1. Hanging Lantern Addicted 2 Decorating gives us this great idea for an egg carton hanging lamp. You could try leaving the egg carton unpainted for a natural look or leave it sitting on a table for a one-of-a-kind table lamp. Next » Flowers 2. Flowers It’s nice to have a touch of spring in your home during the dead of winter. Real flowers end up dying, so why not make some flowers that keep forever?...
A reader recently wrote in with a great question about finding a food-safe fabric for making snack and sandwich bags. She was specifically looking for a laminated cotton fabric that was eco-friendly. In digging to answer this question, I found a ton of information and a few ideas for the safest ways to make reusable snack bags that are at least semi leak proof. PSST! I recently ran across a pretty awesome-looking solution to the fabric proble problem!...
Father’s Day is in just a few days – June 17th. Now that you’ve made that perfect gift for dad, let’s wrap it up! I love upcycling newspaper and brown bags for gift wraps because they’re so readily available around the house. For this Father’s Day, instead of putting a bow on your upcycled gift wrap, let’s spice it up for dad with things he loves. 1. Dads love food Whether the dad you’re celebrating takes pride in his grilling or likes to put on the chef’s hat in the kitchen, he’ll appreciate a touch of herb on his upcycled gift wrap....
one recycled snap board book one set of eco-friendly acrylic paints in the colors gold, white, and black one package of recycled chipboard nuts Read on to enter and win! First, the fine print: Now, to the entries! Next » Post one comment for each entry. You may complete as many or as few of the requirements as you like: This giveaway will close at midnight EST on March 16, 2013....
Well, I found a vegan, cruelty-free, organic herbal crafter that sells only sustainably wild-crafted, Non-GMO herbs. I tracked down, Kelly Beth, who has studied clinical herbalism, botany and aromatherapy to ask a few questions about her craft and her shop. How long have you been green crafting? Well, I started making my dad healthful mud & salvaged stick pies when I was around five years old, and now my craft has taken on a much more delicious and appetizing approach through clinical herbalism....
Check out this great little green idea. Greenaid takes old gumball machines, rehabs them and turns them into “seedbomb” dispensers. The seedbombs are made from clay, compost and seeds and are perfect for the cracks, crevices and empty spaces found in daily life. They can be temporarily placed in sidewalk cracks, empty planters and in missing concrete pieces from parking lots. Let your guerrilla gardener’s imagination run wild. The seedbomb dispenser is filled with regionally appropriate seed mix, perfect for your climate and won’t be spreading invasive plants....
Beer Bottles I realize that some of you could probably acquire this item on very short notice. But for those of you who only have a beer or two on the weekend, start collecting those beautiful brown bottles now. You’re going to need 5-12 for a gorgeous Thanksgiving centerpiece. If you really want to get ahead, remove all the labels. I just love the rich, seasonal hue of these bottles....
Upcycle vintage brooches into awesome holiday crafts like this unique Christmas ornament! I came to the sad realization last year that I had very few Christmas ornaments now that I’m living on my own (I never decorated my own Christmas tree in college). Last year I made several DIY Christmas ornaments, but I always feel like I need more to fill my tree. While walking through an antique store, I saw an adorable brooch that would be perfect for an ornament....
I’ve always adored Julie’s Beach Craft: Sandy Handprint Keepsake, so when I visited the beach last week, I tried to think of other ways to display my summer adventures. I remembered this Create Your Bubble Gum Machine tutorial and adapted it to hold my summer memories! What You Will Need: 1 small terracotta pot with the water tray that goes with it 1 small glass bowl (I bought the terracotta pot, tray, and glass bowl at garage sales for a total of 75 cents!...
Here’s how to make your own recycling inspired art: Materials A printer or a previously printed photograph you would like to use A set of picture frames (I picked up a thrift store pair for $2) Pre-cut mats (optional) Newsprint A marker or paint pen if you don’t have a printer Print 1: Choose a Photograph To create your first piece of art, choose a photograph that reminds you of how important it is to keep our planet clean....
This week my mom came to visit me from Florida and brought me a bunch of garage sale goodies! Among all of the treasures were two oval embroidery hoops. As soon as I saw them, I thought they looked like eggs so I decided upcycle them into adorable Easter eggs! What You Will Need: Oval embroidery hoops. If you like to embroider, you might already have these on hand. If not, try looking at thrift stores or garage sales before you think about buying them at the craft store....
What do you give the recent high school graduate who has a million old high school T-shirts? Okay, fine. She has fifty old high school T-shirts, not a million. That’s still a lot of T-shirts, though, and she’s not going to be caught dead wearing them at college. So what do you give the recent high school graduate who has fifty old high school T-shirts, none of which she’ll be caught dead wearing at college?...
So I thought I’d show you how to make a hat that’ll last year after year. I won’t lie; it wasn’t as easy as I thought because it involved….geometry. But don’t worry. I did all the hard work of figuring out how to measure so you dont’ have to. To make a witch hat that is 17″ high and 22″ round at the opening, you’ll need: Three Wire Hangers Pliers Heavy Gauge Wire Cutter Goggles Two Yds....
Spring is heeeerrreeee! That means flirty spring dresses, and for me nothing spices up a cute dress like a sassy belt. This belt is my solution to a thrift store dress that had a lot of potential but needed a lot of love to go from frumpy to cute. I tried taking it in, shortening it, and even adding giant buttons, but what this dress really needed was a big, wide belt to fix the silhouette....
This Kindle cozy took less than an hour to make, and it fits his Kindle like a glove! Materials 1 9 x 12″ piece of recycled crafting felt 1 9 x 12″ piece of scrap fabric (or organic fabric, if you don’t have the right sized scrap) 1 6 x 1.5″ piece of scrap fabric, for the flap closure 1 vintage button sewing machine or needle and thread Directions...
Seed starters made from food scraps are even more economical than recycled seedling pots–you’ve got to eat even more than you’ve got to read the newspaper!–and even better for your garden, because all those eggshell seedling pots, orange peel seedling pots, and pumpkin shell seedling pots? That’s compost, right where your garden needs it the most. Here’s a selection of food scrap seed starters–no matter where your tastes lie, you’ll find something here to eat and then plant: eggshells: Not only do these eggshell seed starters amend your soil when you plant them, but they look very, VERY cute all lined up in their egg cartons....
Last weekend my roommates and I found an adorable china cabinet at a garage sale for $25. Besides a few pretty dishes, though, we didn’t have a lot to put in the china cabinet. I dug through my craft stash and found three tin cans– perfect for something decorative! What You Will Need: Tin Cans Spray paint. To make this project even more eco-friendly, use low VOC spray paint....
The kid already owns one vest, but she wanted a different vest. A blue vest. A vest with lots of pockets, and with buttons (those last two haven’t happened yet, obv. To be continued!) How often does that happen to you? You think, “I love this comfy pair of pants, but I wish that I also had one with Snitches all over it!” or “This shirt is so great that I wish that I had one for every day of the week!...
When my family visited Greece this summer, one of the most beautiful things that we saw were kandylakia, little roadside shrines that held icons, photographs, mementos, and a small floating olive oil lamp: In Greece, if you have a minor accident, and you’re thankful that it wasn’t worse, you put up a little shrine out of thanks. If you have a big accident, you put up a shrine out of thanks that it wasn’t even worse....
There are several ways to refashion pants into a skirt, including this cute method for making a denim skirt out of a pair of old blue jeans. Even that method, though, can feel overwhelming to a newbie sewer, so here’s an even easier method! As you can see in the image above, all you need for this refashion are: a pair of pants that fit well at the waist. They can be as ripped, stained, or ugly as they need to be in the legs, as long as they’re well-fitting in the waist....
