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Here are the deets:

Send a link to your favorite recycled craft blog, website, or Etsy shop and you are entered to win a free Craftside Book and Wrights SideWinder. It can be your own or someone else’s. If you want more chances to win pop on over to Craftside and leave a question there in the comments section of this post. And while your there check out inside peeks into all sorts of crafty books as they fly hot off the presses!

Oh and spread the recycled crafty book bobbin goodness word!

U.S. Residents only.

Collect lots of big paint chips in your preferred colours. I used Debbie Travis chips from Canadian Tire, but I think they have the big ones in Home Depot as well.

Place two chips together, back to back. You could glue them, but I didn’t bother. Cut out the shape you want, getting rid of any writing that is on the chips. I went with a rounded diamond shape, but circles, squares or triangles would all be cute. Do this step a few dozen times.

Sew down the centre of each pair of chips, attaching them together in a garland. I found that leaving a stitch or two in between each pair made them spin nicely once the garland is hung up.

There you have it! A pretty and free craft project.

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For more amazing tutorials and great ways to recycle everyday objects into items of beauty, head over to Amy’s blog!

Holy cow people. If you aren’t already reading this blog, then you can join in on my “how did I miss this space?” club! Amy is a mama and a crafter, and her blog explores her life in pictures – phenomenal pictures – and great words about her life. She e-mailed me to let me know about her thrifty ways, using tons of recycled materials in her crafts, and I’ve just spent over an hour perusing her blog, her photos, and wishing my life could be so gorgeous!

Most recently, she posted several pictures to her blog about garlands she’s making for the holiday season – each one using materials she’s got on hand around her house. I love the mittens garland so much!!!

Have you heard of Lou’s Upcycles, over at Etsy? If not, you should definitely head there immediately! Everything in the shop is made from plastic trash that has been cleaned and then either fusted together and collaged or used as yarn! From wallets to bags to market sacks and more, you can pick up a variety of items in the shop.

And if you’re interested in learning how to make your own items using recycled plastic, you can head to the Upcycles Blog!

Essential Paper

I’m always on the lookout for shops that use upcycled or recycled goods in their items, so I was pleasantly surprised to find Essential Paper. A newer Etsy shop, EP sells cards and notebooks made using upcycled books and magazines. A few of my favorites include her break dancing card and her Han Solo notebook.

Bee Fancee

Bee Fancee is another newer shop to Etsy, and features some great handmade items. Of note are the laptop covers, which are made from recycled (and sometimes felted!) sweaters. Each one is unique, and from what I can tell made incredibly well. The shop also features some tremendous handbags, but I’m not sure those are made from recycled goods!

S.A.M.’s Creations

Also on my shortlist is SAM’s Creations. Featuring handbags and clutches, her items are made using as many recycled materials as she can muster. One of my favorites is this clutch made from seatbelts!

What other great Etsy shops do you know that use recycled and upcycled materials?

I love this gorgeous doll, made using an old spool! Check out all the other great items also in Wnderkind’s Flickr photo stream! (Wunderkind, Inc)

This tennis racket turned jewelry holder is brilliant, and the perfect idea for any sports enthusiast! (Paper N Stitch)

And finally there’s the amazing blog Junk Mail Gems. I’ve been a fan for quite some time, and these great “green” kids birthday invitations are a great find to share with all of you. It’s an adorable post card invitation made from a baby rice cereal box. You can make post cards like this from any box, so if you want to have a candy-themed birthday? Grab some boxes of candy!

I’ll be back tomorrow full-strength with tons of great finds over the next few days.

This amazing shop features handmade items from some of the most creative crafters on the planet, all working with recycled, reclaimed and repurposed items. From their website:

Eco Emporia was established by husband and wife team Anna and Peter Burns. After getting married they set off on a year’s round the world adventure which shaped their ideas for making things with reclaimed materials.

“Reusing and recycling is a way of life for many people around the world”, says Anna. “It’s about making the most of limited resources and income. As a result they create something new, useful and often ingenious. I remember being most impressed by the Uros people on Lake Titicaca in Peru. They created amazing boats by weaving lake reeds and kept them afloat using hundreds of recycled plastic drink bottles.

Not only do the owners feature items found along their travels and those from the UK, they also feature tutorials and online projects to help urge everyone along on the path towards creative crafting!

While I really want to make all sorts of comments about the drinking habits of college kids when I see these prints, I’m actually super blown away at the creativity behind it. Crushed Art has a wide selection of high-end photography, taken of cans from alcohol to energy drinks to soda pop and more. Perfect for not just your home bar area, these photographs could be hung in any room in your home … and by using the image of cans, it totally fits with the recycled theme!

I love all the amazing recycle-themed crafts on Etsy, and Dinner Time Chimes is one of my new favorites. Their gorgeous wind chimes are made from silverware found in estate sales, flea markets and thrift stores. Each chime is unique, gorgeous, and … holy cow, I’m going to overload on adjectives.

The shop also has some great tags made from recycled and reclaimed boxes, perfect for using as either gift tags or price tags. Head on over to Dinner Time Chimes to check out their full inventory.

Best part? The shop owners are super sweet!