DIY Recycled Ornaments from "Michele Made Me"

Check out these pretty plastic bottle ornaments from Michele Made Me, along with instructions to make them yourself!

She also has another tutorial to make these adorable little greenhouse ornaments from recycled plastic.  Love them!  Plus, who doesn't want to gaze into a tropical little greenhouse when there are inches of snow on the ground? Her ornament tutorials appear to be an ongoing series...can't wait to see what she comes up with next!  Thanks, Michele!!

Cool Recycled Gifts in Northern Minnesota

Okay...well, Google has given me a more time consuming work-around method to get my photos up until they figure out the issue, which is apparently with their uploader on their end.  So, here are some things I've been waiting to share!

A couple weeks ago we took our annual family vacation to northern Minnesota, not far from Nisswa, which is my favorite little town to shop in when we're in the area. 

One of my favorite stores there is called Zaiser's, and is full of cool, well-designed gifts, and many fun recycled finds.

They have a great little section of toys, and I loved this shelf of hand puppets.  Each one is unique, handmade in Canada by Cate and Levi out of all natural and reclaimed materials.  And to top it all off, 10% of their profits go to help children in need.

I also loved this display of button rings and little felt flowers...

This recycled beer bottle dish by From The Blue Bag LLC,

and these recycled magazine cuffs and paper beads from Refashioned, much like my own!

 I went home with a recycled bike chain bracelet.  See you next year, Nisswa!

Recycled Valentine Fun!

Valentine's day is less than a month away and there are many, many ideas out there on the web for making your own fun Valentine gifts and cards out of recycled materials! Here are just a few that I found...

The Long Thread has a nice tutorial to make this cute stuffed heart, which is a great way to use up some scrap material or recycle some unwanted fabric items and buttons! You can even make it extra special by using a piece of fabric from an item or article of clothing that has sentimental value but is no longer useable or wearable.



Cut Out And Keep, one of the many fun craft links shared on my site, is full of fun ideas and how-to's for Valentine's day. Check out a bunch here, like this cool conversation hearts charm bracelet!


National Geographic shows you how to make neat 3D recycled cards here...


Squidoo has a nice collection of Valentine crafts, which include many paper crafts that you can incorporate recycled items (like junk mail) into. Scroll down to their video tutorial on making tissue paper flowers...this makes a fun activity for kids and adults, and a great way to repurpose some of the used red and white tissue paper you hopefully saved from all of those Christmas gifts you just opened!

Scroll further down Squidoo's page for another video on making a woven paper heart basket. I used to make these when I was little...they make a fun envelope for a valentine, or bag for a small gift!

There's also a recipe to make your own Valentine's bath salts, which can be given in a nice package by decorating a recycled glass jar.

Crafting a Green World has a nice video showing you how to make a simple pop-up Valentine card using recycled materials as well.

Everyone knows the way to a man's heart is through his stomach...I remember when I was dating my husband 15 years ago, I had fun decorating a coffee can and filling it up with home made Valentine M&M cookies. I sprayed the can pink and decorated it with candy hearts, stickers, and glitter paints. I'm sure he was more excited about the contents than the container, but we still have that can today!

Expecting to get some traditional store bought items from your not-so-crafty Valentine? See if you can come up with ways to recycle the packaging you get! "jlcfyi" blog posted this great way to repurpose a candy heart box into a picture frame!


Got some of your own recycled Valentine craft ideas? Feel free to post comments and share the love!

DIY Christmas Gift Idea: Community Center Art Classes!

For the past 6 weeks, thanks to the suggestion of my husband, I've been really enjoying some pottery classes that I've been taking at my local city's art center. Below is a collage of some of the pieces I've been able to bring home so far...there are still a few left to fire before they are all done!

In addition to creating items to use around my own home, I purposely made some flower pots that I am planning to fill with a little herb or cactus to give as Christmas gifts. My class was on the pottery wheel, however, you can hand make so many things out of clay, including ornaments.

While I know this is probably too late for this holiday season, I wanted to post this as a great way to be green, make your own one-of-a-kind gifts, and support your local community! Check out your own local community center or community college and see if they offer art or craft classes, as many do. It's a really fun way to get out of the house (SO precious to a work-from-home mom!), learn something new, and create original gifts and decor for your own home.

Why not even start now for next year? It would make a great New Year's resolution!

What to do with old, plastic CD ROM cases?

Hey everyone! I'll be the first to admit that my blog has been LAME-O lately. My slightly less lame-o excuses: we had a lovely little H1N1 scare last month in our house (all quarantined, including a toddler and pregnant woman...yay!), and then I ended up having to get into the new routine that comes along with gestational diabetes this month. But, things are medically calming back down and I'm finally catching up with all of you wonderful people who have emailed me comments and requests and waited so patiently!!

I got an email from "Beth" back in the end of October, asking for ideas on what to do to recycle old CD ROM cases. I've wondered about them myself, and thought it would be a fun thing to blog about. Here are a few ideas I've found while doing a little web surfing...

If you'd like to get crafty...

Craft Chi has a great idea and tutorial to turn them into pencil/pen holders:


Instructables has a tutorial to make a really cool wall mural:


Thread Banger has a fun way to turn a case into a desktop calendar:



For a great project your kids can do, check out Fave Craft's tutorial on making picture frames:


Or the Elk Grove Public Library's cool 3D photo cube ideas (you'll have to scroll down a ways to see them when you click the link.


Got a card collector in your family? They make cool little frames for displaying your cards:


Feeling more ambitious? If you've been following my blog you've no doubt seen many-a-lampshade possibilities, but how about this awesome chandelier made out of CD cases from Keetsa:


If you aren't up for doing a project yourself...

1) Put them up for free on Craigslist or Freecycle, as you may have someone in your area who has some kind of art/craft project in mind for them already!

2) Visit Earth 911, where you can look up a recycling center in your area that will take them. (Remember you can't just toss them into your regular recycling like you do with plastic bottles, etc!)

I'm sure I am just scratching the surface on ideas here, so if you have any others, feel free to share your own!

DIY Recycled Projects from Family Fun

I received a subscription to Family Fun magazine as a gift, and this latest issue had a couple great recycled projects.

The first one is a great father's day gift idea, turning an old tie into a sling for sunglasses. If Dad can't part with one of his ties (and don't use one without asking!), take a trip to the thrift store and you're sure to find a whole rack full!


Another cool recycled project in the issue is a tote bag made out of recycled plastic shopping bags:


Check out the links for step-by-step instructions!