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.
Using an old crock pot or a DIY stovetop bain-marie, a hand-dipped candle becomes an easy, kid-friendly craft project, one that can stock an entire season of candlelit dinners in a single afternoon.
How-to: Hand-Dipped Wax Candles Read More 👉
Toys are fun for any kid, but half the fun of unfinished wooden toys is, I discovered, letting my kiddos paint and finish them all by themselves.
Although this method of resizing a fitted sheet to fit a smaller bed is a little more complicated than my quick-and-dirty tutorial for turning a flat sheet into a fitted sheet for the same bed size, it’s still a simple process that allows you to save money by using what you own instead of buying new.
How-to: Resize a Fitted Sheet to Fit a Smaller Bed Read More 👉
Picking up fallen sticks around the yard is less of a hassle when you have something more fun to do with them than just tossing them in the ubiquitous brush pile by the street.
Nature Crafts to Make Using the Sticks from Your Yard Read More 👉
Cardboard is a terrific material to reuse for kids’ crafts because it’s so sturdy, and it’s amenable to a wide variety of media, from duct tape to spray paint.
Reader Question Answered: Reusing Cardboard for Kid-Friendly Crafts Read More 👉
If you can’t get enough of smash books, check out my review of Mahe Zehra Husain’s newest e-book, The Ultimate Guide to Smash Books, Smashing and Making Your Own Upcycled Smash Books, then read to the end to learn how to receive your own free copy, as well as The Ultimate Guide to Upcycling and a series of video classes on upcycling paint chips into greeting cards.
Review of The Ultimate Guide to Smash Books, by Mahe Zehra Husain–and a Giveaway! Read More 👉
Did you read our review of Dalai Mama Waldorf doll clothing patterns?
Did you enter the giveaway for three free clothing patterns from the Dalai Mama etsy shop?
If you did, read on to see if you’re our lucky winner!
Announcing the Winner of Three Waldorf Doll Clothing Patterns from Dalai Mama Patterns Read More 👉
Dalai Mama Patterns is offering one lucky winner their choice of three Waldorf doll clothing patterns from the Dalai Mama Patterns etsy shop. Check out my review of the Zoe Dress and the Hunter and Cameron Pants, and then read on to see how you can enter the giveaway.
Giveaway: Win Three Waldorf Doll Clothing Patterns from Dalai Mama Patterns Read More 👉
Making clothes for your Waldorf dolls is a cinch with the right patterns. Doll clothing is small, so it’s a great way to use up your scrap bin or remake a kid’s favorite outgrown clothing into something cute. Check out my review of Dalai Mama Patterns, and stay tuned for a Waldorf doll clothing pattern giveaway!
Review of Dalai Mama Patterns Waldorf Doll Clothing Patterns–and a Giveaway! Read More 👉
A message in a bottle makes a fun invitation for a pirate- or ocean-themed party. You can make this invitation almost entirely out of upcycled materials, and yes–you can mail it!
How-to: Make a Message in a Bottle Party Invitation out of Upcycled Materials Read More 👉
Coffee staining is an easy way to give an antique look to paper. Here’s how to antique paper with a simple coffee staining technique.
How To Antique Paper Using Coffee Staining Read More 👉
The City Museum is formed primarily from the detritus of the city of St. Louis, using salvaged tiles to cover the walls and floors in mosaics, salvaged gargoyles to spray water into the two-storey indoor fountain, and two salvaged airplanes that are part of the outdoor jungle gym created with steel springs, iron walkways, an old trolley, and a giant ball pit.
And yes, you get to climb all over it.
St. Louis City Museum Turns Architectural Salvage into an Urban Playground Read More 👉
If you have a baby gift of your own that needs to be crafted, whether it’s Doctor Who themed or not, check out the ideas below. They’re all made using recycled and upcycled materials, so not only are they crafty, but they’re also eco-friendly (and way cheaper than a store-bought gift!).
Handmade Gifts for the New Baby Made from Upcycled and Recycled Materials Read More 👉
Before our trip to Disney World this fall, my kiddos and I have been spending the summer crafting our own Disney souvenirs, primarily from upcycled and recycled materials. The stuff that we’re making is cute, it’s Disney-themed, and it will hopefully at least cool down the consumerist frenzy for Disney stuff that we can’t help but be bombarded with in Orlando this fall.
Pirates, Princesses, and Mouse Ears: Upcycled Disney Crafts Read More 👉
Read on for six projects designed to make perfect use of a single upcycled flat sheet.
Six Crafty Green Ways to Upcycle Flat Bed Sheets Read More 👉
A bar of soap is easy to carve even with simple, blunt, household tools, which makes it an extremely satisfying activity for a kid, who probably doesn’t get a lot of chances to carve something these days. If you make or buy organic, natural-ingredients soap, soap carving is also a wholesome activity, and it won’t add anything to the waste stream.
Summer Craft: Soap Carving for Kids Read More 👉
Which of these DIY non-toxic paints and wood sealants would YOU use on a child’s toy?
Reader Question: Non-Toxic Paint for Wooden Toys 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 👉
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 👉
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 👉
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.
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 👉
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 👉
You don’t have to be satisfied with art supplies that are simply “non-toxic.” Art supplies that come directly from nature, with minimal processing, are healthier, more environmentally friendly, and can still be of excellent quality, often allowing you to create effects that it’s difficult to obtain with their artificial counterparts.
7 Art Supplies Made Directly from Nature Read More 👉
Natural materials make fabulous art supplies. Even when it’s raining outside, you can make good use of the weather by creating a watercolor painting project in which the rain is the most important ingredient.
How-to: Make a Rainwater Watercolor Painting Read More 👉
Although making your own Waldorf doll is a complicated and time-consuming craft, it is not especially difficult, especially with all the generous tutorials and thoughtful patterns available to walk you through the process. Here are all the resources that I’ve been using as I create Waldorf dolls for my own children.
Making Your Own Waldorf Dolls: Tips and Tutorials Read More 👉
Even if you regularly sew lovely dresses, it can be easy to forget that you must also often sew the correct foundation garments for those dresses. Here’s how to sew a full petticoat using parts from an upcycled formal gown.
How-to: Sew an Upcycled Petticoat from a Recycled Prom Dress Read More 👉
Using the PotMaker, you can make plant pots from recycled newspaper with just a little folding and a few twists of the wrist. Is that any better than using the origami method to make newspaper pots?
Review: The PotMaker Makes Plant Pots from Recycled Newspaper Read More 👉
If you’re a gardener, then chances are you’re probably already pretty crafty. You could buy pots the right size to start any plants or seedlings from any gardening center, but none of them, even the ones made from natural or recycled materials, are as good as simply bypassing the consumer market altogether and making your own DIY pots.
5 DIY Pots for Plants and Seedlings Using Natural or Recycled Materials Read More 👉
I made myself an entire stash of re-usable steam mop pads. I recycled old towels for the project, creating mop pads that are easy to wash and sanitize, quick to sew, and offer customizable thicknesses, so that I can blast my stone-tiled kitchen floor but not trash the wax on my wood living room floor.
How-to: Sew Your Own Steam Mop Pads Read More 👉
