Craftzine.com blog: Green Archives

Green Archive: Green

June 15, 2009

Wall-E Robot Made From Recycled Materials

Filth Wizardry shares the steps she went through to create this awesome Wall-E robot model with her kids. She has some brilliant re-uses for everyday materials in there. Can you guess what all the pieces are?

[ via croqzine on Twitter ]

June 12, 2009

How-To: Make Newspaper Flowers

I grew up around newspapers (my dad was in the business) and I always loved the smell and feel of newsprint and ink. Jessica from How About Orange has a great tutorial for transforming bits of newspaper into adorable flowers to adorn just about anything. I think it could be fun to do this with a scraps from a paper from a significant date or event as a gift.

June 10, 2009

Green Wedding Tips

CRAFT DIY Wedding

The folks over at Smart2BeGreen have put together a list of handy tips for making your wedding greener without sacrificing your style or dreams. Everything from using digital cameras to taking a green honeymoon and using organic fruit instead of cut flowers for the centerpieces.

They've graciously let us reprint their quick tips, so here ya go:

Let blooms thrive in their natural habitat. Instead of cut flower bouquets, create centerpieces of colorful organic fruit or beeswax candles.

Stick with digital photography only-no film. Upload your photographer's shots to an online album. Then, give your parents picture frames made from recycled or reclaimed wood.

Choose a green honeymoon. Pick a vacation destination close to home, offset your carbon emissions from transport, stay in a LEED-certified hotel or locate a sustainable resort.

Save paper. Ask your guests to RSVP on your wedding website! You'll save hundreds on first-class postage by being a first-class enviro-citizen.

Smart2BeGreen also includes a list of resources for finding eco-friendly products and where to donate your wedding gown for charity if you're so inclined. Check it out online or subscribe to their e-newsletter, which is packed with simple tips for greener living.

May 26, 2009

How-To: Make a Laptop From a Cereal Box

We eat a lot of cereal in our house, which results in loads of boxes being sent out for recycling. There is an abundance of cool cereal box crafts on the Internet, many of which we've featured here, but this one is a favorite for me. My kids are always wanting to play on my laptop, and Allie from No Time For Flashcards has come up with a great craft to satisfy both their desire for a laptop of their own and my desire to reuse all the cereal boxes we have in our house. Using simple alphabet stickers and markers, she shows how to let a kid create their own computer from an empty cereal box. I'm bookmarking this one for summer ....

May 21, 2009

How to Plant an Orchid Vertically

I love orchids, and this year for the first time I went to the Pacific Orchid Expo in San Francisco. I saw some amazing plants and flowers. I left the event very inspired and decided to try the technique many growers use of mounting the orchids on branches or boards, where they can hang vertically. Orchids love being suspended because it allows their roots to drain freely. The visual effect is beautiful, and allows gardeners to make the most of small spaces. Try to find some coco fiber instead of dirt for this project; orchids thrive in it, and it is also very lightweight.

Materials:

Orchid
Sphagnum moss
Small amount of dirt or coco fiber
Fiskars Floral Shears
18-gauge floral wire
Board

Directions:

Step 1: Wait until the orchid you want to plant has finished blooming, then cut the stem at the base. Remove the plant from its pot and shake loose any bark or dirt from its roots.

Step 2: Loop a length of wire around 2 opposite corners of the board. Twist the 2 ends of the wire together in the back.

Step 3: Next, lay a pile of sphagnum moss on the center of the board. Then add a handful of dirt on top. Add the orchid to the pile on the board. Cover it with a second handful of dirt, and a final layer of moss.

Step 4: Secure it to the board with wire. Wrap wire back and forth, starting at one of the pre-wired corner. Lace the new length of wire across the moss and orchid several times. Tug the wires tight to cinch them down and hold the plant against the board firmly. The board can be hung indoors or out.

May 19, 2009

How-To: Repurpose Marketing Magnets Into Bookmarks

Amy at Craft Chi shares how to make handy magnetic bookmarks from all those marketing magnets that are cluttering up your refrigerator door. Brilliant!

May 11, 2009

Re-Construct: Eco-Friendly Crafts Made Easy

When I was in Portland, Oregon last month, I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with Garth Johnson of Extreme Craft. He gave me a copy of his new DVD, Re-Construct: Eco-Friendly Crafts Made Easy that features "11 original recycled home decor projects." Garth stars with product designer, Jeanee Ledoux, who designed and produced the DVD.

The pair tackles hip projects like floating book shelves, fabric painting and making cardboard furniture. The DVD is a lot of fun, and I love that there is a philiosophy not only of recycling and reusing behind the projects, but also of using craft to enrich your life. That's good stuff! You can read more about the DVD and subscribe to the Re-Construct blog through their web site, as well as preview the DVD above and see a bonus project below. Enjoy!

May 5, 2009

How-To: Make a Recycled Hanging Basket

Red Bird Crafts shares how to make this sweet, simple hanging basket from items scavenged from her recycle bin.

April 27, 2009

How-To: Make a Cereal Box Journal

I love these simple cereal box journals from the long thread. I see all kinds of possibilities for decorating the cover with stamps or fabric, but also love the clean look of the un-altered box lining. We eat loads of cereal in our house, and I love the idea of doing this project with or for my kiddos to reinforce the lessons of reusing materials we already have on hand.

April 24, 2009

TV's Garbage Moguls Features Tiffany Threadgould

Longtime recycling maven and CRAFT contributor Tiffany Threadgould is a busy, busy girl these days.

Besides running her fabulously clever recycling and reuse company, RePlayGround, she's working on articles for us here at Craftzine.com, writing a book, and is one of the stars (yes, I said it, she's a star!) of the new show Garbage Moguls, in which she works as a product designer for the company Terracycle. The company is taking garbage and making useful things out of this trash, thereby robbing the landfill of more content. The company's home to a lot of different personalities, who keep you highly entertained for the hour-long show.

Here's a shot from the show where she's not licking a cookie wrapper but a coworker named Albe doesn't have any qualms about doing just that:

And here's a preview of the show, which premiered this past Wednesday on Earth Day. You should definitely record this on your DVR-of-choice or tune in this Saturday, April 25th, at 10 p.m. Congrats, Tiffany, and we hope it's a flyaway hit (just like the kite)!

April 23, 2009

Mana Bernandes' Jewelry

Rio de Janeiro-based artist Mana Bernandes has a knack for elevating everyday objects to elegance with her jewelry. Pictured above is Clasp, a gorgeous necklace made of bobby pins, fit for a green goddess. Check out more of her innovative work at Munique and on her site. (Her toothpick and pearl necklace is featured on page 54 of CRAFT Volume 09.)

April 22, 2009

Crafty Chica 24 Hours of Earth Day Projects

Crafty Chica, Kathy Cano-Murillo, is posting an Earth Day-inspired project an hour for the 24 hours of Earth Day. It's still early, and she's already got cool projects like cigar box birdhouses and a fabric pillow ring. Be sure to check back in with her all day long for all the projects!

April 21, 2009

Flashback: Hydroponic Veggie Garden

Back in CRAFT Volume 09, the multi-talented Brookelynn Morris opened our eyes to the wonders of growing a garden hydroponically. Brookeylnn shares instructions for a simple and compact system, perfect for the urban gardener. The introduction to this DIY explains the benefits of a hydro system:

"Why hydro instead of soil? Growing hydroponically has tons of advantages. It actually saves water! This project uses the same 5 gallons of water over and over again for a whole week. If you were watering into dirt, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to collect and recirculate the water.

Hydro also saves space. In a typical soil garden, the lettuce plant will only grow as big as the 4" pot will let it. With hydroponics, the roots of the plants will actually grow right out of the pot, allowing the plant get as big as it likes. Or at least as big as it can before you eat it!"

Brookelynn teaches us the basics of the setup, then gets us going starting a tray of yumminess from seed. We learn how to mix the growing media as well as the nutrients to feed the plants. The whole system takes up such little space that you no longer need a sizable property to grow your own flourishing garden. Water is the key!

In honor of Earth Day, we're sharing this project with you in our Digital Edition, so you can get started setting up your own hydro veggie garden. And to pick up CRAFT Volume 09, head on over to the Maker Shed. This Green Craft issue features resources for the eco-crafter, Michelle Kaufmann's elegant herb dryer, furoshiki fabric folding, great ideas for recycling cereal boxes, a vintage book stash box, a mosaic table project, precious metal clay jewelry, a primer on using Google Sketchup, and so much more.

Recycled Hurricane Cover

Patricia of A Little Hut shares this fantastic project for covering a glass hurricane. Can you figure out what common household product she used to create the design? I couldn't! Go check out her post for all the details.

April 17, 2009

Checkin' In: PDX Crafter Sister Diane Gilleland

Sister Diane is a fabulously crafty girl who not only continuously comes up with a variety of creative projects, but she embodies the DIY spirit with her positive attitude and willingness to share ideas with others. She has shared a number of great project with us on the pages of CRAFT, as well as on our site. Back in CRAFT Volume 04, Diane showed us how to make shimmering embossed greeting cards using aluminum foil:

Then, in Volume 08, Diane represented for her hometown of Portland and gave us an insider crafty view of the city with her Travel Crafty feature, which even included a super cool tutorial on how to use Google Maps to map out the city's hot spots. In Volume 09, Diane shared another custom card tutorial with us, showing readers how to machine sew, heat emboss, and embroider paper. In our last issue, Volume 10, Diane taught us how to make homemade flavored bitters, a key ingredient in tasty drinks. In her example, she used dried cherries and spices--yum!

We checked in with this crafty girl to see what she's been into recently and this is what she wrote:

"As usual, I'm doing about 15 things at once! I blog weekly for CraftStylish, which has lately involved creating a lot of interesting recycled projects, like recycled cardboard baskets and decoupaged shoes."

"And I also write my own blog, CraftyPod, which contains projects, craft book reviews, and assorted crafty goodness. My podcast, also called CraftyPod, is still one of my all-time favorite projects. I've been talking to people from the mainstream craft industry there lately, trying to learn about how they view our indie craft culture.

This July, my first book comes out, which is terribly exciting. Kanzashi In Bloom: 20 Fold and Sew Projects to Wear and Give offers a simplified form of a traditional Japanese fabric flower craft. I had a great time coming up with lots of projects that incorporate these flowers: jewelry, tote bags, accessories, and home decor items."

"By the end of April, I'll release my first eBook as well: Making A Great Blog: A Guide for Creative People. I hope this book will approach the subject of blogging in a way the other blogging books don't. I'll be focusing on what goes into creating interesting and valuable blog posts, and keeping this great content flowing over time. [Check out the review of Diane's eBook posted this morning by our own Rachel Hobson for more info.]

. . . and in between all that, I'm hanging out on Twitter!"

Thanks, Sister Diane! We can't wait to check out her new book. For the meantime, with summer around the corner, we thought we'd share Diane's homemade bitters in our Digital Edition. Make sure to keep up with Sister Diane on her blog and pick up any back issues of CRAFT you may not have at the Maker Shed!

How-To: Cardboard Laptop Case

This cardboard laptop case made by instructables user nikoto mimics an upscale designer case with a similar design and uses almost all recycled materials!

More:

Cardboard laptop case on MAKE

April 15, 2009

Tire Trugs

Instructables user Marcos used an old tire to make these trug baskets, shown above holding flowers (but they can also hold much heavier things, like tools).

How-To: Decorate With Thrifted Goods

Casasugar Thriftedgoods
CasaSugar has a photo slideshow on 10 ways to decorate with thrifted goods, showing how you can add distinctive looks to your home in an eco way.

April 13, 2009

Instructables Earth Day Guide

Celebrate Earth Day (and nature month here at CRAFT) with some DIY green projects over at Instructables. Learn tips for urban gardening, how to build a composter, recycle paper, and getting a tree planted on your block in San Francisco.

April 9, 2009

How-To: Make a Nature Can

CRAFT: Crafting with Nature

How-To: Make a Nature Can
By Megan Heep

Kids filling your pockets with nature's treasures? Or maybe you can't help but pick up rocks, shells, and pretty moss yourself. Here's what you do: make a Nature Can, using materials you probably have at home, for your kids (or you) to stylishly and conveniently carry their own collections.

Read full story

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