Green Options » recycled crafting

Got Trash? Make Crafts

Jamie Ervin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:35:49 +0000

There are days when my relatively crafty self looks at my piles of crafty-goodness and let’s out a long sigh… What on Earth can I create (or entertain all these kids) out of all this JUNK????

Enter Trash Matcher from Imagination Factory. On the left side of the grid are types of trash (foil, paper, beads, plastic) and the right a description of what you can make out of it. If you click the trash word, you will be redirected to a tutorial, complete with substitutions (I hadn’t thought of using leftover white house paint as gesso).

With a metal coat hanger,…

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Thrift Store Crafting: What to Buy, What to Make

Julie Finn — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:23:23 +0000

A good thrift store is an asset to a community equal to that of a mom-and-pop hardware store, a locally-famous ice cream/snowcone/frenchie stand, and a rockin’ adult co-rec softball team: in other words, it’s crucial.

In my hometown, we’re lucky not only to have all of the above and a library that stocks just released feature film DVDs, but several excellent thrift stores—thrift stores small and quirky, thrift stores large and conglomerate, thrift stores frequented largely by the college students, thrift stores frequented mostly by the townies. As an avid crafter whose Crafting Manifesto dictates that I work primarily with recycled materials, I have throughout several years’ worth of projects figured out a way to use pretty much any kind of thrift store junk to make awesome stuff. Here are some of the possibilities:

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Tutorial: Cut Circle Pendants from Vinyl Record Albums

Julie Finn — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:12:10 +0000

My littlest monkey is at her very first day camp this morning with her big sister (Singing! Snacks! Nature hikes!), which means that, rarer than a blue moon, I. Am. Alone.

When I’m chilling alone and also have a craft fair coming up, I often like to whip out one of my most favorite but also rarely used (it’s fairly child-unfriendly) toys: the Dremel.

Now, this isn’t a commercial, so if you have any kind of hand-held rotary tool, whether or not it’s the same brand as mine, you’ll be able to follow along with the latest craft creation I’m making for my fair this weekend: vinyl record album pendants.

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Don’t Throw Away Your Easter Trash! Craft It Into Something Awesome

Julie Finn — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:47:37 +0000

Whether or not you bought handmade for this holiday, and whether you celebrated Easter or cobbled together a sort of Spring-y pagan festivity (like we did in my house), you’ve probably got some Easter trash.

I know we do. We tried for a low-key, handmade, natural materials little celebration, and we’ve STILL got the packaging for a couple of chocolate bunnies, some marshmallow Peeps that nobody wants to eat (they taste gritty!), and about a gazillion egg cartons and eggshells to deal with.

If you’ve got anything left over, chances are that some other people do, too, and chances are that somebody has thought of SOMETHING awesome to do with all that trash. Here are some tutorials to get you started:

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