Each month, we Crafting a Green World hosts the Green Crafts Showcase, where you guys can submit your eco-friendly craft projects! At the end of the month, we choose our faves and share them right here. Here’s how to enter!
Reminder: Enter the Green Crafts Showcase Read More 👉
You think you don’t have time to do a good job to get all the paper and all the glue completely off of your glass jars, but you really do. My method for removing the sticky labels from glass jars takes about twenty minutes, but you can do it with as many glass jars as you have, all at the same time. Gather up a big collection of jars that need to have their labels removed, and you can do the job in far less time than it would take to peel the labels off by hand.
How-to: Another Way to Remove Labels from Glass Jars Read More 👉
The Lil Blue Boo Recycled T-Shirt Sienna Dress is written to be used with upcycled T-shirts, and because of this, it has some real advantages over conventional sewing patterns.
Review: The Lil Blue Boo Recycled T-Shirt Sienna Dress Pattern Read More 👉
If you had told me that I’d be talking passionately about the 2012 Farm Bill on a crafting website, I would have never believed it, but a recent proposed amendment to the monster bill could have a big impact for green crafters by making it legal to grow hemp in the U.S. But will it pass?
Could the Farm Bill Legalize Growing Hemp in the U.S.? Read More 👉
Have you seen this Fourth of July post from Martha Stewart? I absolutely loved the red, white, and blue pom-poms she used to decorate the buffet table for the Fourth of July, so I decided to make my own eco-friendly version!
How To: Eco-Friendly “Sparklers” Read More 👉
We’ve done several projects before with book pages, but what about the entire book? My degree is in English so I’m obsessed with books– especially vintage/antique books that have tons of character. They’re such a beautiful and simple way to decorate! Here are 5 ways you can give an old book new life!
Father’s Day is just around the corner. Now that you’ve found that perfect gift for dad, let’s wrap it up! I love upcycling newspaper and brown bags for gift wraps because they’re so readily available around the house. For this Father’s Day, instead of putting a bow on your upcycled gift wrap, let’s spice it up for dad with things he loves.
These sewn business cards, which utilize two layers of scrap fabric, a recycled paper base, and your complete business information, are a little more work than your ordinary business card, but they’re beautiful, eco-friendly, quite thrifty, and they’ll certainly stand out in a crowd. Here’s how to make them:
How-to: Recycled Paper and Scrap Fabric Business Cards Read More 👉
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 👉
I talked on Wednesday about more of the trouble with conventional cotton, but don’t fret, my fellow seamsters! There are plenty of organic cotton resources out there to help you sew cute without any green guilt.
Clean Cotton: 16 Organic Cotton Resources Read More 👉
Last week on Pinterest, I came across an adorable Tie Pot from Make It and Love It. I thought I would make my own eco-friendly version using an empty coffee can and newspaper. This tie pot has so many possibilities and is the perfect gift for any dad! Let’s get started!
How To: Eco-Friendly Father’s Day Tie Pot Read More 👉
Father’s Day is right around the corner on June 17! Instead of spending money at big box stores, make your gift extra special by making it yourself! Here are 5 adorable ideas to get you started.
We’ve talked about the dirty side of cotton here before. Conventional cotton is an issue that’s really close to my heart, so when I read the latest battle between big ag and Indian farmers, I thought I’d share it here.
Dirty Cotton: Indian Cotton Farmers Devastated Read More 👉
You CAN recycle most of a Crayola marker. It’s messy work, and it’s time-consuming, but it’s also a great lesson for kids (and for us!) about the obligations of responsible consumerism.
How-to: Recycle Crayola Markers Read More 👉
For headache or stress relief, or just a nice, long nap, an eye pillow weighted with natural buckwheat and sewn from soft fabric is just the thing you need to help you really relax. You can fill your eye pillow with your favorite herbs, sew it from silk or organic cotton, store it in the freezer to keep it soothingly chilly, and make a few extras to give as gifts later on.
How-to: Sew a Soothing Scented Buckwheat Eye Pillow Read More 👉
Need some crafty washi tape inspiration? We’ve got you covered!
5 Washi Tape Craft Projects Read More 👉
Well, tomorrow is June 1st and you know what that means– Father’s Day is right around the corner! Is your dad just too hard to shop for? Most of the time, we get my dad a gift card because we’re just not sure what to get him. I know that sounds boring, but gift cards don’t have to be boring! I saw this paper tool box pin on pinterest this week and thought, “I bet I could make one of those to hold a gift card!” Dress up your gift card with this adorable eco-friendly tool box gift card holder!
DIY Father’s Day Gift Idea: Eco-Friendly Tool Box Gift Card Holder Read More 👉
Fellow Atlantans, are you ready? The Indie Craft Experience is this very weekend!
This Weekend: Atlanta’s Indie Craft Experience Read More 👉
In my first tutorial, I showed you how to sew a quick-and-dirty pair of kid shorts from the sleeves and shoulders of an upcycled T-shirt. This tutorial requires a little more sewing, but the shorts are also a lot cuter and, depending on your kiddo’s height, they could be made to be as long as capri length.
Using one XL T-shirt, you can sew two pairs of shorts for any size up to your average early-elementary kid. Your kiddo will be so comfy in her soft jersey-knit shorts, she’ll love the awesome appliques taken from the T-shirt’s front, and you will have clothed her quickly and cheaply for the win.
Read on for the first tutorial in this two-part series: how to sew your first pair of shorts using the sleeves from your upcycled T-shirt.
Former CAGW writer Karen Lee and green beauty pro Mary Kearns have teamed up on a brand new endeavor: Herban Crafts. The duo is creating eco-friendly craft kits for folks who want to make their own beauty supplies but don’t know where to get started. Herban Crafts was kind enough to send me a kit to try out, so earlier this week I tried my hand at making my own lip balm.
DIY Beauty: Homemade Lip Balm with Herban Crafts Read More 👉
In a few weeks I’m moving into a rental home with two other roommates. We’re all musicians, so it’s a no-brainer that we’re going to have lots of musical items/instruments to decorate. My head is spinning with ideas, so I decided to finally work on some wall art for our music space!
How To: Music Wall Art Read More 👉
When I was younger (and even now) I loved to collect shells on the beach when my family went on vacation. When we got home, though, we had a ton of shells with no real purpose. Instead of storing them or throwing them away, try making these amazing craft projects!
Isn’t washi tape just beautiful? Japanese paper tape comes in all sorts of colors and patterns, but unfortunately it’s pretty expensive and it’s not the most eco-frienly craft supply, either. Don’t fret, though, green crafty peeps! With a little patience and just a few materials you can create your very own washi tape!
How-to: DIY Washi Tape from Reclaimed Paper Read More 👉
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 👉
Read on to learn how to make as much of your own mint extract as you could ever want with our nearly effortless method!
How to Make Homemade Mint Extract Read More 👉
Ever wanted to make your own beauty supplies but wasn’t sure how to start? A couple of my favorite crafters are launching a line of DIY beauty craft kits, but they need your help to get started!
Eco-Friendly Craft Kits from Herban Crafts Read More 👉
Graduation time is here! Cards are so expensive to buy and are such a waste because most people throw them away. Instead, make your own from materials you already have!
How-to: Handmade Graduation Card Read More 👉
Have you been looking at your wardrobe and thinking, “I have nothing to wear for summer!” After reading Julie’s post about how to upcycle a t-shirt into a tank-top, I was inspired to find more refashioning ideas. Instead of buying new clothes and shoes, upcycle some of your old ones! Here are 5 amazing tutorials to get you started.
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 👉
A couple days’ worth of newspapers (stored somewhere sanitary) is plenty to make enough paper popcorn cones for everybody at your party, and if you’re feeling especially mitchy-matchy, the finished cones are easy to dye in your preferred colors.
How-to: Make Upcycled Newspaper Popcorn Holders Read More 👉
An upcycled tank top is a quick and easy sewing project to make from any old T-shirt.
How-to: An Upcycled T-Shirt Tank Top Tutorial Read More 👉
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 👉
Let’s face it, Mother’s Day is two days away and even though I’ve warned you, you still haven’t made anything for your mom. Well, no fear my friends, I’ve put together a list of fabulous eco-friendly and last minute gifts for Mother’s Day!
First and foremost, it is important to avoid using plastic water bottles if at all possible. You can recycle them, but as Becky wrote in the Ten Projects for Plastic Bottles post, all of that recycling requires energy and not all bottles can be recycled. In that same post, Becky shared the idea of using a plastic bottle as a votive holder. I had a plastic bottle after hiking this week and decided to make my own version of a water bottle candle holder!
How To: Water Bottle Candle Holder Read More 👉
