Crafting a Green World

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Here at CAGW, we try and direct fellow crafters to materials to use that are gentler on the environment for craft projects. From fabric and yarns to scissors and notions there is a plethora of options out there for the eco-conscious crafter.

On the flip side, these are limited options and often our craft supplies leave you wondering how safe and green are they. We’ve even started a list of demands for things that we wish we had.

Well, I am going to add waterproof, clear, flexible, “fabric” to that list. Many crafters use this in their projects for many purposes. Unfortunately, this “fabric” is vinyl or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a type of plastic (number 3 to be exact) and I am calling for an outright ban on this poison plastic.

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Welcome to the first Carnival of Green Crafts!

For more information about the Carnival, please see the Carnival of Green Crafts home page here at Crafting A Green World.

We’re pleased as punch to announce that the next Carnival will be August 9th at BlogHer, courtesy of Hobbies, Crafts & DIY Contributing Editor Debra Roby. Send in your posts via the carnival submission form today!

Thanks so much to all the crafters who shared their posts with us for this Carnival.  Let’s dig in! Read the rest of this entry »

He deserves it more than your boyfriend, and you don’t have to worry about the dreaded break-up curse.

Al Gore has been all over the airwaves recently proposing a challenge for America to eradicate the use of fossil fuels by 2018.  I’m picking up what he’s putting down. It’s like dealing with that friend who’s always late by telling them to meet you 15 minutes earlier than when you plan to arrive.

Alternative energy is the top priority of the environmental agenda, and rightly so. It slightly dwarfs the significance of making snow globes out of baby food jars. However, after we all start driving electric cars and installing affordable solar panels on our roofs, more intense focus will turn to how stuff is made, and I think green crafting is worthy of a slide or two on Mr. Gore’s next Power Point presentation. That is, if we can get his attention. Read the rest of this entry »

Crafting A Green World is thrilled to announce the new Carnival of Green Crafts!

The Carnival of Green Crafts is a twice monthly online celebration of all things eco and crafty. Whether it’s a full-fledged tutorial or your personal musings, photos of projects in progress or completed, great thrift store finds that are destined for a craft project, or a love letter to your favorite environmentally friendly craft supplies, we want it! We hope that this Carnival is a place to show off, inspire, rant, rave, learn, and support each other as we find ways to create beautiful things while protecting the Earth.

If you’re not familiar with blog carnivals, here’s the scoop. A blog carnival is basically a traveling event, a regular series of posts that collect links to recently posted content on the carnival’s theme. Most carnivals move from blog to blog, with each edition hosted by a different blog. Crafting A Green World is kicking off the Carnival of Green Crafts and we’re giving it a home base, but we invite the green crafting community to jump in and make this carnival what you want it to be.
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I did not pick up this magazine at my local book store because I was half-baked and looking for a quick giggle. No, my dears, the header of “Food as Celebration | Passionate Gardening | Nostalgic Crafts and Stitchery” was just as eye catching.

Mary Jane’s Farm, a publication of Mary Jane Butters, appears to be Martha Stewart Living for organic farm girls, or those of us who wish they were organic farm girls. Usually, I have a big problem with putting one person’s name and image all over things that were the combined effort of many talented people. However, my distaste of personified brands was trumped by aesthetically charming, recycled pages awash with useful content, and the company’s dedication to recycling and alternative energy usage. Read the rest of this entry »

Besides filling the role of fearless leader here at CAGW, I’m the “strange girl in charge” of Strange Folk, an indie arts and craft show right across the river from St. Louis, MO. This will be our 3rd year, and there’s lots of great new shtuff in store. For starters, we’ve extended the event to two days: September 27th and 28th, 2008.

Vendor applications are now being accepted on our website thru July 6th. Last year we hosted 100 vendors from across the country, and will be accepting 120 for this year’s event. I’m giving Crafting a Green World the inside scoop, because we are aiming to make Strange Folk eco-friendly as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Autumn just filled us in on the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 (S. 2913). If you have any concerns about it, I’m here to tell you how to present those concerns to the people who can make a difference: the federal government.

As of May 15th, this bill was voted out of Senate Committee on the Judiciary and placed on the full Senate’s intent calendar. That means that the entire Senate will be involved in making the next decision about whether this bill will move forward. You can follow the progress of the bill, as well as media coverage of it, at its page on Open Congress or on its official bill status page on the Library of Congress website.

Preparing to Advocate

Before you communicate with your Senators about this bill, you have to do your homework. Read the rest of this entry »

Amid a dwindling economy, a controversial war, and an incomprehensible environmental crisis, it’s easy to overlook the more “benign” pitter-patter of Capitol Hill. As modern makers we declare independence in a sense, through what we create, but count on the protection of copyright in order to exclusively maintain our intellectual property. The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act, if allowed to become law, will drastically weaken and complicate rights of individuals to pursue damages for copyright infringement. This legislation claims good intentions, yet has been drafted with dangerous loopholes.

I urge the indie craft community to take a closer look at this bill, and act quickly… it was introduced to congress on April 24th, 2008, and is rumored to be fast-tracked to a vote.

In this special two-part post, I will introduce you to the legislation, and Skye will jump in later with some advocacy tips. Read the rest of this entry »

To spread the word about the need for meaningful climate action and motivate our elected officials that we need to act now to solve global climate change, Bill McKibben, of Step It Up fame, has stepped it up himself with his new organization 350.org.

350.org is spreading the word far and wide about the importance of the number 350 and you can help! Together with Craftster, Etsy, Craft Magazine, Burda Style and Thrifty Fun — 350.org has launched the Creativity 350 partnership and contest to draw creative energy and attention to 350.org’s goal of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million to stave off dangerous climate change.

The contest is in two parts; a 350-themed craft contest and a 350-themed T-shirt design contest. For the craft contest, you are invited to craft any project that creatively expresses the importance of the number 350, using any crafting technique. For the T-shirt contest, you may create an original T-shirt design that creatively expresses the importance of the number 350.

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Sometimes I get rid of fabric.

Shocking, right? Fabric is meant to be hoarded, right? But honestly, though those old pastel celestial prints might be useful for insulating my house or making my fridge run more efficiently, I am so over the stars thing and I am never going to use this stuff.

My local quilt guild takes donations of kid-friendly and soldier-friendly fabrics for various community service projects, but what if you don’t have a guild nearby? And more importantly, is there anything I can do to find a new life for the perfectly good yarn that I often see abandoned in thrift stores and at garage sales?

Here are five organizations that accept donations of craft supplies. Feel free to add more in the comments. I’ve tried to stick to permanent organizations instead of individuals or temporary efforts, and this list contains only organizations where I could confirm they accept donations. (There are hundreds upon hundreds of organizations listed all over the web, and hundreds of websites, but many of them no longer exist.) Read the rest of this entry »