Do you have a piece of furniture at home that needs some love? Perhaps you’ve seen furniture at garage sales or thrift stores that are a little rough around the edges. Don’t be afraid to grab those “ugly” pieces! You can easily turn them into beauties!
Painting Furniture: A Shabby Chic Coffee Table Read More 👉
Got an old chair that could really use some love or a bench that would be perfect if only the cushion weren’t covered in a horrible, dated fabric? Don’t despair! We’ve got some DIY furniture projects to help you transform that damage or outdated piece into something you’ll love.
Do you have a bench or a chair that’s got good bones but the fabric is either torn or…well…ugly? Give it a brand new life by reupholstering it! You can use these instructions for reupholstering a chair seat, a bench, or any other cushion that has a hard back on it.
How-to: Reupholstering a Chair Seat Read More 👉
I need all my stuff to be crazy awesome (or just crazy!), so I like to pretty up my thrifted dishes using the most simple, most brilliant craft supply that you’ve ever heard of: ceramics markers.
How-to: Refurbish Thrifted Dishes with Ceramics Markers Read More 👉
Seed starters made from food scraps are even more economical than recycled seedling pots–you’ve got to eat even more than you’ve got to read the newspaper!–and even better for your garden, because all those eggshell seedling pots, orange peel seedling pots, and pumpkin shell seedling pots? That’s compost, right where your garden needs it the most.
Here’s a selection of food scrap seed starters–no matter where your tastes lie, you’ll find something here to eat and then plant.
How-to: Start Seedlings in Food Scrap Containers Read More 👉
Beeswax cut-outs take seconds to make, and can be used to decorate candles (even boring store-bought ones!), make candles of their own, or just hang out in your house and look pretty.
How-to: Make Beeswax Cut-outs to Decorate Candles (or Your House) Read More 👉
Want to snazz up your pine cones, AND keep them forever?
Here are three different easy methods for making your own dipped pine cones – they’re gorgeous, they may even match your wall colors, and you can keep them just about indefinitely. Even better? Pine cones are free! Just head out to your back yard or to the park with the kids and a basket and collect those natural craft supplies to your hearts’ content!
Decorative Dipped Pinecones: Three Methods Read More 👉
Cinnamon dough is as easy to make (and as fun play with!) as play dough, and the ornaments that you can make with cinnamon dough are both sturdy and sweet-smelling.
How-to: Cinnamon Dough Ornaments that Smell Delicious and Last Forever Read More 👉
A roller shade is easy to repair. Replacing the torn section with fabric won’t hinder the shade’s performance, and considering how roller shades are about the cheapest and most crappy-looking window covering available, anyway, the repair will actually vastly improve the overall look of the entire window treatment.
Here’s how to repair a torn roller shade with fabric that you already own, making it look even better than it did when you first bought it.
How-to: Repair a Roller Shade with Fabric Read More 👉
Eco-friendly containers, made either from natural or recycled materials, make great indoor planters. They’re cheap, they’re customizable for whatever spot you want to put them in, and in May, when I’m raring to get back into my outdoor gardens, they can go right back into the recycling or compost bins.
Read on for ideas to create your own eco-friendly indoor planters.
You want to make a Christmas tree ornament out of natural materials? Check out my epic round-up below–from pine cones to beeswax, popcorn to acorns, if it’s been hung on a Christmas tree, then it’s here!
Christmas Tree Ornaments Crafted from Natural Materials: The Epic Round-up Read More 👉
What do you do with a ratty old interior door, one that sports at least three different layers of peeling paint but that is otherwise a solid ole’ boy, one that you would like to look a lot less crappy but that you do NOT want to spend a weekend taking off its hinges, dragging outside, sanding, repainting, dragging back inside, and screwing back on its hinges?
Slap yet another layer of paint on it, that’s what! Oh, and cover the center panels with a decoupage consisting of vintage wallpaper samples, stash scrapbook paper, and nautical-themed sheet music. Yes, it’s a little more on the “shabby chic” side than I usually walk, but the point is that my solid-yet-ugly bathroom door now looks a whole lot nicer, and instead of a long weekend and some muscle power to make it happen, it only took a couple of hours, some stash supplies, and plenty of Mod Podge.
Project Show-and-Tell: Interior Door Decoupaged with Vintage Papers Read More 👉
Want your house to smell like you’re cooking something wonderful, WITHOUT having to actually cook something wonderful? Check out my easy, homemade room scents–you simply have to mix them up and warm them on the stove!
How-to: Homemade Natural Room Scents Made on the Stovetop Read More 👉
I am super passionate about reusing because I love taking one person’s “trash” and turning it into treasure! So many people take the easy way out and go to big box stores on items they could easily find at garage sales and thrift stores. Buying second hand reduces landfill waste and helps you skip the impact of buying new! To help inform and inspire you, I put together the top 5 items that I look for when I go to garage sales and thrift stores
Reusing is Green: Finding Second Hand Craft Supplies Read More 👉
One fallen tree branch, one handsaw, and a couple of easy cuts are all you need to make a ton of natural craft projects.
Wood slices are hard to mess up, and they’re a very versatile craft supply. Add some paint, some wood polish, maybe a drill, and you can make for yourself any of the eleven cut tree branch craft projects listed here.
Cut a Fallen Tree Branch and Make Something: 11 Nature Crafts from Upcycled Wood Slices Read More 👉
Whatever YOUR favorite reasons are for crafting with wooden pallets, check out the following gorgeous, useful, DIY projects.
What to do with a Wooden Pallet: 6 Crafty Projects Read More 👉
So you made candles, or preserved autumn leaves, or cooked up furniture polish, or crafted modeling wax for the kiddos, and now you’re left with a crock pot or bain-marie half-full of melted beeswax (or its vegan wax substitutes).
Here’s the easy way that I store my leftover wax, measured into known amounts so that future projects are easier to put together, and pretty enough that the wax can be stored right out in the open, leaving more storage space for my fabric stash.
How-to: Save and Store Melted Wax for Future Craft Projects Read More 👉
Poured candles are even simpler to make than hand-dipped candles or rolled candles–all they require are wicking, melted wax, and a heat-proof repurposed container.
You can also have just as much variety with your homemade poured candles as you can with fancy, store-bought container candles, since you can vary the shape of your jar, change the color of your wax, and even add essential oils for a healthy scent.
How-to: Poured Wax Candles in Repurposed Glass Containers Read More 👉
Using an old crock pot or a DIY stovetop bain-marie, a hand-dipped candle becomes an easy, kid-friendly craft project, one that can stock an entire season of candlelit dinners in a single afternoon.
How-to: Hand-Dipped Wax Candles Read More 👉
Although this method of resizing a fitted sheet to fit a smaller bed is a little more complicated than my quick-and-dirty tutorial for turning a flat sheet into a fitted sheet for the same bed size, it’s still a simple process that allows you to save money by using what you own instead of buying new.
How-to: Resize a Fitted Sheet to Fit a Smaller Bed Read More 👉
Picking up fallen sticks around the yard is less of a hassle when you have something more fun to do with them than just tossing them in the ubiquitous brush pile by the street.
Nature Crafts to Make Using the Sticks from Your Yard Read More 👉
As I mentioned last week, my roommate – Crystal – is a musician. Specifically, though, her main instrument is drums. We decided to showcase our love for music right in our living room by upcycling old drums into side tables!
How To: Upcycle an Old Drum into a Side Table Read More 👉
Read on for six projects designed to make perfect use of a single upcycled flat sheet.
Six Crafty Green Ways to Upcycle Flat Bed Sheets Read More 👉
You could head to the big box store for your planter-y needs, but why buy something produced in a factory and shipped thousands of miles when you can whip up cute, DIY planters from reclaimed materials instead? Here are some ideas to get you going!
As simplicity goes, this tin can planter is really as easy as it gets! If you’re not into planting succulents, you can also use other small space plants like herbs or flowers. You could even cluster together a bunch of tin can pots with herbs in them to create a miniature indoor herb garden! Who says you need a back yard to grow your own food?
How-to: Tin Can Planter Read More 👉
There are a ton of crafty uses for mint, ways to add it into your bath and beauty routine, and medicinal aspects to it, so much that once the cupboard and freezer are full, you still have plenty to do with all that hardy mint growing in your garden all summer.
Crafty Uses for the Mint from Your Garden Read More 👉
Read on to learn how to make as much of your own mint extract as you could ever want with our nearly effortless method!
How to Make Homemade Mint Extract Read More 👉
We shared a post on growing potatoes in a barrel from our pals at Green Upgrader over on our Facebook page not too long ago, and lots of you piped up to tell us about your gardening adventures! I love a good DIY garden hack, too, and since it turns out we have lots of crafty gardenistas out there, I thought I’d share my latest gardening experiment with you.
How-to: DIY Hanging Herb Planter from a Mesh Produce Bag Read More 👉
Using the PotMaker, you can make plant pots from recycled newspaper with just a little folding and a few twists of the wrist. Is that any better than using the origami method to make newspaper pots?
Review: The PotMaker Makes Plant Pots from Recycled Newspaper Read More 👉
If you’re a gardener, then chances are you’re probably already pretty crafty. You could buy pots the right size to start any plants or seedlings from any gardening center, but none of them, even the ones made from natural or recycled materials, are as good as simply bypassing the consumer market altogether and making your own DIY pots.
5 DIY Pots for Plants and Seedlings Using Natural or Recycled Materials Read More 👉
I made myself an entire stash of re-usable steam mop pads. I recycled old towels for the project, creating mop pads that are easy to wash and sanitize, quick to sew, and offer customizable thicknesses, so that I can blast my stone-tiled kitchen floor but not trash the wax on my wood living room floor.
How-to: Sew Your Own Steam Mop Pads Read More 👉
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.
10 Crafty Ways to Reuse Glass Jars and Bottles Read More 👉
All of this beauty inspires me to create my own slice of spring in my yard. This week I found 5 upcycled and unique projects garden ideas for spring to get us started!
Garden Ideas for Spring: 5 Upcycled Spring Garden Projects Read More 👉
Spring is such an inspiring season to get outside, get active, and get creative! Here are some Spring crafts for kids that you can create together.
5 Eco-Friendly Spring Crafts for Kids Read More 👉
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!
One of my very best friends is having a baby in May, and last weekend we threw her a baby shower. Of course, we wanted to make things extra fancy with festive decorations, so a couple of us party planners got together for a crafternoon, where we schemed up the party layout and made some decorations. I had a great time churning out these felt streamers, and they were super simple to make! Here’s how you can make your own.
How-to: Reusable Party Streamers from Recycled Felt Read More 👉
