Posts

Have the beach and pool left your skin dry and your hair with split ends? Check out this two-in-one DIY lotion for skin and hair! Chlorine at the pool and salt water at the beach can really dry out your hair and skin! If you’re dealing with end-of-summer dryness and split ends, you might be shopping around for beauty products to fix things up. The trouble with those store-bought solutions is that they often contain a lot of harmful chemicals that can damage our health in the long term....

Small, medium, and large sizes available from $22-$42. This lovely tin box is available at Indigo. Indigo is an online store that supports and sells arts and artifacts from Asia, Africa and the Americas.

It turns out that LOTS of people upcycle empty picture frames, and there are a lot of awesome project tutes to turn that empty picture frame into just about anything else that you could ever want or need. Here are my favorites: Picture Frame Upcycling Pro Tip: When you’re writing on glass–the glass front to a picture frame, say–don’t get so wrapped up in what you’re doing that you forget where your elbows go and you lean on the glass....

Did you craft your fingers off over the last few weeks? Now that holiday giving time is wrapping up, it’s time for a little bit of self care. These exercises target your wrists, neck, and back to help you bounce back from holiday crafting. When you’re working with your hands, there are a few common areas that take the most punishment: Your hands and wrists. Especially if you already had carpal tunnel....

Modal is super soft and doesn’t shrink like cotton. It has a really nice drape and is considered a “bio-based” fabric. This means that it’s made using natural materials but isn’t considered a natural product. Bio-Based Fabrics The process to create Modal is similar to the one used to create rayon from bamboo. It’s an intense, chemical process that takes the pulp from natural beechwood to produce a synthetic fabric....

How sweet are these fresh, vintage fabrics from Rope? Proprietress Anna says: She offers her lovely fabrics in a few different ways. If you’re looking for larger pieces, she’s got really fat quarters. For a little variety, check out the chubby packs and skinny packs. For a look at all of Rope’s beautiful vintage fabrics, head over to the Rope Etsy shop! Mention Crafting a Green World to get 10% off of your order!...

Although my bread-and-butter is the ubiquitous record bowl, I’ve made everything from jewelry to artwork with these babies. If only I could bring to them my love of fabrics, especially the ones in those big sample books of upholstery fabric that I bought at a charity thrift store a few months ago and have been so obsessed with… Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Applique of fabric onto vinyl is a simple and effective embellishment technique that stands well alone, or that can be included as part of a larger product....

You can see all of the patterns here – but make sure you notice there’s a page two, navigation is in the upper right. Most of them come in additional colorways and you have to click through to see them. Each sheet is about 22×30, and they sell for $6 or you can get 3 sheets of the same pattern for $12. Soolip says the material is produced “produced using fair trade partnerships,” but strangely there is no additional information on the website about this....

A simple way to add a little sparkle and an extra special festive feeling to your home is to gather up some ornaments and place them decoratively in a bowl, or even in large wine or even brandy glasses. Adorn your side tables, coffee table, or mantle with these pretty bowls filled with your extra ornaments. Don’t want to place them in containers? You can also hang them in unusual places....

Dalai Mama Patterns is offering one lucky winner their choice of three Waldorf doll clothing patterns from the Dalai Mama Patterns etsy shop. Check out my review of the Zoe Dress and the Hunter and Cameron Pants, and then read on to see how you can enter the giveaway. Each of the following tasks is worth one entry; you can complete as many or as few of the tasks as you wish: You know that little form that you fill out when you comment on one of our posts, the one that asks for your name and email address?...

Gillian Grant is an American artist living in Paris. A painter, crafter, and a mom, Gillian runs Mon Ami Vie where she sells her lovely upcycled accessories and is working on a self-published book on green crafting. [Birdie Bon Bon] Her Crafts Right now, she’s focusing on making Birdie Bon Bons and also her new Fat Bottoms. She makes the Bon Bons with 100% biodegradable jute cloth and raffia and fills them with birdseed and dried fruit....

1. Toaster Pastry iPod Cozy Oh, iPod! I love how you keep me connected wherever I go but hate how scratched your screen gets when it meets my keys in my purse. Luckily, the folks at DIY have you covered (literally!) with a simple case that looks a toaster pastry! This would be a great time to pull out the recycled felt! Next » Turn a book into a Kindle cover

What You Will Need: An empty thread spool Orange paint. If you can, use an eco-friendly paint like Blick’s Green Series Tempera. A small paint brush A black permanent marker A small stick Scissors How To Do It: Paint the spool with orange paint. Then, let it dry. With your permanent marker, draw a fun face on the spool. I’m an awful artist, so I asked my roomie to make a mustache face pumpkin, just like the Embroidery Hoop Pumpkins she helped me make last year....

Little kids look super-cute playing their summer team sport of choice. And the littler the little kid is, the cuter it all is… except, of course, when the kids are so little that their uniforms don’t actually fit them right. My daughter’s softball team of four-to-seven-year-olds all wear an X-Small uniform, and still those knee socks, sleeveless shirts, and athletic shorts utterly swamp them. At our first game, my kid’s knee socks went up to her thighs, her shirt went down to her knees, and those shorts, cinched tight with a drawstring, billowed out around her when she ran....

Have a little knight in training at home? It takes just a few minutes to make your favorite knight her very own shield out of recycled cardboard. A cardboard shield is cheaper than even a cheap-o plastic toy shield, doesn’t junk up the environment, and best of all–your kiddo can decorate it herself! These shields are so quick and easy to make that you don’t have to limit your kid to just one; we made the shields in these photos as a party activity at my daughter’s dragon-themed ninth birthday party, constructing them ahead of time and letting the party guests paint them....

I’ve been in the process of slowly upcycling my kids’ old building blocks for years (I promise, there will still be more building blocks in the world when/if I have grandchildren!), and one of my favorite ways to upcycle building blocks is to turn them into holiday decorations using simple decoupage techniques. I’ve already shown you how easy it is to decoupage blocks with paper, but you’ll be pretty excited to know that decoupaging blocks with fabric is EVEN easier!...

I’ve got you covered! Check out this list of my favorite free pants patterns and tutorials. To make the project even freer, use your own stash fabric or upcycle fabric from other clothing or housewares. Fun fact: vintage sheets make THE BEST pajama pants on the planet! 1. How To Draft A Pants Pattern If you have any desire to draft your own patterns, or even modify any of the patterns below, then start here!...

It is a beauty isn’t it? What’s more is this intricate, colorful, vibrant craft is usually comprised entirely of either sand, rice, rocks, or other small, organic objects. Of course; the colors themselves (traditionally) are created with natural dyes, though in these modern times you lowly wretches will have to be sure to find organic, non-toxic dyes specifically. If you aren’t a dedicated, tedious soul; your options do include simply painting or drawing one of these babies; though, what would be the fun in that?...

Do you have a green crafty business? One of the hardest parts of running a green business – after sourcing ethical materials – is marketing yourself and your crafts. You can make the most beautiful organic dresses or upcycled jewelry in town, but if you’re not spreading the word about them effectively, chances are no one is going to know. I’ve found that green crafters seem to have a harder time with marketing....

“Hello! I have a desk calender that has a bunch of quotes from “the office” TV show. I have saved all the pages because I would like to use them in someway… whether it be decorative or just useful. Any ideas?” I love old calendars. When my girlies were littler, I would gather up wall calendars and cut the big, splashy monthly images up into simple puzzles for them to put together....