green crafting: recycled books

Last two weeks was my summer vacation. I tried a no Internet policy and spend my time crafting and reading. I succeeded in the crafting and reading part. The best that I can say is that I have no more book reader's block! That is a big thing. For a year I just could not put myself towards reading, not even a children's book! Which is very strange for me, because I am a big fan of reading. Anyways, I managed to finish one book and start another during my vacation. And I am loving it once again.
(Did you somewhere expect a but, well, here it comes:) But I did not quite succeed in the no Interet thing. The first week went by with just two or three times checking my e-mail, but the second week I was my old Internet-addict-self again. Sorry. But there are too many great blogs out there! And so much inspiration!
With my freshly lifted book readers block, I stumbled upon this great idea for the recycling of books: the living garden of knowledge in Métis, Quebec. It is made with 40000 books, in the middle of a forest.

This inspired me to search for more great things made with recycled books. I mostly found prints and paintings on old book pages, like this one from owlstudio on Etsy:

And this faery tale one on an old dictonary page by DreameryStudio on Etsy:

Garlands are always a great thing to make with recycled paper, like this lovely garland made from an old book by bibliocide on Etsy. (You should really check out this shop if you like the recycled book/paper theme!)

But what amazed me most during my search on Etsy where the sculpures, especially this one by Kenjio:

And the best recycling idea is this last one: vintage playing blocks combined with pictures from cowboys out of an old book. This makes a great toy! These 77 cowboy blocks are hand-recycled by ownbackyard on Etsy.


Happy crafting!
Love, Inkie

Are you inspired? Please show us your creations at our Flickr group.

Do you want more green crafting? Check out my posts about recycled sweater pillows, recycled maps and recycled paper crafts.

green crafting: recycled sweater pillows

Today's post is some inspiration I used to come into the mood for te online sewing class Home Ec. This summer, I am finally going to learn to sew! That is: I am finally learning how to use my sewing machine for more than the basic straight lines and shortening of my trousers. One of the things I want to learn is sewing my own pillow cases (with zipper). I have some old clothes cut out in squares already and I am looking for some great old sweaters to use to. I was not really sure about the sweaters, till I did a little search on the internet. Recycled sweater pillows can be so beautiful! I really need a trip to the thrift store now.
Here are some of the beauties I found online (including some links to DIY's):


Sweater pillow DIY on Country Living


Sweater Cushion DIY by Refashion on Refashinoso


Flower Garden Accent Pillow by FeltSewGood on Etsy


Patchwork pet bed on Apartment therapy


Bright Tiles Pillow by lolagodiva on Etsy


Fish scale pillow by plytextiles on Etsy

Happy crafting!
Love, Inkie

Are you inspired? Please show us your creations at our Flickr group.

Do you want more green crafting? Check out my posts about recycled maps and recycled paper crafts.

green crafting: recycled maps

While cleaning my house, I found a big box filled with maps. A lot of these maps I am never going to use again, they are old or from places I probably won't visit again. But I think they will be a great addition to my craft supplies. The first thing that came to my mind was using it as stationary (as an addition to my vintage map stationary that I bought a couple of years ago). But a little search on Etsy and other places on the web gave me a lot more ideas.

What do you tink of these?

Map heart garland by lovefromchloe on Etsy

Vintage map magnet by pommesfrites on Etsy

Recycled NYC subway map by ecoist

Gift tags by Milomade

Maps & Butterflies by Image Surgery


I also found some cute DIY's:
- Map coasters
- Vintage map bangle
- Butterfly art
- Vintage map treat bag
- Map lamp

Happy crafting!
Love, Inkie

Are you inspired? Please show us your creations at our Flickr group.

Do you want more green crafting? Check out my post about recycled paper crafts.

green crafting: recycled paper crafts

Three weeks ago I showed you how you can use old magazines to bring some spring inside your house. Today I want to show you some more ways to use recycled paper for your crafts.

Garlands

There are many ways of making paper garlands, like:
-Cut out shapes and sew them together into a garland
-Use stripes of paper to make a paper chain garland

You can find some great examples here:
-Valentine garland
-Christmas garland
-Sewn recycled paper garland
-Paper chain garland
-Laura's garland

Jewelry

I found some great examples of jewelry made with or out of recycled paper. What do you think of this jewelry from recycled magazines? Or my favorite: a bangle, decorated with a vintage map?

Gift wrapping

I am not the person that has piles and piles of nice gift wrapping paper. Sometimes I buy some with a nice pattern, but most of the time I have none. So the gifts I give are usually wrapped in someting else. Magazines, paper bags, newspapers, plastic bags, even an old coloring book. I used it all. Maybe next time, I will even use some extra recycled paper to make a cute bow or flower to put on the package.

Do you want more?

What about placemats?


Wall art?


Or even yarn made from newspapers?


Happy crafting!
Love, Inkie

Are you inspired? Please show us your creations at our Flickr group.