Published on July 26th, 2009
Soap boxes (from bath size bars of soap) can easily be transformed into fun little gift boxes. These soap boxes are small and cute and can easily be made by anyone, even the youngest children. They can be customized for any occasion.
Kids can easily decorate them with stickers, scraps of old wrapping paper, cutouts from old greeting cards, foam shapes or anything on hand in the craft box.
The boxes can be decorated in so many ways and are the perfect size for gift cards. Stuff the box full of tissue and slide the gift card in, that way the receiver still gets to open a gift not just a card. Plus the hand decorated box makes it so much more personal. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 25th, 2009
Liquid Nails Home Projects Repair Adhesive is GREENGUARD Children and Schools certified which basically boils down to it is very low in VOCs, has a mild odor odor and contains very minute amounts (if any) of hazardous materials like formaldehyde and phthaltes which makes it generally safer and less toxic to use than most adhesives.
Now it is not the whole line of Liquid Nails products that are now GREENGUARD certified just the Home Projects Repair Adhesive.
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Published on July 25th, 2009
Something about being a crafter just automatically makes you green to a certain extent since most of the time we use whatever we find to make our little baubles and treasures.
Remember the Trash to Treasure books that Leisure Arts started putting out back in the nineties? I loved those. I was always amazed that they could take things like crushed soda cans and old takeout containers and turn them into crafty works of art and cute little gifts. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 24th, 2009
Here’s a way to tie a pretty bow or add a little something extra to your project while being eco-friendly.
Cream City Ribbon has a nice selection of biodegradable cotton ribbons made from cotton grown and processed in the US. The ribbon is made without using chlorine bleach and uses water based soy dyes making the ribbon very, very eco.
Even the packaging and ribbon spools are made from biodegradable materials.
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Published on July 24th, 2009
I found an awesome new company I can’t wait to try out, Earth Safe Finishes.
Instead of finding one eco-product here and one there, Earth Safe Finishes has paints, stains, sealers, varnishes, waxes, glazes and even fabric dyes…all in eco-friendly formulas. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 10th, 2009
I inherited my grandmother’s house many years ago. I still have not went through everything that came with the house. Boxes remain that have not been sorted and organized. My grandmother was a pack rat but the awesome thing is that she left behind memories of her life like pieces to a puzzle for me to put together.
I have found newspapers and photographs from the 1800s, old magazines, some cool handbags and hats and tons of letters, cards, and little mementos of a long life.
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Published on June 30th, 2009
New York City’s Cooper Hewitt is highlighting their Fashioning Felt exhibit in a big way. My mind is now filled with ideas about the possibilities of felt.
”Fashioning Felt presents an extraordinary range of felt. From two-dimensional carpets to three-dimensional environments, each work reveals the virtuosity of both the material and the designers. The exhibition and book focus on felt that has been produced by traditional hand- or machine-felting processes; they exclude non-woven felt and techniques, in order to underscore the essential elements of feltmaking — wool fiber, agitation, moisture, and pressure.”
I fell for this Felt Ovoid Jacket and Empire Pant look. Isn’t this draped felt suit creative?
Keep reading for more inspiration: Read the rest of this entry »
Published on June 19th, 2009
I love vintage glass. I have a few hoarded bottles and unique finds that are currently stashed away so my kids don’t break them. Eventually I will have all my antiques displayed around my home and not stuffed in boxes…after the kids have grown up.
If I displayed everything now it would just get broken. But broken glass pieces don’t always get wasted. There are many artists who have found creative ways to turn broken glass into works of art. Some make mosaics, others make new bottles, glasses or tumblers, and some, like Laura Bergman of Bottled Up Designs , make pretty pieces of jewelry. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on May 29th, 2009
I love Eco-Artware’s wonderful selection of handcrafted goods from many crafty green artists. They have a wide variety of items to choose from including kids stuffed animals made from upcycled sweaters, jewelry made from old pennies, typewriter keys, and watch faces, bowls made from old records and signs, coasters made from old unplayable vinyl records, and my favorite- baskets made from chopsticks. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on May 26th, 2009
Pratt was the star of this year’s ICFF Design Schools’ Exhibition with their Design for a Dollar contest. Amazingly, with the design constraint of using a buck or less, the Pratt students invented brilliant eco home ideas (many upcycled from totally discarded items). The competition required students to create designs that include manufacturing costs, transportation, energy, material, labor and waste issues.
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Soap boxes (from bath size bars of soap) can easily be transformed into fun little gift boxes. These soap boxes are small and cute and can easily be made by anyone, even the youngest children. They can be customized for any occasion.
