I'm a writer, crafter, Zombie Preparedness Planner, and homeschooling momma of two kids who will hopefully someday transition into using their genius for good, not the evil machinations and mess-making in which they currently indulge. I'm interested in recycling and nature crafts, food security, STEM education, and the DIY lifestyle, however it's manifested--making myself some underwear out of T-shirts? Done it. Teaching myself guitar? Doing it right now. Visit my blog Craft Knife for a peek at our very weird handmade homeschool life, and my etsy shop Pumpkin+Bear for a truly odd number of rainbow-themed beeswax pretties.
Have a little knight in training at home?
It takes just a few minutes to make your favorite knight her very own shield out of recycled cardboard. A cardboard shield is cheaper than even a cheap-o plastic toy shield, doesn’t junk up the environment, and best of all–your kiddo can decorate it herself!
How-to: DIY Cardboard Shield from Recycled Cardboard Read More 👉
Let’s say you need a pillowcase. You need it to be organic, because a loved one is going to be mushing her face into it for eight hours every night.
You need it to be soft, because you want your loved one to be comfy so that she gets that whole eight hours.
Oh, and you need it to be awesome, because your loved one is pretty stinkin’ awesome.
How-to: Organic Flannel Graphic Pillowcase with an Envelope Back Read More 👉
Not every LEGO project is a sustainable one–that LEGO TIE fighter set that you bought just to build and look at isn’t serving a purpose beyond helping you get your nerd on–but there are a few specific categories of LEGO projects that do help you avoid further consumption and disposal of new goods. Here are several great, sustainable LEGO projects to get you started.
LEGOs as an Eco-Friendly Craft Supply?!?: Sustainable Projects Made from LEGOs Read More 👉
Sometimes, if you’re an artist or a crafter, you have the chance to give out business cards that have a lot more flair. Business cards that you give out at a conference or networking event, with a purchase at a craft fair, or in a package that you’re shipping with an order from your etsy shop can afford to be a little fancier, and include a little bonus gift to make you memorable.
These DIY business cards may not fit in a potential customer’s wallet, but they’ll still stand out. Whether it’s a string of hand-painted beads, a small charm, or another trinket, these items may be just more of your unneeded stash, but to others they’re gifts, a little added value that costs you nothing but a few extra seconds of time, but positively impacts how your business card is received.
How-to: DIY Embellished Business Cards–with a Treat! Read More 👉
Got some stash light-colored fabric?
Got a bored kid?
These bean bags don’t take much material, so any light-colored fabric from your scrap bin is great for this project. Your kiddos will have a fabulous time decorating them with fabric pens or fabric paints, and when they’re done, just a few straight seams and a handful of beans turns them into a super-fun soft toy.
How-to: Kid-Decorated Bean Bags from Scrap Fabric Read More 👉
You don’t even have to actually tell the recipient of your thank-you card that it’s written on recycled elephant poop paper.
But why wouldn’t you?
Why I Write My Thank-You Notes on Recycled Elephant Poop Paper Read More 👉
Got some yarn leftover after your last knitting project?
Wondering if you should stuff it back in your stash for perhaps forever? Pass it on? Trash it?
Instead, how about you thrill your favorite little kid by using that stash to knit him or her the most awesome, clever, modern doll outfits ever?
Crafty Book Review: Knits for Dolls, by Nicky Epstein Read More 👉
It’s no problem to find crafts for kids to do.
It’s no problem to find crafts to do for kids.
Crafts that you can do along with your kids, however? Collaborative crafts that work well even when one participant is young and one is old? Projects that an adult doesn’t have be bored by or bossy about, that a kid can contribute meaningfully to, that they’ll both enjoy just as well?
Yeah, those are a little harder to come by.
Crafty Book Review: Side by Side, by Tsia Carson Read More 👉
Need the perfect set of coasters? These coasters, crafted from upcycled tiles, broken glass, and grout, will keep your tables covered. They’re the perfect outdoor project for a summer day, a great project to share with a kid or two, and a useful way to use up extra wall tiles, or even to redo old store-bought coasters. Here’s how to make your own set of mosaic tile coasters.
This travel toothbrush holder isn’t the kind of fancy holder with a pocket for your toothpaste and another pocket for your floss. It’s not monogrammed, it’s not sewn from cute fabric, and it doesn’t match anything.
What it is, however, is functional and quick to make. It’s the kind of travel toothbrush holder that you sew the day before your trip when you need a break from packing, the kind of travel toothbrush holder that you’ll actually use because you can just throw it in your bag, the kind of travel toothbrush holder that, if you accidentally forget it in your hotel room, won’t break your heart because you’ll know you can sew another one in about ten minutes.
Here’s how to make THAT kind of travel toothbrush holder.
How-to: DIY Travel Toothbrush Holder from a Washcloth or Stash Toweling Read More 👉
What’s more charming than feeding the birds?
Not a lot!
And who wants to buy a fancy, expensive bird feeder?
Not me!
To make it feeding the birds more fun, don’t fret yourself dropping the big bucks on pricey specialty bird feeders, not when there are so many great DIY bird feeders to build. From silverware to coconuts, cracked teacups to fallen tree limbs, you’ll find that a lot of natural or recycled pieces that you already have can be utilized to make sturdy, attractive, useful bird feeders.
DIY Bird Feeders from Natural and Recycled Materials Read More 👉
Got some stash yarn? Bonus points if it’s tangled!
If you’ve got yarn, and the few ingredients needed to make suet, here’s a tutorial for a yarn-wrapped suet cake–easy to make, easy to wrap, simple to hang, fun to watch when the birds find it.
Feeding the Birds: Yarn-Wrapped Suet Cake Tutorial Read More 👉
Yes, you can buy bubble solution anywhere. Yes, it’s super cheap.
No, you don’t really know what’s in it.
Upcycled books are a fabulous craft, but making one always leaves you with one question to answer:
How to bind it?
Review: Zutter Bind-it-All for Making Upcycled Books Read More 👉
This bread dragon, served with a cashew and spinach spread, will grace the table at my kiddo’s dragon-themed ninth-birthday party, but our dinners are often served with bread turtles, bread snowmen, bread monsters, and more, all made by the kids just for fun and just as happily eaten–whole wheat bread, consumed without complaint!
Here’s how to make your own edible bread sculptures.
How-to: Edible Bread Dough Sculptures Read More 👉
Want to host an EPIC treasure hunt at your kiddo’s next birthday party? Do not waste your money on cheap plastic or nasty chocolate-filled gold coins; you’re just spending money on trash–literally, in fact, because you know the party kids’ parents are going to throw that junk out the second their kid goes to bed that night.
Instead, wow your kid’s friends with giant hunks of real gold treasure to hunt. The kids will love them, because they look way more awesome and like real loot than anything you can find in a big box party store. And if the kids do eventually get tired of playing with their gold nuggets, their parents can simply add them to their flower garden as decoration.
Because this gold treasure? It’s river rocks, y’all, painted gold.
Upcycling old jam jars, spaghetti sauce jars, pickle jars, etc. into storage jars to use around your house is a boon to the environment (and a cheap way to glean some extra storage!), but wouldn’t you maybe rather have something that didn’t *look* exactly like an old jam jar, spaghetti sauce jar, or pickle jar?
Whether you’re fond of fabric or paper, paint or found objects, matching or distinctive, the following list should give you all the ideas that you need to make your jar lids fresh, new, and not at all spaghetti sauce-related.
How to Jazz up Jar Lids: Upcycle Old Food Jars into New-Looking Storage Jars Read More 👉
Got a kid’s pedal bike? Need a kid’s balance bike? Here’s how to convert a pedal bicycle into a balance bike.
How-to: DIY Balance Bike from a Kid’s Pedal Bike Read More 👉
Knowing how to sew means that you don’t have to make do with something that doesn’t fit and is uncomfortable to wear. Here are the easy ways to fix the three most common areas of ill-fitting kid uniforms–and one of them doesn’t even REQUIRE sewing!
How-to: Alter a Kid’s Sports Uniform So That it Actually Fits Read More 👉
Want to throw a party for a kid and NOT serve a bunch of crap to eat?
That was my challenge for my kiddo’s recent dinosaur-themed seventh birthday party. No potato chip “dinosaur scales,” no jelly bean “dinosaur eggs,” no dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets or snack crackers or grocery store cookies.
It may take a little imagination to see the dinosaur in these healthy fruit and cheese dinosaurs, but kids have a ton of imagination. They also have a love of fun food, and, yep, a love of wholesome apples, grapes, and cheese.
Interested in weaving? Don’t want to spend money on a loom? Got some random stuff lying around?
Chances are that there’s a DIY loom for you.
Our version of Cool Water from Sew Pretty: T-Shirt Dresses is entitled Willow’s Rock Star Dress, and has pink skulls, glow-in-the-dark bats, orange flames, and a guitar player wearing a sparkly silver tutu and crown.
These toy charms can be worn on a necklace or bracelet, one at a time or in a whole herd. They make fine jewelry on their own, but the secret trick to these little charms is the latch that allows you to release them from their jewelry status. In the blink of an eye, you’ve gone from having a necklace full of toy dinosaurs to a handful of toy dinosaurs, ready to make standing in line at the grocery store SO much more bearable.
Here’s how to make your own.
How-to: Upcycled Toy Charm Necklaces–They’re Toys You Can Wear! Read More 👉
Pink cookies! Rainbow cupcakes! Whacked or not, I MUST occasionally have colorful baked goods, so I’ve recently switched my allegiance to India Tree natural food colors, which have no high fructose corn syrup and no synthetic dyes. India Tree food coloring has some pros and cons, and I’m not going to tell you that it’s all 100% amazeballs and you’re going to be making rainbow pancakes by morning with it, but here’s what we did with it, and here’s what we thought of it.
India Tree Natural Food Coloring: Is It Worth It? Read More 👉
Cupcake flags don’t have to be store-bought and disposable. Using the food flag templates from Cut up This Book! Special Occasions, you can craft little party flags from vintage or stash papers, or, as I did here, from the very tiniest pieces of scrap fabric.
How-to: Scrap Fabric Cupcake Flags from Cut up This Book! Special Occasions Read More 👉
Did you get caught with your eco-friendly pants down and nothing planned to celebrate Earth Day with your kiddos today? No problem! Every day is Earth Day, and just to prove it, here’s a list of kid-friendly Earth Day projects that require no prep work and use only materials that you probably have around your house.
Last-Minute, No-Prep, Stash-Only Earth Day Crafts for Kids Read More 👉
There’s not an easier clothing modification to make than swapping out the shoulder straps on a strappy tank top. It takes just a few minutes to do, and it completely changes both the look and the fit of the top.
Do you have art or craft supplies that you collect? If you’re out shopping the sales, however, it can be hard to remember if you have that exact color of something already, or if you should snap it up while it’s cheap. Especially for things like markers, paint, and fabrics, which come in more colors than it’s possible to own, these little swatch cards, made from upcycled paper, come in really handy.
The swatch cards are small enough to put in your pocket if you know you’re on your way to the art supplies store, handy to reference when you’re there, and quick to duplicate when you’re back home with your new supplies. Here’s how to make them
Gather up an assortment of found and natural objects, some bendy wire and strong glue, and any broken jewelry or stash jewelry findings that you may have lying about. You’ll use them to craft these sturdy, original, and informative plant markers.
These wire hanger and found object plant markers are sturdy enough to stand up to several seasons of use in your garden. Made from things like broken pottery, pretty rocks, and all sorts of little embellishments, they’re as cute as you want to make them. And since you can make these entirely from your stash, they are entirely free!
DIY Wire Hanger and Found Object Plant Markers, Part 1: Wire Hanger Shepherd’s Hook Read More 👉
DIY cardboard embroidery floss spools are quick to make, at least as sturdy as store-bought floss spools, and they’re free!
Here’s how to make your own.
How-to: Upcycled Cardboard Embroidery Floss Spools Read More 👉
With just a few minutes of work, you can make dozens of Monsanto seed-filled seed bombs that will allow you to surreptitiously seed your entire neighborhood, street medians, and city parks with the Monsanto seeds that will lead to fewer weeds, fewer bugs, and a greener, happier future for our children.
How-to: Make Monsanto Seed Bombs to Genetically Modify Your Entire Neighborhood! Read More 👉
Ditch plastic Easter eggs entirely! These papier mache Easter eggs are just as fun to hide and find, and they have just as much room for treats inside.
How-to: Papier Mache Easter Eggs Read More 👉
It’s so easy to have a junky Easter. Everything in the big-box stores is cheap, everything is made in China, and EVERYTHING is plastic.
Want to do better?
Whether you want to incorporate just a few eco-friendly ideas or go whole-hog sustainable, check out the following plans to green every part of your Easter basket.
The Eco-Friendly Easter Basket: Tips for a Sustainable Easter Morning Read More 👉
