16 Ways to Upcycle Altoids Tins
Here are my current favorite projects for upcycling Altoids tins, because if I can’t beat my upcycling obsession, I might as well get you to join me!
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crafty reuse
20+ Ways to Upcycle Easter Trash
Don’t toss that Easter trash! Keep it out of the waste stream by upcycling it into something useful or fun.
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Easter Eggs Don’t Have to be Plastic! Here are 14 Eco-Friendly DIY Options
my kids have always had a bounty of Easter eggs for backyard egg hunts and decorating and displaying and hiding tiny treats inside, because I am obsessed with DIY Easter eggs. Every year, I can’t stop myself from making a few more of my favorites, AND finding a couple more new handmade egg projects to try.
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24 DIY Bookmarks from Upcycled Materials
A DIY bookmark is a tiny project with a timespan to match. You can whip up a super cute upcycled cardboard bookmark in minutes, and even a more elaborate quilt-as-you-go stitched bookmark takes less than half an hour to sew up. Want more crafty time? Make them in bulk, because bookmarks make awesome gifts! I tuck my DIY bookmarks into care packages, Easter baskets, the books I put into my Little Free Library, and all my etsy orders.
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Tutorial: Quilt As You Go Scrappy Bookmark
Use up your scraps while making this cute and useful quilt as you go scrappy bookmark!
Y’all know how much I love myself a DIY bookmark!
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10 DIY Christmas Stockings for a Handmade Holiday
Simply choose a project from this list of my favorite Christmas stocking tutorials below, print out any pattern pieces you need (they’re all free!), and get that stocking DONE!!!
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15 DIY Journals, Sketch Pads, and Other Upcycled Books
These upcycled books are super handy, because you can make them in whatever size, style, and thickness you prefer.
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DIY Coloring Book with an Upcycled Cover
I modified my go-to DIY journal with a cover made from upcycled cardboard, and filled it with coloring pages downloaded from the interwebs. It’s exactly what I wanted, and here’s how you can make one, too!
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One Dozen Ways to Upcycle Photographs
. I love turning these old photos that I never look at into all-new decorations and utilitarian items, giving them new lives and incorporating those happy memories into even more parts of my home.
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Upcycle Photographs into Stickers: Three Methods That Really Work
Here are three easy methods for upcycling print photos (and book pages, wrapping paper… just about any paper works for this!) into stickers, along with the pros and cons of each method.
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Log Cabin Quilt from Upcycled Denim… And It’s King-Sized!
I roasted while I sewed all that denim and flannel in the smack middle of June, but I’ll be so comfy this winter!
I’ve had this log cabin quilt sewn from upcycled denim in my mind’s eye for a few years, but it’s the embarrassing state of my fabric stash that finally prodded me into action.
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Animal Rescues Need You To Donate These 20 Handmade Items
Animal rescues need YOU to do some crafting for good this summer!
Looking for something to make that will also make a difference?
Here are some handmade items that you can make and donate to your favorite animal rescue!
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Sew a Wildlife Rescue Pouch from Fleece Scraps
Wildlife rescues use fleece pouches to contain small and baby animals in a way that keeps them feeling safe and comfortable. It mimics the type of pouch that a marsupial animal will be familiar with, and recreates the feeling of a nest for other animals.
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20 Cat Toys and Enrichment Items from Eco-Friendly Materials
Cat enrichment is so important to the physical and emotional well-being of your cats. Don’t let your tiny hunters suffer from boredom; instead, check out this list of my favorite cat enrichment items below, and make your best friend their new favorite toy!
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DIY Cat Scratcher from Upcycled Cardboard Boxes
This upcycled cardboard cat scratcher is a great way to use up all your corrugated cardboard boxes. Cats love it, and it’s a useful donation to your local animal shelter.
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Easy Stashbusting Project: Stitched Scrap Fabric and Felt Memory Game
This is a great way to use up small scraps from your recent projects, and especially other projects that you’ve sewn for these same kids.
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The Easiest Way to Clean Wax out of a Jar Candle
My go-to process for cleaning wax out of jar candles used to be tedious and time-consuming. But now I’ve successfully used the Power of Science to come up with THE quickest and easiest go-to process.
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The Best Eco-Friendly Kid Craft Books Published in the Past Year
In the past year we’ve been blessed with lots of new kid-craft books that use eco-friendly methods and materials, and have the explicit intention of encouraging children and their caregivers to live green lifestyles. Here are my favorites!
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New Toys from Old Toys: Painted Building Blocks
Whether you’re refurbishing a kid’s hand-me-down building blocks for a new generation, or adding new interest to a current toy, painting building blocks is an excellent way to turn an old toy into something brand-new and exciting.
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How to Clean and Refurbish Old Wooden Building Blocks
Here’s how to deep clean wooden building blocks and simple wooden toys, how to refurbish them, and even how to polish them up so they look beautiful and fancy and like the high-quality heirlooms that they are.
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18 Ideas for Making Altered Book Art
You’ve picked out an old book and prepped its pages–what’s the next step in creating an altered book that you’ll love?
Let your imagination be your guide!
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18 Projects to Upcycle Tights
Fortunately, those stained, snagged, or simply outgrown tights don’t have to go into the wastestream! Here’s how to upcycle your old tights in a myriad of ways.
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You Should Reclaim the Zippers from Your Old Pairs of Jeans
If you sew, and especially if you enjoy refashioning clothing or upcycling pieces to give them new lives, you should be reclaiming the zipper from every single pair of pants that wanders through your workshop.
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DIY Cushion Cover from a Blanket
No matter what cushion you’ve got that needs a washable, reusable cover, I’m not going to judge you. Instead, I’m going to show you how to make that cover from any handy blanket that you’ve got in your stash.
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Four Methods to Prepare the Pages of an Altered Book
Altering a book to use as a journal requires more than just scoring the perfect ancient tome. After you do a price check to make sure you’re upcycling trash, not destroying a national treasure, you have to physically prepare the book to receive your art, writing, and ephemera.
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Is Your DIY Envelope Mailable? Here are the USPS Guidelines for Handmade Envelopes
My personal rule of thumb these days is that the more I love my letter and want it to reach its destination, the more standard I make the envelope. If you’re just playing around with some fun, low-stakes pieces, feel free to experiment with your most creative choices. If you really want your piece to arrive safely and on time, however, make you DIY envelopes just a *little* bit creative.
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DIY Dancer: Upcycled Hair Ties Made from Tights
If you, too, are beholden to a continually evolving set of brand-new tights all year, every year, this little hack won’t cure your heartbreak, but it might make you feel maybe 3% better, at least if you or someone you love also has hair that occasionally needs to be tied back.
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The Second-Hand Wedding Dress, and Other Eco-Friendly Wedding Choices
Want to have a meaningful wedding that doesn’t cater to the multi-billion-dollar wedding industry? Want to have a personalized wedding that celebrates your love as well as the ethical standards that guide your life? Want to wear and decorate with and eat and share only things you love, and that love the Earth?
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Leaning into the Discomfort, Part Three: 20 Ways to Upcycle 2-Liter Plastic Bottles
It turns out that plastic 2-liter bottles are sturdy and versatile, perfect for upcycling into a variety of fun projects!
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Leaning into the Discomfort, Part Two: 2-Liter Bottle Hanging Planters
I LOVE the hanging planters that these plastic bottles create. They’re extremely light, so I don’t have to worry about overburdening the curtain rods that I hang a million plants and suncatchers and other dangly things from. They’re self-watering, so I can leave them without worry when I travel, and the water reservoirs are transparent, so I can see when I need to refill them.
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Leaning into the Discomfort, Part One: How to Upcycle a 2-Liter Bottle into a Planter
Somehow, until I made the effort to really think about how I could reuse plastic 2-liter bottles, it never occurred to me that a plastic 2-liter bottle is a nearly perfect planter. It’s cheap. It’s sturdy. It’s light. It’s easy to modify to fit a variety of needs.
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Clothing Refashion: Another Way to DIY Bell Bottoms
This method results in a pair of bell bottoms that are wide and blousy and flowy. You couldn’t get away with wearing them in all circumstances, but they’re also super dramatic and super fun for every bell bottom-appropriate occasion.
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You Should Be Making Bottle Bricks
Bottle bricks are a way of both accepting the reality of plastic waste, and also using the physical fact of that waste for a specific purpose.
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20 DIY Bird Feeders Made from Eco-Friendly Materials
Spring is a terrific time to freshen up your stash of bird feeders by crafting a few more from eco-friendly materials. The birds love them, you love them, and the environment loves them!
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15 Eco-Friendly Ways to Refashion Light Switch Plates and Outlet Covers
They may be small, inexpensive, and easy to replace, but that doesn’t mean that we need to throw them out every time we remodel a room!
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