Healthy and Green Living » Crafts & Hobbies

Make Your Halloween Safer with DIY Luminaries

Ronnie Citron-Fink — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:05:21 +0000

Here�s the good news: Halloween is fun for kids. Most of the Halloween fun happens when the sun goes down. Here�s the bad news: Halloween can be dangerous to children. A study from the Center of Disease Control found that Halloween poses special risks to children as they engage in door [...]

How to Preserve the Colors of Fall Foliage

Annie B. Bond — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:00:41 +0000

I saw the most beautiful peach-red leaf today, one of the most beautiful fall foliage colors I have ever seen. This is a leaf I want to keep!

Crafty Garden: Grow Your Own Crafting Supplies

Megan, selected from Green Options — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:01:46 +0000

I like my garden to be pretty, sure. But as busy as I am, I also need it to multitask for me. My recently-planted, multitasking garden has speckled cranberry, kale, and carrots (to eat), sunflowers (to hold up the cranberry and look nice), and lilac (to look pretty and smell nice). It also has many of [...]

Dumpster Diving Decorating: Green or Gross?

Ronnie Citron-Fink — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:59:54 +0000

A few years ago I was perusing a tile store looking for tiles for a DIY mosaic project and asked the tile salesman if he had any chipped or broken tile for my project. He pointed toward the direction of the dumpster out back. At first, I was put off by the idea [...]

Garden Party: Win Three Books!

Melissa Breyer — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:03:03 +0000

Do you make lovely gifts from the bounty of your garden? If you have ideas to share, the August monthly contest at The Oldest, Largest Garden Party in America’s History is up and running–this month’s theme: The Best Ideas for Giving Gifts from The Garden. If you haven’t read about the Garden Party, it is [...]

10 Ways to Reuse Old Books

Megan, selected from Green Options — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:23:48 +0000

Obviously collector books, quality library books and books we just plain love get pampered and kept on our shelves and tables. But what about the rest? Obsolete manuals, damaged books, those which have only kind-of survived the toddler years… where do they go, what do they become?Here are some great ideas I found for turning [...]

DIY Cranes for Cancer Research

Ronnie Citron-Fink — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:13:32 +0000

DIY Crane Chandelier Project While I was digging around in the wedding websites for my green wedding articles, I stumbled across the Toronto based The Wedding Co. They have organized a worldwide DIY project called, The Crane Chandelier for cancer research. The Wedding Co. is building a chandelier from origami cranes signed by brides and grooms [...]

Handmade Summer Luminaria

Annie B. Bond — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:05:22 +0000

Most of us just love sitting outside on a summer evening watching dusk turn to dark, fireflies winking on and off as we eat a late supper under the stars. After Annie was invited to a party where hundreds of handmade luminaria added magical light to the scene, she learned how to make them herself. Now you too can make these lovely little glowing lanterns that echo stars and fireflies.

Upcycling: DIY Wine Cork Trivet

Ronnie Citron-Fink — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:03:42 +0000

The latest buzzword in the green world is “upcycling.” DIYers take aim and curtail the amount of garbage dumped into their landfills by repurposing and upcycling. By giving a new purpose and value to an old item, the cycle of its life continues. William McDonough and Michael Braungart, in their groundbreaking book, Cradle to Cradle: [...]

DIY Paper Bowl

Veronica Peterson — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:17:32 +0000

By Jessica Jones, How About Orange A little decoupaged bowl made out of songbook pages I found in the dumpster. Here’s the how-to. 1. Get some paper (newspaper, scrap paper, packing paper, anything that’s on the thinner side), Mod Podge or PVA glue, a bowl with a smooth bottom that will be your mold, and either plastic [...]