Project Show and Tell: How I Repaired My Broken Mannequin with Paper, Burlap, and Hot Glue
Check out how I repaired my old mannequin to give it a brand new life with just a few simple supplies!
Tools + Supplies
Bags and Boxes that You Can Build out of Recycled Materials
Need a gift bag, or a box of exactly a certain size?
Check out my personal collection of my favorite templates and patterns for DIY bags and boxes of all shapes and sizes, along with my suggestions for what recycled or scrap materials would be best to make each from.
Bags and Boxes that You Can Build out of Recycled Materials Read More 👉
How-to: Upcycled Bottle Cap Magnets Made with Epoxy
Q. Do you need another reason to drink beer?
A. Bottle cap magnets recycle beer bottle caps.
You’re welcome.
While you can make bottle cap magnets with a strong, clear crafter’s glue, I prefer the clear, hard gloss that you get from epoxy. Epoxy is simpler to use than you think, though, and the easy-mix, low-scent epoxy that I use is simple enough that my eight-year-old can use it.
How-to: Upcycled Bottle Cap Magnets Made with Epoxy Read More 👉
How-to: DIY Liquid Watercolors from Upcycled Dried-Out Markers
Liquid watercolors are a versatile art supply that kids, especially, love to create with. If you’ve got a stash of dried-out markers lying around, you can make your own liquid watercolors for free, in the process breaking down those plastic markers for recycling and upcycling one of their most wasteful components.
How-to: DIY Liquid Watercolors from Upcycled Dried-Out Markers Read More 👉
DIY Alcohol Ink Made from Upcycled Markers
Alcohol ink is the perfect pigment for painting on non-porous surfaces like plastic or metal, but it’s also crazy expensive. Make DIY alcohol ink instead!
Fortunately, you can make your own DIY alcohol ink using the rubbing alcohol in your medicine cabinet and that stash of dried-out markers cluttering your art supplies cabinet. The DIY alcohol ink works great, costs basically nothing, and helps recycle those resource-wasteful markers.
DIY Alcohol Ink Made from Upcycled Markers Read More 👉
5 Clever Ways to Reuse Markers and Pens
Below are five ways to reuse markers and pens instead of tossing them.
5 Clever Ways to Reuse Markers and Pens Read More 👉
Top 5 Projects from the August Green Crafts Showcase!
Every month we have the privilege of featuring the top 5 crafts from our Green Crafts Showcase! Your projects continue to inspire me! Here are the top 5 projects from this month.
Top 5 Projects from the August Green Crafts Showcase! Read More 👉
Crayola Markers Made with Solar Power and Recycled Materials: Worth the Hype?
Although Crayola won’t concede to the requests of thousands of schoolchildren to provide a marker take-back/recycling program for Crayola markers, it has started making Crayola markers with recycled materials.
Sort of.
Although not really.
Crayola Markers Made with Solar Power and Recycled Materials: Worth the Hype? Read More 👉
What to do with a Wooden Pallet: 6 Crafty Projects
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 👉
How-to: Save and Store Melted Wax for Future Craft Projects
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 👉
Reader Question: Homemade Modeling Clay Recipe?
Conventional modeling clay is not the greenest craft supply out there. What are the alternatives?
Reader Question: Homemade Modeling Clay Recipe? Read More 👉
Tophatter: Reclaimed Craft Supply Resource
When you’re shopping for craft supplies, one of the easiest ways to keep it eco-friendly is to buy used rather than new. When you pick up second-hand supplies, you’re doing environmental double duty: keeping those materials out of the landfill and avoiding the impacts that come with creating new tools and supplies. Hurrah!
Tophatter: Reclaimed Craft Supply Resource Read More 👉
Nature Crafts to Make Using the Sticks from Your Yard
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 👉
Reader Question Answered: Reusing Cardboard for Kid-Friendly Crafts
Cardboard is a terrific material to reuse for kids’ crafts because it’s so sturdy, and it’s amenable to a wide variety of media, from duct tape to spray paint.
Reader Question Answered: Reusing Cardboard for Kid-Friendly Crafts Read More 👉
Review of The Ultimate Guide to Smash Books, by Mahe Zehra Husain–and a Giveaway!
If you can’t get enough of smash books, check out my review of Mahe Zehra Husain’s newest e-book, The Ultimate Guide to Smash Books, Smashing and Making Your Own Upcycled Smash Books, then read to the end to learn how to receive your own free copy, as well as The Ultimate Guide to Upcycling and a series of video classes on upcycling paint chips into greeting cards.
Review of The Ultimate Guide to Smash Books, by Mahe Zehra Husain–and a Giveaway! Read More 👉
Three Companies that Make Eco-Friendly Fingerpaints
On Wednesday, we shared a video tutorial on how to make your own fingerpaint, but let’s be honest here: you are busy. Sometimes, you just don’t want to do everything from scratch, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of! I did a little digging and found a few companies that make fingerpaints that are much healthier and more eco-friendly than the conventional ones you’d find on store shelves.
Three Companies that Make Eco-Friendly Fingerpaints Read More 👉
How-to: Make Your Own Fingerpaint with Kitchen Ingredients [video]
What kiddo doesn’t love to fingerpaint, right? The thing about commercial fingerpaints is they are often full of not-so-natural ingredients, including petroleum products, and the packaging is none to green, either. Rather than deal with plastic packaging and questionable ingredients, you can make your own finger paint with ingredients that you probably have in the kitchen right now!
How-to: Make Your Own Fingerpaint with Kitchen Ingredients [video] Read More 👉
Reader Question: Natural Finger-Printing or Stamp Ink
Crafter Rachel Mash creates art pieces using finger printing ink and stamp pads and wants her work to be a little bit greener.
Reader Question: Natural Finger-Printing or Stamp Ink Read More 👉
Top 5 Projects from the June Green Crafts Showcase!
It’s time for more green crafts goodness from our Green Crafts Showcase! Like I said in the Top 5 Projects from the May Green Crafts Showcase post, please visit each of these sites and encourage them with your sweet comments!Here’s the top 5 projects from June:
Top 5 Projects from the June Green Crafts Showcase! Read More 👉
Kinkajou: Simplifying the Bottle Cutter
When you cut a glass bottle, you basically score the glass to weaken it and then use hot water to stress that fracture so the bottle breaks. A thorough sanding, and you’re ready to use an old wine or beer bottle as a tumbler, a vase, or anything you can dream up. The trouble with the scoring part is that it’s really hard to get an even cut when you’re doing it free hand.
Kinkajou: Simplifying the Bottle Cutter Read More 👉
Six Crafty Green Ways to Upcycle Flat Bed Sheets
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 👉
Reader Question: Non-Toxic Paint for Wooden Toys
Which of these DIY non-toxic paints and wood sealants would YOU use on a child’s toy?
Reader Question: Non-Toxic Paint for Wooden Toys Read More 👉
How-to: Make Recycled Paper Business Cards Using Your Sewing Machine
Even though it’s a little more work to create these particular business cards, made from colorful paper and stamped and embellished, they offer a lot more impact than your ordinary card. And since these business cards are made entirely from recycled paper and cardstock, they’re also eco-friendly and absolutely free.
How-to: Make Recycled Paper Business Cards Using Your Sewing Machine Read More 👉
Crafty Uses for the Mint from Your Garden
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 👉
How-to: Upcycled Circle Skirt from a Vintage Bed Sheet
Here’s how I’ve managed to combine my love of vintage clothes, vintage fabrics, and thrift stores: A circle skirt created from a thrifted vintage sheet.
How-to: Upcycled Circle Skirt from a Vintage Bed Sheet Read More 👉
Reader Question: Vegan Wood Waxes?
One of my personal missions as a crafts writer is to make vegan crafting and green crafting accessible to everyone. A big part of doing that is helping folks find cruelty-free, eco-conscious alternatives to animal products. Sometimes, though, I get a question that totally stumps me, and when that happens I feel very lucky to have an awesome community of eco-crafters to turn to!
Reader Question: Vegan Wood Waxes? Read More 👉
7 Art Supplies Made Directly from Nature
You don’t have to be satisfied with art supplies that are simply “non-toxic.” Art supplies that come directly from nature, with minimal processing, are healthier, more environmentally friendly, and can still be of excellent quality, often allowing you to create effects that it’s difficult to obtain with their artificial counterparts.
7 Art Supplies Made Directly from Nature Read More 👉
How-to: Make a Rainwater Watercolor Painting
Natural materials make fabulous art supplies. Even when it’s raining outside, you can make good use of the weather by creating a watercolor painting project in which the rain is the most important ingredient.
How-to: Make a Rainwater Watercolor Painting Read More 👉
Top 10 Projects from the April Green Crafts Showcase!
Wow! You guys absolutely amazed me this month! There were so many great ideas– it was hard to narrow it down to just 10. After a lot of deliberation, here are the top 10 projects from the April Green Crafts Showcase!
Top 10 Projects from the April Green Crafts Showcase! Read More 👉
My 10 Favorite Recycled Art Pieces from the First Annual RARE Expo [PHOTOS]
Hi folks…I normally write for Planetsave.com, and occasionally for Ecolocalizer and CleanTechnica. However, following my three day coverage of the first annual Recycling Arts and Resource Expo, this past Earth Day weekend in Bellingham, Washington, Becky Striepe has flattered me with an invite to post here.
My 10 Favorite Recycled Art Pieces from the First Annual RARE Expo [PHOTOS] Read More 👉
Making Your Own Waldorf Dolls: Tips and Tutorials
Although making your own Waldorf doll is a complicated and time-consuming craft, it is not especially difficult, especially with all the generous tutorials and thoughtful patterns available to walk you through the process. Here are all the resources that I’ve been using as I create Waldorf dolls for my own children.
Making Your Own Waldorf Dolls: Tips and Tutorials Read More 👉
5 Simple DIY Plant Markers
Sure, you can buy plant markers at the store, but isn’t it more fun (and more eco-friendly!) to make your own? Here are some DIY plant markers to get you going.
Review: The PotMaker Makes Plant Pots from Recycled Newspaper
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 👉
How-to: Sew Your Own Steam Mop Pads
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 👉
Announcement: The Winner of the Earth Paints for Children Set
Did you enter the giveaway for your own set of Earth Paints for Children, an organic, eco–friendly, mineral-based painting kit from Earth Paint?
If you did, then today may be your lucky day! Read on to see who our winner is
Announcement: The Winner of the Earth Paints for Children Set Read More 👉