Green Options

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If you are one of the many modern brides who are now concerned with the massive carbon footprint a wedding can leave behind this will be an eco treat! The average wedding is calculated to produce 14.5 tons of CO2, which is more then the 12 tons a person emits in one whole year. Yikes!

The last few years have thankfully brought us far beyond the once confused crunchy DIY & organic wedding designs into a realm where your green wedding dress fantasy will now become a memorable reality. This is a joyful list of craft culture worthy bridal gowns that will not only beautify your celebration but will solidify your environmental beliefs.

For those of you who may cower at the thought of sewing your own organic or upcycle wedding dress, don’t stress- there’s affordable eco designers who will handcraft your dress, plus bridal gowns are available from charities, vintage, or on auction.

We all forget our reusable shopping totes from time to time. Instead of putting yourself on a green guilt trip, pick paper over plastic (ask your friends and relatives to also!), and upcycle those bags into some not-so-shiny seed packet business cards. Since I focus on the environmental impact of crafting, I decided any self-promotion should reflect my agenda. Plus, I’m ever enthusiastic about combining gardening with crafting. This is what I came up with, and they’ve gotten rave reviews. The process involves some unorthodox methods, but such is the way of the eco-craft ninja…

Gather your materials and ideas. Here’s what’s involved:

• An inkjet printer
• The seed packet outline template (download here in JPG or PDF file formats)
• Embellishment option 1: A graphics program such as Adobe Photoshop or GIMP (free open-source software)
• Embellishment option 2: Decorate the packet post-printing by hand
• Embellishment option 3: Do both!
• Paper grocery bags
• Iron and scrap fabric
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Glue stick
• Paper creaser or popsicle stick
• 1 can of wildflower seeds
• Optional: rotary cutter with dedicated blade
• Optional: stamps, stickers or other embellishments(as long as they don’t poke holes in the paper)

Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle! In the wild wonderful world of crafting you know these are our way of life, in spite of what the mega big box craft stores would like us to think. So this week I set a goal: what can I do with only thrifted pre loved materials? Second hand stores are gleaming with craft finds like retro sewing patterns, stacks of fabric, old curtains, sheets and clothes. Clothes that not even your grandmaw could love anymore…but what if all these things could be reconstructed into something new? Craftalicious designers like Amour Sans Anguish and Supayana take discarded and way out of style garments and turn them into brand new eco fashionista dreams. Layer upon layer of eco couture and smart redesign. While so many are singing the praises of new fabrics like organic cotton, bamboo and peace silk - the most eco savvy choice is actually the fabric that requires nothing new to be produced, cutting out the intensive waste it takes to grow, break down and weave the fibers. While this might not be the #1 choice for those who are chemically sensitive, it is the most gentle on our sensitive earth.

If you’ve ever cruised the Internet & local boutiques for eco friendly lingerie you know right away that these tiny little intimates cost an entire day’s work (and then some). But the thought of turning back to slave made big box skivvies just does not feel sexy! To fuel my *ehem* addiction to having new earth lovin’ panties I had to learn how to upcycle my own. Here is how to make yourself some luscious green lingerie for less $ then a gallon of gasoline, using one old scarf for fabric.

You Will Need:

• One large thrifted or kidnapped scarf
• Wide ribbon
• Stretch lace/Elastic (optional)
• Scissors
• Thread (that either matches your ribbon or is a fun contrasting color)
• Sewing machine or Olympic hand sewing skills

Step One: Choosing- Find, beg, thrift, or steal a scarf that has a pattern you want to flaunt and is made of a comfortable fabric. Avoid overly crunchy polyester fabrics that feel like your 1984 taffeta holiday dress, and lean more towards soft cottons and silk. I found my scarf  for $1 at a local thrift shop that supports ending domestic violence. The organic satin ribbon was already waiting in my craft box.

Step Two: Cutting- In order to get the sizing perfect without having fret over a pattern that may not fit, I use a pair of panties & bra (or) bikini I already have to outline the shape I need. Bikini’s are great for sizing since they usually have side ties and can be taken apart and laid flat for measuring. Remember when cutting that you will be sewing a seam line, so cut a tad wider then the exact outline of your previous lingerie. Note: You can make your new lingerie set have more coverage by cutting the triangle shapes wider, or less coverage by thinning them out even smaller.

I know, I know, it’s like we’re obsessed with denim around here. Gavin showed us how to patch our jeans if we’re not ready to let them go, then Leslie showed us how to recycle a pair into a sexy miniskirt and use the leftovers to make a shopping bag. (Personally, I’m waiting for Gavin to upcycle HIS jeans into a miniskirt…)

My favorite jeans have finally died, and before I saw Gavin’s post I was planning to start a denim quilt. Denim quilts are heavy duty for picnics and playing on at the park, and I was just at Goodwill this past weekend so I’m inspired by the availability of cheap denim that needs a second chance at life.

Then I started to think about my “dead” jeans from a green point of view. The mantra Reduce, Reuse, Recycle doesn’t include the word “repair,” but it probably should. Reducing is best, reusing or repairing is good, recycling is a last resort. I had decided to recycle my jeans rather than repair them because I had this notion that patched jeans look “run down.” It’s like I’ve been trained by society that if a repair is visible, it makes the garment worthless.

Let’s get serious, people. I am a stay-at-home / work-at-home mother of an eight month old baby. I spend most of my waking hours in my own house. I get spit up on a lot. I crawl around on the floor to retrieve pacifiers and toys. Who the heck is going to put me on What Not To Wear for sporting a pair of patched jeans? I thrifted a “new” pair to replace them for going out, but if I can get more life out of the old ones, why not do it? Also, that way the new ones won’t be worn every day and they’ll last longer for occasions nicer than than cleaning pureed sweet potato out of someone’s hair.

I’m not saying that I’m going to spend all day in clothes I hate in order to be green, but I think it’s time for me to fight my way out of the trap that equates repaired with flawed.

At this point you may be thinking “Um, excuse me, wasn’t the title of this post DENIM QUILTS?”

Yes! Even though my favorite jeans aren’t going to be included, I still want to make a denim quilt.

Nearly two weeks ago I hopped on a plane to San Francisco(again) and translated a presentation based on my “Make Like a Tree” articles into binary code, so the computer programmers would understand it.

Maker Faire is much more than your average craft show. Around every corner, you’ll find a a pointless yet poignant doodad, a jaw-dropping technology demonstration, or the tools and materials that invite you to imagine the possibilities…because we hope to inspire others to make stuff too.

Why is this reconnection to our creativity so important? It was one purpose-driven thought from ordinary individuals that invented the wheel, set out to cross the Atlantic, and revealed the fabric of space-time. Making things, both literal and existential, pulls us through history, and simultaneously brings humanity to the verge of a collapsing eco-system. Most of us had no hand in executing modern manufacturing techniques, but we must use both hands to fix them.

Eco-consciousness was a dominant theme throughout this event. The concerns are now common knowledge, and solutions are surprisingly revealed through grass root efforts.

This is a fabulous fun mini skirt project that will leave you some left over scraps for a DIY ‘bring your own bag’ project after. Don’t fret, it’s quite easy to make those jeans into a denim mini!

Supplies Needed

:

• Funky jeans past their prime (beyond patching or your style threshold)
• Scissors
• Sewing machine or mad hand sewing skills
• Thread of any color you enjoy

Step one: Choosing

Use either old jeans, or thrift jeans that you really love the color of but you just don’t wear that MC Hammer style anymore. Just make sure the jeans fit your hip or waist where you plan to wear the skirt.

Step two: Length

I like mine short, and I measure it against a skirt I already own that is the length I like by laying them flat on top one another. It’s a good idea to start with a longer length, since you can always go back and cut it shorter. Decide whether you want it to hit your knee, mid thigh, or super high.

Step three: Cutting

Once you know the length, cutting will be easy. Cut straight across both the legs at the length measured and wa-la, now you have some jean shorts! But you want a sexy mini, so take the scissors and begin cutting the inner seam line and cut open the crotch of the jeans. Then cut along the front seam up to the zipper. (If you made your skirt longer you may want to cut along the back seam 2-3 inches, so it doesn’t pucker in the back when you sew it back together.)

Everyday I come across something on Etsy that surprises and gets me excited about the endless recycled craft possibilities. This week I came across reiter8, an upcycling crafter from Brooklyn that takes sailboat sails that would otherwise go to the dump and creates bags and pillows out of the canvas.

The designer came up with this idea while visiting her mother in Maine. After taking notice of the strong canvas material that made up the sails on a boat, she realized that this material would make a sturdy alternative material for bags and pillows all while saving them from going to landfills.

A couple of months ago, I bought a super-cute twin size sheet at Goodwill. Originally from Target, and probably sold in a package very much like the one pictured here, my sheet has spirograph-esque designs in mauve, persimmon, and lime on a white background. It was $5 with its matching pillowcase. I thought that was a bit high, but I had fallen in love with it, so it came home with me.

Problem #1: Nothing in my house is mauve, persimmon, or lime.

Problem #2: I don’t have a twin size bed.

So what do I do with this sheet?

Granted, sheets are just really big pieces of fabric, so there are plenty of options. But this sheet is so cute, I want to use it for something special.

My friend, Nicole, from Freshly Blended Press, is amazing with recycling wallpaper. She uses all those old wallpaper swatchbooks for material that would otherwise be thrown away . All of the wallpaper is used exquisitely for the covers of her wallpaper journals.

So, next time you come across wallpaper scraps think twice before tossing them out.

Nicole also donates part of her profits to The Humane Society.

It’s no longer a hazy shade of winter for most of us. When spring rears her beautiful head, I get the urge to clean and shop. Shedding the long sleeves reminds me that I have wrists, and should put something pretty on them too.

Luckily, some clever crafters on Etsy are using widely discarded materials to make unique bangles!…