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Knowing how to reattached a button is a great skill to learn, especially because a loose button is not only inevitable, but you can find great deals at stores. I once scored a particularly lovely wool coat when it was on the sale rack, missing several of its buttons. The extra ones were still attached along the tag and by pointing out the missing buttons at the register, I was able to get another 10% off the already discounted coat, all the while thinking that the buttons were such an easy and quick fix!...

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, PBS KIDS GO!’s Design Squad is launching a nationwide 2010 Trash to Treasure competition on April 5th. Kids across the country ages 5-19 are asked to recycle, reuse and re-engineer everyday materials into new inventions. Three young innovators will win a trip to Boston to see their designs built and have the process chronicled for an upcoming episode of the engineering TV series....

The December edition of Poppytalk Handmade is now online! What’s that you say? You haven’t heard of Poppytalk Handmade? It’s a “monthly online street market curated by [blogger] Poppytalk to showcase, buy and sell handmade goods of emerging design talent from around the world.” What great goodies is this crafty farmer’s market offering this month? Who better to explain it than Miss Poppytalk herself: Just in time for us holiday shopping stragglers, the December edition of Poppytalk Handmade is the perfect place to find gifts from everyone (still left) on your list....

Jillibean Soup offers cute, unique, eco-friendly scrapbook papers printed on 100% recycled Kraft paper. Printing their debut line on kraft paper was so important that they custom-manufactured folio size kraft paper that is acid-free and lignin free. I personally love the look of the brown kraft paper in the background. What else is to love about Jillibean Soup besides the cute, mod patterns by Jill Yegerlehner, founder and owner? In addition to patterned paper, you can find plain kraft paper, envelopes, and cards....

For example, my daughter has a few that she grew out of that were just so cute on her, I hate to part with them. But she’s never going to be able to wear them again so what can I do? Now I know they can be reknit into a matching hat and scarf set. Reknit was started by Haik Avanian, who had an idea from his mom’s family tradition, where she turns old sweaters into yarn and reknit into new items....

If you’re fond of refashioning clothing, you’re probably well accustomed to making traditional clothing patterns work with your non-traditional materials. It can still be tricky, however–conventional patterns aren’t necessarily laid out in such a way as to enable you to make the most of reclaimed fabric, and they aren’t amenable to the transfer of useful parts of clothing, such as hems and waistbands and necklines, into useful components of the refashioned garment....

So, yeah. I let my eight-year-old daughter wear make-up whenever she wants. Continue reading whenever you’ve finished giving me the side-eye. Anyway, the hard thing about this kid, I keep saying to anyone who will listen to me when I whine (usually with wine), is to parent her while respecting her passions, but without degrading them into the usual sort of stereotypical girly-girl pop culture fluff. So yeah, the kid puts on make-up when she wants, because she wants to, but when she runs to show me I tell her not how pretty or fancy it is, but how glittery!...

Remember my crazy idea that kids don’t need flame-retardant pajamas? Because of that, I usually try to sew my kids a couple of pairs of pajamas each winter and summer. The pajamas are rarely that complicated (although they can be!), not with pillowcases so easy to turn into nightgowns and T-shirt sleeves so easy to turn into leggings. This spring, however, my older kid has shot up in height, and I’ve got so many new items of play clothes to sew for her that I’m already bored with the usual sleep-shorts-and-shirt combo that’s my usual summer pajamas project....

If your read our review of the Spring issue, you probably know that we at CAGW are big fans of Nuno Magazine. Nuno magazine is published in eformat, as a pdf, so that you only have to expend paper resources where you wish to, such as for pattern pieces or reference. When reviewing the fall issue, Star Gazing, I read the magazine online, then printed out the pattern pieces for just the felt cloche, which I made for myself, and the star pillow, which my seven-year-old is happily sewing at the other end of our work table as I write....

These great pieces would make a fun gift for a man or woman. They are made from re-used metal traffic signs which are hand-pressed, formed and finished. Each set is different. Eco-Artware.com is a great site for finding recycled, reused, and natural gifts.

3 Suitcase DIY Projects 1. Suitcase Shelf What a sweet suitcase DIY idea! I love that she went for repurposed twine and newspaper to line it. You could also fix up the lining with fabric instead of paper. It would probably be a bit more durable that way. I think this would be a great way to store craft supplies. It’s a nice, hidden storage solution you can open up when you need to access what’s inside....

From colorful leaves to acorns to pretty gourds, you’ll find plenty of beautiful things in the great outdoors to make the following festive Thanksgiving nature crafts: apple cider slushie. Are you celebrating Thanksgiving somewhere warm? If you are, switch our your usual hot apple cider for these apple cider slushies! 2. cinnamon stick place card holders. These place card holders are guaranteed to fit your color scheme, and they’ll smell great!...

CraftStylish contributer Linda Permann, of Linda Made, created these gorgeous and simple woven button coasters. Linda used 81 4-hole buttons that were 3/8 inch size. She used three colors of embroidery floss to make a simple design. To make your own button coasters: Follow Linda’s button coaster tutorial for the complete instructions and detailed pictures of each step. Linda’s coaster project was actually inspired by this button handbag. [Images by Linda Permann for CraftStylish]...

So far, we still only have one writer – me, your jolly editor – but that will soon change! As new writers come on board, I’ll be posting a picture and a bit of info about them so you can get to know your fellow crafters/bloggers. Though our one-week anniversary on Wednesday is barely within reach, CAGW has already gotten its first mention on another blog – yeah, I’m amped about it too....

So I’ve been doing the Fabulous Fabrics series for a while, and I’ve been noticing something. HarmonyArt Organic Design, Amenity, Oliveira Textiles, Mod Green Pod, Rubie Green, Kirin & Co, Thea and Sami – all of the designers behind these wonderful fabrics are women. (Right? Someone correct me if I’m wrong.) Michael Miller Organics stands out as the lone male name with an organic fabric line. Can someone educate me a little here?...

They offer a wide selection of yarns, ranging from organic wool, EcoOrganic Cotton, to a yarn called Black Diamond Fiber. Many of the yarns they carry have been profiled here on Yearn Worthy Yarn including linen, O-wool and Pakucho. Ecoyarns gives a great explanation on each and every fiber source that they offer. These outline the methods for growth and production that goes into the fiber and offer generous information about the benefits of organic and fair trade....

Over the years she has developed these plants and now produces green, brown, buffalo brown and white organic cotton. While it takes about 10 years to develop a color, Fox continues to experiment and tries to find new hues for her organic cotton. She says that by working at it year after year, eventually you come up with a plant that has a good color that is also suitable for spinning....

I first heard about 2nd Time Cotton in Knit 1 Magazine’s first green issue (Summer 2007), which features the yarn in a few of its different projects. Though KOCT has a few other pseudo-sustainable yarns (Wick is made with 53% soy and BabyBoo with 45% bamboo), their 2nd Time Cotton is inherently “green” because of its recycled nature. How is it recycled? Second Time Cotton is made from cotton fibers that are textile factory scraps and leftovers from their usual operations here in the United States....

Even if you’re on the fence about the idea of DIYing any part of your wedding decor, check out these DIY wedding welcome signs, below. Admire how beautiful they are, marvel at how personal and unique each one is, and then get inspired to make your own personal, unique, beautiful wedding welcome sign! 1. Acrylic Sign It wouldn’t be a great idea to have a large glass sign sitting on a tiny, mostly decorative easel, but acrylic is sturdier and less prone to shattering into billions of painful shards....

And don’t despair about the materials that you’re using this holiday. Unlike some sites that happily tell you to craft with paper plates and red Solo cups and paint chips, here at Crafting a Green World we focus on eco-friendly craft supplies and eco-friendly methods for our 4th of July crafts. You can be as festive as you want and STILL save the planet! 4th of July Waldorf window star....