Published on August 18th, 2008
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Creating mix tapes was an essential part of growing up. Spending hours poring over music, getting the mix just right. Fast-forwarding and rewinding to ensure the perfect timing. Waiting patiently listening to the radio, to record that perfect song (a past time that today’s youth will never no the joys. But that’s a rant for anther time.) And all for that special someone.
And being on the receiving end of a treasured mix tape, you knew that your love would last forever. That is until he started to make a tape for that girl in second period math class.
Ah young, fickle love.
Taking cassettes to the next level, these crafters have taken old tapes and remade them, or remixed them, into some pretty nifty items:
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Published on August 13th, 2008
So, flip flops. I don’t wear them, but you very well might. Here in Austin, they’re everywhere, from McDonald’s to the nicest restaurants in town. We’re a casual people.
(Yes, I ate at McDonalds! I get one milkshake there about every four years! Yes, I know it’s wrong! I was having a really bad day! I’m sorry!)
UniqEco is just one of the companies making crafts out of recycled flip flops, but I heart them the most. The company was started in response to an ecological nightmare - discarded flip flops washing up on Kenyan beaches in vast numbers. (Apparently, y’all flip flop wearers aren’t that concerned about what happens to your footwear - but since they don’t actually provide any protection for your feet, it kind of makes sense that you wouldn’t notice they were missing.) The invading flip flop armada kept turtle mamas from laying eggs and baby turtles, if any, from getting back into the ocean. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on August 4th, 2008
Clothing swaps are becoming ever more popular as we all look for ways to save money, and stay stylish. Add in the possibilities for DIY modifications, and you can whip yourself up an entirely new wardrobe for practically nothing. It’s one thing to trade among friends, or your local community, but what if people from all over the planet could participate in a 24-7 swap party from the comfort of their homes?
DigNSwap.com aims to be a catalyst for online clothing, shoe, and accessory trading. You simply upload photos of stuff you want to swap, and indicate a few attributes such as size, color, brand and condition. Then, you “dig” through what others have to offer using convenient category and tag based searching. When you find something you like, you can bid on it with items in your stash. If your bid is accepted, then you ship the items to each other. Pretty neat, right?
This site recently launched its beta release, and tapped CAGW to help get the ball rolling with participation. That means YOU can be among the first people to help build an online community that facilitates revamping fashion rather than trashing it. For those not familiar, “Beta” websites are, for the most part, fully functioning, but may have some bugs that need working out. Most site administrators encourage visitors to disclose glitches or issues with functionality during this period with hopes that tweaking will culminate an ideal end-user experience. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on May 12th, 2008
On top of all my various journals, I own way too many tote bags. Accumulation can happen fast. One too many conferences and craft fairs and bam! you have a closet over-flowing with totes.
It’s a good thing really, enabling you to BYOB (bring your own bag) on any numerous shopping excursions.
On one such recent shopping excursion to everyone’s favorite big box store, Target, I found another green offering to the tote world. Made of 100% organic materials, the cute market tote is available with sassy slogans like “Kiss me I’m Organic” and “I don’t do Plastic.”
While not hand made, it is refreshing to see organics and other eco-friendly materials and products making it to the mainstream. And with any of the Fabulous Fabrics, the totes could easily be recreated. Try using either of these projects. Just add your own eco slogan.
“DIY or Die!” anyone?
[Image from Target.com]
Published on April 28th, 2008
I couldn’t believe my eyes! Did I just see this recycled Capri Sun bag at Target? In amongst the pretty floral and pleather handbags, there they were, in all their green-crafted glory…recycled Capri Sun tote bags - at Target! Wow, green craft is really going mainstream. I had a vision of a young indie crafter, sitting on a mountain of money, drunk on Capri Sun, tied to her sewing machine cranking these bad-boys out. After some research though, I learned the real story and how we can help. TerraCycle, Capri Sun and Honest Kids have teamed up to help prevent the billions of juice packs that Americans drink each year from ending up in a land fill. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 20th, 2008
Indie fashion offers an abundance of options from head to toe… almost! Cobbling , the art of making shoes, is not necessarily mainstream. Yet, I see no one walking around barefoot in public. I say, throw those misconceptions out the door about the difficulty of creating footwear. We can do better than plastic daisies hot glued to foam flip-flops. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 14th, 2008
Everyday I come across something on Etsy that surprises and gets me excited about the endless recycled craft possibilities. This week I came across reiter8, an upcycling crafter from Brooklyn that takes sailboat sails that would otherwise go to the dump and creates bags and pillows out of the canvas.
The designer came up with this idea while visiting her mother in Maine. After taking notice of the strong canvas material that made up the sails on a boat, she realized that this material would make a sturdy alternative material for bags and pillows all while saving them from going to landfills. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on March 31st, 2008
Wrist cuffs are fun accessories that lend an air of rock and roll to any outfit. Thrifting vinyl records is a great way to add rock and roll to your music collection. Put the two together and what do you get? Wrist cuffs made from thrifted vinyl records! Read the rest of this entry »
Published on March 14th, 2008
After a long running campaign to ban plastic bags in the U.K, Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced this week a plan to introduce a tax on plastic bags.
Fantastic news! We can rid the country of an ugly, harmful menace and give ourselves a big slap on the back whilst carrying our shopping home in natural resuable bags. Great!
Or… is it really all that great? Am I the only one who might be a little bit sad to see them go? I won’t miss the bags themselves but I will miss the creativity they inspire. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on February 27th, 2008
The Koo Tomato Paste Box is made in South Africa out of recycled tin and wire. Just think of all the things you could make if you saved all your cans and tins!
Small, medium, and large sizes available from $22-$42. This lovely tin box is available at Indigo. Indigo is an online store that supports and sells arts and artifacts from Asia, Africa and the Americas.
