Crafting a Green World

From the creator of the BOBO wrapping scarf comes the new book The Wrapping Scarf Revolution (Leisure Arts #4833).

If you have ever checked out BOBO wraps but were too intimidated to buy one because of the complex wrapping then this book is for you- filled with step by step detailed instructions to help you wrap these beautiful scarves.

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The one thing I have always wanted to learn how to do, but have never gotten around to it, is sewing. Sure I can do the basics like stitch a seam back together or sew a button back on but when it comes to using a sewing machine…I am totally intimidated. I don’t even know where to start.

I don’t want my daughter’s creativity to be thwarted like mine. Not being able to sew has limited my crafty creations. I design a lot of things, many which never come in being because I can’t sew.

The book Sew with Sara: PJs, Pillows, Bags & More–Fun Stuff to Keep, Give, SELL! is a great way to get my daughter interested in sewing.

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Craftcycle by Heidi Boyd is one of the newest eco-crafting books to hit the bookshelves and one of the best. With super creative, crafty and ingenious ideas this book is a keeper.

With over 100 eco-friendly projects plus eco-living tips and ideas, this is a book that is going to be on many  “greenies” wish lists. Read the rest of this entry »

When the Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced that it was deaccessioning part of its textile collection, artist Robert Fontenot was on the scene. He hit up three separate auctions and acquired 50 pieces, almost half of the items the museum was getting rid of. The resulting work is sometimes arty, sometimes functional, and all beautiful! He embroiders the accession number into each finished piece.

The project is still a work in progress, and I just love this quote from his artist’s statement: “Although each item has not yet been used, each item can have a use.” Yes! I think that can apply to materials in a much larger sense, and his work is a fantastic reminder that old pieces can take on a whole new life with just a little bit of love.

Want to get your upcycle on? Thrift stores and even the back of your closet are full of textiles that can take on a whole new life! Here are a few ideas to get you going:
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The Green Crafter: 52 Eco Friendly Projects for Every Week of the Year is a cute book by Richela Fabian Morgan.

In the book you’ll find a bunch of cute eco-craft projects for adults and kids. You’ll find detailed directions for fun projects like sock monkeys, very awesome paper dolls, garden butterflies, paper flowers, rock animals, ghosts on a string, photo ball ornaments, and keepsake boxes…just to name a few of my favorites. Read the rest of this entry »

The Big Green Book of Recycled Crafts ( Leisure Arts #4802) is a collection of fun and fabulous crafts made from all kinds of trashy, upcycled products.

I see quite a few old favorites in this Leisure Arts publication from other Leisure Arts books including the Trash to Treasure books.

I also see a few new crafts and one that I am thrilled to have found the instructions for. Read the rest of this entry »

As part of the Pretty Little series, Pretty Little Potholders has step-by-step instructions and some patterns for several very different kinds of potholders.

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. Are natural or recycled materials asked for, or, even if they’re not, can I easily see places in which they could be substituted?

Here, then, is what I decided about Pretty Little Potholders. Read the rest of this entry »

Organic Crafts: 75 Earth-Friendly Art Activities, by Kimberly Monaghan, is technically a crafting book for children, but as I played with some of the projects in it with my girls, I noticed that many of the projects had the kind of simple-looking sophistication–an effect, I’m sure, of the usage of natural materials to create the projects–that I really like to see in the projects that I, myself, do.

And so, this green crafty book review will look a little different than my review of Weekend Sewing or the Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing. I’m starting from the presumption that many of the projects in Organic Crafts will be too simple to appeal to an adult crafting for herself, and that’s okay.

Some projects, however, are pretty awesome, and it’s those that I’m going to review. Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight I’ve been pondering crafts involving old books.  Obviously collector books, library quality books and books we just plain love get pampered and kept on our shelves and tables…

What about the rest?  Obsolete manuals, damaged books, those which have only kind of survived the toddler years… where do they go, what do they become?

Disclaimer: If a book is not salvageable (or any parts of it that are beyond reuse), please tear it apart and recycle it.

If books are in good shape and no longer needed in your household, please consider donating them to a hospital or shelter.  A great idea for children is to have a book exchange party or a books for the children’s hospital party (ask everyone to bring their gently used books to donate).

Here are some great ideas I found for making a book into something new. Read the rest of this entry »

As I mentioned in my review for Weekend Sewing, here are my criteria for a crafty green book review:

How amenable is the book to using (or how easy are the instructions to modify to include) natural or recycled materials?

How appropriate is the book’s sizing for my body, if it includes adult clothing projects (I have a 42″ chest, a 36″ waist, and I’m 5′2″)?

How reader-friendly are the instructions (I have at least the basic skills for any craft, with my best skills being in sewing, probably, but since I’m self-taught in everything there are often huge gaps in my knowledge)?

Here, then, based on those criteria, is my book review of Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing, by Kathy Cano-Murillo. Read the rest of this entry »