Guess who is the Spotlight Blogger on BlogHer Green today? Yep, that would be moi! (insert cheesy excited grin here) Heather Clisby featured my post on Upcycled Blogger Business Cards from a few days ago. It was a part of my July Upcycled Crafting Challenge (#freefromtrash). Thank you Heather and BlogHer Green for sharing my post. If you are a new reader and found me via BlogHer today thanks for visiting! Be sure to check out some of my other posts about eco-crafting, natural parenting and my favorite topic - cloth diapers. Are you headed to BlogHer '12 in a few days? Be sure to find me and tap me on the shoulder to say 'Hi!' Tweet me @TheEcoChic too. If you're lucky you might get one of my cardboard blogger business cards. ... [ Read More ]
How to Upcycle a Pet Food Bag to a Cosmetic Bag
What do you do with your empty dog food bags? You can't really recycle them (bummer) so ours usually end up in the landfill. I remember a post by Beth Terry (My Plastic-Free Life) once where she had suggested using them as your garbage bags (I always forget to do this). You can also sew with them. They are made with a really sturdy water-proof material that is perfect for cosmetic bags, water bowls, and even a shopping bag. A regular needle worked fine on the material. Supplies: 1 empty pet food bag 1 zipper sewing machine matching thread Directions: Cut 2 pieces 10.5" X 9" in size. Sew the zipper to the underside of each piece. Unzip the zipper part way before you begin sewing the rest of the bag (right sides together). Sew down the other 3 sized to close the bag. Trim the corners and edges. Flip so the right sides of the bag are now on the outside. Note: You could create this project at any size, just buy the appropriate sized zipper. It would ... [ Read More ]
Upcycled Cardboard Blogger Business Cards
Are you a blogger and need some business cards that will stand out from the rest? PR agencies and businesses get thousands (if you're going to BlogHer '12, 4,500+ attendees) of cards. How do you make your card stand out from the rest? Being an eco-friendly "Green" blogger I've always struggled with business cards because they really waste a lot of natural resources and most people only need them for a short period of time. I have an entire box of business cards that I had made in 2010 with my sponsors names on the back. Kind of hard to reuse when it says "My 2010 Sponsors are..." This year I will have a mixed batch of cards. I still have about 20-30 square blogger business cards left from 2011 that I will use up. I also have my 2010 cards that I will apply address labels over the 2010 sponsor information on the back. Finally I have a batch of upcycled cardboard blogger business cards that I made from some used cardboard boxes. Directions: Cut cardboard to desired size ... [ Read More ]
Upcycled Sweater Boot Socks or Leg Warmers
Do you have any old sweaters in you closet that you know you'll never wear again? I have a few that I love the colors and textures of but hate the way they fit. The hot trend last fall was to make boot socks and leg warmers from old sweaters. The project is incredible easy and even a novice seamstress like myself can complete it in about 15 minutes. Directions: Cut the sleeves off of the sweater as close to the top as you can. Pin and sew a 1/2" hem around the cut edge. That's it! This sweater was tapered at the wrist so I had to slit the sleeve at that end. I sewed a straight stitch to keep it from unraveling. This would be a fun project for kids sweaters too! I think I'm going to have to make Lil' B her own pair for Fall. Note: This entire post was done from my iPhone, even the photographs!