11.23.2009
Have a favorite wool sweater you can't throw away?
How about felting it? I found this great discussion/tutorial on felting wool @ crafting a green world.
Tips & Tricks
- Save cereal boxes for a nice, lightweight cardboard for making craft templates. Paper grocery sacks work well for this too!
- Used wine corks can be re-envisioned into beautiful cork boards!
- I'm an avid knitter...and I save all the little bits of yarn leftover from projects. Usually I just roll them up together in their own ball. Later, I'll knit something just out of those scraps: cotton yarns turn into striped dishrags, and everything else would make a great scrappy scarf!
Another Aside to Old Jeans...
You can also cut out the pocket on old jeans, decorate the outside of the pocket how you like (or choose a pocket w/ a cool pattern). Glue a magnet on each corner of the pocket, stuff w/ pens & a notepad...
Makes a great gift for friends! They'll never have to search for a pen & paper while on the phone again.
I don't have a picture of the ones I've made, but this link gives you a good idea.
Makes a great gift for friends! They'll never have to search for a pen & paper while on the phone again.
I don't have a picture of the ones I've made, but this link gives you a good idea.
Do you hang onto Jeans for-ever?
If you do, perhaps making a denim quilt is for you! So, I save all my worn out jeans and when I've got a good stack, my mom or I decide to make a new denim quilt.
It will surprise you how much denim it actually takes, so we generally supplement w/ buying jeans from local thrift stores--the jeans that they don't want to sell. They're getting a second life in a quilt instead!
The first step (after washing) is to cut away all thost thick jean seams to give yourself the most workable pieces of jean left....namely the legs. Cut these pieces into the size square you want (I generally stick around 5 1/2" to 6 1/2"). I've never done anything more complicated that choosing one size of block & making them all the same.
Once you have your stack o' squares: lay them out in a pattern that appeals to you. This is where I have fun playing w/ color tones! Then sew your blocks together in that pattern.
Now that you've sewn your top together....feel how heavy that is! Wow. Since, denim is such a heavy material I opt to not put any batting inside. Instead I purchase a flannel that I like and prep it (wash & dry) for my backing. Lay your flannel on the floor and center your denim top over it. I then tie the top and bottom together using scrap pieces of yarn (the only bit here not recycled is the flannel & thread!).
To finish the edges, I then cut the flannel to an equal distance around the edge of the denim top (probably a good four to five inches out), fold it over to the top and sew it down on the machine.
Old jeans make the best blankets for cold winter days ever!
It will surprise you how much denim it actually takes, so we generally supplement w/ buying jeans from local thrift stores--the jeans that they don't want to sell. They're getting a second life in a quilt instead!
The first step (after washing) is to cut away all thost thick jean seams to give yourself the most workable pieces of jean left....namely the legs. Cut these pieces into the size square you want (I generally stick around 5 1/2" to 6 1/2"). I've never done anything more complicated that choosing one size of block & making them all the same.
Once you have your stack o' squares: lay them out in a pattern that appeals to you. This is where I have fun playing w/ color tones! Then sew your blocks together in that pattern.
Now that you've sewn your top together....feel how heavy that is! Wow. Since, denim is such a heavy material I opt to not put any batting inside. Instead I purchase a flannel that I like and prep it (wash & dry) for my backing. Lay your flannel on the floor and center your denim top over it. I then tie the top and bottom together using scrap pieces of yarn (the only bit here not recycled is the flannel & thread!).
To finish the edges, I then cut the flannel to an equal distance around the edge of the denim top (probably a good four to five inches out), fold it over to the top and sew it down on the machine.
Old jeans make the best blankets for cold winter days ever!
Envelopes from Magazines: Mail your Letters in Style!
One of my favorite ways to recycle magazines is to make envelopes out of all the beautiful images inside!
First, I suggest taking a couple of your favorite sized envelopes and breaking all the seals--creating an instant template that I like to trace the outline onto a heavier material (cardstock, cardboard, whatever works best for you). *hint* Make sure your templates can be contained in an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper, otherwise you'll find that most magazine pages won't be large enough.
Then find all the pages in your magazines whose design appeals to you (I find I end up w/ lots of advertisements!).
With a dark pen or marker trace your templates onto the magazine pages you want to become envelopes. I always think about what I want to end up on the front of the envelope, since that has the largest space available for show.
After you cut out all of your fresh envelopes, now comes the folding process: fold all the edges into the center, leaving the image you don't like inside. Then run some glue on the side folds and pres them together....
Your envelope is ready! I use these most for gifts, but if you want to mail them, I'd recommend using a small address label to make it easier for the post office to read :)
First, I suggest taking a couple of your favorite sized envelopes and breaking all the seals--creating an instant template that I like to trace the outline onto a heavier material (cardstock, cardboard, whatever works best for you). *hint* Make sure your templates can be contained in an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper, otherwise you'll find that most magazine pages won't be large enough.
Then find all the pages in your magazines whose design appeals to you (I find I end up w/ lots of advertisements!).
With a dark pen or marker trace your templates onto the magazine pages you want to become envelopes. I always think about what I want to end up on the front of the envelope, since that has the largest space available for show.
After you cut out all of your fresh envelopes, now comes the folding process: fold all the edges into the center, leaving the image you don't like inside. Then run some glue on the side folds and pres them together....
Your envelope is ready! I use these most for gifts, but if you want to mail them, I'd recommend using a small address label to make it easier for the post office to read :)
11.11.2009
Toy Creativity Contest by the Museum of Tolerance
The Museum of Tolerance has a new exhibit called, "The Power to Play: From Trash to Treasure". This exhibit showcases toys made by children from around the world using recycled or trash materials.
And the Museum of Tolerance is also hosting the Toy Creativity Contest. Anyone under the age of 18 can participate. Below are the contest guidelines pasted directly from the Museum of Tolerance's website.
Contest Guidelines:
•Toy must be created by persons 18 years of age or younger
•Toys must be made from recycled materials
•Toys can be no larger than 12”l x 12”w x 14”h
*All toy submissions will be considered donations to the museum exhibition.
And the Museum of Tolerance is also hosting the Toy Creativity Contest. Anyone under the age of 18 can participate. Below are the contest guidelines pasted directly from the Museum of Tolerance's website.
Contest Guidelines:
•Toy must be created by persons 18 years of age or younger
•Toys must be made from recycled materials
•Toys can be no larger than 12”l x 12”w x 14”h
*All toy submissions will be considered donations to the museum exhibition.
11.02.2009
November's Real Simple
November's Real Simple had some great tips for reusing old CDs and Jewel Cases! Check it out. My favorite was using the jewel case (lined w/ double-sided tape) to work with beads. :)
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