The thing about dog treats is…well…they are gross. Like, super gross. My husband and I quickly got sick of our pockets smelling like dog treats, so I whipped us up a couple of simple drawstring bags to hold them instead. Dave somehow lost his bag, though, and when I was getting ready to make a replacement, he asked for one that would hook onto his belt loop. I have to say, that was a brilliant idea!
How-to: Dog Treat Bag from Fabric Scraps Read More 👉
If you know any kiddos who enjoy painting, and you’d like to provide them with some special materials–say, an organic, eco-friendly, earth- and mineral-based paint set–then you’re in luck!
Read on to enter a giveaway for one set of Earth Paints for Children.
Giveaway: Win an Earth Paints for Children Organic, Eco-Friendly Paint Set Read More 👉
My kiddos do a LOT of painting, with all different kinds of paints. They’ve done tempera and acrylics, oils and watercolors–heck, they even spray paint!–but I can say for a fact that they have never before used completely natural, completely toxin-free, completely artificial chemical-free paint (other than mud, of course) until they painted with Earth Paint.
Review: Earth Paint Eco-Friendly Paint for Children (and a Giveaway!) Read More 👉
We love glass jars around here! They’re durable (unless you drop them), versatile, and with a little bit of love, you can turn them into all sorts of fun things.
10 Crafty Ways to Reuse Glass Jars and Bottles Read More 👉
I love having fresh flowers around the house to bring color and life to a room. This week I decided to create a vase out of recycled materials to hold all of those gorgeous flowers! With a medicine bottle and toilet paper rolls, I created a beautiful vase to bring the outside, in!
How-To: Medicine Bottle Vase Read More 👉
All of this beauty inspires me to create my own slice of spring in my yard. This week I found 5 upcycled and unique projects garden ideas for spring to get us started!
Garden Ideas for Spring: 5 Upcycled Spring Garden Projects Read More 👉
Is that perfect glass jar a little bit stinky from whatever it used to hold? Are you having trouble getting the label off? Don’t despair! We’ve got you covered.
How-to: Prep Reclaimed Glass Jars for Crafting Read More 👉
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 👉
It’s time to announce the lucky winner of the Make Your Own Gummies Kit from Glee Gum! Is it you?
Announcement: The Winner of the Make Your Own Gummies Kit from Glee Gum Read More 👉
Hey there, green crafty peeps! Have you had a chance to enter your eco-friendly project in this month’s Green Crafts Showcase? It’s easy as pie to enter, and there are a few days left to get your entries in for the very first one!
Reminder: A Few Days Left to Enter the Green Crafts Showcase 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 👉
Glee Gum is giving away one copy of their Make Your Own Gummies kit to one lucky reader. Read on to see how YOU can be that winner!
Giveaway: Win a Make Your Own Gummies Kit from Glee Gum 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…
Party planning can be as fun as the party itself, but those store-bought decorations are often far from eco-friendly. When you shop at the big box store for bunting, streamers, and table decorations, chances are you’re getting products made in a far off factory from questionable materials. No, thank you! Here are five ideas for upcycled, handmade party decorations that can keep your next shindig as eco-friendly without giving up any of the fun!
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 👉
One of my very best friends is having a baby in May, and last weekend we threw her a baby shower. Of course, we wanted to make things extra fancy with festive decorations, so a couple of us party planners got together for a crafternoon, where we schemed up the party layout and made some decorations. I had a great time churning out these felt streamers, and they were super simple to make! Here’s how you can make your own.
How-to: Reusable Party Streamers from Recycled Felt 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.
A reader wrote in not long ago wondering about where she could donate some gently used needlecraft supplies she’d inherited, since she wasn’t a needlecrafter herself.
Reader Question: What to Do with Needlecraft Supplies Read More 👉
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 👉
I was taken aback when a reader recently asked if we could look into the rumor that Spoonflower outsources some of its printing production to South America and uses child labor. Organic cotton printed by a company that exploits children would be far from green, in my opinion!
Does Spoonflower outsource printing and use child labor? 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.
The trick with burlap is that for some reason it seems hard to find. Conventional fabric stores don’t often stock it, and it’s tricky to navigate online burlap resources. So, how’s a gal supposed to make a burlap fabric box? Fear not! I’ve dug around and found some resources for burlap, so you don’t have to do the legwork.
5 Resources for Finding Burlap Read More 👉
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 👉
Do you want to share your green craft projects? We want to see them! Find out how to share your projects through our new Green Crafts Showcase!
Introducing The Green Crafts Showcase! Read More 👉
We have been all about the beeswax this week! Julie shared a recipe for natural beeswax furniture polish on Monday and then a whole roundup of beeswax crafts yesterday. I’ve got to say that as a vegan crafter, I want to get in on all this eco-friendly waxy action! But since beeswax comes from bees, that makes it off limits for vegan crafting purposes. So! I did a bit of digging and turned up a great vegan beeswax alternative!
Vegan Crafting Made Easy: A Vegan Beeswax Alternative Read More 👉
Because I’m always looking for a way to reduce the toxic chemicals that we keep in our home, I also like to make my own cleaning and bath supplies, and beeswax has proved itself to be just as versatile, and just as useful, in recipes that keep our house and bodies clean and happy as it is in all the other ways that we use it. Here are some of the best beeswax recipes for bath, body, and cleaning supplies that you can make yourself.
Bath and Body Beeswax Recipes (and a Few Recipes to Keep Your House Honey-Sweet, Too) 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 👉
If you’re shopping at conventional stores for tablescape supplies, chances are they’re not so eco-friendly. From linens to dishware to candles and centerpieces, there are lots of ways to make a tablescape that reflects your beliefs without sacrificing beauty. Here are some tablescape ideas to get you started…
Create a Beautiful Repurposed Tablescape! 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 👉
Jill Porter recycles soda cans from drinks consumed by her family and friends. Then, she designs, cuts, embosses and assembles them into upcycled jewelry!
Green Crafter Profile: Upcycled Jewelry from JMP Designs Read More 👉
