Upcycled Crafting: Final Sales

Every Thursday for the entire month of March we have celebrated National Craft Month by featuring upcycled craft supplies available on Etsy.  Each week we have discussed fifteen different shops that have offered our readers EXCLUSIVE SALES in honor of this crafty month. 

Here is our final three featured shops and their awesome coupons!!!

rope

Anna, from rope, collects beautiful vintage fabrics and other supplies in her unique Etsy shop.  Finds like this yard of Daisy Blue fabric! 

Or this collection of vintage fabric pieces perfect for your next upcycled project!

And how cool are these vintage zippers? Most still in their original packaging!

rope SALE:

Enter coupon code UPCYCLE at checkout for 20% off your vintage supply order! This offer is good for this month only! Follow Anna and her creative adventures on her blog, Lasso the Moon!

Our second shop...

Girl A Go-Go Designs

Robyn from Girl A Go-Go Designs makes some amazing DIY DOLLS from recycled materials. (I should know I bought one this month).  Let your children, grandchildren and friends get creative with these handmade dolls that inspire imagination!

Colour Your Own Doll (Bunny)

Colour Your Own Doll (Mermaid)

Colour Your Own Doll (boy)

GIRL A GOGO DESIGNS SALE:

Enter coupon code FIFTEEN at checkout for 15% off your DIY supply order! This offer is good for this month only!  Follow this creative shop on Facebook as well!

Our third shop...

ITSYOURCOUNTRY

This shop is full of a variety of original designs, many which are created in whole or part from repurposed, upcycled vintage linens, cutter quilts, feed sacks, paper ephemera materials and other findings. 

Check out the unique handmade Cutter Quilt Appliques!

Folk Art Crowing Rooster

Shabby Vintage Tulips

Handmade Heart Embellishments

ITSYOURCOUNTRY SALE:

Enter coupon code LUVCRAFTING10 at checkout for 10% off your supply order! This offer is good for this month only!  Check out their Sewing N Craft Supplies section for more supplies, AND check out their newly opened shop, ITSYOURCOUNTRYSPIRIT, featuring upcycled eco refashioned!

We hope you enjoy these unique upcycled crafters and their special sales! Hurry and check out ALL our featured SALES in honor of National Craft Month HERE!!! Just one more week of upcycled savings!

Happy Crafting!

Bee
The Wooden Bee
www.thewoodenbee.com

Wasteless Wednesday~ 7 Bright Green Sites!

This Wasteless Wednesday we are sharing seven sites that focus on not only wasting less, but all sorts of ways to live greener, simpler and eco-friendlier! Here are some of their pertinent articles of late~

1. GOOD features several categories, one of which is 'Environment'. Last summer, they proposed 'The Good 30-Day Challenge: Waste Less'~

2. Small Notebook for a simple home is a blog that offers tips to "simplify your home, your finances, your family life and your time." Here's one that helps you and your kids to simplify their toys! 

3. Prairie EcoThrifter encourages you to 'Go Green'~ 'Save Money'~ 'Have Fun' and they recently offered Tips for Wasting Less Food!

4. Green Living Tips has lots of tips on living greener~ here's ways to make less NOISE! 

5. National Geographic has a lot invested in keeping us greener! They've been sharing their vision of our planet since 1888! They also offer a huge selection of articles on their website devoted to wasting less and saving more! Spring is here and they have some 'Organic Pest Control' for your garden~

6. The Daily Green, sponsored by Good Housekeeping, has several categories to choose from for green living~ They also have "10 Idiot-Proof Eco-Tips" for Earth Day!

7. And CARE 2 wants us to Waste Less but learn these "5 Ways to Increase Water and Food Security"~ 

So there you go~ Take action and start clicking! I promise you'll find way more than a week's worth of tips on these sites, but try to at least check out one each day this week! And, of course, try to Waste Less!

See you next Wasteless Wednesday!

Weekly Giveaway~ Handmaiden Canada!

March is winding down and so is National Craft Month! We've enjoyed this month's features and sales and hate to see it end, but don't let it stop you from enjoying the art of Crafting and all of our wonderful Upcyclers! This week we're featuring one of the original members of our team~ Becky! She is the creator of Handmaiden Canada~ and her beautifully crafted "Luvkins" are just one of the many items she sells on Etsy! She also creates plush upcycled toys like this one she is giving away to one of our lucky readers~

Adorable and perfect for the Spring season and especially Easter~ You can just imagine how excited a little one would be to receive this bunny to love! And I know the winner of last week's giveaway will be just as excited to receive their Pwark Monster Doll, too! We had lots of entries and everyone had a favorite Pwark, I wish we could have given one to all of you, but only Sarah, author of a wonderful blog, Journeys of the Zoo, will be giving the Pwark we gaveaway a new home! Our thanks to all who entered and especially to Tiwi from Pwarkland for sponsoring the giveaway!

Sometimes life throws us curves that turn our lives to a new direction, that was the case for Becky! She turned her husband's illness into an opportunity to help support her family but still stay home. That's the beauty of crafting and online selling venues like Etsy!

Coming from a family of artisans and craftsman, Becky had the skills necessary to find her "brand"~ she had learned early on the importance of reusing and upcycling the materials you have on hand and to approach her craft in an organic method. Handmaiden Canada evolved from knitted and felted wool bags to products upcycled from wool felted sweaters, then Becky discovered 'Waldorf Dolls'! For those of you (like me) who aren't familiar with the term Waldorf Doll, Wikipedia explains it like this:

A Waldorf doll (also called Steiner doll) is a form of doll used in Waldorf education. Made of wool and cotton, using techniques drawing on traditional European dollmaking, its appearance is intentionally simple in order to allow the child playing with it to improve or strengthen imagination and creativity. For instance, it has no facial expression. Its legs and arms are flexible, allowing natural postures.

Traditional Waldorf dolls are made from cotton interlock knit fabric and wool stuffing. They are often entirely natural. Typically the trademark long hair of a Waldorf doll is made of mohair or boucle. Some doll makers use alternative hair material such as wool, rayon, and cotton. The facial features of a Waldorf doll vary with the maker. Most Waldorf dolls have small suggestions of noses, their eye and mouth colors are generally varied with each doll.

Luvkin Waldorf Doll from Handmaiden Canada

Becky has always loved dolls, so this turned out to be the perfect fit for her~ and for her family! Handmaiden Canada has become a family business, with each member of Becky's family finding their niche in the creative and marketing process. She has truly continued a tradition from her childhood!

Tessa~ 12 inch Luvkin by Handmaiden Canada

You can find adorable "Handmaiden" clothing and accessories for the dolls in Becky's shop!

Rainbow Sweater for 15" Waldorf Doll

Rustic Twig Bed for Waldorf Doll

You'll also find lots of other wonderful heirloom quality treasures in Becky's shop! She creates upcycled plushies (like the one she is giving away), children's clothing, knitted hats, sweaters and ponchos and she still creates her felted wool bags!

Baby Fringed Poncho

Pink Felted Wool Purse

Upcycled Wool and Cotton Red Dress

You get a glimpse of the idyllic setting of Becky's home in the "backwoods" of the Ottawa Valley, where she lives with her husband and nine children (yes, I said nine!) No wonder she says she never runs short of beautiful models for her products!

So now I know after getting to know more about Handmaiden Canada, I know you can't wait to check out Becky's shop! And you can do that as one of your entries!

But first, be sure you are a follower of this blog! Then choose from 4 of the 5 methods to enter listed below. Remember, only four entries count and each one must be left in a separate comment! Be sure to leave your email address in one of the entries so we can contact you if you win~ we won't email you otherwise, we promise!

1. Browse and favorite Handmaiden Canada on Etsy, then tell us here which item is your favorite!

2. Become a fan of Handmaiden Canada on Facebook or Follow Handmaiden Canada on Twitter!

3. Follow Becky's blog~ Heartfelt Mama!

4. Follow Becky's boards on Pinterest and pin one of her Luvkins!

5. Tweet or Share this Giveaway with your fans, friends or followers!

That's it! Don't forget~ only four entries count! Deadline to enter is Midnight, April 1st (Don't be a "fool" and miss it, lol!)

Good Luck!

Want to be featured like this? Sponsor a Giveaway! Just send an email to Teamupcyclers@gmail.com for details!

Sustainable Sundays: Jewelry

Each Sunday we search and highlight upcycled creations made from over 1,900 sustainable shops on our Upcyclers Etsy Team!

This Sunday we decided to feature a few sustainable jewelry shops:

Love Scrabble Tile Necklace Pendant

by k5art

Vintage Wooden Spool Necklaces with Poetry and Charm 

by artagain

Reused Wood Earrings

by CHunksOWOod

You can find more sustainable jewelry creations on Etsy by searching: teamupcyclers jewelry when shopping.

Since I quoted my favorite author, Mark Twain, in last Sunday's Spring themed post, I thought I would this week as well... ;)

Let us not be too particular. It is better to have old second-hand diamonds than none at all. ~Mark Twain

Happy Sunday!

Bee
The Wooden Bee
www.thewoodenbee.etsy.com

Love 2 DIY on the Weekend~ Get Crafty!

As part of our ongoing celebration of National Craft Month, I thought it was a great time to bring back one of our popular features~ Love 2 DIY on the Weekend! Here are a few links to some great ways to get crafty!


Do It Yourself Yarn Craft Ideas!

101 Easter Craft Ideas from Everything Etsy!

Onion Dyed Easter Eggs!

Potato Stamped T-Shirt!

And don't forget to check out the tutorials on our page:
Blogs 2 Love for even more ways to Get Crafty!

Upcycled Crafting: part 4 of 5

Did you know that March 2012 is National Craft Month? YES! Because I've been telling you every Thursday all month long.

Team Upcyclers has been celebrating the wonderful world of crafting by bringing you an entire month of Upcycled Craft Supplies! Each Thursday we've highlighted our Etsy shops that provide UPCYCLED crafting supplies.

The best part, each featured shop is providing our readers with... exclusive SALES and coupons!!!

Here are this week's THREE upcycled handmade crafters and their awesome coupons!

Beth Martin, owner of Beach Glass Shop, spends her summer months walking the beaches of Lake Erie looking for beach glass, porcelain and other shoreline findings! These upcycled pieces become fabulous beach glass jewelry, lamps, trays and anything else her imagination conjures up. She loves inspiring creativity in customers by offering Seaside Supplies in her Etsy shop as well.

Like this icy white Sea Glass with top drilled hole! 

And how unique are these Fillable Glass Bottle Vials!? I can already see sand, stones, or a message inside, making an adorable pendant!

I love these simple Lake Erie stones!

Beach Glass Shop SALE:

Enter coupon code FAVFRIENDS at checkout for 20% off your supply order! Plus, FREE shipping inside the United States!  This exclusive offer is good for this month only!  Follow Beth on her blog, and see what she is creating in her beach cave!

Next up...

"My hope is that leftovers and discarded items available through my Etsy shop can find a new purpose!"

~Sandy, Altered Inspirations

This is such a neat shop with so many different supplies! I love Sandy's tag line

Altered Art Mixed Media Supplies Vintage Whatnot

That fits this upcycled shop perfectly!

Check out Sandy's Repurposed Collage Kits for a little crafting inspiration!

And how cool are these Vintage Crayons!?

I could definitely use some of this eco-friendly natural Jute Twine for my next gift tag project!

Altered Inspirations SALE:

Enter coupon code MARCH2012 at checkout for 10% off your supply order! This exclusive offer is good for this month only! Follow Altered Inspirations on Facebook!

Last but not least...

Melissa from Mello Stuff is truly committed to upcycling! Her unique shop is full of repurposed creations. Melissa is offering us a coupon on any of her Detash Supplies! 

Mello Stuff SALE:

First check out all of her detash beads, and then contact Melissa for $3.00 off a set of your choice! This exclusive offer is good for this month only! Hurry though, supplies won't last!

We hope you enjoy these unique upcycled crafters and their special sales! Check out ALL our team's craft SALES in honor of National Craft Month HERE!

Happy Upcycled Crafting!

Bee
The Wooden Bee
www.thewoodenbee.com

Wasteless Wednesday~ Contain It!

This week we'll show you seven ways to reinvent a container! Beverages are one of the most consumed and waste producers on the market today~ but Upcyclers find a way to "contain" the container problem everyday! Innovative, imaginative and practical, these products are becoming more and more mainstream and aesthetically popular. We are proud to be part of the movement to reduce the content of landfills and offer quality products that fill the needs of today's consumers. What goes around is coming around!

1. Wine bottle necks become:

Dessin Creations

2. Wine Bottle Bottoms become:

Glass Galore Gal

3. Wine Bottles become:

Le Couteur Art

4. Wine Caps become:

Eco Imbiber

5. Bottle Caps become:

Eileena Jewelry Studio

And: 

Pir8te

6. Soda Cans become:

Sparkly Trash

And:

East Street Tins

 And not the last, we hope, and certainly not the least!

7. Plastic Bottles become:

Deko Projects

And:

Down Side Up Studio

So there you have it. Seven post consumer by-products turned art, turned jewelry, turned home decor, turned accessories, turned UPCYCLED! Best of all~ not wasted! So before you toss that container in the trash...Contain your waste, if you don't want to upcycle it yourself, find someone in your local area who does! Or put it in a recycling bin at the very least.

Have a great Wasteless Wednesday and we hope each day this week you find a way to save even one container.