Green Options

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists!

If you want to have a totally handmade holiday, now is the time to get started. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be posting about recycled gifts and giftwrap you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale!

To get things started, check out Sheryl of Twisted Limb Paperworks’ awesome video tutorial for making your own gift tags from last year’s Christmas cards:

Presentation is everything.  Your business card is no exception.  Make yours stand-out with a unique, handmade envelope.  These stunning, memorable envelopes are made from repurposed security envelopes.  Read on for the complete instructions to make your own.

Mom always said, “Get your feet off the coffee table!” and “Use a coaster!”  Why not give her some new coasters for that precious coffee table this Mother’s Day?  These stitched cork coasters are an inexpensive and super easy gift.  Read on for a complete how to for making your own.

Remember this fabulous Forsythia linen swatch I ordered from Cicada Studio? Well,
thanks to Ohdeedoh’s post about de-branding the kitchen counter with pretty canisters, I was inspired to make over my stainless steel canisters. I love stainless steel, but it can seem very clinical. I decided to warm up my canisters with linen cozies. Read on for the complete how-to…

I have used brown paper bags in the past to rewrap boxes for shipping, but I never thought of making shipping envelopes from brown bags.  This genius packaging idea reuses plastic grocery bags for waterproofing and brown paper bags to make the outer envelope.  My favorite part is the stitching to close it up.  No glue or tape necessary!

Just in for spring Cicada Studio has added a new linen swatch to the shop.  The cheerful Forsythia swatch is printed on a generous 13 x 17 inch swatch of 100% Belgium Linen.  I first featured designer Michelle Engel Bencsko in the Top 10 Modern, Eco-freindly, Printed Fabrics on Etsy. One thing I love about indie fabric designers is there ability to come out with new patterns more frequently and Michelle never disappoints.

Her fabulous linen swatches are the perfect size for a multitude of craft projects.   Read on for some great ideas.

I am still looking for ways to transform my stash of plain boring notecards. I showed you how to use fabric scraps and stamps to “recover” the card and how to make inside out notecards with craft punches in Part 1 of this series. Now I want to show you how to make inside out notecards using your own cut out design instead of craft punches.

Many crafters are creating new and unique ways to use vintage and collected buttons for both home decor and fun craft projects. I instantly thought of my mom when I saw these coasters. She has an enviable button stash ripe with various colors and sizes just waiting to be woven into useful coasters.

Whenever you buy a greeting card it comes with an envelope, whether you intend to mail the card or not.  If you are not mailing the card, then the envelope is really just a waste of paper.  Instead of needlessly stuffing the card into an envelope just give the recipient the card and use the envelope to make a “baglet” for a lovely gift.  Rather than buying a new card at all, consider a makeover for a plain notecard and a used or found envelope to make a gift bag.

Self-proclaimed crazy selvedge lady, Jodie Carleton of Vintage RicRac, never lets a scrap go to waste.  Not even the selvedge.  She developed her own process for turning fabric selvedge into “cloth”.  She has used selvedge to make everything from a dress to pillow covers.  Her latest project was this selvedge reupholstered chair.  I have never been so inspired to be more creative and less wasteful.

There really are a lot of options today for those who would like to enjoy the craft of scrapbooking without contributing to wasteful or destructive world practices. Not only are there more green scrapbooking products on the market, but there are also other products, such as archival sprays, craft punches, decorative scissors, and a wide variety of adhesives, that allow us to utilize many more recycled elements in our work than we may previously have considered.

As an example, we recently underwent a project in our house to paint our girls’ room as a rainbow (I know, I know–little girls). This entailed the collection of a variety of paint chips in rainbow colors, which were then left sitting, unwanted, after the rainbow project had reached its conclusion.

What to do? What to do?