Fall decorations have hit stores! While it’s tempting to buy those cute plastic pumpkins and other decorations from big box stores, they are far from eco-friendly. Instead, use what you have in your craft stash! I had embroidery hoops and orange fabric, so I decided to transform them into my own precious pumpkins!
Embroidery Hoop Pumpkins! Read More 👉
Do you remember our Ten Ways to Repurpose an Altoids Tin post? Well, here’s one more way to repupose an Altoids tin– a business card holder!
Business Card Holder from an Altoids Tin Read More 👉
Don’t you just love old maps? Whether they’re from a town where you used to live or a special road trip, maps remind us of where we’ve been. Next time you discover an old map, you can make a paper garland instead of tossing it in the recycle bin. What I love best about this project is that it’s super simple, and it’s scalable. I used 7 hearts to decorate a wall shelf, but you could cut out dozens and make one to hang all the way across a wall!
DIY: Make a Reclaimed Paper Heart Garland from an Old Map Read More 👉
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 👉
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 👉
Who says you need to buy expensive beauty products at the big box store? From deodorant and perfume to facial masks and scrubs, you can whip up these DIY beauty recipes using materials that you probably already have at home.
10 DIY Beauty Recipes using Household Ingredients Read More 👉
I’m sure you all can tell that I am ready for fall! Through Pinterest, I found these 5 fabulous fall decor projects to get you inspired!
Like I said in my How To: Recycled Paper Fall Wreath tutorial, I am so excited for fall! I saw this adorable jar project from Eighteeen25 on Pinterest a long time ago and tucked it away for the future. This week I pulled it out of the archives and made my own fall version!
How To: Recycled “Fall” Jars Read More 👉
Thanks so much to everyone who entered the business cards giveaway from UPrinting. We used a random number generator to choose the winner, and the winner is…..
Announcing the UPrinting Business Card Winner Read More 👉
You don’t need harmful chemicals to smell great. Instead of relying on the perfume counter, grab your favorite all natural essential oils and make your very own perfume from scratch! Here’s how.
DIY Beauty: Make Your Own Perfume Read More 👉
For my partner’s 35th birthday, I made him a Star Wars T-shirt quilt in a log cabin style, pieced together with complementary fabrics from my fabric stash.
Project Show-and-Tell: Upcycled Star Wars T-shirt Quilt Top Read More 👉
Below are five ways to reuse markers and pens instead of tossing them.
5 Clever Ways to Reuse Markers and Pens Read More 👉
Have you had a chance yet to enter our business card giveaway, sponsored by UPrinting? The giveaway ends this coming Wednesday, so there’s still time to enter.
Reminder: A Few Days Left to Win Eco Business Cards! Read More 👉
What does crafting have to do with women’s rights? So much! Crafting is empowering, and there are women all over the world who are supporting themselves and their families with their crafts. There are also organizations out there where you can donate your crafty skills to support women in need, whether we’re talking about teaching job skills or donating crafted goods to comfort women in crisis, there are all kinds of ways that you can use your craft to support women’s rights. Here are five crafty organizations that are making a difference for women.
Women’s Rights Week: 5 Crafty Organizations Helping Women Through Craft Read More 👉
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 👉
Both of my roommates play guitar, and they go through quite a lot of guitar picks. Instead of buying new picks all of the time, I decided to make them their own “custom” guitar picks using old credit cards!
How To: DIY Guitar Picks Read More 👉
One of the trickiest parts of running a crafty business is finding eco-friendly promotional materials that are within your budget. That’s why I was super excited when UPrinting, the sponsors of this giveaway, approached us about their eco-friendlier business cards printing by UPrinting. UPrinting uses soy-based inks and 55 percent recycled paper in their business cards, and they’re offering up a pack of 250 cards with free shipping to one lucky Crafting a Green World reader!
Giveaway: Win a Pack of 250 Recycled Business Cards from UPrinting Read More 👉
For our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World, I sewed my two daughters matching dresses from one vintage Snow White-themed flat bed sheet.
Craft Project Show-and-Tell: Matching Dresses from One Vintage Snow White Flat Bed Sheet Read More 👉
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 👉
Luckily, you don’t have to go shopping to beef up your accessories collection! Here are a few DIY accessories that you can make from reclaimed materials instead.
5 Easy Upcycled Accessories Read More 👉
I’m so excited for fall that I’m already coming up with fall craft projects. My first mission this week was to make a fall wreath for our front door!
How To: Recycled Paper Wreath for Fall Read More 👉
This week, my friend asked me to help her decorate for a baby shower that her family is hosting. Of course, I am super excited to help create one-of-a-kind decorations that are inexpensive and eco-friendly! Instead of using new fabric, though, I went to my local thrift store and bought old pillowcases and curtains in the colors that the mom-to-be wanted (brown, teal, and pink). Here’s how you can make your own upcycled fabric banner!
How To: Upcycled Fabric Banner Read More 👉
It’s still sweltering here in Atlanta during the day, but we’ve had some nice cool mornings and evenings lately. Fall is in the air, and this light, cozy t-shirt scarf is just right for those cool-but-not-cold times of day.
How-to: Neckerchief-Style T-Shirt Scarf 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 👉
Conventional modeling clay is not the greenest craft supply out there. What are the alternatives?
Reader Question: Homemade Modeling Clay Recipe? Read More 👉
I saw these adorable page corner bookmarks from Oh Crafts and had to make some of my own. I thought they would be perfect for children who are back in school or even college students. Grab your junk mail envelopes and make some of your own eco-friendly bookmarks!
How To: Junk Mail Bookmarks Read More 👉
I saw an adorable frame idea on Pinterest from Leah at The Way We Are. Leah glued magnets to the back of picture frames in order to display her daughter’s artwork in an organized and beautiful way. I had several cardboard boxes in my craft stash, so I decided to repurpose them into my own fridge frames!
How To: Fridge Frames from Cardboard Boxes Read More 👉
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 👉
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 👉
This year, Hello Craft – the organization that plans the Summit of Awesome – released a brand new book on launching a crafty biz, so rather than a full-blown, multi-day event, this year’s Summit is a one day Business Camp workshop. If you run a crafty business or have been wanting to launch your hobby into a money-making venture, you should definitely check it out!
2012 Summit of Awesome: A Crafty Business Camp Read More 👉
Are you having a family dinner this week? Perhaps you’re having a birthday party this month. If you were thinking about purchasing or making place cards for your event, consider creating these fun and recycled place cards instead!
How To: Magazine Place Cards Read More 👉
My roommates and I decided that we needed one of those dishwasher magnets that tells you whether the dishes are clean or dirty. Instead of buying a plastic one from the store, I decided to make one! Here’s how you can make your own!
How To: DIY Dishwasher Magnet Read More 👉
Thanks so much to everyone who entered the giveaway for fallen leaves jewelry from Starlight Woods! I loved reading your comments, and it was great to see so much support for her beautiful upcycled jewelry. We chose a winner this morning using a random number generator, and the winner is……
Announcing the Winner of the Starlight Woods Giveaway Read More 👉
Toys are fun for any kid, but half the fun of unfinished wooden toys is, I discovered, letting my kiddos paint and finish them all by themselves.
