A Soapy Situation

This soapy goodness is handmade by InseineCreations (pronounced "In-sane"), who has a very focused and inspiring view point behind the soaps she makes and sells:

I became interested in body products after I realized a lot of products contain ingredients that only dry out your skin, and therefore make you use more of their product, rather than pampering the skin and moisturizing it. It's a vicious cycle! My goal is for my customers not only to be able to pronounce all of the ingredients in my products, but to understand what they are and what they do. I only use cosmetic grade ingredients in my products, and use of animal products is limited (goat's milk and beeswax in some items). All products are tested on ME, my family, and my close friends before being offered to the public.

This shop's got my heart!

~Kate

Roll Up Your Makeup

itssewyou8 made this cute makeup brush and tools organizer from some beautiful reclaimed fabric. I need one of these BAD. Right now my makeup tools are kind of all over the place, and require an annoying amount of digging, cursing, and fist shaking before I can find what I'm looking for...

~Kate

Pocket Punk

LindaEve created this rebellious purse from old pants and other upcycled materials. Way to rage against the mainstream machine in style!

Something More for the Dogs

We'll finish this week off on a doggy note with this fun fabric rope toy by TrilliumArtisans. It is made of 100% reclaimed fabric, so your doggy can play "green"!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm giving thanks today for all the wonderful artists and crafters on the web that have made Eco Craftiness possible!

In particular, I want to thank those of you who have joined up to the EcoCraftiness Flickr Group and posted photos of your beautiful creations! Here are just some of the fabulous items shared to the group.







Click here if you'd like to join the EcoCraftiness Flickr group too!

Re-mapped

Envelopes made from surplus map pages! Annarubyking adds her own art and style to these, to give them that extra eco-appeal.

I've got the pinkish blues...

How about you?

Butterfly in a Teacup. diorama by lapomme


3 Cleaning Cloths by EcoKate


Psychedelic fish flannel napkins by WeeBeaks

If you're a fan of our little feathered friends, you might just really dig some of these eco-friendly handmade items:

Squeal for Teal

I'm in love this this color. This has been true for so long that I'm almost positive my love for it will never fade. Tell me you don't love it too...I dare ya.

Right Round Baby

Coasters don't get any rounder and cooler than this set of 4 wooden coasters made from an old skateboard! 2Revert has taken recycled skateboards to a new level of ingenuity and I gotta say, I quite like it...



~Kate

Knitting is B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Especially when you knit with yarn MADE from banana fibers, like this beautiful skein from blondechicken...


"This unusual yarn is handspun from recycled banana fibers. The fibers are collected by women in Nepal from the remnants from the sari weaving looms. They sort it by color and handspin the fibers and sell it through fair trade co-ops that provide educational opportunities. Banana fiber was extracted from banana trees (bananière , in French)-mostly their stems and leaves. When it comes to my home, I dye it in soft shades that aren't offered by the co-op. Bananiere is an incredibly strong yarn and will knit into beautiful (and unique) bags and shawls."

EcoEtsy's Auction for a Cause!

You need to get all up on EcoEtsy's auction for a Cause.

EcoEtsy is a group of artists and crafters that sell on Etsy.com. Members from the group have donated handmade, eco-friendly goodies that add up to a worth of over $300 retail. These goodies are being auctioned off to the highest bidder. The highest bid will be donated to the Nature Conservancy.

All the info on the auction is here, along with details on how to bid!

You can check on the status of the auction by looking for updates on EcoEtsy's blog.

If you'd like details on what was donated, check out the forum post on the auction here.


I personally donated a set of dish cloths like the ones above, but in light blue, dark blue, and cream.

Get your bid in soon, as this auction ends on October 30th! This could be a fabulous way to help the environment and get a basket full of eco-friendly goodies that you can keep for yourself or turn into fabulous holiday gifts!

So get bidding!!!

The Craftiest Yarn Around

In some lovely orange and grey. CraftyYarn always knows how to recycle yarn just the way I like it:

Dark gray wool blended with light blue soysilk for a soft, steely gray blend, with orange mohair accents throughout. Contains mill end fiber and soysilk (made from a by-product of tofu manufacture) -- 100% recycled content.

~EcoKate

Colorful trees...

are totally reminiscent of fall, like the upcycled tree below, made from many colorful pieces of many recycled maps!

created by Bombus.

~EcoKate

Acorns Again?!?

I just can't help but to post another eco-crafty find featuring some more adorable acorns. This time they are earrings made by BlackStar, and here's how they're a good purchase for both your ears and the earth:

These earrings are made of...
-Vintage brown glass melon beads
-Topped with vintage brass 'acorn' bead caps
-Vintage brown enameled chain
-Copper beads
-Oxidized sterling silver wire and french earwire
~EcoKate

It's a Mouse in a Box!

This is one of lapomme's boxed universe pieces. A plush mouse in an embroidered flower patch, all neatly packed into a vintage tin! I find these boxed universes to be completely adorable and fun collection pieces for young and old alike!

Made with Eco Love

PenguineLovePress is a new shop that features a number of recycled products, including these recycled sheet music mini journals!



Even the interior pages of the journal are made of a certain percentage of post consumer recycled paper, so you can't go wrong! And as always, buying items with a handmade touch that are made more locally than China, unless China is local for you of course, are wonderful added eco-bonuses.

What does plastic do?

Listen to this eco-friendly shopping bag by jpharris, it knows what it's talking about. The design is hand printed on a 100% recycled cotton material, just to upstage flimsy, ugly, throw away plastic bags that much more. You should go get yourself one today!

Amethyst, Emerald, OH MY!

VivienCheng reclaimed a vintage handbag to create this beautiful clutch...



Here's what she has to say about her reclamation process:


Every vintage or reclaimed handbag that I revamp is customised individually with its own original hand-painted motif. As each handbag is one-off, I first sketch up multiple ideas in colour and sometimes do up paper patterns to test out my ideas before painting. Once I have the final design, I start painting my layers. I usually work on a small part of the handbag over several days. Sometimes a single handbag has up to 8 layers of paint on it!

My goal is to create designs that complement and enhance the handbag’s original style. It’s all about reviving and resurrecting the bag without disturbing from its original design, so I appreciate when someone sees my bags and assumes the motifs have always been there.

Cloth Saviors!

Let's stop wiping our mouths with dead trees already. It's getting old, the trees don't dig it, and neither do I. If you're serious about consuming less, wasting less, saving yourself money, and being all around awesome, you'll seriously consider cloth napkins like this set made by WeeBeaks: