Green Options

A woman’s handbag is an extension of herself. It shows off her style, her personality and her ability to coordinate the perfect bag with her outfit. Many of us can’t really afford to have a bag for every outfit or mood but with a little craftiness and the help of this new book…maybe we can.

Refashioned Bags: Upcycle Anything into High-Style Handbags is a new book that shows us how to turn almost anything into a fun, funky and fabulous handbags.

Are you looking for more ideas to make the holidays handmade this year? Drop by FaveCrafts.com.

There’s a great article Go Green This Christmas full of ideas and links to fun Christmas crafts that would make great gifts. Make sure to check out the list of 34 green Christmas crafts.

Quilting for Peace is the latest in craft books by Katherine Bell. In the pages you’ll find stories and inspiration of organizations as well as people using sewing and quilting to help make the world a better place.

The book covers giving to deserving charities as well as using quilts as an activist tool. There are patterns and projects to replicate those the organizations make as well as where to donate your creation if you so choose.

From veterans to kids, Quilting for Peace covers a wide range of issues in which sewing has brought people together for a cause. We asked Katherine to stop by talk a bit about her book and quilting from an environmental perspective.

The following is written by Katherine:

Quilts can change people’s minds and alter the course of history. That was the idea behind 19th century quilts promoting prohibition and abolition, the 1,293,300-square-foot, 54-ton AIDS Memorial Quilt, and The Ribbon, a project that wrapped the Pentagon and Hiroshima’s Atomic Bomb Dome in miles of quilts to protest the nuclear arms race. Now a new generation is using patchwork to call attention to an existential threat – this time it’s climate change. Here are three ways you can join them.

Green Guide for Artists: Nontoxic Recipes, Green Art Ideas, & Resources for the Eco-Conscious Artist is the one book all green crafters and artists should have. It lists craft and art supplies that are green (and at a minimum less toxic) as well as gives recipes to make your own green supplies like natural paints and glues.

I had no idea that Gorilla Glue is “green”. My husband uses it all the time and I figured it was just another glue from the hardware store but it is actually non-toxic and VOC free. Though when I have performed searches for green supplies it never comes up.

That’s just one reason why this book is so great.

The Ready To Go Blank Canvas Book is a great craft project that can be used to create memories, gifts and more.

My problem is that I have a blank canvas in front of me and I can’t decide what to do with it.

Celebrate Green by mother daughter team Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson is the green book to have because it covers aspects of greening pretty much every holiday and celebration and it has some great ideas for the holidays that are currently coming our way.

Halloween is right around the corner and Celebrate Green has a lot to say about greening Halloween including some crafty things you can do yourself like make your own face paints, create fun costumes and decorations, even turn everyday ordinary objects into candy buckets and containers.

It’s also full of yummy recipes and fun ideas for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“Artists and crafters have always been recyclers, but for many, it has not only become a thrifty choice, it has become a moral imperative. 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse contains a cutting edge collection of the most inventive work being made with re-used, upcycled, and already existing materials. The work in this book ranges from clever and humble personal accessories to unique and important large-scale works of art, including paper art, fashion, jewelry, housewares, interiors, and installations.”

Stampington and Company launched a new magazine on August 1st.

GreenCraft is their ode to all things green, recycled, upcycled and more.

In the premier issue you’ll find over 50 stylish and sustainable projects to inspire you.

Abe’s Market, a new online natural marketplace, is about to launch and is looking for the latest and greatest natural products to create the best array of products for the site.

Abe’s will offer a comprehensive selection of all natural products, with the best and latest in health, beauty, food, home and consumer goods with the ease and convenience of the most modern e-commerce services. The site aims to be a place for customers to find their favorite natural brands as well as a place to discover some of the newest and unique undiscovered lines, as well as “meet” the creators of the brands and gain knowledge about the ingredients, processes and stories behind these products.

In addition to being the source for purchasing all-natural goods, Abe’s Market will be the place and opportunity for up and coming producers of natural products to feature, market, and grow their brands. Abe’s will continually seek out new brands and welcome new sellers to the site. Additionally, the Abe’s Market management team led by co-founders Richard Demb and Jon Polin, who have their professional experience in both natural businesses and the retail environment, will help these newer brands gain exposure with natural retailers to establish distribution.

Ever time I pick up a new eco-craft book I am so amazed at the creativity I find inside and I swear I like each new one even more than the last, though every book I have found has fun, new ways to take old things and recycle or more accurately upcycle them into fabulous new items.

Green Crafts for Children: 35 Step-by-Step Projects Using Natural, Recycled, And Found Materials is full of cute, whimsical and super adorable crafts that kids, especially little girls, are going to love.

From the creator of the BOBO wrapping scarf comes the new book The Wrapping Scarf Revolution (Leisure Arts #4833).

If you have ever checked out BOBO wraps but were too intimidated to buy one because of the complex wrapping then this book is for you- filled with step by step detailed instructions to help you wrap these beautiful scarves.