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.
Nuno Magazine is published seasonally, with all its projects tied together under one theme, yet with a broad variety of crafts to choose from. The fall Star Gazing issue includes cool weather projects, such as the hat and a crocheted cowl, autumn crafts, such as sweater pumpkins and a bat mask, and crafts that use everything from felted wool to newspaper to tin cans to mimic the stars in the night sky.
Star Gazing: Nuno Magazine’s Fall Issue Read More 👉
If you’d like to make decorations that you can leave up from now through Thanksgiving, check out these five tutorials for fall garlands and autumn buntings that make use of upcycled materials.
Five Upcycled Autumn Buntings and Garlands Read More 👉
As long as recycled cardstock or cardboard fits my color scheme (and painting counts!), I like to upcycle it into temporary holiday garlands to decorate those last bits of uncluttered surface in my house. Read on to see that my red Valentine heart garlands (made from Target photo processing envelopes) and my yellow and green autumn leaf garlands (made from Crayola boxes) are easy to make, and would look pretty great in your house, too.
Make an Upcycled Cardboard Leaf Garland for Autumn Read More 👉
My children don’t need flame-retardant pajamas, and neither do yours. I sew their pajamas myself, using some of these five simple hand-sewn pajama projects.
Kids Don’t Need Flame-Retardant Pajamas: Five Handmade Pajamas to Sew Yourself Read More 👉
A light and airy mobile, whether it’s hung over the dining room table or the kitchen sink, is a wonderful way to show off the colorful autumn leaves that you’ve preserved, and it’s a fall decoration that easily works all the way through Thanksgiving.
How-to: Autumn Leaf Mobile Read More 👉
Crafting with acorns is also special because you’ll always know that you collected them yourself–who would pay money for acorns!?!–and I bet that if you’re anything like me, whenever you look at the projects that you created with them, you’ll think back to your happiest autumn memories from that year.
Five Must-Try Acorn Crafts for the Autumn Read More 👉
Hand-dipping paper in beeswax gives it the patina of an antique and is a chemical-free way to preserve it. Here’s how to make your own beeswax paper.
How to Make Beeswax-Coated Paper Read More 👉
Preserving autumn leaves allows you to use their beautiful colors in fall crafts all year long.
Even if you already have a go-to method for preserving leaves, check out these other options–you might discover a way that will work even better for a particular project, or you might find a new favorite preservation method altogether.
Fall Crafts: 4 Ways to Preserve Autumn Leaves Read More 👉
Take the ephemeral beauty of autumn leaves and make it last forever when you preserve leaves with the one simple, natural ingredient that is pure beeswax.
How-to: Preserve Autumn Leaves with Melted Beeswax Read More 👉
If you’re dreaming about a new way to organize your fabric, check out these five storage solutions that are constructed from eco-friendly upcycled materials.
Five Upcycled Fabric Storage Solutions Read More 👉
Organize your fabric stash into a neat, ordered, uniform collection using recycled cardboard record album covers.
How-to: Upcycle Cardboard Record Album Covers for Fabric Storage Read More 👉
Whether you have a child who’s learning her letters, or you simply recognize the decorative potential of a lovely font, a handmade alphabet can be simple to make out of a wide variety of eco-friendly materials. If your green crafting ethic prefers upcycling, or if you choose to use only natural materials, read on for a variety of ways to craft your own handmade letters.
Five Handmade Alphabets that You Can Craft from Recycled, Upcycled, or Natural Materials Read More 👉
As a children’s toy, a holiday decoration, or a wonderful present (a child’s name? A couple’s first monogram? How fun!), stuffed fabric letters are a way to show your personality and use up just about any kind of fabric in your stash. Neatly sewing up those letters with holes in them can be very tricky, however, but let me show you how, and you’ll be off and running.
How-to: Sew a Stuffed Fabric Alphabet from Upcycled, Recycled, or Natural Fabrics Read More 👉
Leave those nasty foam stickers on the store shelf and show your kids how easy it is to make your own custom reusable stickers. While you’re at it, make yourself some stickers for your scrapbook, and that’s one more aisle that you don’t have to shop!
Make Reusable Stickers from Upcycled Paper Read More 👉
A natural modeling beeswax dyed with plant colors sounds pretty eco-friendly, but how do we know what’s really in it?
Review: Artemis Plant Color Modeling Beeswax Read More 👉
Felting wool can alter its color. If you’re unhappy with the color of the wool sweater that you just felted, or even with an entire finished upcycled wool piece, you can easily overdye it to a new color.
How-to: Overdye Upcycled Felted Wool to Create Custom Colors Read More 👉
Turn costume jewelry into your favorite jewelry with a quick and easy paint job that uses nothing more than a few coats of nail polish.
How-to: Upcycle a Vintage Glass Necklace with Nail Polish Read More 👉
Help out the Homemade Dress Drive for Haiti by sewing the Oliver + S Popover Sundress (a free download!) for the little girls in one Port Au Prince orphanage.
Join the Homemade Dress Drive for Haitian Girls Read More 👉
High-quality natural art supplies can be awfully pricey, especially when the artist that you’re supplying still drinks from a sippy cup. Are these fancy natural materials really worth the hype?
Review: Stockmar Beeswax Crayons Read More 👉
Jump into bookmaking with these tutorials that let you make upcycled journals, scrapbooks, D.I.Y. planners and more out of recycled materials.
Journals, Planners, and Scrapbooks You Can Make Using Recycled Materials Read More 👉
Shells, stones, feathers, fossils–what will you use to create your next piece of jewelry?
Five Easy DIY Accessories to Make Using Natural Materials Read More 👉
Make your own shark tooth necklace with this quick and easy wire wrap, then try it out on any other triangular object to make a variety of custom pendants.
Easy Wire Wrapped Shark Tooth Necklace Read More 👉
Using a small glass vial with cork stopper from the craft store, putting together a treasure bottle necklace is a quick and easy craft. What favorite beach do you want to wear?
Crafty Keepsake How-to: Make a Glass Vial Treasure Bottle Necklace Read More 👉
When one playing card gets lost or bent or torn, don’t relegate the entire deck to the trash! Instead, try out one of these five projects especially created to upcycle your old playing cards.
5 Ways to Upcycle Old Playing Cards Read More 👉
Repurpose that beat-up deck of playing cards by creating the ultimate house of cards, one that won’t fall down no matter what you do to it.
How-to: House of Cards and Other 3D Structures Built with Upcycled Playing Cards Read More 👉
Take your magnifying glass on the go when you use solder and an antique glass lens to create your own magnifying necklace.
How-to: Make an Upcycled Magnifying Glass Necklace Read More 👉
Is it better than my homemade Kool-aid dye? I’ll find out!
Review: Dharma Acid Dyes for Silk and Wool Read More 👉
Make a kid-friendly, plastic-free suncatcher using kite paper, stick it onto any sunny window, and watch it glow.
How-to: Make a Waldorf Window Star Read More 👉
How does Stockmar modeling beeswax compare to my own beloved homemade modeling beeswax?
Review: Stockmar Modeling Beeswax Read More 👉
When it comes to upcycling thrifted or vintage fabrics, tie-dye is an easy way to instill a complete make-over. From socks to bed sheets, check out these five projects that use tie-dye to turn something dingy and old into something colorful and new.
Five Upcycled Tie-Dye Projects That aren’t Tacky Read More 👉
Keep summer boredom at bay with these five recipes and easy outdoor projects that use natural and recycled ingredients.
Five Crafty Recipes and Easy Tutorials for Summer Fun with Your Kids Read More 👉
Homemade sidewalk chalk in fun shapes and beautiful colors is always at your fingertips with this easy and inexpensive homemade sidewalk chalk recipe and tutorial.
How-to: Homemade Sidewalk Chalk Read More 👉
You’ll feel better soon with these five projects that craft some homemade comfort into all your ouches and illnesses.
Five Crafty Projects to Make for Stocking Your Natural First-Aid Kit Read More 👉
A homemade rice pillow is an easy project to create for your natural first-aid kit. You can use a rice pillow as a heating pad or a cold pack!
How-to: Sew a Rice Pillow to Use as a Heating Pad or Cold Pack Read More 👉
Get re-introduced to silk as a natural material that’s easy to craft with!
Five Projects to Craft Using Silk Read More 👉
