FaveCrafts

1000s of free craft projects, home decor ideas and DIY tips

Happy America Recycles Day! + Krazy Glue Giveaway

by 102 Comments

Today is America Recycles Day! And what better way to celebrate than by crafting with recyclable items?

America-Recycles-Day

Today we are celebrating your creativity and helping keep America clean. So even if you hubby thinks your crazy for keeping a bag of toilet paper rolls, just know that we here at FaveCrafts applaud you and encourage you to keep crafting with recycled materials.

Each hour on Facebook we are featuring a recycled project today. So yes, that means 24 posts today! You can join us on Facebook RIGHT NOW to see all of the fun!

Another way to keep things out of landfills is to repair instead of toss. Our favorite way? Krazy Glue! I’m serious when I say this stuff is truly the best when it comes to crafting and fixing up your house.

Check out these awesome projects that use Krazy Glue!

Now you will get a chance to win some Krazy Glue for yourself! There are two types in this prize and 3 winners will get one of each!

Krazy Glue® 20g Craft Gel – Krazy Glue Craft Formula Gel is perfect for filling gaps on porous surfaces like ceramic and pottery. The no-run Gel Formula allows for gluing vertical surfaces without a drippy mess and also allows for gluing two mismatched surfaces. Delayed skin bond with Skin Guard gives you extra working time.

Maximum Bond Krazy Glue® 20g Gel – Maximum Bond Formula provides an extra strength and durable shock-resistant bond. Our no-run Gel Formula allows for gluing vertical surfaces without a drippy mess and also allows for gluing two mismatched surfaces. It works best on porous materials like ceramic or pottery. The extended tip makes it easy to get into tight spaces.

krazy-glue-giveaway

In order to win today’s prize, all you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post below telling us:

How would you use Krazy Glue to celebrate America Recycles Day?

Thank you to all who participated in out giveaway and, more importantly, America Recycles Day! The winners are…
Patricia M – I am always fixing and rehabing items! I could use this in so many ways!

Jennifer – I have 4 toddlers in the house so there is always a few things on my “going to fix” shelf. This would go a long way in helping me!

Kyle – I have started using it for several jewelry projects. Love It!!

OFFICIAL RULES FOR CONTEST

  • There is a maximum of one entry per person. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied.
  • Winner will be selected at random from the comments on this blog post below.
  • Winner will be announced here on the blog tomorrow as well as contacted by the email address provided.
  • You have until tonight, November 18th, 2014 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on this post. Comments posted after that will not be counted.
  • Contest open to anyone 18+ in US and/or Canada.

8 Cool Paint Techniques from EcoGreenCrafts + a Giveaway!

by 19 Comments

Hi everyone! We’re continuing our Earth Week celebrations with some cool paint technique vidoes from one of our favorite earth-friendly craft companies!

Eco Green Crafts has a great selection of earth friendly paints and inks, great for the paper crafter! So, they created a series of videos using their different paints, inks, and adhesives to show you how to create some really cool paint effects in your projects! They’re all so easy I can’t believe I’ve never tried any of them before. All the paint technique videos are very short so give them a watch through! I know you’ll leave this page with some great ideas! You can use any paints or inks for these techniques, but Eco Green Crafts has been kind enough to give our readers a special discount code! If you enter EarthDay2012 at checkout you’ll get 20% off of your order! What a deal huh?

Crackle Paint Technique

Peeled Paint

The Plastic Wrap Technique

Paint Drizzle Technique

Paint Mottle Technique

Ink Mottle Technique

Crushed Satin Technique

Puddling Technique

So there you have it! Eight fun painting techniques to try on your next project! And if you want to use Eco Green Crafts paints to try the techniques with, enter our giveaway below!

Giveaway


Just answer the question below in the comments section to be entered to win a $25 gift card to Eco Green Crafts!

Contest Rules:

  • Contest open to US and Canada residents 18+
  • One comment/entry per person.
  • Contest closes April 25, 2012 at 11:59p CST.
  • Please answer the question below in order to be entered.
  • Winners will be posted on this blog and notified by email

 

Where do you find earth-friendly craft products?

Let’s Celebrate Earth Day with a Twitter Party!

by 2 Comments

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.

 


April FaveCrafts Radio: We’re Getting Green!

by Leave a Comment

It’s that time of the month again…..FaveCrafts Radio time! (What were you thinking? ;))

And we couldn’t be more excited, especially after the fantastic turn out we had last month! This month we will be talking with some wonderful Eco-crafters in celebration of Earth Day! So come on and join in on the fun with live chat on the radio page and surprise giveaways from some of our favorite Eco-friendly craft companies! Guests this month will include Lisa Nelsen-Woods from Condo Blues, Becky Striepe from Crafting a Green World, and Calley Pate from The Eco Chic.

The April show will be tomorrow, April 10th, at 11am EST so be sure to tune in!

If you didn’t listen in live last month, this month is your chat to try out our new Chatroom feature that allows you to interact with the guests live! Ask any questions you may have and get tips and advice from the pros!

So mark your calendars and join us tomorrow!

November Blog Hop: Recycling Crafts + Giveaway!

by 8 Comments

Welcome to the FaveCrafts Blog Hop, where you get to showcase your work! This month’s theme is Recycling Crafts! Show us your coolest recycling crafts that you’ve ever made (or make something new and blog about it for the occasion!). We want to see your upcycling, repurposing, trash to treasure crafts, thrift store makeovers, and anything else you’ve made that is crafty and recycled.

This month we’re giving away a prize to one lucky blog hop participant. Here’s how it works: recently we started using the “like” feature on our blog hops, meaning you can click to “like” someone’s project, much like you would on Facebook. For this month’s hop, the person whose project gets the most “likes” will win a prize! So link up and spread the word so your project gets voted up! The winner will receive a $50 gift card to Cutratecrafts.com! Voting and submissions end November 22nd at midnight CST. The winner will be announced here on the FaveCrafts Blog on November 24,2011. Here’s what you’ll win:



How to Participate:

  1. Write a blog post on your own blog showcasing your recycling projects. You can talk about the crafting process, write up a tutorial, or merely show off the finished project.
  2. Add your link to this post by clicking on “Click Here to Enter” at the bottom of the screen and following the instructions. Make sure you link to your specific blog post, not your homepage, and give it a caption.
  3. Remember to copy the FaveCrafts Blog Hop button from below and paste it into your blog post, linked to this FaveCrafts Blog Hop post, so that everyone who reads your blog can see that you’ve been featured on FaveCrafts!
  4. One link per person please, due to our new giveaway feature, which is explained above.

We’ll be hosting a blog hop right here on the 15th of every month, so be sure to return and link up each month. Check out last month’s hop too!

 

This Week on Cool2Craft TV – EcoHeidi Borchers Something from Nothing

by 5 Comments

Join host EcoHeidi Borchers and her special guest for this week’s episode of EcoHeidi TV on the Cool2Craft TV Channel. On this new episode, it’s all about “something from nothing”. EcoHeidi sets the design theme with a water bottle necklace, crafts an adorable hanging doll from bottle caps, shares the popular vintage Aleene’s technique of the look of embossing with glue and Candace Jedrowicz transforms soda cans and plastic into a cool light catcher. Monday August 29, 2011 at 9 am Pacific/ 10 am Mountain/ 11 am Central/ noon Eastern. Watch craft demos and join in the live chat at showtime at Cool2Craft.com.

Something from Nothing - EcoHeidi TV - FaveCrafts - Cool2Craft

It’s easy to watch Cool2Craft TV right from your computer. This episode airs Monday August 29, 2011 9am Pacific/10am Mountain/11 am Central/noon Eastern. Go to http://cool2craft.com and find the Livestream player and chat box. See you Monday!

 

Watch live streaming video from cool2craft at livestream.com

Help a Reader: Crochet and Bonnet Door Hanger

by 1 Comment

Here are three help a reader requests. If you can help or have a suggestion, please post your answer in the comments. Please try to supply instructions and/or links. Telling someone to google the answer is not particularly helpful. =)

Rosario asks,

I am looking for a pattern. In a crochet book, it was named Star of Jerusalem and also Granny square Star.

Linda asks,

I have been looking for directions for making a bonnet door hanger from a cool whip container. Can’t seem to find one.

Sharon asks,

Looking for a crochet pattern that looks like a couch for a box of tissues. Thanks!

How to: Throw an Outdoor Party

by Leave a Comment

Party planning is one of my favorite things to do, I haven’t done much of it, but when I do, I just love it. I mean, I planned my own wedding from start to finish, and not to toot my own horn, but it was fabulous. Outdoor summer parties are always really fun especially if the weather is in your favor. If you’re a green crafter or just looking to save some money then learn how to throw an outdoor party with me while we recycle.

Invitations
Invitations are probably one of the most important parts in planning a party, I only say this because without invitations no one will know there’s a party happening. First things first, don’t pay for a single thing! There are so many online tools you can use these days. One of my favorites is called Evite.com. This is a site that allows you to create online invitations for your guests. All you have to do is pick a background, choose your date and insert all your guests email addresses and press send. It’s that easy. Your guests will have their invitations in no time. No need to buy stamps or envelopes.

Decorations
Decorations play a pretty important role in party planning as well. Decorations help set the mood. You don’t even need a lot of them, but color, color is always a good thing. All you need are some folding chairs and tables. If you don’t want to spend money on table covers then just use some newspaper. A fun way to decorate the tables is by using the comic section of a newspaper that way your guests have something fun to read. You can use tiki torches for when it gets a bit darker out and you can use colorful plates and napkins. There’s nothing wrong with re-using old party favors like streamers or balloons, so go ahead and re-use them. If you have a bunch of empty bottles in your house, you can use them for candle holders.

Food
Again, an important part of an outdoor party. Let your guests know whether or not there will even be food at the party, this way they know if they should eat beforehand or not. One of the easiest things to do for an outdoor party is to make snacks and appetizers. A favorite of mine are the mini dogs wrapped in bacon or Pillsbury rolls…mmmm. Another easy way to save is to go to Jewel or Dominick’s and get sandwich trays. This will help save big time depending on how many guests you are planning on.

How to throw an outdoor party? It’s really all about you. What kind of theme are you going for? How many guests are you going to have? Don’t forget, while hosting your party, have a good time. Leave the cleanup for later.

Recycle Crafts for Kids and Adults: How to Make Magnets

by 2 Comments

Homemade magnets using household materials are some of my favorite thrifty recycle craft for kids. Homemade magnets are all set to display on the fridge, just as kids want to do with all their art work. Magnets projects using materials like little plastic bottles, juice lids and bottle caps are quick and easy little recycle crafts for kids. These magnets projects are also perfect for special occasions where kids want to help make gifts. Keep the kids entertained on long summer afternoons with these homemade magnet recycle crafts for kids.

Magazine/Junk Mail Magnets Projects

Magazines and junk mail are the perfect material for recycle crafts for kids. With a few additional materials, you can make truly attractive magnets for the fridge or bulletin board. You will need:

  • Colorful magazines or junk mail
  • clear glass flat-back marbles or gems (often used in flower arranging)
  • permanent clear adhesive or silicone glue
  • round magnets
  • a circle cutter or craft punch that will create paper circles the size of the your magnet backs

Kids can search out small, colorful images to punch out with the circle cutter or craft punch. Use a toothpick to spread a little glue on the back of a paper circle and glue to a magnet. Spread a little more clear glue on the front of the picture and press the back of the glass gem/marble on top. Continue to make a whole set of these glass magnet recycle crafts for kids.

Juice Can Lid Magnets Projects

Aluminum cans are always a useful tool for coming up with thrifty recycle crafts for kids. After making a batch of OJ from concentrate, keep the tin lid to make magnets. Kids can decorate the juice lid with photos, paints and glitter. Use a toothpick to swirl painted stripes or circles together (such as several circles around a photo.) Attach a magnet to the back of the lid and place on your fridge.

Plastic Bottle Planter Magnets Projects

Small yogurt drink containers, prescription drug bottles or film canisters can be used for magnets projects and other recycle crafts for kids. At simplest, you can clean and decorate the bottle, add a magnet strip and use to display a small flower bud or paper flowers on the fridge. For something a bit more fun, use a clear canister to watch a fast-growing vegetable grow. Bean seeds work especially well for this project.

Decorate the bottle and add a magnet strip to the back. Place two cotton balls in the bottom of the plastic container. Sprinkle a few drops of water onto to the cotton balls, place a few bean seeds on top and sprinkle with a little more water. Hang the container on the fridge. You want to keep the seeds moist but without water collecting in the bottom of the canister. Transplant the plant to a pot or your garden when it outgrows the canister.

Felted Sweater Magnets Projects

Old or damaged sweaters can be used for fun recycle crafts for kids. To felt in your washing machine, throw an old sweater with at least 20% wool into a delicates bag (100% wool will give a nice sturdy felt) and wash on high heat. Dry on high-heat cleaning the lint trap frequently. Some sweaters will require two washes to felt.

Use this sturdy material to make your magnets. Kids can cut out shapes using the help of a template or cookie cutter. Make flowers in several sizes and layer to create your magnets. Buttons look especially cute glued to the center.

For more recycle crafts for kids to fill lazy summer afternoons, see 16 Recycle Crafts for Kids.

9 Earth Day Crafts

by 3 Comments

Earth Day crafts using recycled materials are a fun way to celebrate the green holiday. You can make gifts with free Earth Day crafts for upcoming occasions such as Mother or Father’s Day and save a few dollars. With Earth Day Crafts, you can re-purpose materials already in your home for decorative and/or functional purposes. Earth Day crafts are also an education tool for all ages on the values of reusing, repurposing and recycling. Pull out those old tin can and torn jeans and start crafting!

Here are our 9 Earth Crafts to enjoy:

  1. Plastic Bags- To be truly green, you should be taking your reusable shopping bag to the store instead of acquiring disposable plastic bags. But, if you do forget, there are several things you can do with the plastic bags instead of sending them to the landfill (where they will not biodegrade). You can fuse several plastic bags into a sturdy reusable shopping bag with your iron. Here’s how: Take 3-4 plastic bags and cut off the bottom seam and handles. Keep these to make more fused material for handles and embellishments.  Sandwich the bags between two layers of parchment or freezer paper and iron for about 15 seconds on each side. Use the fused material to sew up a shopping bag.
  2. Plastic Bags- You can also use the occasional plastic bag to make yarn (called “plarn” by many crafters).  Cut the bags into 2-cm wide strips and knot the ends together to create a continuous strand. You can also loop ends together to create double-stranded plarn strand. Use for a sturdy door mat or any number of projects.
  3. Old Sweaters- Felt old or damaged wool sweaters in your washing machine for a material for a variety of crafts. You can create toys, pillows, brooches, potholders, coffee cup sleeves and more with the homemade felt.
  4. Old Jeans- Make a coffee cup cozy or sleeve from two layers of denim. Reduce the number of paper sleeves you use at your local café or slip on your own cups or mugs to protect your hands. Measure around the cup, cut and sew with a standard seam allowance.
  5. Old Jeans- Cut out the pockets from the seat of the jeans. Add magnets on the back and use to stash craft supplies, a notepad and pencil for shopping lists, business cards, coupons or other items on your magnet board or fridge.
  6. Old Jeans- Use old jeans to create quick hotpads. Cut two squares from the legs and insert a layer of quilt batting between the denim. Turn under raw edges and sew closed. Stitch a decorative shape in the middle of the hotpad to keep batting in place.
  7. Wine Bottles- Coat old wine bottles with a coat of chalkboard paint. Decorate with chalk and use as vases or accent pieces.
  8. Aluminum Cans– Aluminum cans become shiny embellishments for scrapbook pages or homemade jewelry. Wear gloves and use a sharp pair of scissors to cut off the top and bottom from the can and cut down the length. Cut out your object (such as a flower) and use sandpaper to remove any burrs. You can also emboss lines (such as leaf veins) into the shape before sanding. Use either the silver or color side for different looks.
  9. Pop Tabs– Use pop tabs and elastic cord to create fun bracelets. 

Crochet

Jewelry

Knitting

Paper

Sewing

Thrifty