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 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 👉
Knit Picks is giving away three skeins of Full Circle yarn to TWO lucky winners! Are you one?
Announcing the Winners of the Knit Picks Full Circle Yarn Giveaway Read More 👉
Did you read my review of Knit Picks Full Circle yarn yesterday? Do you want to check out some of this 100% reclaimed wool yarn for yourself?
You’re in luck! Knit Picks is giving away three skeins of their Full Circle yarn to two (count them, TWO) lucky winners! Read on to discover all the ways that you can enter this giveaway.
Giveaway: Win Three Skeins of Knit Picks Full Circle Yarn–There Will be TWO Winners! Read More 👉
Did you enter the giveaway for your own set of Earth Paints for Children, an organic, eco–friendly, mineral-based painting kit from Earth Paint?
If you did, then today may be your lucky day! Read on to see who our winner is
Announcement: The Winner of the Earth Paints for Children Set Read More 👉
I want the yarn that my children craft with to be made of natural fibers, to be easy for fumbling little fingers to work with, and to be comfortable on their delicate skin. I would like their yarn to also be both texturally and visually interesting, to hold their attention while they build their muscle memory and practice their fine motor skills.
Review: Knit Picks Full Circle Yarn 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 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 👉
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…
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.
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.
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 👉
Smash books are quicker, easier, and more creatively amenable to recycled components than traditional scrapbooks can be, and frankly I much prefer the look of a smash book to that of your typical carefully engineered scrapbook. If you’d like some more examples, then please feel free to take a look below at my own upcycled smash book–it’s by no means perfect, but the beauty of a smash book is that it isn’t meant to be perfect. Instead, it’s meant to be meaningful, fun, crafted with lots of upcycled materials and stash components, and beloved by its recipient.
Project Show-and-Tell: An Upcycled Smash Book for My Anniversary Read More 👉
Whether you’d like to use a wax seal on a letter, a gift, or your own altered art, this candle + stamp method is just as quick and easy as using traditional sealing wax supplies–and it’s cheaper!
How-to: Craft DIY Wax Seals Using Crayons and Stamps Read More 👉
DIY chewing gum can be a surprisingly eco-friendly project (hint–it’s the chicle), but be warned: in the process of making this chewing gum from a kit, I got a really, really, REALLY bad DIY chewing gum-making injury.
Were you one of our 25 winners of The Christmas Guide to Upcycling, by Mahe Zehra Husain? Check here to see!
Giveaway Announcement: Winners of The Christmas Guide to Upcycling, by Mahe Zehra Husain Read More 👉
Twenty-five people will win a copy of Mahe Zehra Husain’s ebook, The Christmas Guide to Upcycling. Enter now, and one of those winners could be you!
Giveaway: Win a Copy of The Christmas Guide to Upcycling, by Mahe Zehra Husain Read More 👉
If you’re a recycled artist or crafter, you may think that you know everything that can be done with old soda cans and plastic packaging, but trust me–Mahe Zehra Husain has some very new things to teach you (and something to give you, as well–read on for the details!).
Green Crafter Book Review: Crafty Cans and Perplexing Plastic, by Mahe Zehra Husain Read More 👉
Fortunately, one of the most common points of breakage in an umbrella–that tip that comes unmoored from the metal support–is quite simple to repair.
In the year since I crafted my first drawstring bag tutorial, I’ve refined it to correct these fiddly bits and to make the bag even quicker and easier to sew. Read on for the quickest, easiest, drawstring bag tutorial that you’re ever going to find.
How to Sew a Drawstring Bag (an even easier tute!) Read More 👉
Using tools ranging from scissors to drills, using materials ranging from fallen tree branches to clamshell packaging, and, most importantly, using absolutely no additional money, I’ve been able to make a wide variety of sturdy buttons for all my sewing and craft projects. Check out the following tutorials to see how to make some DIY buttons of your own.
DIY Buttons: Make Your Own Buttons from Natural or Recycled Materials Read More 👉
I’m currently working on a project to revamp our clipboards from dust-catching shelf-clutterers into something actually usable–otherwise, they’re off to Goodwill next weekend–but until then, check out with me these DIY upcycled clipboard projects from across the web. Clipboards actually ARE useful!
Upcycled Clipboard Projects: You Never Knew that an Old Clipboard Could be This Useful! Read More 👉
Instead of wearing cheap, mass-produced, low-quality undergarments that have to be replaced regularly, I’ve found that sewing panties and boxer shorts, for people both big and small, really isn’t that hard. You can sew underwear from your own stash fabric–even scraps, for kids’ underwear!–or from awesome thrifted clothing, and the results are unique, way cheaper than store-bought, and often sturdier, since they can be made from higher-quality fabrics and sewn with care.
To make your own upcycled undergarments, check out these patterns and tutorials from around the web.
What are You Making Under There? Upcycled Underwear Tutorials from Around the Web Read More 👉
When I saw that my family was clearly not going to eat through that entire 10-pound bag of navel oranges before the last ones went bad, I thought briefly about marmalade and fruit leather, but then I thought, “Nah–craft supplies!”. Read on to see how to turn leftover oranges into shelf-stable craft supplies, and how to make a garland that shows off the lovely translucency of the preserved orange slices.
How-to: Dehydrated Orange Garland Read More 👉
When I shared with you my round-up of clothespins embellishment projects, I left out my own personal favorite. These dyed and glittered clothespins are so saturated with color, so sparkly, and yep, so darn useful that I find myself making up a fresh batch surprisingly often. Read on to see how they’re done.
How-to: Dyed and Glittered Clothespins Read More 👉
Beeswax tealight candles are expensive, petroleum-based tealight candles are polluting and unhealthy, and yet my lovely little essential oil warmer won’t work with anything larger.
In the mornings, I MUST waft the scent of peppermint and rosemary essential oils through the air, lest I never escape the desire to just go back to bed, and so I’ve gotten into the habit of making my own rolled beeswax tealight candles. They’re quick and easy to make, inexpensive, and you can do them in any colors that you fancy. Read on to see how it’s done.
How-to: Rolled Beeswax Tealight Candles Read More 👉
Plain wooden clothespins are as versatile as they are inexpensive, but unlike their plastic cousins, plain wooden clothespins are…well, plain!
If you’d like a little more variety in your clothespin stash, check out these simple crafty projects that will show you how to decorate, embellish, paint, color, and otherwise jazz up your clothespins.
Projects to Personalize, Decorate, Embellish, and Otherwise Jazz up Your Clothespins Read More 👉
Have any ratty bath towels or blankets or other thick fabric to upcycle? Have some stash cotton to rescue from your scraps basket? Read on to find out how to turn that stash into potholders!
How-to: Sew a Nine-Patch Potholder Entirely from Stash and Upcycled Materials Read More 👉
So whether you’ll punch your pages and put them into a three-ring binder create your own multi-folio hand-bound book, I encourage you to consider crafting your own daily planner this year. If you’re still on the fence, here are some of the types of pages that I’ll be including in my own planner–if the thought of all these handy organizational tools that I’ll have at my fingertips makes you jealous, then you’re halfway to a DIY planner of your own.
Easy Organizational Pages to Include in Your Daily Planner Read More 👉
