Earth-Friendly Ideas for Crafters

April has finally arrived, which means that Earth Day is only a few weeks away. I'm starting the celebration early and sharing a few Earth-friendly ideas from my craft room. I'm a big fan of recycling and repurposing, which means I hate to throw boxes, scraps, and broken things away.

Idea #1: Upcycled Embroidery Floss Bobbins

I admit it. I often choose facial tissue by the design on the boxes. But when those pretty boxes are empty, they have to go in the recycling bin--unless I use them to make embroidery floss bobbins.

I just used a purchased bobbin as a template and traced it onto the tissue box cardboard. After cutting the bobbins out, I punched a hole punch in one end and used scissors to cut two slits in the other. I wrote the floss color number on the plain side--and I recycled the leftover scraps, of course.

Don't they look pretty all wrapped up in floss? I think I'm going to try this with greeting cards and other decorative boxes.

Idea #2: For the Birds

If you're a needleworker like me, you probably produce a lot of fabric, thread, and yarn scraps. Did you know that some backyard birds like to use these scraps when they make their nests? You can hang an onion bag or suet feeder filled with fabric and fiber scraps in a tree where birds can find them. Be sure to keep the strips and strands just a few inches long so birds can't get tangled in them. To see what bird experts have to say about providing nesting materials for birds, visit the websites of The Humane Society, National Wildlife Federation, and Bird Watcher's Digest.

Idea #3: Repurposed Teapot Yarn Bowl

If I had a green thumb, I would use this cute teapot--which never poured properly--as a planter. Since I'm much better at knitting and crocheting than I am at growing things, I rescued the teapot from the glassware graveyard and put it to work as a yarn bowl. I just placed a small ball of yarn inside, pulled the end of the yarn through the spout with a crochet hook, and started knitting. It works beautifully! I think I'm going to start looking for other misfit teapots that need some love.

Do you have any Earth-friendly crafting tips? I'd love to hear them! Please share your ideas in the comments section.

Embroidered Easter Egg Tags

I used to love decorating Easter eggs with my daughters. They're grown and gone now, so making a mess by myself just isn't as much fun. This year, I came up with a little needlework project to satisfy my Easter egg craving--and bring some much-needed spring color into the house.

These embroidered Easter egg tags can be used as Easter basket labels, ornaments, or cards. They're easy to make from scraps of pretty fabric, embroidery floss, and a few basic craft supplies.

To begin, choose a piece of fabric from your stash and a few colors of coordinating embroidery floss. Cut a 6-inch square from the fabric and iron a piece of extra-firm fusible interfacing to the back. It will stabilize the fabric and minimize fraying on the edges. Lightly trace an egg shape (mine is 3 1/4 inches tall) on the fabric and pop it in a small embroidery hoop.

Thread a large-eyed needle with four strands of floss and back-stitch over the designs on the fabric. Add French knots or other decorative stitches to create extra texture. Be sure to keep your stitching about 1/8 inch from the pencil lines that mark your egg outline.

When your embroidery is finished, cut out the egg with a sharp scissors and cut away any excess threads on the back.

Cut a tag from a piece of heavyweight colored paper and use a piece of double-stick tape to hold the embroidered egg in place on the front. Sew the egg to the tag with running stitch. Work carefully; paper is less forgiving than fabric.

After you sew the embroidered egg to the tag, cut a larger egg shape from card stock. (It should be large enough to cover the stitching on the back of the card.) Use hand-lettering or a rubber stamp to add an Easter sentiment to the paper egg, and then fasten it to the tag with double-stick tape.

Add a metal eyelet and ribbon and your tag is ready for Easter gift-giving or decorating.

Shamrock & Thistle Cross-Stitch Pins

St. Patrick's Day is just days away, so it's time to celebrate your Celtic pride. These pretty shamrock and thistle cross-stitch pins feature floral symbols and Ireland and Scotland. They use just four colors of DMC embroidery floss--209 dark lavender, 520 dark fern green, 522 fern green, and 3835 medium grape. I stitched mine on 22-count Aida fabric so they would fit inside these 43mm pin settings from the Etsy shop Kailea. If you want to cross-stitch the designs on 18- or 14-count Aida, you can mount them in different settings or make them into ornaments.

The charts for both designs are available on a free printable. Just click here to download your copy and start stitching. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

These designs were featured in the Spring 2015 issue Craft Ideas magazine.

National Craft Month Roundup

March is National Craft Month!To celebrate, I've rounded up six of my favorite spring crafts. Whether you like to work with felt and floss or paper and glue, there's a project here for you. Click on the title of the project below to visit its original blog post. Happy Crafting!

Silver Lining Sun-Catcher
This easy-to-sew sun-catcher hides a surprise. One side is a fluffy felt cloud; the other is a shiny silver lining.

Recycled Greeting Card
Use the pretty greeting cards and gift wrap you've been saving to make an all-occasion gift card.

St Patrick's Day Welcome Cards
Welcome guests to your St. Patrick's Day gathering with these pretty place cards. They're super simple to make from paper, rubber stamps, and a bit of wire.

Easter Bunny Eggs
These adorable Easter eggs use two of my favorite craft supplies--pompoms and wiggle eyes. Best of all, there's no messy dyeing involved--just a bit of paper and glue.

Garden Party Cards 
Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit tales inspired these garden party cards. The Beatrix card features paper cabbages; pea pods decorate the Peter card (not visible here).

Sweet Easter Egg Ornaments
My childhood Easter basket always included a big chocolate egg decorated with colorful icing. These felt versions use buttons and trims to mimic the real thing--and they're calorie-free!