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The nice thing about an advent calendar is that it chills down the build-up just a little bit. If you choose the old-school every-day-is-a-prize advent calendar, then every day is a countdown and a little reward for making it through one more day of life that is not Christmas. If you choose the newer-fangled something-to-do-together advent calendar, then not only do you get to make those Christmas memories last a little longer, but you can sneak in activities–make Christmas cards together!...

A few weeks ago, I scored an adorable vintage mail holder at a garage sale for $3. Here’s how I gave it a makeover to match my style and decor. Thrift Store Finds: What You Will Need An old item from a thrift store or garage sale that needs a makeover Spray paint. Spray paint isn’t the greenest craft supply, so opt for low VOC spray paint, if you can....

Determining what is eco-friendly and what is not is often very subjective. At a minimum all the fabrics on this list are made of natural fibers with the least amount of conventional cotton as possible. Some of these fabrics are a linen/cotton blend that is more eco-friendly than a 100% conventional cotton fabric or a synthetic fabric. All of these fabrics are printed with non-toxic, water-based inks. Most of these fabrics are screen printed by hand by the designers themselves....

Treehugger recently featured 11 Eco Upholstery Textiles Revolutionizing The Global Market. The list includes one of our favorites, Mod Green Pod, but also has a bunch of new sources we had not previously come across. My new favorite has to be the gorgeous textiles from Q Collection, the same company behind the Q Collection Junior line of sustainable baby furniture. Their gorgeous line of residential fabrics do not have any toxic finishes and are made from 100 percent biodegradable natural fibers including bamboo, hemp, linen, organic cotton, , abaca and wool....

You see, the Craftivism Etsy Team recently had a really big fight, so big that a lot of us actually left the team. Feelings are still hurt, and a lot of those who are left for now are left wondering exactly what our team is, after all, and what it actually stands for. What did we fight about, you ask? We fought about the definition of craftivism. Etsy Teams are groups of etsy sellers who come together because they have something in common, anything from what they sell to where they live to what they believe....

Actually, my favorite thing about crafting with wooden pallets is the fact that I’m upcycling–I don’t worry about the wood’s provenance when I’m rescuing it. No, wait–my REAL favorite thing about crafting with wooden pallets is the price tag; businesses where I live are perfectly happy to simply give them away, which means that I can work wood projects for free. Whatever YOUR favorite reasons are for crafting with wooden pallets, check out the following gorgeous, useful, DIY projects: Before you begin each project, you have to two two things with each wooden pallet:...

Even though spring is usually the time to get your cleaning and organizing done, I like to organize my craft space before the real chill of winter hits. That way I’ll start my crafting hibernation season with an organized space. I was searching around for some organizational supplies and discovered that there are so many ways I can use what I have around the house to craft a wonderfully put together space in no time....

The DIY project videos have led me down paths I otherwise wouldn’t have tread (reverse glass painting! Hoodies sewn from thrifted novelty fleece blankets!), but one particularly popular category always makes me cringe, even though it, too, looks awesomely fun: resin crafts. Resin crafts, unfortunately, are terrible for the planet. Every resin craft project we make is one more unsustainably sourced, chemically toxic, non-degradable object that will clog up our waste stream, never decompose, and someday be examined with interest by the alien archaeologists that will come to our cold, barren, lifeless planet to try to figure out how the heck we managed to exterminate ourselves so efficiently....

Got an energetic toddler at home? Try some of these free toddler activities to keep him busy and happy! Holy moly, y’all! People try to tell you that chasing a toddler is a lot of work. But seriously. It can be a LOT of work! My son is fast, and he’s busy. The days of setting him down with a toy while I load the dishwasher or fix myself a cup of coffee seemed long gone....

Furniture refinishing doesn’t use just one skill; it uses ALL of them. Sure, maybe you’re great at painting, but how are you at re-upholstering? Maybe you can re-upholster like a champ… but can you tile? You can paint a wooden dresser, but can you paint a metal filing cabinet? A laminate bookshelf? A mirror? Fortunately, for every project that you need to complete, there’s an expert online to tell you how to do it....

If you follow us on Pinterest, you probably saw this idea from Alisa Burke that Becky pinned to our board. I’ve also seen these beautiful pieces of art from Creative Genius Art, too. I fell in love with the idea, so I decided to make my own version for Christmas gifts! What You Will Need: Recycled paper. I used sheet music, but you could also use book pages. A pencil Paint....

If that sounds like you, then you should totally consider sending something awesome over to Crafty Supermarket. Crafty Supermarket, located in Cincinnatti, is one of THE go-to indie craft fairs of the Midwest. Their 50 vendors regularly attract thousands of happy shoppers, the first 100 of which score swag bags. If you don’t know what a swag bag is, pretend the following: you have just finished walking around your neighborhood, going trick-or-treating for crafts....

There’s just a week left in National Bike Month, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to get your bike-friendly craft on. Let’s make it bike month every month! Riding bikes is more than just good for your health. Every mile you go on two wheels is one less mile you’re spending in an emission-emitting car. While riding bikes instead of driving might seem daunting at first, once you get in the swing of cycling, it will start to get easier....

Have you had a chance yet to enter our business card giveaway, sponsored by UPrinting? The giveaway ends this coming Wednesday, so there’s still time to enter. Our sponsors at UPrinting are offering 250 recycled business cards to one Crafting a Green World Reader. Their cards are printed on 55 percent recycled paper using soy-based inks. The winner gets to choose from a few different paper and design options, including some interesting die-cut shapes or – my favorite business card detail – rounded corners!...

There comes a time in every person’s life when they find themselves simply awash with cardboard. Maybe you just finished unpacking from your latest move. Maybe you went a little too ham on the most recent gift-giving holiday. Maybe your Girl Scout troop sold 2,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies and now you have 250 empty cookie cases to show for it. Whatever the situation that has left you with too much corrugated cardboard, I have the perfect solution: an upcycled cardboard cat scratcher!...

Why is there a hole in the butt of my jeans? Why did I sew a dinosaur patch over that hole in the butt of my jeans? These are questions that you probably shouldn’t ask, and that you definitely do NOT want the answer to. What you DO need to know is how I did it, and that’s what I’m going to tell you! You’ll be pleased to know that sewing a patch over a hole in your clothing is actually super easy, and it’s really not that hard to make better decisions about what that patch should look like than I apparently did (May I suggest a Doctor Who-themed patch?...

If you sell at craft fairs, you probably have (or you will have, after your first craft fair in the rain) an EZ-Up or something a lot like it. An EZ-Up is a 10’x10′ portable tent, the perfect size for craft fairs. It protects your stuff from the elements, is a sturdy piece of infrastructure for your own decorations, and serves as your storefront to the world during the entirety of the craft fair....

Successful clothing refashion often begins with a good base component, and that’s what the premise of Sew Pretty: T-Shirt Dresses builds upon: you take a T-shirt that fits your kiddo, and use one of the book’s 25 tutorials to refashion it into a dress. It’s thrifty and eco-friendly to do, since you’re starting with something that you already own, and since these dresses are for kids, and kids are small, you’ve got a good shot at being able to sew your skirt components entirely from stash, as well....

Since I won’t be wearing any of these potholders, this crafty green book review, unlike my review of Weekend Sewing or The Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing, doesn’t have to think about whether or not the patterns are appropriate for my body. Instead, I’ll look at whether the patterns look like something I would actually want to make for myself or for gifts. I’m also interested, in this review, in how amenable the patterns and instructions are to the use of natural or recycled materials....

As I’ve confessed before, I’m a hoarder. Right next to that bowl full of used corks is another bowl full of bottle caps. I just can’t bear to pitch them! Also like with the corks, a certain husband has been wondering what in the world I plan to do with all these bottle caps. Luckily, there are a ton fun projects that I can choose from! Are there any other cool bottle cap projects that I’m missing?...