Laptop sleeves abound, but do you really want to pay the high prices for such a small piece of material? I found this detailed laptop-sleeve tutorial linked from Craft magazine’s e-newsletter. Lined with sweatshirt material, creator Sam made the sleeve … Read More ...
Maki Squarepatch — A Must-See
Sisters Enqi and Xin from Singapore opened their online shop Maki Squarepatch less than a year ago and already are seeing success worldwide. No doubt it’s due to their fun, fresh and imaginative line of one-of-a-kind clothing, bags, accessories, cushions, … Read More ...
127 Sale
Tammy Jones of HGTV.com approached the world-famous Highway 127 Corridor Sale with crafting in mind, and came up with some unique creations.
“The key to yard sale crafting is to try to envision an object’s potential — brightened with a … Read More ...
From Biologist to Craftologist
Recycling artist Emily Kircher creates fabulous rugs and more from salvaged fabric. Take this adorable crocheted cupcake rug ($38), available at her Etsy store: The “cake” was made from brown corduroy dress, the frosting from a thrift store remnant and … Read More ...
Recycled Crafts Teachers Wanted
San Francisco-based Made from Scrap isn’t set to launch until mid-September, but its website has definitely caught my interest (as well as a desire to live remotely close to San Francisco). The workshop warehouse lists a handful of hands-on class … Read More ...
Altoids Tins (Because You Can’t Get Enough of Them)
I love the fact that there’s an entire category on MAKE magazine’s site that’s dedicated to repurposing Altoids tins. Most of the entries are over-my-head electronics-related, but there are a couple of entries I could actually relate to, including Girl … Read More ...
Board Game Makeover
Craftster‘s monthly challenges are usually tons of fun for those who like to repurpose or recycle objects into crafts. This month’s challenge is no different: Total Board Game Revamp. Your challenge is to take an old board game … Read More ...
Junk Mail Gems
Junk Mail Gems is an entire site dedicated to crafting useful objects from junk mail. Gretchen Fleener, an industrial designer from Minneapolis, does exactly as her credit card mailings demand: “Do Not Discard.” Instead, she turns the mail into eye-candy … Read More ...
Postage Stamp Bowl
Here’s an art show you can enjoy no matter where you live … “Repurposed: Art from Recycled Materials” is an EBSQ (an online art association) juried show that “opened” in April to benefit Environmental Defense. One of the art show … Read More ...
Rosie’s Place
I first learned about Rosie’s Place a few years ago when I purchased a couple of vintage button bookmarks from J. Jill as gifts. Rosie’s Place, based in Boston, is a sanctuary for poor and homeless women, and the Women’s … Read More ...
ReadyMade (Recycled) Magazine
Visit the online shop of ReadyMade magazine — “a bimonthly print magazine for people who like to make stuff” — and you’ll find carefully selected must-haves that you probably wouldn’t find offered by other magazines: Blueprints for a small modular … Read More ...
A Blast-from-the-Past Book
A banner ad on Craftster prompted me to take my first in-depth look at the book The Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty, and Kitschy Crafts, published in 2006 by Leah Kramer, founder of Craftster.
The book is packed with … Read More ...
Chopsticks Reincarnated
It’s unfortunate, but billions of single-use chopsticks are disposed of each year, a fact that prompted Bryan Parks to found Kwytza Kraft.
The company collects single-use chopsticks from restaurants in China, cleans them, sanitizes them at high temperature and … Read More ...
A Tote for the Inner Geek
What can you do with old floppy disks — I mean the REALLY old oversized, bendable floppies? Instructables contributor imanalchemist (yes, you read that right) shows us how he made a dashing tote bag from 18 old 5.25-inch floppies, canvas … Read More ...
Repurposed Rolodex
Love to organize? Would you love to become organized? Christy Petterson at getcrafty.com transformed a hand-me-down Rolodex into a craft organizer. She’s especially fond of dyeing fabric and making jewelry, and she finds that she can keep track of tiny … Read More ...