Most notable in our neck of the woods, is their partnership with Trees for the Future, a non-profit that is helping in reforestation efforts around the world. Art Fire will have a tree planted for every new member that signs up. This is awesome, don’t get me wrong. But I’m not going to endorse a website when it appears to over publicize it’s involvement in a relatively hands-off environmental effort....
The IWK Health Centre sent out this crafty call-to-arms last month: This is a great project for a caring knitter wherever you are, because knit finger puppets take so few supplies to make, and since they’re small and light, they’re inexpensive to mail even to Nova Scotia. One of my favorite things about this project, though, is that there’s so much scope for personality here. A lot of projects that you can make and donate to hospitals have to be quite standardized, and for good reason–supplies donated to hospitals usually have to stand up to industrial washing and sanitizing, and can’t contain anything allergenic....
In Little House in the Big Woods, Ma receives an apple pomander from her sister-in-law for Christmas. Laura writes, “Aunt Eliza had brought Ma a large red apple stuck full of cloves. How good it smelled! And it would not spoil, for so many cloves would keep it sound and sweet.” An apple pomander – aka a clove apple – is a wonderful present, because it works exactly the way that Laura Ingalls Wilder describes it: it smells wonderful, it won’t rot, and the stem provides the perfect place to tie a serviceable piece of twine or a fancy ribbon to hang your clove apple in a closet or hallway....
Even though rain barrels are pretty much all the same concept, each one tends to be put together in its own way. This is my DIY rain barrel. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. It’s made from a food-grade barrel. There’s a dude off the highway, just outside town–I don’t know what he does for a living, but his driveway is filled with neatly-organized stacks of barrels, from 5-gallon all the way up to 275-gallon....
The new prints would be lovely for so many applications, but the first thing that comes to my mind is luxurious bedding. I am eyeing Boxwood in Metro for a duvet cover. As always Daisy Janie allows you to use the fabrics however you like for your own personal or commercial use. Jan explains her design process: To learn more about Jan’s design process and inspirations head over to the Daisy Janie Blog....
Organizing books in box sets is tidy and neat and easily displayed. You shouldn’t have to miss out if you do as I do and collect your book sets one by one from thrift shops. Here’s a way to build a box set book case that will help with organizing books and keeping them dust-free and ready to binge-read. Organizing Books with a DIY Cardboard Book Case You will need:...
Billions of pieces of waste are expected to be collected by Garnier which will dramatically reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. Through the sponsorship of worldwide Cosmetics Brigade, cosmetic packaging will be collected and shipped to a TerraCycle facility. All kinds of cosmetic waste that would otherwise end up in our trash can now be recycled or reused. This is huge. Not too long ago I was discussing reusing and recycling cosmetic waste....
After seeing bags and bags of them at thrift stores, though, I realized that not everyone holds on to them forever. (Come to think of it, I’m not sure where my childhood set went. Note to self: interrogate mother about how she disposed of eggs.) So if you’re not going to continue using them for festive holiday celebrations, or if you’ve found a stash that’s begging for re-use, what can you do?...
But I am getting ahead of myself. Which is kinda the point, to get on top of the holiday craziness before the holidays get on top of me. Which means it’s time for this crafty girl to get into a Christmas frame of mind. So, before I start stressing about gifts and goodies I am going to take stock of what I have on hand to create a green Christmas....
It’s a pain in the butt to extensively research the perfect eco-friendly craft supply that also, you know, WORKS. It sucks if you buy something that’s eco-friendly but doesn’t perform the way that you want it to, or if you feel as if you have to buy something harmful to the environment in order to get the result that you want. It feels terrible to accidentally buy something harmful when you know that eco-friendly alternatives exist....
Ah yes, the souvenir t-shirt… too silly to wear, but what do you do with it? I know Leslie’s probably going to be rocking us with recycled t-shirt projects from Generation T for quite some time, but I’ve also been racking up a few t-shirt craft ideas that I wanted to share. (Yes, we seem to have “fads” among the CAGW writers sometimes. First jeans, now t-shirts. Next up: socks?...
If you’re trying to produce less waste, the grocery store is a great place to start. Food packaging waste is a serious environmental issue. Every year, we throw away about $11.4 billion worth of food packaging, and that figure doesn’t even include the food packaging that you recycle. That’s just what’s going to landfills. There are lots of non-DIY ways to reduce food packaging waste, like bringing a reusable bottle instead of buying bottled water or skipping the produce bags when you’re buying things like apples and potatoes that are just fine floating loose in your cart....
Why pillowcases? To bring smiles to children in hospitals. These brightly colored pillowcases brighten up a drab hospital room and can help bring smiles and hope to children suffering through long and often painful treatments. You too can help by sewing pillowcases for this cause. Simply check out Conkerr Cancer and find a coordinator or a participating hospital in your area. Then start sewing fun and bright pillowcases in cotton or flannel fabrics for children of all ages....
Why are you so bad for me, Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamer? Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer, why are you made of cancer? If this is your regular cry of sadness in the morning, then you will appreciate these homemade coffee creamer recipes from Deliciously Organic. All of the recipes use real, organic ingredients, and they’ll satisfy your sweet tooth, whether you’re a fan of chocolate or vanilla or cinnamon or peppermint....
This awesome, upcycled twist on the classic terrarium DIY is a miniature rainforest in a bottle! School is almost out! That means swimming pools, red-stained popsicle lips and later-than-usual bedtimes are all in store. And lots and lots of books! Books?! OK, let’s be honest. It’s a pain in the brain to get the kiddies to actually learn something between June and August, right? Well, trust me – sneaking in a fun, hands-on lesson is easier than you think....
This is the DIY Valentine that keeps on giving. It’s a homemade paper heart filled with seeds. In the spring, your Valentine plant the paper heart and gets to watch the wildflowers grow. Now that’s a pretty cool Valentine. How to Make Seed Paper Valentines What You Need 1 cup of ripped-up newspaper or junk mail 2 cups of water Wildflower seeds 3 heart-shaped mini aluminum pie tins or silicone molds 2 large bowls Blender...
A Waldorf doll is a work of art. Waldorf dolls are handmade from cotton fabric, stuffed with wool, and embellished with wool or cotton yarn hair. It’s a realistic-looking child doll, given warmth and heft from the wool stuffing, and personality from a sculpted face and carefully embroidered features. Oh, and if you want to buy one, prepare to shell out a LOT of money. Fortunately, although making your own Waldorf doll is a complicated and time-consuming craft, it is not especially difficult, especially with all the generous tutorials and thoughtful patterns available to walk you through the process....
My husband and I just discovered a bunch of old family photos. Some of these go back to his childhood, and there were a couple of sonograms from when I was pregnant with our son in the mix! We have been talking about how to showcase them in our house, so I’ve been looking up different ways to display photos. Some of the ideas below would work best for a few photos, maybe arranged in a pretty cluster....
Problem #1: Nothing in my house is mauve, persimmon, or lime. Problem #2: I don’t have a twin size bed. So what do I do with this sheet? Granted, sheets are just really big pieces of fabric, so there are plenty of options. But this sheet is so cute, I want to use it for something special. I could use it for the back of a quilt, since I do all my sewing by machine....
I am thrilled to announce that Crafting a Green World is going to be partnering up with PlanToys for some super fun, crafty adventures. A craft site teaming up with a toymaker might not make sense at first glance, but PlanToys has tons of toys that are begging to be altered and accessorized. We are so excited to get started! In case you’re not familiar with PlanToys, I wanted to introduce you to this phenomenal company and talk about why we are so in love with their toys and their mission....
