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Don’t panic, y’all. I’m not talking about painting over the Mona Lisa to turn her into a chalkboard, but there are definitely situations when you want to reuse a canvas. Maybe you found some terrible hotel art at a thrift store, but the frame is gorgeous. Or you have some printed canvases from your old photography business that need a refresh. Or maybe you want to know how to reuse a canvas from one of your own paintings that you’ve decided to scrap....

I have kids, so I will pretend that that’s why we go through so much peanut butter here in our house. It’s definitely that, and NOT my propensity to eat a spoonful of peanut butter, dipped in a bag of mini chocolate chips, as a lifesaving snack when I’m tired and cranky. If you, too, go through plenty of peanut butter in your house, there’s something you should know: that empty peanut butter jar is a miracle of modern upcycling....

You will need: kitschy Christmas cardboard record album covers, sturdy scissors, perhaps some nice scrapbook or wrapping paper and glue, a hole punch, and an ornament hanger Choose a record album cover that has a kitschy image on it just screaming to be hung from your tree, and cut apart the front and back of the cover. If the backside of the image you want is ugly, you can glue or spray mount some pretty paper to cover it, but if the back is just plain cardboard, I often just leave it bare–cardboard on a Christmas tree?...

I’ve been making some of the planters from my hanging planter round-up over the past few weeks (how many houseplants is it possible for one person to have? Ummm… a LOT), but a couple of weeks ago, I suddenly decided that cute was cute and all, but honestly, I just needed to get all of these freaking plants OFF of my counters. I mean, I’ve got magazines and cereal boxes and vintage glass bottles scrounged from the old dump behind my house to sit on my counters!...

Encouraging my children’s independence is VERY important to me. Not only is it easier for me to parent two small children who can pour their own milk and put on their own coats and carry their own balance bikes up and down the front porch stairs, but it’s also a priority in my parenting that my girls see themselves as capable individuals who can handle challenges and perform the meaningful work of day-to-day living....

I went garage saling this past Saturday and came across a popcorn tin. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with it, but I remembered seeing this awesome dog food tin on Pinterest. Sadly, I don’t have a cute puppy to make that for. However, I did some more research on Pinterest and found this Popcorn Tin to Trash Can post from Bleak 2 Unique. My bedroom needed a small trash can, so it was fate!...

Did your cat get ahold of your bamboo needles? You can’t really knit when your yarn is constantly snagging on bite marks. Check out how to repair your bamboo knitting needles with good old wood filler. Bamboo knitting needles rock because bamboo is a renewable material. It grows fast and doesn’t need a lot of water or really any chemicals to grow. But bamboo is also pretty soft, so it’s easy for your cat (or your toddler) to damage them....

You want to be able to hem a pair of pants. You want to be able to lengthen a pair of pants. You want to be able to change the leg style of a pair of pants (Tapered-leg jeans? Just…no). You want to be able to change the fit of a shirt. You want more than just tailoring, though, and if you’re really into upcycling clothes, then what gives you the biggest thrill is the personality that you add to your wardrobe....

Need a little bit of craft supply storage? Grab an old tin can or coffee can and some comic book pages for this simple comic book craft! I know, cutting up a comic book feels like sacrelidge. For this craft project, choose a comic book that’s already in bad shape. A quick trip to the thrift store will turn up lots of old comic books, and as an ethical crafter you want to leave the readable ones on the shelf....

In the age of IKEA, it’s so cheap and easy to purchase brand new furniture and housewares. Heck, if it breaks, you can just replace it with another particle board kit fresh out of the box, right? There’s an old saying though that “cheap is expensive.” Sure, it costs less up front to get something that’s going to only last for a year or two. But when you add in the expense of replacing these things over and over, coupled with the toll it takes on our planet’s natural resources, these objects’ true price comes through....

A lot of upcycled denim quilts don’t incorporate quilt blocks at all, and there’s definitely a place for that. A strip-pieced denim quilt, or one that’s a patchwork of simple squares or triangles, is beautiful and fun and a great beginning sewing project. And it’s true that many quilt blocks don’t lend themselves to being sewn with denim. Denim is a LOT thicker than quilting cotton, and the seams, in particular, can get very bulky....

I mean, until the Supreme Court comes for the last ragged shreds of my body autonomy, I do still have ownership over my thighs. And those thighs have a terrible habit of absolutely shredding my jeans when I walk. I’ve tried numerous solutions over the years, but my current all-time favorite solution essentially consists of… …well, just giving my thighs MORE jeans to shred! Reinforcing that entire thigh area, both the rip and the surrounding real estate, with a denim patch, as well as quilting the snot out of that patch, stops the rip....

Crayola has a marker recycling program that includes all markers, but it’s not available in all geographic locations or outside of schools. If there’s not a marker recycling program near you, then you might prefer to upcycle your used markers. Upcycled marker beads are a fun way to give the shells of your old markers a new life. The ink reservoirs of those markers want to be made into watercolor paint and alcohol ink, but how about the barrels?...

With all of the cute ideas for decorating clear ornaments out there, though, it can sometimes be tricky to choose only the ones that are eco-friendly. No poly fiberfill or fake snow or vinyl cut-outs for us! If you’re into clear ornaments as much as I am, then, you’ll like this list that I’ve compiled of ONLY eco-friendly ways to fill and decorate them. Browse your way through, and know that no matter which tutorial you pick, it’ll be a great green choice!...

The diversity of fiber that is available to use for spinning, knitting, crochet and a myriad of other purposes is quite heartening. The fact that so many eco-friendly yarns exist is simply amazing. Many yarns come from animal fibers, while others are made from unusual materials that can be spun. I’ve found companies spinning yarn with big hearts and big companies finding it profitable to “go green.” It seems almost impossible now a days to not have access to an eco-friendly yarn....

To become the silk that we know and love, this fiber has a very interesting story. Silk comes from the cocoon of the Bombyx moth. Before turning into a moth the Bombyx caterpillar spins itself a cocoon of 1000 yards of silky fiber to house itself during the transformation. The caterpillar secretes a substance that is a thin but strong strand of fiber, which is what we know as silk....

Their most well-known and therefore best selling yarns are those made from SOYSILK, an unspeakably smooth fiber made from, you guessed it, soybeans. “The fiber is soft like silk, yet warm like cashmere. It wicks away moisture and has a soft, gentle drape. Interestingly, Henry Ford first thought of the idea of Soy Silk in the 1940s. However, during WW2 the government chose to endorse Rayon and Nylon and it would be decades before Soy fiber came to fruition,” says the SWTC website....

Whether you’re an avid green thumb or a newbie gardener, raised beds are a lovely garden solution for growing fruits, vegetables and even ornamental plants. We’ve gathered 10 great DIY raised beds that will inspire you to bust out the seed catalogs and start measuring your yard in preparation. The following options are easy, DIY raised beds, made from products you probably already having lying around your house, like untreated wood planks, cinder blocks, and excess logs....

Can you believe that we’re at less than two weeks to Valentine’s Day? If you’re planning a quiet evening in with your sweetie or with friends, make it extra special with recycled Valentine decorations! Recycled Centerpiece – A fallen branch makes a sweet recycled centerpiece for the table. DIY Wreath – Recycled cardboard and scrap paper make a pretty, simple wreath for the door. Picture Frame Wreath – Looking for a different spin on a Valentine’s Day wreath?...

1. Map Decoupage on Furniture by Flea Market Trixie Flea Market Trixie took a buffet/sideboard that needed lots of love and made it amazing! The veneer of the piece was peeling off so she got creative– she removed the veneer and then decoupaged maps to the drawers. I love everything about this piece and it makes me re-think pieces that I see at thrift stores that seem like they have no hope....