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.
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 👉
While you’ll have to wait until after the holiday season for my own favorite nine-patch potholder tutorial (there’s only so much craftiness I can do while spending Christmas ten hours away from my sewing machine), here are five more potholder tutorials that you’re going to love. Some are scrappy, some are sturdy, some are cute, and none of them even require so much as a pattern to sew–how much easier could you get?
Five No-Pattern Potholder Projects Read More 👉
If you give a lot of homemade gifts, you’re probably well aware of the versatility of the Mason jar. Perfect for everything from spice mixes to cranberry granola, party mix to cake in a jar, Mason jars get passed around between me and my crafty friends and family like the holiday version of hot potato.
The only thing about Mason jars is that..well…they look all the same. Sure, they’re lovely enough, but so uniform! Fortunately, with a little fabric, some thread, and a bit of upcycled cardboard, you can package your Mason jar gifts for the holidays, personalizing them by gift or recipient or just making them look nicely festive.
How-to: Pretty Packaged Mason Jars for Gift Giving Read More 👉
Popcorn garlands are a kid-friendly, easy, and fun holiday craft that the whole family can make together. Edible, natural popcorn is a great environmental choice, especially since you can simply take it outside to compost or leave for the birds and squirrels to enjoy after the holiday, and if you’re looking for a food craft to do, then popcorn is also a great choice for everyone’s tummies, since you won’t have to worry about all that candy, meant for gingerbread houses or sugar cookies, that somehow ends up in your mouth!
Of course, since I’m from the South, a plain white popcorn garland isn’t nearly gaudy enough for me, so read on and I’ll show you not only how to easily make a great popcorn garland, but also how to easily paint it to match (or NOT match!) your holiday decor.
How-to: Painted Popcorn Garland Read More 👉
Beeswax ornaments are quite quick and simple to make. They’ll be loved by anyone who has a tree (or a sunny window!) to decorate, and you’ll love that they only require just a bit of beeswax and a narrow scrap of fabric for each ornament.
How-to: Beeswax and Fabric Scrap Ornaments Read More 👉
Because desk calendars are made of that most versatile of craft materials–paper!!!–you’ll find that you can make some pretty great projects with them using some of our favorite methods here at CAGW. Here are five tutorials to get you started.
Reader Question Answered: Upcycling a Daily Calendar Read More 👉
A kid can build with her unfinished wooden blocks all day long, but if what she really wants to build is a rainbow, well…
Fortunately, unfinished wooden toys (or unfinished wood of ANY type), is quite simple to stain, and it takes color so beautifully that you may never want to paint wood again. Here’s how to do it.
How-to: Stain Unfinished Wooden Toys with Vibrant Colors Read More 👉
Recently, a reader wrote into CAGW asking about felting a different type of wool–a wool tweed jacket, to be specific, but the question applies to all types of wool fabric, other than that which is knitted.
Yes, Virginia, you CAN felt wool fabric!
Reader Question Answered: Felting Wool Fabric (NOT Wool Sweaters!) Read More 👉
You don’t have to wrap your presents with the comics section or a brown paper bag to be eco-friendly (although you can!). Sure, those are classics and they always look good, but you can give your wrapped gifts variety while still keeping them green. Check out these five sustainable wrapping solutions for presents that are as low-waste as they are thoughtful.
Five Sustainable Wrapping Solutions for Eco-Friendly Gifts Read More 👉
Ah, crayons…such versatile, waxy, brightly pigmented goodness! My little girls have a couple of nice boxes of unbroken, new-ish crayons reserved for schoolwork and special art projects, and a giant bin of broken, half-wrapped, stubby, old crayons, gathered here and there and everywhere, that we use for everything else.
Old crayons may seem like a nuisance to have underfoot, but they are incredible art supplies, and you can make some surprisingly sophisticated creations with them. Here are five projects, from canvas art to kid crafts, to get you started
Five Upcycled Crayon Crafts Read More 👉
You know those adorable concrete mosaic kits that they sell in all the big-box craft stores, the ones with all the stuff that you need to make one concrete mosaic, handprint optional, to put in your garden path in the spring? The ones that look really fun to make, and you’re pretty sure that the grandparents would just adore one made by your kids?
Yeah, you can make dozens and dozens of your own concrete mosaics for the same price as one of those mosaic kits, and even more cheaply, if you use found and natural objects for the mosaic tiles, and recycle plastic packaging for the concrete molds.
How-to: DIY Mosaics–No Kits, Just Concrete! Read More 👉
Check out how to sew cloth napkins that fit nicely into my children’s packed lunches. And, as a bonus, I sew my napkins with a double thickness, so that they have extra absorbency for mopping up spills…not that your kids are messy, of course.
How To Sew Cloth Napkins for a Waste-Free Lunchbox Read More 👉
From clove apples to apple votive candles, there are some really cool things that you can do with your surplus apples, and the beauty of these projects is that when you tire of them, the apples that you used can generally go right into your compost. So check out these five projects for inspiration to use with your own surplus apples.
Five Apple Crafts to Make with Your Surplus Apple Harvest Read More 👉
Yes, a dried apple wreath is amply countrified, but only if you hang it in the kitchen. If you embrace the ancient folklore that imbues the apple with meanings such as life, sexuality, or wisdom, then you can find the other rooms in your home in which a dried apple wreath holds valuable symbolism.
How-to: Make a Dried Apple Wreath Read More 👉
To vat-dye multi-colored silks with clean colors and smooth transitions, there are a few different methods that work. This particular method is one of the easiest, since it blocks off all of the fabric that you’re not currently dyeing, allowing you to vat dye and machine wash as usual.
How-to: Vat Dye Multi-Colored Play Silks and Silk Scarves Read More 👉
