How-to: Recycled CD Wish List Ornament
Worried that in twenty years you’ll have trouble remembering what it was that your little kid wanted more than anything else for Christmas this year?
Record their wish lists for posterity with an ornament!
Tutorial + How-to
How-to: Cinnamon Dough Ornaments that Smell Delicious and Last Forever
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.
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Recycled “Mitten” Gift Holder
This week I searched Pinterest to find a cute way to give small gifts this Christmas. I saw several projects of the traditional laced mittens and laced stockings, and thought it would be great for small items! I simply added an eco-friendly twist by using book pages. If you want to impress your co-workers with a cute gift, or dress up that gift card for a friend, this is the perfect project for you!
Recycled “Mitten” Gift Holder Read More 👉
A Quick and Eco-Friendly Christmas Gift!
If you follow us on Pinterest, you probably saw this idea from Alisa Burke that Becky pinned to our board. I’ve also seen these beautiful pieces of art from Creative Genius Art, too. I fell in love with the idea, so I decided to make my own version for Christmas gifts!
A Quick and Eco-Friendly Christmas Gift! Read More 👉
Review: DIY Ice Cream with the Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker
My kids LOVE to make ice cream in their Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker. But is it worth the fuss?
Depends.
Review: DIY Ice Cream with the Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker Read More 👉
How-to: Build Newspaper Structures with Your Kids–It’s a Toy that You Can Recycle!
Here’s how to turn yesterday’s newspaper into a temporary toy that your kids will love using to increase their spatial reasoning abilities.
How-to: Build Newspaper Structures with Your Kids–It’s a Toy that You Can Recycle! Read More 👉
Top 5 Projects from the November Green Crafts Showcase
Seriously, you guys have incredible eco-friendly craft ideas every month! Here are my 5 favorite projects from November’s Green Crafts Showcase:
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Button Wreath Ornament
I really miss all of the homemade ornaments that I would put on our Christmas tree when I was growing up. I loved the stories they brought each year as we put them on the tree. In order to start my own “stories,” I’ve been trying to make my own Christmas ornaments. Last year I made these fabulous recycled magazine ornaments and this year I was inspired by Craftapalooza’s button wreath!
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How-to: Make an Origami Puffy Heart Mobile
There’s something so sweet about little origami puffy hearts!
Review: Rolled Beeswax Honeycomb Sheets from Knorr Beeswax
If you’re fond of making rolled beeswax candles (it’s an easy, fun, kid-friendly craft, and beeswax candles are much healthier than store-bought, petroleum-based candles), then you’ve had to answer the following question:
Where on earth do you BUY those honeycomb beeswax sheets?!?
Honeycomb beeswax sheets are rarely found at local, indie crafts stores (although you can request that they be stocked), rarely found at big-box crafts stores, rarely found at the honey farm booth at your neighborhood farmer’s marker.
I buy my honeycomb beeswax sheets online from Knorr Beeswax, and here’s what I think of them.
Review: Rolled Beeswax Honeycomb Sheets from Knorr Beeswax Read More 👉
How-to: Repair a Roller Shade with Fabric
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.
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10 Craft Ideas for Recycled Felt
We love recycled felt around here! It comes in a rainbow of colors, diverts plastic waste from the landfill, and is just a joy to cut, glue, and sew. Do you need some craft ideas for your stash of recycled felt? We’ve got you covered with these 10 projects!
Handamde Holidays: Plush Cactus from Recycled Felt
Got someone on your list who has sort of a black thumb? Gift them with a plush cactus that is impossible to kill!
Handamde Holidays: Plush Cactus from Recycled Felt Read More 👉
7 Eco-Friendly Indoor Planters
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.
7 Holiday Decorations from Upcycled Sweaters
Wool sweaters, cotton sweaters, and even acrylic sweaters–there’s a place for all of these in a crafty Christmas!
Glass Bottle Santa Claus!
I’ve been saving (or hoarding) several glass bottles for craft projects. This week, I looked at the bottles and admired their shape– their round middle reminded me of Santa Claus! I decided to transform one into a “subtle Santa” for decoration. Here’s how you can make your own!
Glass Bottle Santa Claus! Read More 👉
How-to: Snowman Mason Jar!
I have an over abundance of mason jars, so I’m always looking for different ways to repurpose them. From canning to crafts, they have so many uses. Here’s just one of the many ideas I came up with for this season– a snowman mason jar!
Snow that Won’t Melt: DIY Snowflakes Crafted from Eco-Friendly Materials
You lucky ducks who’ve had feet upon feet of snow already probably don’t care, but I’ve been desperately staving off the whining for snow in my house with tons of snowflake crafts. If you, too, feel the need to get your DIY snowflake craft on, here are several crafty tutorials to get you started.
And, because a snowflake that harms the environment is a pretty darned poor snowflake, all of the crafty snowflakes below are made from primarily eco-friendly ingredients.
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Christmas Tree Ornaments Crafted from Natural Materials: The Epic Round-up
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 👉
Altoids Tin Gift Holder
Don’t you just love when the wrapping is just as cute as the gift your giving? An Altoids tin is the perfect way to give your small gifts this year like jewelry or gift cards!
DIY Eco-Friendly Christmas Ornaments!
We always put our Christmas tree up the Friday after Thanksgiving, so I’m already thinking about ornaments! Last year I made recycled magazine ornaments, but I wanted to create even more this year! To get some inspiration, I searched Pinterest and found these 5 incredible handmade (and eco-friendly) Christmas ornaments!
Project Show-and-Tell: Interior Door Decoupaged with Vintage Papers
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 👉
How-to: Homemade Natural Room Scents Made on the Stovetop
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!
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Toilet Paper Roll Turkey
I saw Childmade’s Paper Roll Turkey on Pinterest and was inspired to make my own version! It’s so simple to make and would be adorable on your Thanksgiving table!
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Recycled Utensil Holder
Last weekend I was looking for Thanksgiving table decorations on Pinterest. I came across these fabulous utensil holders from The Idea Room. I decided to use their idea, but put an eco-friendly spin on it by using a recycled cardboard box instead of cardstock.
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DIY Sailors Valentine: A Beach Vacation Souvenir
A sailors valentine is a traditional form of shell craft, and they’re not just for mid-February!
They were most popular back in the 1800s, when they made a pretty darn good souvenir for sailors to bring back to their loved ones from those exotic islands that they voyaged to. Today, they’re mostly the provenance of nautical-themed museums and certain fine artisans…and me!
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Top 5 Projects from the October Green Crafts Showcase
Here are the top 5 projects from the October Green Crafts Showcase! As I always say, please visit each site and shower them with sweet comments! It’s always great to receive encouraging comments on our projects, right?
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Recycle a Popcorn Tin Lid: Magnetic Memo Board
As promised in last week’s Recycle a Popcorn Tin into a Trash Can post, here is what I did with the lid of the popcorn tin!
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10 Upcycled Plastic Grocery Bag Crafts
Got a stash of plastic bags that you can’t bear to toss? Try some of these plastic grocery bag crafts to give them a new life instead!
6 Last-Minute Jack-o-Lanterns to Make in Time for Halloween
It’s not too late! Get inspired by one of the projects below, then pick up your carving knife (or hammer and nails, OR solar light and glass jar) and whip out the Jack-o-lantern of your dreams before Halloween night!
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Project Show-and-Tell: Vegan Sugar Skulls for el Dia de los Muertos
It turns out that vegan sugar skulls are even easier to make than the conventional kind, since you can use the cornstarch from your cupboard instead of searching for that hard-to-find meringue powder.
Exactly HOW easy are they? If I can make these perfect sugar skulls for my kiddos to decorate on my very first attempt, then so can you!
Project Show-and-Tell: Vegan Sugar Skulls for el Dia de los Muertos Read More 👉
Recycle a Popcorn Tin into a Trash Can!
Do you have an old popcorn tin on hand? I found one at a garage sale and decided to give it a makeover! Now it’s a fashionable trash can for my bedroom!
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Cut a Fallen Tree Branch and Make Something: 11 Nature Crafts from Upcycled Wood Slices
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 👉
How-to: DIY Wooden Crayon Holder (or Marker Holder, OR Colored Pencil Holder) from a Fallen Tree Branch
Want to bring more nature into your art?
Crayon, colored pencil, and marker holders are easy to make from reclaimed fallen branches. They organize your art supplies, make them visible while you work, and, if you’re creating with kids, display a manageable (and easy to clean up!) number of utensils that the kiddos can access independently. Here’s how to make one for yourself.
Embroidery Hoop Spider Web!
Remember my embroidery hoop pumpkins? Well, they inspired me to make more embroidery hoop decorations for Halloween! Here’s how you can make your own embroidery hoop spider web:
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Reader Question: New Ideas for Old Books
Got some old books that need a little love? Check out 10 creative ways to upcycle old books into something new!