Sarah Waterhouse hand prints her cheery – and sometimes cheeky – designs onto every yard of organic cotton that she creates.
Fab Fabrics: Hand-Printed Organic Cotton from Sarah Waterhouse Read More 👉
I’ve created an Altoid tin business card holder before, but what about one specifically for dad? It’s an awesome Father’s Day gift that can be personalized in so many ways.
Upcycling Altoids Tins: A Business Card Holder for Dad Read More 👉
A few months ago, I came across this altered window shutter and fell in love. I finally found some shutters at a thrift store so I could make my own altered shutters– with an eco-friendly twist, of course!
How To: Upcycled Shutter Memo Board Read More 👉
Did you know that Crafting a Green World has a classifieds section devoted to sharing and swapping craft supplies?
Sharing is Green: Let’s Share and Swap! Read More 👉
Want to host an EPIC treasure hunt at your kiddo’s next birthday party? Do not waste your money on cheap plastic or nasty chocolate-filled gold coins; you’re just spending money on trash–literally, in fact, because you know the party kids’ parents are going to throw that junk out the second their kid goes to bed that night.
Instead, wow your kid’s friends with giant hunks of real gold treasure to hunt. The kids will love them, because they look way more awesome and like real loot than anything you can find in a big box party store. And if the kids do eventually get tired of playing with their gold nuggets, their parents can simply add them to their flower garden as decoration.
Because this gold treasure? It’s river rocks, y’all, painted gold.
Upcycling old jam jars, spaghetti sauce jars, pickle jars, etc. into storage jars to use around your house is a boon to the environment (and a cheap way to glean some extra storage!), but wouldn’t you maybe rather have something that didn’t *look* exactly like an old jam jar, spaghetti sauce jar, or pickle jar?
Whether you’re fond of fabric or paper, paint or found objects, matching or distinctive, the following list should give you all the ideas that you need to make your jar lids fresh, new, and not at all spaghetti sauce-related.
How to Jazz up Jar Lids: Upcycle Old Food Jars into New-Looking Storage Jars Read More 👉
Hemp legalization is closer to becoming a reality for U.S. farmers!
Is Hemp Legalization in the U.S. Coming Soon? Read More 👉
Back in the day, I would make a “coupon book” for my parents full of free hugs and chores that I disliked. I decided to put an eco-friendly and personalized spin to my average coupon book. Here’s how you (or your children) can make one, too!
DIY Father’s Day Gift Idea: A Recycled “Coupon Book” Read More 👉
Father’s Day is right around the corner! Here’s an easy DIY koozie that would be an awesome eco-friendly gift for dad and requires no sewing.
How To: DIY Recycled Felt Koozie for Dad Read More 👉
We talk a lot about sustainable fabrics around here, both as part of our Fab Fabrics series and when we’re sharing tutorials. A quick scan through our archives turns up the usual suspects: hemp, organic cotton, recycled felt, jute, linen, and – of course – vintage fabrics. But every once in a while we run across a fabulous fabric that’s from more of an offbeat source.
Got a kid’s pedal bike? Need a kid’s balance bike? Here’s how to convert a pedal bicycle into a balance bike.
How-to: DIY Balance Bike from a Kid’s Pedal Bike Read More 👉
When you’re mixing up a lot of colors in your outfit, sometimes you need just the right accessory to pull it all together. Think of this custom flower brooch as The Dude’s rug…
How-to: DIY Custom Flower Brooch from Fabric Scraps Read More 👉
As you know from How To: Spruce Up an Old Jewelry Box, I love unique jewelry storage. This week I noticed my rings were getting out of hand, so I came up with a way to keep them organized and on display!
How To: Teacup and Spoon Jewelry Holder Read More 👉
I was shocked to read this morning about the tragic deaths of Whip Up founder Kathreen Ricketson and her partner, Rob Shugg. The couple was on vacation in Australia with their two children. Their children are safe and staying with relatives right now.
Remembering Kathreen Ricketson Read More 👉
Remember when I told you that I had a huge bag of wine corks in the Wine Corks to Wall Art tutorial? Well, inspiration struck again and I decided to create wine cork earrings!
How To: Make Wine Cork Earrings Read More 👉
Finding sustainable, waterproof fabric can be tricky. Even recycled synthetics contain quite a bit of new plastic in addition to the recycled content. That’s why I was super excited to learn about a brand new waterproof fabric made from lotus flower stems. The fabric is a blend of lotus flower fibers and silk, and it’s sustainable and waterproof!
Fab Fabrics: Waterproof Lotus Flower Fabric Read More 👉
Knowing how to sew means that you don’t have to make do with something that doesn’t fit and is uncomfortable to wear. Here are the easy ways to fix the three most common areas of ill-fitting kid uniforms–and one of them doesn’t even REQUIRE sewing!
How-to: Alter a Kid’s Sports Uniform So That it Actually Fits Read More 👉
Want to throw a party for a kid and NOT serve a bunch of crap to eat?
That was my challenge for my kiddo’s recent dinosaur-themed seventh birthday party. No potato chip “dinosaur scales,” no jelly bean “dinosaur eggs,” no dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets or snack crackers or grocery store cookies.
It may take a little imagination to see the dinosaur in these healthy fruit and cheese dinosaurs, but kids have a ton of imagination. They also have a love of fun food, and, yep, a love of wholesome apples, grapes, and cheese.
Add a little cheery springtime color to your ‘do with some recycled DIY hair accessories!
Here are 10 upcycled ladder projects that inspired me to create my own ladder book shelf!
10 Upcycled Ladder Projects That Will Leave You Inspired Read More 👉
I’ve admired Becky’s Burlap Sunglasses Case for quite some time now, but I have no sewing skills at all. My solution? Create a no sew sunglasses case with my handy-dandy hot glue gun!
How To: Make a No Sew Sunglasses Case Read More 👉
Neon is super hot right now, but if you’re working with reclaimed fabrics it can be hard to track down that vibrant goodness. Fabric paint to the rescue! When you’re choosing fabric paint for your neon hair clip, look for something that’s water-based and non-toxic.
How-to: Reverse-Stencil Neon Hair Clip from Fabric Scraps Read More 👉
Interested in weaving? Don’t want to spend money on a loom? Got some random stuff lying around?
Chances are that there’s a DIY loom for you.
Our version of Cool Water from Sew Pretty: T-Shirt Dresses is entitled Willow’s Rock Star Dress, and has pink skulls, glow-in-the-dark bats, orange flames, and a guitar player wearing a sparkly silver tutu and crown.
We love recycled felt around here! Ecofi felt is made from post-consumer plastic bottles, which means that every time you use it in your crafting, you’re helping to divert plastic waste from the landfills. Not too shabby, right?
As usual, the Green Crafts Showcase brought some incredible DIY projects this month. Here are the top 5 projects!
Top 5 Projects from the April Green Crafts Showcase Read More 👉
Give your earrings, brooches, or buttons new life by transforming them into a unique hair pin!
How To: Turn a Vintage Earring into an Unique Hair Pin Read More 👉
This 3-step DIY mason jar lantern is perfect for lighting up your spring garden parties!
Make a Mason Jar Lantern in 3 Steps (no drilling required) Read More 👉
These toy charms can be worn on a necklace or bracelet, one at a time or in a whole herd. They make fine jewelry on their own, but the secret trick to these little charms is the latch that allows you to release them from their jewelry status. In the blink of an eye, you’ve gone from having a necklace full of toy dinosaurs to a handful of toy dinosaurs, ready to make standing in line at the grocery store SO much more bearable.
Here’s how to make your own.
How-to: Upcycled Toy Charm Necklaces–They’re Toys You Can Wear! Read More 👉
Pink cookies! Rainbow cupcakes! Whacked or not, I MUST occasionally have colorful baked goods, so I’ve recently switched my allegiance to India Tree natural food colors, which have no high fructose corn syrup and no synthetic dyes. India Tree food coloring has some pros and cons, and I’m not going to tell you that it’s all 100% amazeballs and you’re going to be making rainbow pancakes by morning with it, but here’s what we did with it, and here’s what we thought of it.
India Tree Natural Food Coloring: Is It Worth It? Read More 👉
Do you have a green crafty business? One of the hardest parts of running a green business – after sourcing ethical materials – is spreading the word. You can make the most beautiful organic dresses or upcycled jewelry in town, but if you’re not marketing yourself effectively, chances are no one is going to know.
Mother’s Day is just a few weeks away (May 12, 2013)– are you ready? Instead of buying your mom an average gift from a big box store, considering making her an eco-friendly DIY gift that she won’t forget!
A handmade paper brooch is a great way to make your mom or grandma feel special on a day that celebrates who she is and what she means to you!
How To: Book Page Mother’s Day Brooch Read More 👉
It’s super simple to make reusable baby wipes to reduce waste and save yourself some cash!
How-to: Make Reusable Baby Wipes Read More 👉
Cupcake flags don’t have to be store-bought and disposable. Using the food flag templates from Cut up This Book! Special Occasions, you can craft little party flags from vintage or stash papers, or, as I did here, from the very tiniest pieces of scrap fabric.
How-to: Scrap Fabric Cupcake Flags from Cut up This Book! Special Occasions Read More 👉
