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 ...
Adorn Hearts Recycling
I’m not a subscriber to Adorn magazine — a hip (fairly) new publication that features crafty ways to create and embellish clothing and home decor — but the cover of its fall issue has me running to the bookstore to … Read More ...
Ruby Re-Usable
Ruby Re-Usable, a.k.a. artist Diane Kurzyna, is the diva of the Olympia Dumpster Divers in Olympia, Wash. She dedicates her life to art and craft made from recycled materials, which she also blogs about. Her website includes a portfolio of … Read More ...
Magpie Recraft Fair
This weekend isn’t yet over, but it’s not too early to start planning for the next, which should be a good one for anyone in the Boston area: It’s the first-ever Recraft Fair, which features an afternoon of recycled craft … Read More ...
Dirt-Cheap Dorm Room Furniture
Continuing with the theme of back to school, here’s a frugal — and green — idea for dorm room design: cardboard furniture. While you may not be able to craft Frank Gehry’s award-winning, high-design Wiggle Chair (retail $875, shown), I … Read More ...
Back-to-School Notebooks: Part 2
I’m glad I’m not the only one who sneaks a few paint chip samples just to have pretty colors on hand. Maia from Lollipoop Designs (no, that’s not a typo) creates these too-cute Paint Sample Notebooks in an array of … Read More ...
Back-to-School Notebooks: Part 1
Make schoolwork a bit more exciting by studying with Cap’n Crunch, Count Chocula or (shown) Toucan Sam! Etsy member Nature Made Scents has created a few fun notebooks using cereal boxes as covers. How about using Alpha-Bits for English class? … Read More ...
Quoth the Raven
Artist Mark Orr of Scavenger Art repurposes an interesting family of items — billiard balls, shutters, stair balusters, wooden shoe forms and more — into striking one-of-a-kind artworks. Take this “Raven on 8 Ball,” for instance, made of carved and … Read More ...
