Showing posts with label upcycled project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label upcycled project. Show all posts

5.26.2015

New Eco-Crafting eBook!


Do you toss your empty toilet paper rolls? What do you do with all those plastic grocery bags? 

Eco-Crafting: 20 Simple & Green Craft Projects is packed with easy to follow tutorials that will help you turn trash to treasure. From making a wreath with grocery bags to upcycling an old pie pan into home decor, you’ll find the perfect craft project for you! 

Avoid the recycling bin and discover what you can do with different types of cardboard. Many of the tutorials are so easy, your kids can help and together, you’ll make the world a greener place.
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That's from my new eBook! Two years after I self-published the collaborative EcoScrapbooking: Crafty Ideas for Eco-Conscious Scrapbookers, I finally put together my top eco-friendly craft projects into one handy, downloadable book.

Eco-Crafting is now available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read it for free! Not a current subscriber? Download Kindle to any device and buy the crafty eBook for on $2.49! You'll learn how to make 20 different eco-friendly craft projects and I'll earn a little pocket change.

Now that I know how to publish on Amazon, I can't wait to start my next eBook! ~Danielle

Related:


4.24.2015

Earth Day Project: Camo Rain Boot Flower Pots

Earth Day Week 2015 ends today with my final project. It's one we've all seen on the internet: flower pots made from rain boots.


These belonged to my youngest daughter. When she was about four years old, we went to an Army surplus store for a pair of work boots for my husband and when she spotted the camo rain boots, she HAD to have them! Now, you must understand, she's a girly girl and to our surprise, she wasn't about to leave that store without them. Since she needed rain boots anyway...well, I think you know the rest of the story. 

Anywho, I've been wanting to do this project for a long time and now that it's spring, why not do it today? Although I had to pull out my winter coat this morning (I was outside enjoying the 70+ degree weather last weekend), I'm beyond happy for a new season and looking forward to a fabulous summer! Planting flowers brings me one step closer to that.

Here's how I made flower pots from camo rain boots:


Supplies:

rain boots
2 geraniums
organic potting soil
shovel
drill

Directions: Drill 5-7 small holes into the bottom of the rain boots for drainage. Add soil and geraniums. (Yes, that's my daughter's shovel. Since we moved last fall, I have no idea where my shovel is.) 

Who doesn't love a quick and simple project that also includes some upcycling?

Hope you enjoyed EcoScrapbook's Earth Day Week and remember to make Earth Day every day! ~Danielle

Missed an Earth Day project this week? Check them out below:


And swing by my other blog, Greater Toledo's Mama Meow, for 10 eco-friendly websites for kids. (Note: Local information is at the top of the post, so you'll have to scroll down to find them.)

mama meow wheresthecat.com toledo childrens blog

4.22.2015

Earth Day Project: DIY Fire Starter

Happy Earth Day! It's Day 3 of Earth Day Week at EcoScrapbook and today I'm sharing another eco-friendly project I recently completed.

Apparently, there are several ways to make your own fire starter. I narrowed it down to one of the simplest ways to start a backyard fire this summer: dryer lint and toilet paper rolls.



If you've been a long time reader, you know I've made several crafts with toilet paper rolls. In fact, my Toilet Paper Roll Bunnies are famous and brings in the most traffic to this blog. Crazy, huh?

I've also scrapbooked with dryer lint. Google "scrapbook dryer lint" and you'll also find me on the first page. Another, who woulda thunk?

Both dryer lint and toilet paper rolls can end up as trash or if you don't regularly clean out the dryer's lint trap, your house can burn down. So instead, save these items and make something new like DIY fire starter.



I'm using a saved Cutie mesh bag to store these fire starters made from toilet paper rolls and dryer lint.


Check back tomorrow as Earth Day Week continues! ~Danielle

Make These Projects for Earth Day:


4.21.2015

Kids Earth Day Project: Sticks & Stones Make Tic-Tac-Toe

You know the children's rhyme that begins with "sticks and stones may break my bones," right? Well, not with this Earth Day Project! Sticks and stones make for a fun little game of Tic-Tac-Toe.


Supplies:

4 sticks
rocks (two different colors)
twine
scissors

The directions are simple and great to do with kids. Create a Tic-Tac-Toe board with sticks and secure together with twine. Easy peasy! A few minutes of work equals a leisurely outdoor game of strategy.

Stop by tomorrow to see what I do with dryer lint! ~Danielle

Make These Projects for Earth Day:



4.20.2015

Earth Day Project: Plastic Bag Wreath

Welcome to Earth Day Week at EcoScrapbook! Each day this week, I'll be sharing my latest eco-friendly projects. First up, a wreath made from plastic grocery bags:


Supplies:

25 plastic grocery bags
9" embroidery hoop
burlap ribbon
paper flowers
painted wood letter
hot glue gun
jewelry wire
wire cutters
scissors

1. Cut off the front of each grocery bag and set aside to recycle later. 

2. Stack each blank side of grocery bags on top of each other and cut off the edges.


3. Cut 10 10" strips to make 250 plastic strips.


4. Fold each strip in half and secure to embroidery circle with a knot.


Repeat until circle is covered.


5. Attach burlap ribbon to wreath making a loop at top and stapling it closed.



6. Make a bow by folding burlap ribbon around itself three times as shown:


7. Twist wire around center, insert into loop and secure together with wire. Cut off excess wire. The wire will be used to hang wreath on door.


8. Spread out the burlap to finish the bow and trim edges.


9. Wrap burlap ribbon around bottom right of wreath and staple closed. 


10. Attach painted wood letter and paper flowers with hot glue gun.


And now I have a beautiful eco-friendly door wreath just in time for Earth Day! ~Danielle

Related:




2.11.2015

How to Make Melted Crayons

I'm a crayon collector! Each year, after school lets out, I take all the used crayons my children bring home and dump them into a gallon container. They get used sometimes, but as broken, pointless crayons, they're often overlooked. I think I probably have crayons from my childhood in there too! (Hoarder Alert!)


I've always wanted to make new crayons out of the old ones and finally did so with my six-year-old. We made them to pass out to her class for Valentine's Day.


They're about the size of Reese Cups and each one is unique.


Here’s how we made melted crayon Valentines:

Supplies:

Several broken/unwanted crayons

Cutting board

Knife

Paper towels

Cupcake liners

Muffin pans

Oven

Oven mitts

Small treat bags

Instructions:

1. Peel off the crayon wrappers.

2. Have a parent chop up the crayons into smaller pieces. I used a few paper towels on a cutting board and a large kitchen knife. Set oven to 250 degrees.


3. Place cupcake liners into muffin pans.


4. Fill the cupcake liners halfway with crayon pieces.


5. Bake in a pre-heated oven until crayons are melted into a liquid, about 10-12 minutes. Use oven mitts to remove pans from oven.


6. Let the melted crayons cool for about 3 hours or overnight before peeling off cupcake liners.

7. Insert melted crayons into small treat bags to pass out to your class.


You can use stickers to seal the bags or tie bows with ribbon. As always, get creative and have fun! ~Danielle

Related Kid's Crafts:

Toilet Paper Roll Bunnies
Painting Roses With Celery
Painting Shamrocks With Toilet Paper Rolls

12.17.2014

DIY Eco-friendly Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas is right around the corner, but there's still time to make your own gifts. These 10 eco-friendly Christmas gift ideas are sure to please this holiday season:

1. Wine Cork Candle


2. Girl Scout Notebook + Decoupaged Comic Book Pencil




4. Cereal Box Notebooks


5. Capri Sun Purse




7. Melted Record Ornaments



12.10.2014

Catching Up After the Big Move

Where have I been? Life has been pretty hectic for me the past several months and I haven't been crafting or scrapbooking as much as I like. 

For the first time ever, I didn't complete a Layout a Day Challenge. 14 pages. That's it. I was off to a good start the first few days and then went straight digi by creating layouts on my phone using PicsArt in the brief moments I could spare.

My main excuse is my family moved in late September.


It almost didn't seem like it was going to happen, but we finally moved! We're in a nicer neighborhood and in a bigger house. We were lucky. To prove it, I found these two four-leaf clovers in our front yard as I was moving in boxes:


Unfortunately, during the weekend of our big move, our beloved Bane was not so lucky. Three weeks prior to our move, we were happy to bring home a rescue dog. Things were going well until we took them both to a boarding facility so they would be safe and out of the way while we moved. Short story, both 80 pound dogs were put in a small kennel area overnight (and unsupervised) and our new dog attacked Bane.


That was Bane when we brought him home after his first surgery. We then decided it would be best to give our new dog back to the shelter we got her from. It was heartbreaking. 

After a second surgery and plenty of love, by his first birthday, Bane was pretty much healed and back to his happy-self.


He enjoys his new big backyard and runs around like a maniac! It's so wonderful to see him play with the girls like nothing ever happened.


In the mean time, and back to the good stuff... I did manage to get a little crafty by updating a knife block:


I'm going for a retro feel in the kitchen and added vintage milk glass from my husband's grandmother. Here are a few pieces:


My husband got creative by upcycling a door and wood from our kitchen remodel to build a bar in the basement.


Fancy! He even picked out his own fabric to cover the storage area underneath the bar.


We're pretty excited to have a fireplace, too! And I'm more than happy to have a mantel to decorate.



Then there's the first floor bathroom. Either you'll love it or hate it. I'm choosing to embrace the bathroom. I plan on updating it with paint (where I can) and add new curtains. The hubby already replaced the old toilet with one that's more efficient:


Yes, that's a lot of pink tile! Just like the sink and the former toilet, the bathtub is also blue. At least the upstairs bathroom looks like this:


There's plenty more work to do around the house, but for now, I'm happy. 

And I'm also proud to share my latest adventure, Greater Toledo's Mama Meow, a place for local kids to go to find out what's happening around the area. It's still in it's infancy, but I have big hopes for Mama Meow. Check it out! The official launch will be in January! ~Danielle