Creativebug As artists and creatives, we constantly collect materials and supplies. Many of our projects also leave piles of scraps and leftovers, whether bits of paper, fabric, thread or string. We cannot deny that the art/craft industry has its own environmental impact. It is more important than ever for us to consider our part in that process. To inspire a more sustainable crafting practice, we’ve outlined three easy, eco-friendly ways to reimagine and source some of your materials plus 32 projects to try.
Use Sustainable Materials from Your Recycling Bin
Your recycling bin is a treasure trove of raw materials for amazing crafts, from bookmaking to paper maché to even knitting or crocheting.
- Newspapers, magazines, used envelopes – Bel Mills of Scrap Paper Circus is a book artist, mail artist, and avid upcycler. She loves creating one-of-a-kind, bespoke journals and artist books out of salvaged paper. Bel will teach you how to make a paper wallet out of envelopes, a pop-up greeting card with found papers, or a tiny art book using canceled postage or small ephemera. Your junk mail might also end up in your Magpie Sketchbook. Rebecca Ringquist encourages layered and intricate experimentation with all the paper bits and bobs you’ve collected.
- Cardboard & paper bags – Illustrator and toy creator Suzy Ultman teaches a series of classes called Sustainable Play, focusing on kid-friendly upcycled projects. Make a cardboard doll house complete with wallpaper and tiny paper accessories, or make paper bag costumes for everyday play. Printmaker Sarah Matthews uses cardboard and household items to create collagraphs. Collagraphs are prints made with plates you assemble by gluing materials like cardboard shapes to a solid backing. You can also explore the magical world of paper maché. With cardboard, paper, and paper maché paste, Corrie Beth Hogg makes gorgeous, decorative vases and trays. Creativebug’s Creative Director Katrina Wheeler creates charming animal masks.
- Tetra Paks – Don’t throw away that Tetra Pak packaging. Creativebug’s Editor in Chief Courtney Cerruti shows you how to turn Tetra Paks into accessible printmaking plates that yield beautiful results.
- Plastic bags – Turn plastic bags into plarn or plastic yarn with Faith Hale. You can make a bigger and stronger bag, or storage baskets, or even something fun with macramé.
Save Scraps from Old Projects to Start New Projects
The next time you’re making something, save your scraps in bags, jars, or baskets. They can become the raw materials for future projects. Plus, they might even prompt you to look at your materials differently and to try something new.
- Fabric scraps – Use even your tiniest fabric scraps to create a new sheet of fabric and make patchwork-like ornaments of any shape. Try some scrappy improvisational quilting with Sherri Lynn Wood or paper-piecing with scraps to make the Polk quilt block with Carolyn Friedlander. For bigger fabric leftovers like old bedsheets or tshirts, designer and teacher Cal Patch demonstrates how to crochet a classic rag rug.
- Yarn scraps – Turn simple pieces of yarn into a colorful yarn banner. If your scraps are really small, you could make a dollhouse-sized banner or even use embroidery or sewing thread scraps. A super intuitive use for your yarn scraps is stuffing for amigurumi which are crocheted or knitted toys. Did you know that you could stitch small pieces of yarn to greeting cards to make unique designs? You can also use all sorts of tiny scraps of thread, yarn, or fabric in your quilting and embroidery projects. Check out a delightful and dimensional technique called trapunto on Day 26 of quilter Heidi Parkes’ class Story Quilt Top: A Daily Practice in Hand Stitching.
- Paper scraps – All of your various paper bits could be part of your next collage. Artist Erin Mcluskey Wheeler explores the work of 15 Women Women Artists that inspire different collage prompts to develop your own collage style.
Adventure Outside for Sustainable Crafting Materials
Keep your eyes open when you’re outside. Flowers, leaves, rocks, and even dirt can find their way into sustainable crafting. Found objects – like old toys or bits of plastic or wood – can be a special and unusual material.
- Botanicals – Gather flowers and leaves to play with flower pounding. You’ll need fresh botanicals to leave beautiful marks on paper. Eco printing on fabric with flowers, leaves, and even vegetable peels can produce surprising and colorful impressions. With Model Magic, blooms, and greens, you can make delightful botanical monoprints. Embroidery artist Anna Hultin uses pressed flowers in her embroidery to create stunning and delicate floral studies.
- Rocks & dirt – Rocks make fabulous small canvases for various media like painting and even crochet. On Day 9 of Hand-Stitched Sampler Books, Jody Alexander shows you how to turn dirt into a natural paint.
- Found objects – Abby Houston guides you through creating an assemblage in her class Little Artists: A Course for Parent and Child, but this is fun project for any age.