Sisters Enqi and Xin from Singapore opened their online shop Maki Squarepatch less than a year ago and already are seeing success worldwide. No doubt it’s due to their fun, fresh and imaginative line of one-of-a-kind clothing, bags, accessories, cushions, … Read More...

Recycling artist Emily Kircher creates fabulous rugs and more from salvaged fabric. Take this adorable crocheted cupcake rug ($38), available at her Etsy store: The “cake” was made from brown corduroy dress, the frosting from a thrift store remnant and … Read More...

Craftster‘s monthly challenges are usually tons of fun for those who like to repurpose or recycle objects into crafts. This month’s challenge is no different: Total Board Game Revamp. Your challenge is to take an old board game … Read More...

I first learned about Rosie’s Place a few years ago when I purchased a couple of vintage button bookmarks from J. Jill as gifts. Rosie’s Place, based in Boston, is a sanctuary for poor and homeless women, and the Women’s … Read More...

A banner ad on Craftster prompted me to take my first in-depth look at the book The Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty, and Kitschy Crafts, published in 2006 by Leah Kramer, founder of Craftster.

The book is packed with … Read More...

Love to organize? Would you love to become organized? Christy Petterson at getcrafty.com transformed a hand-me-down Rolodex into a craft organizer. She’s especially fond of dyeing fabric and making jewelry, and she finds that she can keep track of tiny … Read More...

This weekend isn’t yet over, but it’s not too early to start planning for the next, which should be a good one for anyone in the Boston area: It’s the first-ever Recraft Fair, which features an afternoon of recycled craft … Read More...

Make schoolwork a bit more exciting by studying with Cap’n Crunch, Count Chocula or (shown) Toucan Sam! Etsy member Nature Made Scents has created a few fun notebooks using cereal boxes as covers. How about using Alpha-Bits for English class? … Read More...

Leslie Herger of Comfortable Shoes Studio upcycles colorful and funky vinyl signs into one-of-a-kind covers for her delightful — and very reasonably priced — handmade jotter notebooks. She gets her sign vinyl from a grocery store chain where she works … Read More...

Interior designers and architects receive a fair share of carpet samples and then discard them the next year when they receive the latest-and-greatest shipment of samples from the same carpet manufacturers. This year the Ample Sample Design Contest challenged designers … Read More...

The online shop Bright and Bold, which offers mostly modish home décor accessories and other fun things you didn’t know you needed, offers this set of reusable wine cork placecard holders. Based on the pristine appearance of these … Read More...

Just when I thought there was nothing more striking than a brand-new box of crayons, in walks these recycled crayon beauties I found at starkeyfeather’s etsy shop. They’re made from melting down the leftover little nubs that are typically banished … Read More...

Grab some inspiration at (or bring a well-funded checkbook to) [tag]SILHO Furniture[/tag] from [tag]mobile[/tag] artist Kevin Inkawhich, who uses [tag]eucalyptus[/tag], tulip petals, gaultheria leaves, pine cones and more to create abstract hanging mobiles. Shown is a detail of his Eucalyptus … Read More...

Artist Debra Dresler, owner of Stroke of Art, is known for creating jewelry, cuff links and watches from recycled objects that reflect the personality of the wearer. Vintage typewriter keys, antique dominoes, used puppy dog tags, vintage tape measures … Read More...

Yesterday I pointed you to a [tag]Craftster[/tag] tutorial on making [tag]Tyvek[/tag]-like fabric from used plastic shopping bags. Craftster once again makes the news today with another shopping bag-related craft in this month’s [tag]craft challenge[/tag]: [tag]Reusable Shopping Bag[/tag] Challenge. Leah, … Read More...

Hop on over to [tag]Craftster[/tag] and take a look at jamiewatchthestars’ detailed tutorial of transforming plastic shopping bags into durable, sewable, waterproof fabric with tons of character. After fusing the bags with an iron, the “fabric” mimics [tag]Tyvek[/tag] (used in … Read More...

Artist [tag]James McNulty[/tag] does some amazing things with the most under-appreciated part of fireworks: the packaging. He mixes and matches kitschy illustrations with Chinese characters with over-the-top names of fireworks to create colorful [tag]collage[/tag]s. If you live in the U.S., … Read More...