Fairy gardening is a great kid craft, but fairy gardens aren’t just for kids; they’re for anyone who has an imagination and a desire to grow something green.
Craft Book Review: Fairy Gardening and Fairy Gardening 101 Read More 👉
With the right choice of product and material, the process can be contemplative and enhance your skills and stretch your creativity.
The Gnome Project: Jessica Peill-Meininghaus Makes a Gnome Every. Single. DAY Read More 👉
Have you ever come across a once beautiful, now battered quilt at a yard sale?
Handmade Review: Recycled Hexie Quilts Read More 👉
You want to make a hat for your cat. Let’s just establish that, okay? Like, trying to deny it and pretending that cats in hats isn’t an interest of yours are just not going to be options here.
Cats in Hats: You’re Welcome (+ a giveaway!) Read More 👉
My two favorite things about technology are 1) its ability to empower everyone, especially kids, to learn what they want to learn and do what they want to do, and 2) its potential for presenting information and encouraging people, especially kids, in ways that interest and engage them.
Kids Level up Their Eco Skills at DIY.org Read More 👉
Sometimes an artist needs some inspiration.
Book Review: Living in a Fairytale World, by Mister Finch Read More 👉
Pot holders are all well and good, but sometimes you just don’t need one more thing sitting on your counter while you’re trying to cook.
DIY Pot Handle Covers from Wise Craft Read More 👉
Celebrate Earth Day by supporting Retrash — a new book about upcycling, recycling, and living a sustainable lifestyle.
Celebrate Earth Day with Retrash (and a giveaway)! Read More 👉
For those who might wonder if making your own potato chips from scratch is more work than just buying potato chips from the store, then the answer is yes.
Obviously.
Seriously, why would you even wonder that?
Create Custom Potato Chips from The DIY Pantry, by Kresha Faber Read More 👉
Ever wondered if you could make your own chocolate?
You totally can!
It turns out that chocolate is a pretty do-able DIY project, and easy to customize with your own mix-ins and flavor combinations. Never had a peanut butter/sesame seed/dried cranberry chocolate bar? Well, now’s the time to make that happen.
Handmade Reviews: The Make Your own Chocolate Kit from Glee Gum (and a Giveaway!) Read More 👉
You don’t need a store-bought, factory-made greeting card.
Handmade Reviews: Uncommon Cards Read More 👉
Looking for a quick craft? A cute craft? A kid-friendly craft?
InstaCraft, given to me by Ulysses Press, has become my kiddos’ and my go-to reference when we’re looking for something fast and easy to fill up a Sunday morning or a rainy afternoon with a little color.
Handmade Reviews: Boo Bottles from InstaCraft Read More 👉
Soaps to Live by is giving away, to one lucky winner with a United States address, three of their handmade soaps of the winner’s choice. Yesterday I reviewed the Bliss oatmeal cloves soap, the Dream peppermint rosemary organic soap, and the Shine citrus lavender soap, but perhaps you’re more into patchouli orange–then Hope is YOUR soap! Prefer thyme lemongrass? You’ll want to ask for Live.
Whatever your preferences, get your wish list ready, and then read on to see how you can enter to win your own three soaps from Soaps to Live by.
Giveaway: Win Three Handmade Soaps from Soaps to Live by Read More 👉
Soaps to Live by soaps are made by real people, using real ingredients, in small batches, with eco-friendly practices. Read on to see how I liked them, and how Soaps to Live by is going to give even more soap away to one of you!
Crafty Green Review: Hand-Crafted, Eco-Friendly Soap from Soaps to Live by Read More 👉
Sometimes, if you’re an artist or a crafter, you have the chance to give out business cards that have a lot more flair. Business cards that you give out at a conference or networking event, with a purchase at a craft fair, or in a package that you’re shipping with an order from your etsy shop can afford to be a little fancier, and include a little bonus gift to make you memorable.
These DIY business cards may not fit in a potential customer’s wallet, but they’ll still stand out. Whether it’s a string of hand-painted beads, a small charm, or another trinket, these items may be just more of your unneeded stash, but to others they’re gifts, a little added value that costs you nothing but a few extra seconds of time, but positively impacts how your business card is received.
How-to: DIY Embellished Business Cards–with a Treat! Read More 👉
For a lot of us, green crafting means using eco-friendly materials. Or maybe it means using your crafty skills to replace disposables in your life with reusables. Either way, the environment plays a big role in ethical crafting for most of us. For many of us, though, ethical crafting is about making a difference for individual people as well as the environment, and that’s just as important.
HandCrafting Justice is a good example of folks using crafty skills to change lives.
HandCrafting Justice: Proof that Craft Can Change Lives Read More 👉
Last week I bought an adorable plant stand at a garage sale. I stared at it sitting in my living room and thought, “Those curved feet are just too cute! I wish I could make it into a table.” So, I transformed it into a table!
How To: Create a Plant Stand Side Table Read More 👉
You don’t even have to actually tell the recipient of your thank-you card that it’s written on recycled elephant poop paper.
But why wouldn’t you?
Why I Write My Thank-You Notes on Recycled Elephant Poop Paper Read More 👉
It seems like everyone I know is sick, and it’s got me thinking about….handkerchiefs?
Buy Handmade: Handkerchiefs Read More 👉
Like everything else handmade, handmade makeup is the way to go when you want something just a little different from what everybody else has.
Toys are fun for any kid, but half the fun of unfinished wooden toys is, I discovered, letting my kiddos paint and finish them all by themselves.
Former CAGW writer Karen Lee and green beauty pro Mary Kearns have teamed up on a brand new endeavor: Herban Crafts. The duo is creating eco-friendly craft kits for folks who want to make their own beauty supplies but don’t know where to get started. Herban Crafts was kind enough to send me a kit to try out, so earlier this week I tried my hand at making my own lip balm.
DIY Beauty: Homemade Lip Balm with Herban Crafts Read More 👉
Ever wanted to make your own beauty supplies but wasn’t sure how to start? A couple of my favorite crafters are launching a line of DIY beauty craft kits, but they need your help to get started!
Eco-Friendly Craft Kits from Herban Crafts Read More 👉
Mother’s day is only a few weeks away on May 13– are you ready for it? To give you plenty of time to plan, I wanted to introduce you to five incredible Etsy shops that you can buy jewelry from for Mother’s Day. Not only are they unique and creative shops, but they use recycled materials when making their products! Oh, and did I mention that all of the items I’m sharing today are under $40? Instead of buying from a big box store this Mother’s Day, consider buying handmade from shops like these!
As always, I couldn’t resist scouring this year’s Indie Craft Experience for new green crafters on the scene, and the folks at Reuse First really stood out to me. Jeremiah and Michelle’s mix of sweet and cheeky paper goods totally caught my eye, and they were kind enough to answer some questions about what they do and why they do it! Their insights into waste, reuse, and consumerism are really refreshing.
Talking Waste, Consumerism, and Reuse with Reuse First Read More 👉
With the craziness of the season, though, sometimes we don’t have time to create our own gift wrap, or, we just don’t have the materials on hand. So, with all of the terrible excuses aside, I wanted to provide you all with another option– buying eco-friendly gift wrap. Buying these items allows you to support eco-friendly shops from Etsy instead of buying far-from-eco-friendly products at the big box stores. The following are five gift wrapping ideas that are beautiful for under your tree and the environment.
At the most random moments you can find me writing in a journal. I carry one with me wherever I go (most of the time it stays tucked in my purse). Why? Well, I never know when I’m going to be inspired. As a writer, and as a crafter, ideas pop in my head constantly. There are too many times where I’ve thought, “Oh, I need to remember that idea!” but then I quickly forget it. The solution– an awesome journal!
Buy Handmade: Journals from Recycled Materials Read More 👉
Crafter Sadie Sigford rescues discarded bicycle parts from her local bike shop and turns them into handmade treasures.
Green Crafter: Bike Art Read More 👉
If you’re an indie crafter or crafty blogger with an eye toward getting the word out about how awesome you are, then check out Crafty Supermarket’s Call for Swag.
Attention, Indie Crafters: Crafty Supermarket Seeks Your Swag! Read More 👉
Find cute, handmade and eco-friendly goodies on Etsy.
Eco-Friendly Halloween Etsy Finds Read More 👉
