5 Adorable Ideas for Father’s Day!
Father’s Day is right around the corner on June 17! Instead of spending money at big box stores, make your gift extra special by making it yourself! Here are 5 adorable ideas to get you started.
DIY Crafts
How to Make a Notepad out of Junk Mail
If you can’t stop the flow of junk mail, at least you can craft with it! Collect yourself some security envelopes, and you can make a sweet, miniature notepad to jot down ideas, phone numbers, and anything else that strikes you while you’re on the go.
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Review: Earth Paint Eco-Friendly Paint for Children (and a Giveaway!)
My kiddos do a LOT of painting, with all different kinds of paints. They’ve done tempera and acrylics, oils and watercolors–heck, they even spray paint!–but I can say for a fact that they have never before used completely natural, completely toxin-free, completely artificial chemical-free paint (other than mud, of course) until they painted with Earth Paint.
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10 Crafty Ways to Reuse Glass Jars and Bottles
We love glass jars around here! They’re durable (unless you drop them), versatile, and with a little bit of love, you can turn them into all sorts of fun things.
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5 Upcycled Party Decorations {slideshow}
Party planning can be as fun as the party itself, but those store-bought decorations are often far from eco-friendly. When you shop at the big box store for bunting, streamers, and table decorations, chances are you’re getting products made in a far off factory from questionable materials. No, thank you! Here are five ideas for upcycled, handmade party decorations that can keep your next shindig as eco-friendly without giving up any of the fun!
5 DIY Eco-Friendly Easter Baskets
Do you need some eco-friendly inspiration for Easter baskets this year? Before you’re tempted to buy one from the store, consider these options. From milk jugs to old sweaters, we have what it takes to get you inspired!
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Reader Question: What to Do with Needlecraft Supplies
A reader wrote in not long ago wondering about where she could donate some gently used needlecraft supplies she’d inherited, since she wasn’t a needlecrafter herself.
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10 DIY Valentine’s Day Gifts for Him
Can you believe that Valentine’s day is coming already? Don’t fret! You still have time to make it a romantic, handmade holiday! Here are 10 ideas for DIY Valentine’s Day gifts for him.
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Reader Tip: T-Shirt as Art
You know we love a good t-shirt reuse project around here, so I was pleased as punch when reader Nancy Sharp was kind enough to share her idea for reusing a sentimental t-shirt that was past its prime…
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Reader Question: 5 Ways to Reuse Plastic Bags!
Before we get into 5 ways you can recycle plastic bags, I want to encourage you first and foremost to use reusable grocery bags instead of plastic bags. However, there are those days when we forget our reusable ones, and I know not all of our friends and family use reusable grocery bags. With all of that said, here are five unique ways to reuse plastic bags!
10 Ways to Upcycle an Old Calendar
The new year is all about changes, and that probably means ridding your walls of those outdated calendars from last year, right? It also seems to be The Month of Promotional Calendars, when unwanted calendars from businesses flood our mailboxes. Rather than toss all of that paper into the recycle bin, you can get crafty and turn those old calendars into something new. Here are some crafty uses for old calendars to get you started!
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New Year Cleaning: 5 Projects for Your Old T-Shirts
If you’re anything like me, the New Year makes me want to reorganize and clean! Often times I go through my clothes to see what fits, what needs to be “retired,” etc. If you can’t refashion your wardrobe like Becky shared yesterday, there are even more options! Hang on to your old t-shirts to try out these amazing projects! For example, perhaps there are some shirts that you would love to keep for sentimental reasons, or one that has a really fun pattern, but just doesn’t fit anymore– these are the perfect shirts to recycle! The only problem you will have is deciding which one of these projects you should try first!
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How To: A “Happy New Year” Banner from Old Christmas Cards
All of our Christmas decorations are put away, but this stack of Christmas cards stayed on our counter. I always feel guilty about throwing them away–especially the personal, handwritten ones. However, with New Years Eve in mind, I came up with a way to reuse those old Christmas cards! Many New Years Eve parties have banners and lots of fun decorations, but are far from eco-friendly! What is the solution? Use your old Christmas cards to make a fun and unique banner for New Years Eve!
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5 Ways to Upcycle Cookie Tins
I always love getting cookies or homemade candy in a cute Christmas cookie tin! After all the goodies are gone, though, what should you do with the cookie tin? Save your cookie tins and give them a new purpose this season! Here are 5 awesome tutorials that will show you how to revamp your cookie tins.
Talking Waste, Consumerism, and Reuse with Reuse First
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.
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Buy Handmade: 5 Eco-Friendly Giftwrap Options
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.
Buy Handmade: Journals from Recycled Materials
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!
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Halloween Craft Roundup
Halloween doesn’t have to be wasteful. With a little bit of imagination and planning, you can have an eco-friendly Halloween. Let’s explore what Halloween decor and costumes we can make to make Halloween greener.
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Five Quick Green Craft Projects
One thing that I hear from a lot of folks is that they aren’t into crafting because they don’t have time. Nonsense, I say! Sure, some craft projects are time consuming and require lots of detail and care, but you don’t need hours and hours of free time to get crafty!
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Green Tips for a Recycled Halloween
Halloween doesn’t have to be a stressful and wasteful holiday if you put your green crafting skills to work. Here are some ideas on how to make green Halloween less stressful.
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Green Crafting: A Justifiable Means to an End?
Although upcycling and using eco-friendly materials is still preferred but is green crafting a justifiable means to an end when using ‘evil’ materials in the name of upcycling and reusing? What do you think?
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Journals, Planners, and Scrapbooks You Can Make Using Recycled Materials
Jump into bookmaking with these tutorials that let you make upcycled journals, scrapbooks, D.I.Y. planners and more out of recycled materials.
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Crafting with PET Plastic Bottles
Have some plastic PET bottles in your recycling bin? Here are five ways you can craft with them before they hit the recycling plant.
5 Awesome T-Shirt Sleeve Crafts
You’ve used up old t-shirts to make various projects. Now you have a pile of cut up sleeves. What do you do with them all? Find out how you can…
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Upcycled Party Decorations Roundup
Yesterday, we made some upcycled pinwheel party decorations, and there are lots of other ways to deck out your soiree without all of the waste.
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How-to: Create Upcycled Pinwheel Party Decorations
Party decor can mean a lot of waste, but it doesn’t have to! Instead of heading to the party supply store for generic decorations, you can raid your recycle bin and upcycle yourself some pinwheel party decorations instead.
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Green Crafter: First World Trash
First World Trash makes functional accessories by recycling billboards and seat belts. The eco-chic items are carried in stores around the world and the owner’s goal is to do what’s good for the people of her hometown than just make accessories. Read more to find out where her ultimate vision lies.
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Finding Green Craft Inspiration
Do you ever feel like you are burnt out from green crafting? Or have you ever hit a dry spell with reusing and repurposing? I mean, how many different ways can you upcycle t-shirts? I’m sure you’ve had moments when you can not think of one more way to use up a scrap of fabric. So where do you find inspiration? How can you find the creativity to continue to craft reusing materials?
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Pill Bottle Craft Projects
Once you’ve finished taking or safely disposed of the contents, those empty plastic pill bottles are actually useful for all sorts of fun crafty projects! Here are a few ideas to get you going.
April Stash Bust: Five Projects to Bust That Fabric Stash
Kelly talked last week about the April Stash Bust, and we’re pretty excited about busting our stashes around here! That “use what you have” mentality is part of the heart of green crafting, and there are so many fun, creative ways to take supplies you have on hand and turn them into something wonderful. Here are a few stash busting projects for those fabric scraps!
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Participate in TerraCycle’s Nationwide Creative Recycling Programs
Get involved in these recycling programs that help you recycle creatively and donate to charity at the same time. It’s double good green karma for you.
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5 Crafty Ways to Upcycle Mesh Produce Bags
Those mesh produce bags that your onions and oranges come in are too useful to be thrown away! Check out these five crafty projects that help you upcycle your mesh produce bags.
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DIY Eco-Friendly Bath Remodeling Part 2
Part 2 of my DIY bathroom experience.
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5 Ways to Repurpose Old Games
Got an old deck of cards that’s missing the queen of hearts or a Scrabble set that’s missing a Q? Don’t send that board game to the landfill! There are lots of ways to repurpose those old games!
Five Things You Can Make With An Egg Carton
Five projects utilizing a common kitchen item: the egg carton.
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