of these handmade games, there are sewn matching games, matching games using photos, matching games made from paint chips, and matching games that utilize my girls’ own artwork. This is a fun and personalized project that can incorporate even the youngest child’s scribbled art. Here’s how to create it: You will need: blank paper pretty scrapbook paper or vintage wallpaper or leftover wrapping paper or other recycled papers, or even an incomplete deck of playing cards, anything that is uniform in color or pattern art materials to make a two-dimensional artwork scanner and printer or color copier scissors for paper glue stick laminate or clear tape...

Your parents always told you NOT to eat yellow or brown snow. That’s good advice, unless you’re making my vegan snow ice cream recipes. I’ve been trying to whip up a batch of this stuff all winter and I just couldn’t make it happen! But that all changed during last week’s March-madness snowstorm in D.C. Old Man Winter really socked it to us – and I’m glad he did because I finally got my fix....

For preserving memories big and small, DIY memory quilts made from your favorite clothing are both beautiful and practical. They’re not another thing to stuff in a closet or set on a shelf, but something that you can actually use. They’re heirloom quality, but don’t have to be prissy or stuffy. There is a LOT of variety in what you can do with a memory quilt! Whatever your taste, you’ll find something that you’d love to make (or have made for you!...

You can solve some of those problems in some part by choosing high-quality natural materials, of course, but no matter how much you paid for your tights or what they’re made from, you’re probably not going to get a lifetime of wear out of them. Tights are here for a good time, not a long time. Fortunately, those stained, snagged, or simply outgrown tights don’t have to go into the wastestream!...

I love how versatile raised beds and containers are for urban gardening. There’s a solution for spaces of every size! Containers are a great way to use up every last nook of available square footage. Raised beds let you make even larger areas tidy and manageable. I also love how much easier it is to give your plants the correct soil composition. I’m probably never going to get my clay soil truly amended for the type of gardening that I most want to do, but containers and raised beds let me easily create the exact conditions for every veggie and flower to be happy and fruitful....

St. Patrick’s Day is next Saturday, March 17– have you crafted for it yet? The only projects I’ve made so far are the Toilet Paper Roll Shamrocks. I needed inspiration to make my St. Patrick’s Day even more crafty! To get all of us inspired, I found 5 fun and eco-friendly projects for us to try! 1. Simple St. Patrick’s Day Banner by Simple as That Rebecca at Simple as That created this adorable St....

Construction paper is normally associated with preschoolers, and there are a ton of preschool-friendly projects below. But I’ve also found some projects that adults and older kids are going to love; check out the list of awesome construction paper crafts below, and find YOUR next project! Caterpillar. This is a great project for kids to practice patterning. Snake. Kids who aren’t excited by paper chain caterpillars will be excited by paper chain snakes!...

I hit the hardware store last weekend to get a hook to hang my holiday wreath, and it was Christmas tree day! I think the whole neighborhood decided to head out for Christmas trees at the same time. Seriously, it was a mob scene. The thing about fresh Christmas trees, is that you need to slice about 1″ off of the bottom of your tree, so that it will take in water while it’s set up in your living room....

Like really expensive. Really fast. Most of that expense, however, is because you’ve got to go somewhere to do your pottery, letting that place pick up the bill for all the infrastructure, but paying hefty membership, hourly, or rental fees in return. And it’s the same at every level, whether you just want to paint a water bowl for your cat or want to throw your own vase. Fortunately, some very, very clever people have taken pottery back to its uber-DIY roots (pots weren’t always thrown on electric wheels and fired in professional kilns, you know!...

What You Will Need: A wooden display box or tray that has small compartments. This is what my box looked like when I bought it: Paint. If you can, use low VOC spray paint — it’s better for you and the environment! Sand paper A rag and a little bit of water (Optional) Spray Polycrylic How To Do It: Lightly sand your wooden display box. Wipe down the surface of your box with a damp rag to remove the dust....

What You Will Need: An old candle jar Magazine Tape Hot glue gun/hot glue Scrapbook paper. I used left over paper that I had from the Upcycle Your Chocolate Heart Box into Wall Art post. To make this project even more eco-friendly than it already is, you could use old book pages or sheet music. There are also several options for recycled scrapbook paper that you can check out, like the Green Stack Collection, Eco-Friendly Recycled Scrapbook Paper, and Recycled Kraft Paper for Scrapbooking....

Got a glass soda bottle in your recycle bin? Fish it out and make a DIY bird feeder for your garden! I try to avoid refined sugar, but I do have a weakness for fancy sodapop sometimes as a treat. Give me a ginger beer or tonic water in a glass bottle with a vintagey label, and I’m a happy lady. I always feel bad tossing those pretty bottles in the recycle bin, so I was happy to run across a tutorial at Bird & Blooms for turning a glass soda bottle into a DIY bird feeder!...

When I see a large quantity of one particular item in the trash, my mind instantly goes into craft mode. So you know those foam kickboards at swimming pools? Kids use them for swim lessons. And I see a lot of older folks using them for water aerobics classes. Well, those poor foam boards take a beating, and they always end up in the trash. The main reason is because they’re super cheap....

Dress up your little prince or princess in a handmade kid crown! I haven’t been posting here for the past month or so, because my baby came early! Darrol Henry Striepe came to meet us on March 9th instead of April 1st, and he is just perfect. When I was pregnant, one of the things my husband and I wondered about was how our dog, Jenna, would react to this kid....

Can you believe that Valentine’s day is coming already? Don’t fret! You still have time to make it a romantic, handmade holiday! Here are 10 ideas for DIY Valentine’s Day gifts for him. Making gifts for men is always hard for some reason. I just get plain stumped trying to come up with Valentine’s day gifts for my husband. I think that creating DIY Valentine’s Day gifts for him goes best when I think functional or solve a problem....

In fact, nothing was. But that’s the thing with store-bought, isn’t it? You pay money for it, and in return you receive a product that you have very little say in, from the composition of the paper (Recycled? Unbleached? A very light lavender in shade?) to the construction of the entries (I don’t WANT Saturday and Sunday to share a single box–I have separate errands to record on each of those days!...

Did you miss the deadline for the last Green Crafts Showcase? Don’t despair! We do a Showcase every month, so you can enter now for this month’s showcase. It’s super simple to enter! Just head on over to the Green Crafts Showcase page and give us: a link to your eco-friendly tutorial along with your name (or business name) a short description of the project and what makes it green....

Of course, when Kelly hipped me to coir, a natural fiber made from coconut, I couldn’t pass it up! Coir fiber is extremely durable and water-resistant. It’s commonly used in things like rope and rugs. To extract the fiber, workers grind up the coconut husk. There are two types of coir: white and brown. White fiber is made by “retting,” a process where the immature husks are soaked in water for 8-10 months The micro-organisms in the water naturally loosen the fiber from the rest of the coconut hull....

Store bought bias tape is usually not the most eco-friendly of products. Normally, it’s made of polyester, which is a petroleum product. Sometimes, though, you really need some bias tape to complete a project. Fortunately, it’s not too hard to make your own! When you’re doing it yourself, you have total control over the materials. Maybe you’d like to use vintage fabric or organic cotton. You can make it in solid colors or choose fun patterns!...

It wasn’t long ago that I was singing the praises of burlap. Since then, I got the chance to work on an all burlap custom order. In the process, I learned a bit more about sewing with the stuff and discovered that it’s even more fab than I originally thought! Burlap is not just an eco-friendly fabric option, it’s also inexpensive and sometimes even free! Many coffee shops receive bulk coffee orders in burlap sacks and are happy to give extras away....