Published on January 25th, 2009
We’re in the process of making a long-distance move here at my house, from Northern Idaho to Central Oregon. With that comes a lot of random pieces of clothing, old towels, or scraps of fabric that we don’t want to throw away, but aren’t in good enough shape to send off to Goodwill. I was grasping for something to do with these scraps when the idea hit me like a ton of bricks… Make a rag rug! They’re easy to make, and they’re a good way to use all these random pieces without letting them go to waste.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on January 19th, 2009
Recycle This is an amazing blog about how to reuse and recycle anything. Just ask the question. Recently, a question about marbles came up and I had to tune in.
Some of the reader ideas and creative suggestions included:
- gathering them up for a backyard project by placing them for stepping stones outside for a colorful zen garden.
- using a huge washing-up bowl with loads of marbles, filling it with hot water, essential oils and soaking your feet for a footsie massage by rolling them over the marbles.
Any more more suggestions? Read the rest of this entry »
Published on January 5th, 2009
Now that you know what to do with your packing peanuts and greeting cards, what about that wrapping paper? Did you throw it out? No, of course not! But what do you do with it now that the gifts are unwrapped and the holidays are over?
Well hopefully you are a careful unwrapper, like myself. I exude extreme restraint when I denude any gifts. Not only do I want to know what’s inside, but I also want the paper, too. Even if you aren’t as a restrained unwrapper, you can still salvage the paper and reuse it in many many crafty ways.
If your paper is a bit crinkly or has seems from its previously held shape, you can easily flatten the paper out using your iron. Set it on low and place a towel between the paper and the iron. Check it often because you don’t want to burn the house down!
Once you have your flattened paper you can now use it in so many different ways:
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 29th, 2008
As the holidays start to wind down, I’ve taken a look around my house and realized that I have a lot of left over things that accompany all the gift giving. One of the bigger boxes that was shipped to me was packed with those pesky peanuts. Having no idea what to do with them, I started poking around for some ideas on what to do with my snowy, sticky, new friends.
Since I don’t work in an office, How to Fill an Office with Packing Peanuts seems out. Which is too bad because it looks like an awesome prank!
The next best thing to do with them, if you don’t have an office to pull off the prank, is to use them for what they were made for in the first place - packing! Sentimental Holiday ornaments and decorations can be safe and snug for the next year when you reuse the peanuts as you put away these things.
Use them loose or wrap them in newspaper so they don’t go flying everywhere. Gently nestle the more breakable pieces and feel secure in knowing that they will be safe until you pull them out next year.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 23rd, 2008
Over the Summer on our sister site Feel Good Style, we shared the book Simply Green Parties by Danny Seo, and now for the winter holidays I’m pleased to present his classic book on green gift wrap.
Pictured here is the cover of Simply Green Giving: Create Beautiful Gift Wrapping, Tags and Handmade Treasures from Everyday Materials. The how-to manual on eco gift wrap includes:
“clever ways to recycle ribbon, cards and paper from presents people give you. Last, but not least, there are gorgeous last-minute gift ideas that don’t look like an afterthought and are gifts people will actually love.
A few highlights:
* Use an old cardboard globe as a gift basket
* Use colorful wood cigar boxes as handsome gift boxes for homebaked treats
* Recycle old books into a ring boxs
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 22nd, 2008
As the holidays are solidly upon us, I am finally feeling a little bit relieved that it is almost over. I took the handmade pledge, made the majority of my gifts, or bought handmade for the rest. I, again, underestimated the amount of time it would take me to get everything accomplished and ended up spending an arm and a leg on shipping, but my stress level has subsided.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays. Figuring out gifts and baking an insane amount is actually fun, but takes a lot of coordination. So I wanted to give you another option for your gift giving. The gift of time.
It is the ultimate in green giving. No purchase necessary. It doesn’t consume resources. It even thwarts the consumerism that is so prevalent during this season. All’s it requires is for you to craft some room in that super busy over-scheduled life of yours.
I didn’t say it would be easy.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 8th, 2008
With the holidays continuing their slow march up the calendar, I know that many of you will be hitting the road to visit friends and family. This shouldn’t mean that you have to leave your craft behind. Here are some tips to make your travels more craft friendly.
Pack it to go - Grab one of your tote bags and start adding all your crafting accessories needed for your current project. For my knitting projects, I keep a small zippered pouch stocked with small scissors, a tape measure, darning needle and stitch marker. I throw that in along with my yarn, needles and my pattern.
In the air - Knitting needles, small scissors under 4 inches, and sewing needles are permitted in carry on luggage. TSA recommends that your knitting needles be made of plastic or wood/bamboo, but metal needles are permitted. They urge caution if for some reason your supplies could be constituted as weapons, and suggest you bring a self addressed stamped envelope in case your items need to be shipped, but I’ve never had an issue.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 3rd, 2008
I am completely in love with Liz Dickey’s art made from discarded bicycle parts! She launched 1.by.liz, making and selling her reCYCLED art, in Portland, Oregon just a few years ago. Each of her one-of-a-kind clocks and magnets are made from upcycled materials.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on November 27th, 2008
Today on Thanksgiving we’re playing the white elephant gift exchange game! It’s that holiday party game where you pick a number, and choose a gift, then the one with the next number chooses a new present or has the choice of yours. All the gifts are all wrapped in the funny pages, and it is sure to be a blast!
Have you ever tried gift wrapping with the funnies?
I love customized gifts and browsing over the Sunday comics is a great start for personalizing gift wrap for new parents (Family Circus), cat lovers (Garfield), and vikings (Hagar the Horrible)!
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on November 26th, 2008
[Image Credit: Jessica Merz on Flickr under a Creative Commons license]
The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists! Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be posting about recycled gifts you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale.
A mason jar full of cookie mix is a pretty traditional handmade Christmas gift. This project gives the idea a green face lift using a delicious vegan cookie recipe. Cutting back on eggs and dairy can help folks lower their carbon footprints by avoiding these animal products. The recipe in this project is based on my favorite chocolate chip cookies: Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. These things are foolproof, and no one ever suspects that they’re vegan. It’s a great way to help folks see that vegan baking can have delicious results! Read the rest of this entry »
