Got an old pair of jeans that don’t fit any more? Why not make them into a brand new bag. It’s fun, easy & a great way to upcycle durable fabric like denim. Here’s how to do it…

Thanks to se7en for sharing their awesome eco-crafts with us.

Here is a really cool craft project that recycles old glass bottles from beer or soda and turns them into new trendy drinking glasses.

The project isn’t that difficult, but it does requires some precision & a few tools you most likely don’t have around the house.

Tools

• Glass cutting wheel
• Bottle cutting jig
• Small butane torch
• “Lazy Susan” or other rotating platform
• Scrap of plate glass at least 8×8″

Materials

• A suitable glass bottle to cut
• 400 grit silicon carbide wet/dry sandpaper
• Bulk silicon carbide grit (at least 80 mesh)
• Tap water
• Oil for glass cutting wheel

Step 1: Select a bottle

Step 2: Score the bottle
After choosing your bottle, the next step is to score the glass for cutting. This is where a bottle cutting jig comes in handy. Essentially you will roll the bottle in the jig creating a scoreline.

Step 3: Apply heat
Once you’ve made a scoreline, position the bottle on a Lazy Susan and apply heat using a small butane torch. Set the torch slightly above the scoreline and rotate the Lazy Susan with your free hand. You will hear click and pops as the glass literally breaks. Go slow, be patient and be careful. You should be wearing your safety goggles at this point.

Step 4: Polish the edge
Now that you’ve cut the bottle, you’ll want to polish the edge. This is called “lapping.” Drop a pinch of grit on a piece of glass or even a mirror and lightly wet it using a spray bottle. Then, with the bottom of the bottle facing up, make a figure-eight motion in the grit. This can be sensitive to the ears, like nails on a chalkboard, so you may want to wear have earplugs or play loud, heavy metal music.

Step 5: Round over the corners
Finally, it’s time to round the corners. This is done simply by rubbing your silicon carbide sandpaper along the edges. Do this gently and carefully, until you can smoothly run your fingers around the edge.

The tools that are involved are an investment, but once you get the hang of it I’m sure you’ll think of lots of uses to up-cycle all those old bottles into beautiful new creations.

A special thanks to Make Magazine & Apartment Therapy for the detailed how to guide.

This Valentine’s Day instead of buying fresh cut flowers that only last a few days and are totally full of pesticide toxins -  Make your sweetie flowers that are eco-friendly because they are made from some extra scrap fabric and will last for years. Here is a great how-to guide by Becky Striepe over at Green Upgrader.

What you’ll need:

• A few pieces of long fabric scraps
• floral wire
• pinking shears
• felt
• needle
• thread
• fabric glue
• A couple of vintage buttons

How to make it:

To get started, use your pinking shears to cut your scraps into strips that are about an inch wide and four to eight inches long. There are two ways you can put these little guys together, depending on the size of your scraps. Either fold the scraps in half and layer them loop-side out, or cut longer scraps, and fold the ends into the center. Either way, you end up with a similar result which you’ll secure into place with a straight pin:

I opted to bunch some tulle scraps that I had behind the first flower and use the same tulle gathered on top of the second one. I think it makes it feel a little more romantic, but it’s totally optional.

Now sew a few stitches through the center, being careful to trap all of the fabric. Once everything is secure, you can remove the pin and sew a button onto the front!

You’re almost done! Grab that piece of floral wire, fold it in half off center, and make a 1″ loop on each of the ends. Now, cut yourself a couple of small pieces of felt, maybe around 1.5″ square, and apply a generous amount of fabric glue. Your goal here is to sandwich the loop of wire between the back of the flower and the felt. Once the glue dries, it will also make your flower’s head a little more sturdy without adding too much weight:

The glue will probably need to set overnight to dry completely. Once it’s dry, you have a couple of options! I dug out a vintage wooden spool of thread and used that as my “vase.” You could also put your bouquet into a small pot or vintage teacup full of rocks or marbles. If you want to treat it more like a traditional bouquet, you can wrap the base in some pretty ribbon, and secure it with a decorative straight pin!

A BIG thanks to Becky Striepe over at Green Upgrader for sharing her awesome eco-friendly flowers with us!

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. This year make your sweetheart a pop up Valentine’s Day card from old magazines & cardboard. Here is a great video tutorial for making your own Valentine’s Day card.

Ok – so there are a couple of supplies in the video that need a little greening up to make this a really eco-friendly craft. First, it looks like she’s got a brand new envelope, but I’m sure you could round up a used one or otherwise, any light, scrap cardboard like cereal boxes, beer boxes, or frozen food containers.

Also, I’m not a big fan of spray adhesives. You might use a glue stick, or a more eco-friendly product like Ecoglue.

If you don’t have any magazines lying around, get creative…you can really use anything like old posters, books or even junk mail.

Show your love this year to all your friends & family with this DIY Valentine’s Day Pop Up Card…They’ll love it!

Are your pencils & crayons becoming disorganized? Do you have too many wood logs laying around? Then it’s time to make this handy dandy natural pencil & crayon caddy.

It’s easy! Just saw down some logs to your desired height & use a power drill with the bit marked for depth by wrapping it with masking tape.

Got old books? Yeah, who doesn’t.
The question should be…What do we do with all of our old books?

Well besides donating them to a school, or library, or a used book store, how about making yourself a purse. Chrisjob over at Curbly.com created one & put together this great video tutorial for turning your own book into a super eco purse!

Not sure how to reuse those odds & ends around the house? How about turning them into fun toys for your feline friend.

Here are 5 ways to reuse everyday household items and turn them into cat toys.

1- Turn an old sock & some string into a mouse. Simply cut the sock in half, sew it up in a mouse shape, and leave a small opening. Stuff the half of sock you cut off into the other half that has been sewn, and attach the string tail with a few more stitches, and voila…you got a sock mouse.

2- Old shoelaces – especially the rawhide ones – make for hours of kitty fun. You can also tie them to a plastic wiffle ball and tie the other end to a doorknob, if you’re lazy.

3- If you buy milk with a plastic cap, remove the circle of plastic that attaches the cap to the bottle, toss it onto the floor, and watch your cats explode with happiness. (It’s the cheapest toys that provide the most entertainment value…)

4- If that throw rug gets old and ratty, or you get your carpets replaced, cut up some scraps and staple them with a staple gun to an old wooden board & Bingo you got an instant scratching post.

5- An old box or paper bag can be a great hideout for all kitty cats.

Artists and crafters have always been recyclers, but for many, it has not only become a thrifty choice, it has become a moral imperative. 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse contains a cutting edge collection of the most inventive work being made with re-used, upcycled, and already existing materials. The work in this book ranges from clever and humble personal accessories to unique and important large-scale works of art, including paper art, fashion, jewelry, housewares, interiors, and installations.

Buy Now for only $16.50!

About the Author
Garth Johnson is a studio artist, writer and educator who lives in Eureka, California. In addition to maintaining the website “Exteme Craft” (www.extremecraft.com) Garth writes for CRAFT magazine and his writing has been featured in museum catalogs, magazines, and books worldwide, including a contribution to the upcoming book Handmade Nation from Princeton Architectural Press. His first DVD, ReVision: Recycled Crafts for Earth-Friendly Living will be released by Eyekiss Films later this year. His artwork was featured in a solo show at Gallerie Maxim in Cologne, Germany in August, 2008. Garth received a BFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an MFA from Alfred University. He has taught at Georgia State University, Columbus State University and is currently a full-time instructor at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, CA. In addition to teaching, he is a sought-after lecturer and visiting artist, with recent lectures at Ohio State University, Illinois State University, and the Kansas City Art Institute.

New Year’s Eve is all about making the most noise at midnight. This year do it in Eco-Style with these DIY recycled water bottle noise makers. They are really easy & a fun project to do with the kids.

What you’ll need:

How to make it:

Green Tip:

• Save tissue paper & crepe paper from birthday parties to use in projects such as these.

Keep the Holiday expenses to a minimum this year & make your Christmas ornaments from scratch.

Just make, bake, & decorate. These ornaments are super eco-friendly, fun craft project for the kids, and can be reused year after year.