paper crafts | Indoor Air Quality Lab

Spotted: DIY Easter Basket from an Old Paper Grocery Bag share

Want an alternative to a store-bought, plastic Easter basket? Here's a simple way to make your own using an old paper grocery bag.

Lia Griffith uses a simple paper weaving technique to make an upcycled DIY Easter basket from a paper bag. Pretty much any brown craft paper will do the trick. If you order anything on Amazon, that brown packing paper that they use would also work well for this project.

Combine this cute, upcycled Easter basket with some home-grown Easter grass, and you're on the way to a low-impact Easter that saves money and natural resources!

It only takes a few simple craft supplies to make your own DIY Easter basket, and I bet you have all of them in your stash right now.

Tools & Supplies:

a brown paper bag or other large pieces of brown craft paper
pencil
ruler
scissors
hot glue gun
clothespins
ribbon, for embellishment (optional)

Ready to make your own paper Easter basket? Click here for the tutorial!

Posted: | Categories: Craft Recycled, DIY, DIY Easter basket, easter, Easter crafts, grocery bag crafts, paper crafts, upcycling

Jul

Spotted: DIY Fruit Basket Made from Grocery Bags share

These sweet fruit baskets are made from reclaimed paper grocery bags!

As much as I'd like to say that I always bring reusable bags to the store, sometimes I slip up. Other times, I bring one bag because I think I'm going to just grab a few essentials but end up with a cart full of groceries. Next time you have to take a single-use bag at the store, don't fret. Ask for paper, and head home to get crafty!

Do you remember doing old-school paper weaving when you were a kid? Crafter Lia Griffith uses that same technique to create these cute berry serving baskets. I love the simplicity of this project and that you probably have all of the materials that you need to create it right in your house!

To make your own DIY fruit basket, you'll need:

an old grocery bag
ruler
pen or pencil
scissors
clothes pin
hot glue gun

Lia has a beautiful photo tutorial showing you how to weave this basket together. Click here to check it out!

Posted: | Categories: Craft Recycled, crafty reuse, creative reuse, DIY, DIY fruit basket, grocery bag crafts, paper crafts, reuse, upcycling

Jun

Spotted: DIY Bling from Old Magazines! share

Can you believe that this beautiful costume jewelry is made from upcycled magazine pages?

Crafty superstar Mark Montano shared a super awesome video tutorial on how to make your very own 80s-inspired upcycled jewelry from old magazine or catalog pages. You need a few simple jewelry supplies to make your own, so check the materials list below before you get started!

This tutorial makes a whole set of DIY jewelery. To make the complete set, you'll need:

an old magazine or catalog and scissors to cut it up
needle nose pliers
spray paint - spray paint can be nasty stuff, but you can choose Krylon H2o, which is a little bit better. I couldn't find the H2O in gold, but I think that white would look really nice, and still keep that 80s feel.
flat-backed beads - Dont' want to buy new? Salvage these from thrift store jewelry!
E-6000 - this glue is far from green, but it is durable, which means your finished product will last.
earring backings, ring findings, and a blank metal cuff - you can salvage these from thrifted jewelry, too!
white glue