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12 Ways to Upcycle Old Sheets

April 24, 2012 by FaveCrafts 1 Comment

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This guest post was written by Mandy from Sugar Bee Crafts.

When I think Earth Day I immediately think of recycled crafts – you know, crafts using upcycled materials.  Give new life to something old.  My favorite favorite thing to repurpose is ….. SHEETS!!  They are so cheap at thrift stores and yard sales and give you so much yardage!  And they come in such a great variety of colors and patterns.

I’ve rounded up a dozen of my projects using sheets…

Rag Rug – cut those old sheets up into strips and make a rug!

Bulletin Board – wrap a ceiling tile in an old sheet and use it as a bulletin board:

Pajama Pants – a whole family worth of pjs out of one  discarded flannel sheet set:

Pillowcase Dresses – something to make from the pillowcases that come with the sheets:

and don’t forget that you use the plain white ones too – like in this Ghost Dress:

Tree Skirt – use a sheet as the base because it takes a lot of fabric:

Skirts – the possiblities are endless:

Light Box – use sheets to make a box for taking photos of small things:

Necklace – rolled flowers out of sheets can be made into necklaces and headbands:

Bag Lining – use your nice fabric on the outside, but on the inside use sheets as lining!

 Lounge Pants – use the top edge of sheets so you don’t even have to hem them!

Tablecloths – great cheap way to cover tables at craft fairs and parties:

Quilts – here the white space is all from a sheet:

Thanks for letting me share my love of Upcycling Sheets!!  I pick them up whenever I see them, so I have a whole stack in my craft room, ready and waiting for the right project to come along…..

Hope to see you over on my blog, Sugar Bee Crafts!!

Filed Under: Green Crafting Tagged With: Earth Day, Earth Week, Green Crafting, Guest Post, recycled crafts, Sewing, Thrifty Crafts

Eco Gift Wrap from Children’s Books

April 23, 2012 by FaveCrafts 5 Comments

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This guest post was written by Heather Valentine from The Sewing Loft.

Today’s green crafting posts are sponsored by Eco Green Crafts! Check out how to enter to win a $25 gift card and you’ll also get a coupon code for 20% off your order!I just love the look of a simply wrapped gift, don’t you?

You know the ones that are not too fussy but still look “put together”.

Well, today is all about simple wrapping!

This project is for all levels.

Skill Level- 1 Button

Materials:

  • large hole punch
  • fun paper (I selected reclaimed children’s books)
  • thread
Tools:
  • sewing machine

Basic Instructions:

  1. Select your paper of choice and begin to “punch” away! I just love the colors in this child’s book and thought it perfect for my gift. (it’s going to my brother- baby on the way!!)
  2. Then head on over to the machine we will just straight stitch these circles all together to make a quick string garland. Since I wanted to add some dimension to my garland, I stitched 2 circles together.
  3. To start, fold a small square of scrap paper in half and stitch through center; continue to stitch for a few inches. This will give you a tail to attach to the back of the gift or wall for hanging.
  4. Straight stitch down the center of your circles; space as desired; repeat the process until desired length. For an easy space guide, I used the back of my machine. Don’t forget to leave a few inches for the tail at this end too!
  5. Once all are stitched together, gently pull each side of the top circle towards the center. Your garland is complete!
You can really do many things with this garland.
Hang from a mantel.
Hang along a door or window.
Group a few together and hang from the ceiling to create a mobile.
Wrap on a present. (shown)
**Remember, I love seeing your finished projects. Be sure to share photos on my facebook page!
Happy Crafting!
~Heather

Filed Under: Full Project Tutorials Tagged With: DIY gift wrapping, Earth Day, Earth Week, Green Crafting, Guest Post

Tips for Buying Materials to Upcycle

April 23, 2012 by FaveCrafts 4 Comments

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This guest post was written by Jessica Hill from Mad in Crafts.

Today’s green crafting posts are sponsored by Eco Green Crafts! Check out how to enter to win a $25 gift card and you’ll also get a coupon code for 20% off your order!

Upcycling is good for the environment, the pocketbook, and your creativity.  It is so satisfying to take something that has outworn its use and give it new life with a bit of elbow grease and innovation.

If you are known to friends and family as “the crafty one,” you likely get regular donations of goodies from people saying, “I thought you could make something out of this.”  Ideally, you could always find items to upcycle without having to spend a dime, but occasionally hitting the thrift stores or yard sales can yield equally exciting materials.  Today, I am going to share some of my tips for maximizing your purchase of materials for an upcycling project.

FURNITURE:

Upcycled Door Coffee Table

When you are upcycling free furniture, you don’t need to be picky about whether it is particle board, laminate or veneer.  If you are going to spend money on furniture to upcycle, you want to look for real wood, if possible.  Wood holds up better to sawing, drilling, and sanding, plus it is MUCH easier to paint.  Houzz.com has tips for determining whether a piece of furniture is solid wood or veneer.

When you find a piece of furniture at a thrift store or a garage sale, there is always a chance that not only is the piece worth buying in order to upcycle it, it may be worth buying because it is an antique.  In that case, you need to do some research before cutting it in half with a hack saw.  This article from TLC helps to determine if your new purchase is an antique or just old.

Don’t worry about hardware, color, or minor chips or dents as these are all easily fixable issues.  Plus, if you are doing a major transformation, you probably want to change all these elements anyway!

Upcycling Inspiration:

$6 Nailhead Side Table

Nightstand Turned Diaper Robot

 

LIGHTING:

Pop Top Lampshade

There are a few elements you want to look for in a thrifted or yard sale lamp.  First, check to see if the lamp shade is intact and in good shape.  For some reason, lamp shades are crazy expensive so if you can find a basic lamp base with a decent shade at a good price, that’s a double bonus.

Even if the lamp does not come with a shade, the piece may still be worth a few bucks.  Pick up the lamp and give the base a twist.  Does the base come apart into multiple pieces?  Many lamps are made of several pieces stacked onto a threaded post.  The more pieces the lamp is made from, the more opportunities you have for customization or new projects.

Don’t worry about if the lamp actually works.  Lamp kits are readily available at hardware stores, and rewiring a lamp can be a DIY project.  How Stuff Works has a great step-by-step tutorial for rewiring a lamp.

Upcycling Inspiration:

Typographic Globe with Upcycled Pedestal

Vintage Camera Tripod Floor Lamp

 

LINENS:

Pouf from Thrifted Blanket

The adage for linens is that the closer they will be to your body, the more money you should spend on them.  For upcycling, you have to determine the “ick” factor.  The closer the linen is going to be to your body, the lower you want the ick factor to be.

In other words,  buying a garage sale bed sheet and cutting it up to make yourself some undies is icky.  Buying a garage sale bed sheet and using it as a picnic tablecloth, is less icky.  Thrifted linens make excellent curtains, throw pillows, rag rugs, table runners, and more.

Upcycling Inspiration:

Crib Ruffle Turned Playroom Valence

5-Minute Placemat Pillows

Of course, these are all just hints and guidelines for shopping for possible upcycling projects.  If you find a piece you love that inspires you to make a fantastic project, it doesn’t matter what it is made of or what it looks like.  Just get out there and CREATE!

I’m Jessica Hill, the slightly-unbalanced blogger of Mad in Crafts. I used to spend my days teaching Shakespeare and Longfellow to high school students, trying desperately to make the classics modern for my students… or at least to keep them awake for the 45 minute class period.  Now, I teach readers how to combine classic style with modern trends in decorating, DIY, cooking, writing, and more!  And hopefully you stay awake in the meantime.

 

Filed Under: Green Crafting Tagged With: Earth Day, Earth Week, eco-friendly crafts, Green Crafting, Guest Post, upcycling

Ultimate Green Crafting Guide: 201 Recycled Craft Ideas

April 22, 2012 by FaveCrafts 6 Comments

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Today is Earth Day, and it also marks the beginning of Earth Week on the FaveCrafts blog! To celebrate this eco-friendly holiday and kick off our special green crafting week, we’re giving you a comprehensive guide to all the best recycled craft ideas we have. From CDs to wine bottles to crayons, you can recycle almost anything into a craft project! Check out our ideas for upcycling common household items like bottle caps, jeans, and plastic bags. Before you toss anything in the recycling bin this week, browse through our guide to see if there’s anything fun and creative you can make with recycled items.

Earth Week on FaveCrafts Blog

Recycled Craft Ideas for Specific Items

In this section of our Green Crafting Guide, you’ll find crafts specifically tailored to the items you want to recycle. Want to turn your old CD collection into something beautiful? Find crafty ideas here. Have you been amassing bottle caps for years just to make something useful with them? Learn how to incorporate them in your crafts with these clever ideas.

Recycled Tin Can Projects

    

  • Little Baskets from Tuna Cans
  • Recycled Can Butterfly Mobile
  • Spring Flowers in a Tin Can
  • Cute Soda Can Earrings
  • DIY Pop Tab Bracelet
  • One-of-a-Kind Pepsi Can Earrings
  • Pop Can Beads
  • Recycled Tin Lid Silhouette Necklace
  • Tea Canister Cuff

Recycled Jeans Projects

    

  • Denim Cathedral Window Pillow
  • Denim Picnic Quilt
  • Patchwork Denim Pouf
  • Recycled Denim Quilt
  • Colorful Recycled Denim Beads
  • Jean Pocket Pot Holder
  • 11 Ideas for What to Make With Old Jeans
  • How to Make Slippers From Jeans

Recycled Plastic Bottles

     

  • Colorful Water Bottle Wreath
  • Garden Stakes from Recycled Bottles
  • Plastic Bottle Flowers for the Yard
  • Spring Flowers Mobile from Bottles
  • Whimsical Flower Wreath
  • Water Bottle Bangle
  • Plastic Bottle Bottom Ornaments
  • Creamer Bottle Snowman
  • Plastic Bottle Christmas Tree

Recycled Paper Products

  • Pretty Recycled Paper Flowers
  • Ombre Frame from Magazine Pages
  • Recycled Paper Butterfly Garland
  • Repurposed Phone Book Wreath
  • Fabulous Newspaper Roses
  • Yellow Pages Gift Bow
  • How to Make Fun Paper Beads
  • Paper Bead Tribal Necklace
  • Recycled Magazine Illusion Necklace
  • Anthropologie Knockoff Paper Bead Earrings
  • Paint Chip Earrings
  • Cha Cha Paper Beads Bracelet
  • Faux Metal Bib Necklace
  • Tags From Recycled Cards

Recycle CDs into Crafts

         

  • Floral CD Letter Holder
  • Banner from Repurposed CDs
  • CD Ornaments with Beads
  • Recycled Quilted CD Ornaments
  • CD Clock

Recycle Coffee Mugs & Teacups

         

  • Coffee Cup Flower Bouquet
  • Coffee Cup Tool Carrier
  • Recycled Coffee Cup Rose

Recycled Bottle Cap Crafts

       

  • Bottle Cap Pinwheel Flower
  • Blooming Bottle Cap Magnets
  • Super Easy Ladybug Caps
  • Cool Clock Bottle Cap Magnets
  • Flower Bottle Cap Brooch
  • Bottle Cap Necklaces
  • Bottle Cap Picture Tree
  • Bottle Cap Snowman Ornament
  • Bottle Cap Earrings

How to Recycle Crayons

         

  • Crayon Sun Catchers
  • Recycled Crayon Earth
  • Melted Crayon Heart Garland
  • Rainbow Crayons
  • Crayon Stained Quilt

Recycled Wine Bottles

         

  • Winter Wonderland Wine Bottle Display
  • Vases from Recycled Bottles
  • Glass Bottle Necklace
  • 20 Crafts for Wine Bottles
  • Wine Bottle Wind Chime
  • Tissue Wine Bottle Vases

How to Recycle Plastic Bags

        

  • Plastic Bag Pom Pom Flowers
  • Recycled Shopping Bag Wreath
  • Doubly Green Grocery Totes
  • Messenger Bag

Recycled T-Shirt Crafts

      

  • T-shirt Pillow Tutorial
  • DIY T-shirt Quilts for Hoarders
  • Patchwork T-shirt Scarf
  • T-Shirt Yarn Bag
  • T-Shirt Recycled Silk Case
  • Reusable Duster
  • T-Shirt Yarn Bib
  • Stringy Striped Tee Necklace
  • Braided Jersey Necklace
  • Ruffle T-Shirt
  • Nothing to Wear T-Shirt Refashion
  • Casual T-Shirt Scarf
  • T-Shirt to Shrug Refashion
  • The Cabo Dress
  • Drawstring T-Shirt Bag
  • Favorite T-Shirt Pillow
  • Upcycle T-Shirts: 10 Projects to Make for Kids eBook
  • 9 Ways to Transform Old T-Shirts eBook

Recycled Light Bulb Crafts

         

  • Recycled Bulb Hot Air Balloons
  • Soaring Light Bulb Birds
  • Snowman Light Bulb Ornament
  • Twinkle Wreath
  • Reindeer Light Bulb Ornament
  • Light Bulb Penguin Ornament

Recycled Craft Ideas for Specific Purposes

If you’re looking for inventive projects to teach your kids about recycling or thrifty ways to decorate for Christmas with recycled items, you’ll find plenty of ideas here. These eco-friendly craft projects are organized by end-product, so you can craft with purpose! Find a project that inspires you, and then start collecting the recyclables you’ll need to make it happen.

Sewing Recycled Clothes

         

  • Recycled Patchwork Shorts
  • Crazy Quilted Sweater Dress
  • 20 Minute Shirt to Skirt
  • Brassy Ruffle Top
  • Emma Pillsbury T-Shirt Refashion
  • Girl’s Rosette Shrug Refashion
  • Petal Tees
  • Refashion Sweater for Boys
  • Resort Chic Top
  • Ruffled Jacket Refashion
  • Skirt From Men’s Button Down
  • Women’s Knit Shirt Into Dress
  • Women’s Romper Refashion Tutorial
  • 19 Wardrobe Refashion Projects

Recycled Christmas Crafts

         

  • Baby Bird Book Page Ornament
  • Recycled Book Page Ball Ornament
  • Gift Boxes from Christmas Cards
  • Sock Snowmen
  • Sewing Pattern Christmas Tree
  • Repurposed Christmas Pillow
  • Glittered Bedspring Trees
  • Baby Jar Advent Christmas Tree
  • Cereal Box Advent Calendar House
  • Embossed Soda Can Snowsicles
  • DIY Magazine Christmas Tree

Kids’ Recycle Projects

  • Drink Lid Photo Magnets
  • BFF Puzzle Necklace
  • Cute Popsicle Stick Bracelets
  • Easy Toothbrush Bracelets
  • Fast and Easy Ring Pop Rings
  • Craft Stick Christmas Tree Ornament
  • Snowmen From Paint Stick Tops
  • Paint Stick Snowmen

Wall Art Made from Recycled Materials

         

  • Crochet Yarn Painting
  • Bird and Text Collage
  • Pizza Box Wall Art
  • Bottle Cap Wall Decor

Knitting and Crochet Patterns Using Recycled Yarns

  • Earth Day Afghan
  • Plarn Tote Bag
  • Plarn Rain Hat
  • Plarn Pop Tab Ring

 

Filed Under: Full Project Tutorials Tagged With: Earth Day, Earth Week, Full Project Tutorials, Green Crafting, recycled crafts

How to Make a Reusable Grocery Bag from Sheets

April 22, 2012 by FaveCrafts 2 Comments

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This guest post was written by Karen Lee from ecokaren.

Why You Should Refuse Plastic Bags

More than five hundred billion plastic bags are made worldwide each year. Plastic takes thousands of years to biodegrade in landfills and when plastic debris end up in ocean, they harm marine life and pollute the waters. Several cities and towns are banning plastic bags and started charging for paper bags. But paper bags are no better as over twelve billion paper bags are produced annually. That’s a lot of trees!

So it behooves you to bring your own bags but how many times have you gone to the market and realize that you left your reusable bag at home? Lots of times I bet. Me too.

So I started carrying a little pocket size reusable grocery bag that I made from an old fitted sheet awhile ago. Since then, I’ve not been caught without a reusable bag at the supermarket. In fact, I keep a few in my glove compartment and one in my purse just in case i make quick unplanned trip to the store. I use them in all stores, not just at the supermarket.

How to Make Reusable Market Bags

The tote is really easy to make and you can make about five bags from a full size sheet with these dimensions. Again, just like the garment bag tutorial using a fitted sheet, the measurements for the bags are totally up to you. You can make them whatever size you want or need.

Also, you don’t have to use a sheet to make these bags. I happened to have an old sheet that I couldn’t donate, so, wanted to use it up. You can use any fabric you want as long as it’s thin enough to be folded into a little square. My objective was to make as many as I can with a full size sheet, without wasting fabric, so I left the edge raw. But you can finish the edge nicely if you want.

Let’s get started!

You’ll need:

  • Old fitted sheet – I used a full size for this tutorial to make five bags
  • Sewing machine
  • Thread  – I am using a dark colored thread in the tutorial for you to see but use a coordinating thread color as your sheet.
  • Scissors

Instruction:

1. Cut out the elastic pieces from the fitted sheet and open up the corner seams to flatten out the sheet.

2. Fold the sheet in half in any direction and cut two layers of this “Tank Top” shape in approximately these dimensions. Again, the dimensions are up to how big you want the bags to be.

**Note**It is best to use the folded edge of the sheet as the bottom of the grocery bag. But if you have to sew the two pieces at the bottom, double stitch the seam for strength.

You see the little cut out above the bag? You will need that so don’t throw it out.

3. Take the cut out piece and hem the top (straight edge) by folding the raw edge under.

4. Center the cut out piece on the RIGHT SIDE of the bag and pin the sides.

5. Sew three sides, leaving the top edge open. I use small zigzag stitches to prevent the edges from fraying.

6. With the RIGHT SIDES together, sew around the sides of the bag, reinforcing with double stitches. I used zigzag for the second time around to prevent the edges from fraying.

7. While the bag is turned inside out, fold the two sides inward about two inches. Line up the handles to match. As you can see, the shape of the bag is not exactly square or rectangle. Pin down the folded edges and sew the handles and bottom, as indicated.

8. Turn it inside out and voila! You have a reusable grocery bag! A.K.A. T-Shirt Bag!

9. Now, how to you get it to a small compact size that you can fit into your purse? This is the part I wish I video taped but that didn’t happen. But I think you can follow the pictures and see how easy it is.

Now you have a pocket size reusable grocery bags and you’ll never be caught without them at the store! Make a few and give them out as presents! Happy Earth Day!!

Karen lives a simple, frugal, green life and shares her eco tips and news on ecokaren. She sells green goodies in her Etsy shop and writes for various green blogs. When she’s not leading the team or blogging, she is a mom to two greenagers, wife to an accidental recycler, master chef to hungry locavores, seamstress, knitter, and dumpster diver, not necessarily in that order.

Filed Under: Full Project Tutorials Tagged With: Earth Day, Earth Week, eco-friendly crafts, free bag pattern, Green Crafting, Guest Post

Celebrate Earth: A Week of Eco Crafts

April 20, 2012 by FaveCrafts Leave a Comment

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Sunday is Earth Day, which means the FaveCrafts editors have been hard at work bringing you lots of eco-friendly crafting inspiration. We’ve already made a board on Pinterest to organize our favorite Recycling Crafts, and we brought you a special Link Love post yesterday featuring crafts that celebrate the earth.

Stay tuned this weekend and throughout next week for tons more eco-friendly, earth-loving craft ideas from us! We’ll be starting off with an enormous list of eco-crafts, followed by a week of guest blog posts from our favorite eco-crafters. We’ll also be hosting an Earth Day themed Twitter party on April 24 at 3pm EST. You won’t want to miss this crafty celebration of earth!

Filed Under: Green Crafting Tagged With: Earth Day, Earth Week, eco-friendly, Green Crafting

Link Love: Love the Earth

April 19, 2012 by FaveCrafts 2 Comments

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Don’t you love crafting with recycled materials like old sweaters, toothbrushes that have seen better days, empty wine bottles, mesh produce bags, and pop cans? It makes me feel warm and fuzzy when I get to create crafts to my heart’s content without damaging the earth. In honor of Earth Day, I put together this round-up of eco-friendly and earth loving craft projects. You can make many of these craft projects with items you’d find in your recycling bin or garbage can (or preferably before they make their way to your garbage can!). Show your love and support for the earth by making one of these Earth Day themed crafts, which are a great starting point for showing kids what it means to be green.

  1. Earth Day Cake Pops from Vanilla & Lace
  2. Magazine Page Flower Garland from Zakka Life
  3. Earth Day Tree Craft from I Heart Crafty Things
  4. Bread Tag Jewelry from Mich. L in LA
  5. Finger Paint Earth Plates from Just for Fun (no longer available)
  6. Toilet Paper Roll Beads from No Time for Flashcards
  7. Egg Carton Flowers from Make and Takes
  8. Milk Carton Bird Feeder from Going Green with Noah
  9. Rainbow Earth Day Marshmallow Pops from The Decorated Cookie

Filed Under: Link Love Tagged With: craft links, Earth Day, Earth Week, eco-friendly crafts, Green Crafting, recycled crafts

Let’s Celebrate Earth Day with a Twitter Party!

April 19, 2012 by FaveCrafts 2 Comments

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FaveCrafts Earth Week

We love recycled crafts here at FaveCrafts! And to show our appreciation of all things recycled, we will be hosting a week long celebration right here on the blog with new recycled craft projects and ideas so stay tuned for that! But what’s one of our favorite ways to celebrate? By throwing a Twitter party of course!

Earth Day Twitter Party

We are super excited to be discussing eco-friendly crafts with all of you and we’ve invited some of our favorite eco-focused bloggers to join in too! So join in on April 24th at 3pm EST using #craftychat to learn some new tips and tricks for turning those phone books into creative home decor! We will be brainstorming about creative uses for old things in case you’ve hit a wall in your creative process. You’ll definitely want to join in on the conversation when we discuss how to overcome challenges in being green and staying green with advice from some of the best recycled craft bloggers!

Never been part of a Twitter party you say? No worries! We’ve pulled together a blog post that explains it all.

Giveaways!

And you definitely won’t want to miss out because we’ve lined up some giveaways from eco-friendly and green companies that you’ll love! All you have to do to be entered is follow along and chat with us! Just send out at least one tweet during the chat with the hashtag #craftychat and you’re automatically entered to win -easy right? You can start entering right now by using #craftychat! Contest ends April 24th 4pm EST. Winners will be announced at the end of the chat.

 


Filed Under: Green Crafting Tagged With: Earth Day, Earth Week, recycled, recycled crafts, recycling

Paper or Plastic? How to Craft with Recyclables

April 9, 2012 by AllFreeHolidayCrafts 4 Comments

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My name is Rachel and I’m a plastic bag hoarder.

Yes, it’s true.  I have so many grocery store bags stashed in my kitchen drawer that it literally got stuck the other day.  That’s how I knew I had a problem.

But now that I’ve come to terms with my problem, I’ve decided to figure out a way to make use of those plastic bags.  A crafty way, of course!

I’ve collected a bunch of fun ideas for crafts to make from recycled materials and I think you’re really going to like them.  So keep reading if you want to find out how to reuse your plastic, paper and more!

Plastic Bag Crafts:

I love the look of these Pom Pom Flowers, and the fact that they’re made out of recycled plastic bags makes them that much cooler!  If you can get your hands on different colored plastic bags you can create a whole assortment of blooms to hang in your backyard. I’m planning a backyard barbecue for Memorial Day this year and I can’t wait to make a bunch of these flowers to decorate with!

 

Who would have thought plastic bags could look so great as a door decoration?!  This fun Recycled Shopping Bag Wreath is super simple to put together and a great way to get rid of those bags you probably have piling up. I have a friend who recently decided to only use reusable shopping bags and this wreath was her way of using up all the plastic bags that were cluttering up her house.

 

Recycled Paper Crafts:

There are tons of flower craft ideas out there, but one of my favorites has to be these Pretty Recycled Paper Flowers. I love that they’re made out of old store catalog pages. I always feel so wasteful when I toss my mail after barely giving it a glance. At least now with this flower craft tutorial, I can turn the colorful catalog pages into something beautiful to decorate my home with. You could also use these flowers to accent your gift wrap, or turn them into a cute accessory!

 

If you know someone who loves comics (or “funnies” as we call them in my house), these Awesome Comic Wrapped Decorative Balls are a great gift to make them!  All you need are some colorful cartoons printed on newspaper, a dash of Mod Podge (or glue and water), and a few hours on a rainy day and these cute decorative spheres basically make themselves!  I think they’re so fun looking and are such a unique idea for a gift!

More Recycled Paper & Plastic Crafts:

When I first saw these Plastic Cup Dangle Earrings, I seriously thought they were from a boutique. But no, these chic accessories are actually made from a plastic cup covered in pretty fabric scraps!  Even if you’ve never made jewelry before, you can easily customize your own pair by following these simple instructions. I think I’m going to make a couple to match some of my favorite outfits.

 

These Plastic Bottle Flowers make me so happy. They’re so cheery and bright, and just looking at them in my front yard puts me in a good mood. Before I made these, I never really realized how many cool crafts you can make using recycled plastic bottles, but now I’m hooked!  Since we drink a ton of bottled water at my house (not good, I know!), I can feel a little better about my carbon footprint if I turn them into something useful rather than just tossing them.

 

So tell me:  Would you make any of these crafts?  Which one is your favorite?

 

Filed Under: Full Project Tutorials Tagged With: Earth Day, Green Crafting, recycle, recycled crafts, repurpose, upcycling

Craft Green this Earth Day with Free eBook

April 19, 2010 by FaveCrafts Leave a Comment

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For the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we are offering a FREE eBook with 42 ways to reuse and recycle through crafting. Learn how to reuse materials you would normally throw away, such as plastic containers and tin cans. Save money on craft materials and save the planet at the same time! Even if household items are recyclable, precious resources are expended in the recycling process. The best thing you can do is try to reduce your household waste.  Download the eBook here.

This green craft eBook includes:

  • Section 1: Paper- Learn how to use junk mail to make paper beads.
  • Section 2: Paper Making- Use paper, magazines and greeting cards to create different kinds of crafts
  • Section 3: Metal- Use tins and cans to create little critters and luminaries
  • Section 4: Plastic- Use those old bottles, cans and containers to create household items and decor
  • Section 5: Glass– Don’t break those old wine bottles, create coasters out of them
  • Section 6: Clothing– Sweaters and belts don’t have to be clothing items, they can be made into bracelets
  • Section 7: Miscellaneous– Take those old CD’s and turn them into ornaments.

Download the eBook here.

Filed Under: Green Crafting Tagged With: Earth Day, eBook, Green Crafting

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Full Project Tutorials

How to make a Candy Cane Heart Valentine for Kids

Have candy canes left over from the Christmas season?Recycle them for Valentine’s Day with this great craft that’s simple and inexpensive to do with kids. Material: 2 wrapped candy canes for each heart wrapped hard candy hot glue gun (adult use only) Ribbon Steps: Criss-cross the candy canes so they create a heart shape. Hot […]

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Free eBooks

27 Crafts for Preschool: Activities for Preschool Children

Whether you're four or 40, there is no denying that preschool crafts are absolutely adorable, and that means that even though this free eBook's target … [Read More...]

Seasonal Crafts

Mother’s Day Queen Bee Tea Party Saturday

You read correctly; Mother's Day Tea. As in, Mother's Day is closer than you think (it always is). This year, don't go over tons of do-it-yourself … [Read More...]

Archives

Crochet

Pastel Baby Afghans

Babypalooza! 13 Pastel Baby Blankets

Jewelry

22 Beach Wedding Jewelry Ideas

Knitting

Get Cozy with This Free Knitted Shawl Pattern

Paper

13 of the Most Beautiful Free Printables for Your Home

Sewing

Sew In Love Mug Rug Pattern for Valentine’s Day

Thrifty

Home Decor Dollar Store Craft Ideas

27 Home Decor Dollar Store Craft Ideas

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