reuse Archives • Crafting a Green World

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!

16 Ways to Upcycle Altoids Tins Read More 👉

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.

20+ Ways to Upcycle Easter Trash Read More 👉

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.

24 DIY Bookmarks from Upcycled Materials Read More 👉

Sew a Solar Eclipse Bunting from Stash Fabric

My first official decoration is this solar eclipse bunting sewn from upcycled blue jeans and stash fabric. Y’all know how much I love buntings, so this choice shouldn’t surprise you. And thanks to the easy templates I used and my sewing machine’s superpower that is the zigzag stitch, I was able to take this bunting from concept to completion in half an afternoon. Here’s how!

Sew a Solar Eclipse Bunting from Stash Fabric Read More 👉

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!

Tutorial: Quilt As You Go Scrappy Bookmark Read More 👉

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!!!

10 DIY Christmas Stockings for a Handmade Holiday Read More 👉

20 Free Halloween Printables for an Eco-Friendly Holiday

Halloween printables, printed in an eco-friendly manner, are an easy way to upscale your holiday!

20 Free Halloween Printables for an Eco-Friendly Holiday Read More 👉

DIY Embroidered Cardboard Ornaments

So whether you’re obsessed with soothing symmetry like me, or you like to make your stitching free-form or representative, you can stitch the design of your dreams onto these embroidered cardboard ornaments. Here’s how!

DIY Embroidered Cardboard Ornaments Read More 👉

Here’s the Best DIY Upcycled Cardboard Building Set

This upcycled cardboard building set is a terrific open-ended toy that won’t cost you a cent!

Here’s the Best DIY Upcycled Cardboard Building Set Read More 👉

DIY Corrugated Cardboard Tower of Hanoi

This Tower of Hanoi is NOT made from plastic! Instead, it’s made from that likely-looking piece of corrugated cardboard hanging out there in your recycling bin. Cut it up, add some decorations, and you’ll have yourself a brand-new version of a 140-year-old logic game.

DIY Corrugated Cardboard Tower of Hanoi Read More 👉

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!

DIY Coloring Book with an Upcycled Cover Read More 👉

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.

One Dozen Ways to Upcycle Photographs Read More 👉

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.

DIY Cat Scratcher from Upcycled Cardboard Boxes Read More 👉

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.

Leaning into the Discomfort, Part One: How to Upcycle a 2-Liter Bottle into a Planter Read More 👉

Have summer storms done a number on the big trees where you live? Grab a large, fallen branch, and turn it into a cool DIY bird feeder!

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!

20 DIY Bird Feeders Made from Eco-Friendly Materials Read More 👉

Here's how to stencil a rug, so you can turn a thrift store find or old decor piece into something totally cute and new!

Two Dozen Eco-Friendly Rugs, Mats, and Floor Coverings to Make

Whether it’s a 20″x24″ bath mat for your kid’s bathroom, or a couch-sized pom pom rug for your family room, the power to make your new favorite floor covering is in your hands!

Two Dozen Eco-Friendly Rugs, Mats, and Floor Coverings to Make Read More 👉

DIY: Upcycle Old Towels into a New Bath Mat

I cut up several old towels to piece together a cute applique mushroom, quilted it onto a couple other old towels, and now have a brand-new custom bath mat that the kids and I are delighted with.

DIY: Upcycle Old Towels into a New Bath Mat Read More 👉

How-to: DIY Gift Bags from Any Paper

Are

How-to: DIY Gift Bags from Any Paper Read More 👉

20 Ways to Upcycle Broken Dishes

Instead of tossing it into the waste stream and feeling bad about yourself because of it, give that broken dish a second life by upcycling it into something fun, beautiful, and useful.

20 Ways to Upcycle Broken Dishes Read More 👉

15 Ways to Upcycle a Drawstring Backpack

It’s shiny!

It’s free!

It’s environmentally unfriendly!

What it is?

It’s a drawstring backpack!

15 Ways to Upcycle a Drawstring Backpack Read More 👉

30 Clever Corrugated Cardboard Crafts

Corrugated cardboard is one of my favorite craft supplies, and after you check out my list of favorite corrugated cardboard projects, below, I think it’s going to be one of your favorite craft supplies, too!

30 Clever Corrugated Cardboard Crafts Read More 👉

How to Make a Corrugated Cardboard Cat Scratcher: Two Tutorials!

Corrugated cardboard, sliced and stacked edges out, has a texture that cats adore, and they really will use them, play with them, and sharpen their claws on them!

How to Make a Corrugated Cardboard Cat Scratcher: Two Tutorials! Read More 👉

Make an Upcycled Aluminum Can and Silverware Wind Chime

One of my favorite parts of windy weather is enjoying the sound of the wind chimes singing from my front porch and back deck.

Make an Upcycled Aluminum Can and Silverware Wind Chime Read More 👉

How To Make an Upcycled Playing Card and Upholstery Sample Bunting

There’s nothing like a bunting to make a festive occasion just that much more special.

How To Make an Upcycled Playing Card and Upholstery Sample Bunting Read More 👉

Three Dozen Upcycled Hanger Projects

Regardless of whatever you hate about the hangers you have, the answer is rarely to throw them away.

Three Dozen Upcycled Hanger Projects Read More 👉

How To Do String Art

I’m going to show you how to make string art the completely DIY way–from scratch, by hand. It’s going to be awesome.

How To Do String Art Read More 👉

How to Make Mason Jar Lid Ring Christmas Ornaments

hese Mason jar lid ring Christmas ornaments look a lot harder to make than they are.

How to Make Mason Jar Lid Ring Christmas Ornaments Read More 👉

How to Remake a Puzzle

Here’s a great way to upcycle an old puzzle into a brand-new-to-you puzzle.

How to Remake a Puzzle Read More 👉

35 Ways to Reuse Empty Wine Bottles

The best part of reusing empty wine bottles is that you won’t have that big bin of them sitting out on your curb for all of your neighbors to look at on Recycling Day.

35 Ways to Reuse Empty Wine Bottles Read More 👉

How to Make Beeswax Candles in Upcycled Bottles

Want to set yourself up with your own year’s worth of romantic evenings and snug-inside-and-safe-from-the-storm weekends? Here’s how!

How to Make Beeswax Candles in Upcycled Bottles Read More 👉

4 Ways to Cut Glass Bottles (Including the One Way that Actually Works!)

Whether you’ve got a bumpy, embossed glass, or a thin-walled beer bottle, or a wine bottle, which is made of HUGELY thick glass, you’ll cut it pretty much perfectly, pretty much your first time trying.

4 Ways to Cut Glass Bottles (Including the One Way that Actually Works!) Read More 👉

Next time you've got an empty bottle, try getting your craft on instead with some of these craft projects for glass bottles!

8 Craft Projects for Glass Bottles

Here in the U.S. we use over 11 million tons of glass per year. Recycling that glass is definitely better than throwing it away but recycling still uses energy from trucking the waste to the recycling center to the actual recycling process. Next time you’ve got an empty bottle, try getting your craft on instead with some of these projects!

8 Craft Projects for Glass Bottles Read More 👉