What You Will Need: Sticks 2. Low VOC spray paint Recycled paper. I used sheet music, but you could use book pages, magazine pages, or newspaper, too. Scissors A pencil Hot glue/hot glue gun A large jar or vase How To Do It: Go outside and find a group of sticks. Make sure you find ones that have a few branches attached– this will make your arrangement seem full. Lay your sticks out on a drop cloth and spray paint them red....
What You Will Need: Cardboard Recycled paper. I used book pages, but you could use sheet music, magazine pages, or newspaper. You could also use pink and red recycled scrapbook paper. Crayons Scissors A hole punch School glue. If you can, use eco glue. (Optional) Glitter How To Do It: Make a wreath “form” with your cardboard. I used a large tray to make a perfect circle and then a small plate to make the middle portion....
All Girl Scout cookies come in a case of twelve, and if you’re a Girl Scout troop leader, you probably know exactly how many of these cases will fit in your car. And then what they look like stacked six high in the least favorite room of your house. And how many you can carry in your arms in one trip between the house and the car and the car and the cookie booth site....
Rowan still offers their organic cotton yarn in DK weight that is naturally dyed using plants. New this season is their 4 ply organic cotton yarn, also dyed with natural plant dyes. The shades of this yarn are soft, subtle and sweet, perfect for summer knitting. Also from their PureLife label, Rowan offers organic wool. This yarn comes from sheep that are raised free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The eight colors that this yarn comes in also result from non-toxic plant dyes....
The transcription project has also got me weirdly interested in store-bought greeting cards… or rather, weirdly interested in how boring they are. I know they’re not all literally identical–I mean, some have puppies on the front, and others have flowers!–but metaphorically, they kind of are. The hundreds of them that I’ve transcribed all blur together in a miasma of embossed cardstock, too many ellipses, too many Thomas Moore poems, and a font that’s either a flowery script or a blocky print....
Bring the beach home with you this summer with one of these beach crafts: 1. beach memory jar: A layer of sand, a couple of shells, and a photograph make a memory in a reclaimed glass jar. 2. Christmas ornament: Put those same memories on your Christmas tree! 3. driftwood candlesticks: With the right drill bit, this is the simplest of beach crafts. 4. driftwood mobile: Add beads, shells, and other found objects to your mobile....
Below, please find a list of my personal favorite DIY Christmas ornament tutorials. Whether you’ve got just a precious few handmade ornaments on your own tree, or you, too, have more DIY Christmas ornaments than tree branches, I think you’ll find something here to add to that collection! Altered Playing Card Ornaments I KNOW you’ve got a partial set of old playing cards squirreled away somewhere. Haul out the paints and put them to use!...
Below are some of my favorite homemade bath and body recipes. They’re all made from natural ingredients (of course!), and my favorite part is subbing in my favorite essential oils and dried herbs. My second favorite part is molding everything that can be molded into a super cute shape! Find your next favorite recipe here, or combine several for the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift set for your most favorite person....
Our family has been a dog family for six months now, and it didn’t take me long to discover that it can be as hard to source eco-friendly toys and treats and accessories for your dog as it is for your kid–or for you! Soon after that, of course, I discovered that it’s just as fun to DIY things for the dog as it is to DIY things for the kids–and for me!...
Below are 30 super cool DIY Father’s Day gift ideas that your dad will love: DIY recycled “coupon book” Repurposed cabinet door for dad Vintage button tie tack Create a BBQ apron for dad (use an eco-friendly fabric to make this project even more green) Eco-friendly Father’s Day tie pot DIY Bay Rum aftershave Tool box gift card holder Stamped spoon key ring Make a custom necktie applique Father’s Day tie windsock DIY recycled felt koozie for dad Monogram painted hammer Create a business card holder from an Altoids tin DIY Lego cufflinks Make a record album cover bookmark DIY tray from recycled materials How to freezer paper stencil a necktie Upcycled jean cozy for dad Make an upcycled gadget case DIY manly sugar scrub Make a hanging necktie scissor or tool holder Create a masculine ring and watch frame 23....
T-shirts have another benefit when one is crafting specifically for babies: oh, my, they’re so super-soft! They’re also light, and the seams that you create aren’t itchy. In other words–perfect! Here are some perfect t-shirt crafts for babies. 5 T-Shirt Crafts for Babies 1. T-shirt baby hat–Newborn babies would rather burn their calories by growing and learning, not by struggling to maintain their own body temperatures, so I like to keep the new mommas that I know well-stocked with baby hats....
The only hindrance to such madcap skull-crafting is my manifesto, which declares that whenever possible, I utilize recycled materials in my work. Know how many Halloween-ish craft projects there are that purposefully utilize recycled materials? Not many, my friends. That’s why we think outside the box; we take regular craft projects, and we MAKE them be recycled, mwa-ha-ha! My latest Project O’ Skulls comes from my (healthy) obession with The Toymaker....
Some girlfriends and I got together to make decorations, and of course we wanted to use book pages to make most of the decor. We offset the muted book colors with a few brightly-colored tissue paper poofs, and I can’t wait to hang them up for Bonnie’s shower! On top of the decorations, we’re also doing a book-themed activity: making their baby his first alphabet book! To create that project, we just put paper with all of the letters into a bowl, so folks could choose their letters, and we’d make sure to have no repeats and get the whole alphabet done....
2013 begins a new crafting chapter for me– I’m opening my own booth in a local antique/art shop! I know a lot of you might have your own booth or are interested in opening one, so let’s share our eco-friendly display ideas together! I plan on sharing several booth ideas in the next few weeks. My first idea was inspired by this fabulous post from Gallamore West where they placed thread inside a bubble gum machine....
First and foremost, I see clear vinyl used most extensively in hand made items. It is found in wallets, ID holders and things like ipod cases. Unfortunately, I have yet to find an alternative for clear vinyl. So it stays on the Eco-Crafter’s List of Demands. Second, many crafters use vinyl to make bags; many, many bags. The vinyl fabric that is used in these bags is bright and colorful....
Furniture and Lighting: A light fixture made out of an old shredder, or cheese grater looks cool. Perhaps you are into the steampunk look or modern, recycled metal for cabinets, sliding doors, cabinets on wheels and storage containers all look slick… Jewelery: I’m swooning over these adorable flying cherub earrings from Anna Built and Jute and Jackfruit: Do you work with metal? What are some of your best re-creations? I like metal wall sculpture that hangs votives, or punched tin lights, handmade ornaments (like tin heart valentines), and wind-chimes....
School will be in session before we know it! Create your own (or your child’s) backpack this year with these amazing DIY backpack tutorials. Backpacks are essential for carrying all of your (or your little one’s) books, computer/tablet, folders, and DIY school supplies. With so much importance, the backpack must be functional and fashionable, right? DIY backpack tutorials to the rescue! All of the tutorials below require fabric, however, not all of the tutorials use eco-friendly fabrics, but we know that you’re savvy enough choose green fabrics when creating your own DIY backpack....
Food gifts are such a great way to go handmade and please almost anyone on your list. This chai recipe makes enough mix for four of the folks on your gift list! Chai is a traditional Indian spiced tea, and there are lots of different ways you can make it. If you’re used to ordering Chai at Starbucks, you probably think of this drink as a super sweet, super milky treat with a nice, spicy undertone....
Got an old filing cabinet that’s ready for reuse? Here’s how to turn it into DIY garden storage to wrangle tools, pots, and other gardening supplies. The combination of working from home and managing the lives of a family of four means accumulating a lot of paperwork. Despite my efforts to live a paperless lifestyle—via scanning and recycling—I simply cannot live without a good filing system. For many years, I used a beat-up old filing cabinet stashed in our garage to store all our volumes of documents....
Whether you’re refinishing an entire dresser or just updating its look, new drawer knobs are a great way to make an old piece look new. New drawer knobs are also a great way to inject a little personality into the most sedate furnishing. But of course, when I say “new,” I don’t mean NEW new–I NEVER want to buy anything new (or throw away anything old…)! Instead, I’m talking about remaking the drawer knobs that you already own or, at the most, upcycling something into a drawer knob....
