We all know how much better we, ourselves, craft when we use quality materials. And think about how much more likely a kid is to really love working with yarn if the yarn that we hand her feels good in her hands, is beautifully dyed, and does exactly what it’s supposed to.
Review: Inca-Eco 100% Organic Cotton Yarn from Galler Yarns is Good for Wrapping Things Read More 👉
This week my mom came to visit me from Florida and brought me a bunch of garage sale goodies! Among all of the treasures were two oval embroidery hoops. As soon as I saw them, I thought they looked like eggs so I decided upcycle them into adorable Easter eggs!
How To: Embroidery Hoop Easter Eggs 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 👉
Spring is heeeerrreeee! That means flirty spring dresses, and for me nothing spices up a cute dress like a sassy belt. This belt is my solution to a thrift store dress that had a lot of potential but needed a lot of love to go from frumpy to cute. I tried taking it in, raising the waist, and even changing up the neckline, but what this dress really needed was a big, wide belt to fix the silhouette. A pillowcase to the rescue!
How-to: Make an Obi Belt from an Old Pillowcase Read More 👉
I know it’s a spoiler alert, since I want you to read my entire review, but I have to tell you that my girls and I LOVED this Make Your Own Gummies Kit from Glee Gum. It’s easy enough for the kids to do with adult supervision, it incorporates lessons in science and geography, it’s eco-friendly and encourages a sustainable global marketplace, and–something that you will appreciate if you don’t choose to eat gelatin that is processed from animal bones–it’s vegan.
But I know what you’re really wondering: Did I manage to give myself second-degree burns by pouring boiling sugar syrup all over my foot like I did with the Make Your Own Gum kit? Well, I guess I should leave some surprises for my actual review…
This week on Pinterest, I saw a tutorial from Country Living on how to make a paper mache bird’s nest. I wanted to create something similar, but I wanted it to look like a real bird’s nest. I went outside and gathered some sticks off the ground and made my own decorative bird’s nest for Spring!
How To: Make a Decorative Bird’s Nest for Spring! Read More 👉
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!
5 DIY Eco-Friendly Easter Baskets Read More 👉
Want to decorate your cakes without springing for expensive organic sanding sugar or settling for the cheaper (but still expensive!) conventional sanding sugar? Fortunately, making your own colored sanding sugar takes about ten seconds, and you can use the same high-quality organic sugar and natural food coloring that you already have in your pantry. Here’s how:
How-to: Make Your Own Organic Colored Sanding Sugar Read More 👉
Read on for several recipes for liquid soaps that you can make yourself–some are very frugal, some are very fancy, and some will clean your dishes or your laundry as well as your hands.
This week I was researching some ideas for a wedding shower that I’m hosting at the end of this month. I came across this beautiful dessert table set up from Hostess With the Mostess and I thought, “I bet I could make that with recycled materials!” I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, so I decided to go ahead and give it a try with magazine pages!
How To: Recycled Rosettes Read More 👉
St. Patrick’s Day is next Saturday, March 17– have you crafted for it yet? The only projects I’ve made so far are the Toilet Paper Roll Shamrocks. I needed inspiration to make my St. Patrick’s Day even more crafty! To get all of us inspired, I found 5 fun and eco-friendly projects for us to try!
5 Fun and Eco-Friendly St. Patrick’s Day Projects! Read More 👉
Even though there are a lot of great manufacturers of reusable menstrual supplies out there, if you’re feeling crafty, there’s no reason why you couldn’t make nearly everything that you need all by yourself. When you DIY, you can make your stuff extra comfy, extra cute, of just the right absorbency, and even completely from stash, if you’re super-resourceful.
From Cloth Pads to Crocheted Tampons: DIY Menstrual Supplies Read More 👉
I’d do anything for that kid of mine, and armed with six rainbow-hued thrifted Prom and bridesmaid dresses, a ruffler foot for my sewing machine, and not a little hot glue, I made her Rainbow Fairy Dress a reality.
After posting last week’s project, Upcycled Candle Holder into a Mini Easter Basket, I realized I completely skipped over St. Patrick’s Day! To get some inspiration, I visited Pinterest. I found an adorable St. Patrick’s Day banner tutorial from The Crafting Chicks that I loved! I especially liked the “leaves” of the shamrock that were made from hearts. Then, I remembered a post that I saw on TPcraft.com, where they made toilet paper rolls into hearts. Combining the two amazing projects, I came up with toilet paper roll shamrocks!
Make a Shamrock from a Toilet Paper Roll Read More 👉
From my antique library table to my unfinished wood kitchen countertops to my children’s many wooden toys (especially the hand-stained wooden toys), my homemade beeswax wood polish keeps them all in good condition, with all-natural ingredients and scented with essential oils.
How-to: A Recipe for Natural Beeswax Wood Polish Read More 👉
It seems too early to even think about Easter, but items are already showing up in the stores! Before you spend money on items at the big box stores, try eco-friendly DIY projects like this one!
Upcycled Candle Holder into a Mini Easter Basket Read More 👉
Smash books are quicker, easier, and more creatively amenable to recycled components than traditional scrapbooks can be, and frankly I much prefer the look of a smash book to that of your typical carefully engineered scrapbook. If you’d like some more examples, then please feel free to take a look below at my own upcycled smash book–it’s by no means perfect, but the beauty of a smash book is that it isn’t meant to be perfect. Instead, it’s meant to be meaningful, fun, crafted with lots of upcycled materials and stash components, and beloved by its recipient.
Project Show-and-Tell: An Upcycled Smash Book for My Anniversary Read More 👉
Whether you’d like to use a wax seal on a letter, a gift, or your own altered art, this candle + stamp method is just as quick and easy as using traditional sealing wax supplies–and it’s cheaper!
How-to: Craft DIY Wax Seals Using Crayons and Stamps Read More 👉
This year I wanted to make an upcycled smash book, rather than buy one that uses all new materials. Here’s how you can make your own!
How-to: Make an Upcycled Smash Book Read More 👉
Have you made our DIY Crochet Lace Necklace, our Vegan Jewelry, or our 5 Minute Headband and now you just need something to display your creations? Well, this week I decided it would be a great time to find some solutions for all of our beautiful jewelry. The following are 10 incredible projects that were created to showcase and organize our jewelry collections and are made with repurposed items!
What do you get when you combine an ugly thrift store frame and a beautiful scarf? A gorgeous piece of art!
Old Frame + Scarf = A Masterpiece Read More 👉
DIY chewing gum can be a surprisingly eco-friendly project (hint–it’s the chicle), but be warned: in the process of making this chewing gum from a kit, I got a really, really, REALLY bad DIY chewing gum-making injury.
Do you have a lot of candles around your home like I do? What do you do with the jar once your candle has burned out? Put it to good use and create something sweet for Valentine’s Day like this decorated Valentine’s Day jar!
Create Something Sweet with an Upcycled Candle Jar Read More 👉
Every year I receive some of these yummy chocolates, as I’m sure most people do too (or I shamefully buy them for myself!). Once the chocolates are gone, though, the average person would think these cute boxes don’t really have a purpose. However, if you have a crafty, eco-friendly mind like me, these adorable hearts can have new life! What did I do? I created awesome wall art!
Upcycle Your Chocolate Heart Boxes into Wall Art! Read More 👉
Do you drink soda? Perhaps you’re a bit of a soda addict? Hopefully you already recycle your soda cans, but if you want, save a few to complete these 5 awesome projects!
Brr! It’s getting chilly out there again. Wristwarmers can add an extra layer of cozy to your winter look, but the store-bought kind often aren’t the most eco-friendly. Chances are, they’re mass-produced in a factory using conventional cotton (with all of the issues that come along with it). You can skip the human rights and environmental issues, though, and make your very own set of wristwarmers out of a thrift store sweater instead! Here’s how.
How-to: Make Lovebird Wristwarmers from Sweater Sleeves Read More 👉
Fortunately, one of the most common points of breakage in an umbrella–that tip that comes unmoored from the metal support–is quite simple to repair.
In the year since I crafted my first drawstring bag tutorial, I’ve refined it to correct these fiddly bits and to make the bag even quicker and easier to sew. Read on for the quickest, easiest, drawstring bag tutorial that you’re ever going to find.
How to Sew a Drawstring Bag (an even easier tute!) Read More 👉
One of the most beautiful things about crafting green is the end result of our labor: awesome crafts that are unique, upcycled, and built with our own two hands. Add solar power into the mix, and the project is elevated into the realm of clean, green, renewable energy – something that reduces your carbon footprint even after the project’s complete!
Want to Build a Solar Street Lamp in Your Own Backyard? Read More 👉
This Valentine’s Day, make something different and fun for your kids to hand out to their friends– a toilet paper roll Valentine! It’s more eco-friendly and they are one-of-kind Valentines!
Toilet Paper Roll Valentine Read More 👉
Maps are one of those things that just look cool. I look at one and I’m immediately inspired to travel the world and see everything each place has to offer. Why not utilize such an amazing item to spice up every day, boring pieces? Here are 10 incredible ideas to transform those boring items into inspiring ones!
10 Ways to Upcycle Maps! Read More 👉
The thing about crafting for dudes is that it’s hard to resist my inner urge to fancy things up with hearts and flowers and whatnot. Plus, since this is a Valentine’s day gift for him, I wanted it to have a little bit of romance! My solution was to tuck a secret little heart inside the neckwarmer, so I can be mushy without treading on this project’s manliness. Here’s how to make your very own!
DIY Valentine’s Day Gift for Him: Neckwarmer with a Hidden Heart Read More 👉
Using tools ranging from scissors to drills, using materials ranging from fallen tree branches to clamshell packaging, and, most importantly, using absolutely no additional money, I’ve been able to make a wide variety of sturdy buttons for all my sewing and craft projects. Check out the following tutorials to see how to make some DIY buttons of your own.
DIY Buttons: Make Your Own Buttons from Natural or Recycled Materials Read More 👉
I’m currently working on a project to revamp our clipboards from dust-catching shelf-clutterers into something actually usable–otherwise, they’re off to Goodwill next weekend–but until then, check out with me these DIY upcycled clipboard projects from across the web. Clipboards actually ARE useful!
Upcycled Clipboard Projects: You Never Knew that an Old Clipboard Could be This Useful! Read More 👉
This week I wanted to create a project that brought the outside, in (because it’s too cold to go outside right now!). I looked around my house for inspiration and I found a cardboard box and toilet paper rolls. I’ve done projects with toilet paper rolls before like the Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Lights and the Christmas “Candle” Cover, but I wanted to make something more natural-looking. Drawing inspiration from a fall project I did on my personal blog, I created a Cardboard and Toilet Paper Roll Tree!
How To: Cardboard & Toilet Paper Roll Tree Read More 👉
