Stuck inside on a rainy, dreary day? Have a hankering to start a new, crafty project? Using random objects and materials from around your home, these fun and eco-friendly DIY projects will cost you little to nothing.

Scrap Paper Notebook

You have a scrap paper galore in the drawer next to your desk, but this clutter is starting to get out of control. No problem! Stack your scrap paper to make all of the edges line up neatly. Punch three holes along the length of the paper an inch from the left margin. (You may want to divide the stack to make this step a little easier.) Cut the front and back sides from a cereal box and punch three holes in each side to align with your stack of scrap paper. You can cover the box panels in anything you like – get creative. Use decorative ribbon to tie together the individual sheet and the cardboard cover.

Portable Scrap Paper Pad

Need something more portable for taking notes on the go? Remove the staple from an empty matchbook and slip out the piece of cardboard that mounted the matches. Measure the matchbook and cut pieces of scrap paper to fit neatly inside. Tuck them underneath the bottom lip and staple them down.

Magazine Envelopes

After flipping through your magazines dozens of times, what else can you do with them? Take apart an envelope to use as a template and trace this outline onto a cover or page of an outdated issue. (If you plan on sending this envelope in the mail, use pages with images instead of copy. This way, the address will stand out more clearly.) Cut along the lines and fold it along the creases that match that of the original envelope. Use non-toxic flue to seal down the flaps.

CD/DVD Coasters

When your favorite tunes or films start skipping too much to enjoy, just turn them into coasters. This one is a cinch. To cover up the images and text with something a little more decorative, trace the outline of the CD/DVD onto contact paper leftover from lining drawers and cut along the lines. Seal it to the surface with non-toxic glue.

Scented Drawer Satchels

Who wears nylons anymore? I know I don’t, but they’re still lurking in the lingerie drawer. But, just because they are no longer wearable doesn’t mean you have to toss them. Cut them up into sections and seal one end with a decorative ribbon. Fill each makeshift pouch with dried herbs, tie the other end shut and put them in your drawers for a fresh fragrance.

Magnetic Dry Erase Board

Measure the outline of a broken CD case and cut a piece of blank white paper down to the same dimensions. Slip it inside and use non-toxic glue to secure the front and back of the CD case together. Secure a magnet to the back and hang it on your refrigerator for quick notes.

Homemade Drip System

Interested in conserving water in your garden? Use a pin to punch tiny holes into a plastic bottle. Shred pieces of scrap fabric and stuff them in through the neck of the bottle. (This absorbent material will cause the water to drain gradually.) Bury the bottle in the soil up to the neck next to plants in your garden, so that it releases water almost directly to the roots. Use a funnel to fill the bottle with water.

Reusable Shopping Tote

Dig through your pajama drawer to find an old, baggy t-shirt. Flip it inside out and remove the sleeves. Cut around the neck hole, making it several inches wider. Stitch the bottom hems of the shirt together. (You may want to sew a reinforcement seam for extra strength.) Flip your new reusable shopping tote right side out and use the sleeve holes as handles.

Tea Tin Candle

Following these steps, turn empty tea tins into decorative soy candles.

Bird Feeder

Rinse out an empty milk carton. Cut out two ample-sized openings on parallel sides and, about an inch below each, poke a hole using the tip of a pencil. Insert a rod through both holes to act as a perch for your feathered friends. Run a wire or string through the top of the carton to hang from a tree branch. To make it a bit more ornamental, embellish the carton with milk paint and secure popsicle sticks on the top slopes with non-toxic glue to look like shingles.

Upcycled Picture Frames

Rinse out some glass jars and completely remove any labels. With the images on the outside, roll up pictures of your friends and family, and insert them upside-down into the openings of the jars. Flip the jars over and display them on tabletops and shelves around your home.

Drawer Dividers

Do you cringe at the thought of organizing your infamous junk drawer? With some homemade cardboard dividers, it’s easy to keep it orderly. Just measure the length, width and height of your drawers. Break down a cardboard box and, based on your measurements, cut enough strips to create as many compartments as you want. Slice a slit halfway through the width of each strip to easily interconnect these pieces.

Bonus idea: taking inspiration from the image at the top of the post, why not spend an hour at the park or in the garden collecting seeds, nuts, flower bulbs, twigs, leaves or other pretty organic items to make a seasonal still life? All you need is a favorite dish or bowl and a spot to place it.

For more projects, check out Mike’s ideas.

Images: Er.We, adiything, ♥ellie♥, thebittenword.com, ***FanchTheSystem!***, How can I recycle this, Mulad, Niffty.., Indie Bands With A Mission, Edgar Zuniga Jnr., sfllaw, Idle Type, Vali….

The people in my neighborhood really get into Halloween whether they’ve got their own little ghouls and goblins or not, proving the most fun night of the year is for the kid in all of us. You know, that kid who is addicted to Halloween chocolate!

I’m big on using decor to lift my spirits each fall, ideally with the surfeit of tools and supplies stashed in my green storage bins rather than ready-made plastic junk on the shelves of stores.

I found inspiration in Etsy’s Voter Page for the best Handmade Halloween items, from spooky bloodshot eyes (which get my vote) to crocheted spiders and DIY costumes. Go to the site and place your vote.

Here’s a look at some of the amazing crafts whipped up in kitchens across America:

Mister Skully Hand Carved Stamps by Tresijas

These cool articulating jaw motifs were made into stamps (salvaged manzanita, foam and rubber) that you can use to create Halloween art for your windows, doors or other creepy places.

Lost Zombie Brooch by CityroadFelt

“I made him using felt from a lovely stripey sweater, along with bits of wool blend felt, & beads & thread – designed by my partner, who is much more into zombies and such things than I – I think he’s quite proud of the end product, too!”

Crocheted Spider Web by Spacestitch

Like the spider web but want to make it yourself? But of course! See the Spider Web Crochet Pattern here.

Gaggle of Spooky  Ghosts Prints by Luminous Dreams Designs

“The ghost was hand drawn, inked then scanned where he was given different grungy digital backgrounds,” explains the artist.

Upcycled Pumpkin Hat by Imogens Garden

“I raided my son’s clean laundry pile to construct this hat from a recently outgrown thermal shirt,” explains the maker. “The flower is created from scraps from my studio, and the button embellishment came from the shirt. No more thermal shirts = a one of a kind garment.”

Main Image: Work of Whimsy

It would be grand to just roll out of bed every morning looking glamorous and fresh, but it requires serious maintenance to stay sexy. Here are eight easy and eco-friendly tricks for dealing with some of the most frustrating beauty predicaments.

Tired Eyes
Everybody knows about sliced cucumbers, but I recently discovered a more effective method. Steep a couple of green tea bags, put them in the refrigerator until they’re cool and place them over your eyes.

Blemishes
Apply a touch of toothpaste overnight and dab blemishes with lemon juice before putting on makeup in the morning.

Oily Skin
If you start your morning off with a hot bowl of oatmeal, this one’s a cinch. Let your leftovers cool, mix in a little bit of honey and apply this homemade mask to your face. Leave it on for five minutes and rinse.

Dull Hair
Next time you pop the bubbly, save a glass of champagne to rinse through your hair for brighter locks.

Bad Breath
Add several drops of lemon juice to that reusable water bottle you carry around all day. When your mouth feels stale, just take a swig and swish. Bad breath bacteria don’t stand a chance against the acid present in lemon juice.

Wet Nails
Who has the time to wait for nail polish to dry, especially after a couple of coats? Dipping them into ice cold water will speed up the process.

Chapped Lips
Lip balm may moisturize, but it doesn’t get rid of dead skin cells. Make your own exfoliating scrub by blending a bit of honey with coffee grounds and massage the mixture onto your lips.

Dandruff
Mix several teaspoons of vinegar with water and massage into your scalp. Wrap your hair in a towel and leave it in your hair overnight. Repeat the process weekly for the best results.

For more beauty suggestions, check out Katherine’s picks for the best organic skin toners, shampoos and sunscreens.

Image: clickflashphotos

Nothing goes together like a recession and a paint brush.

If you can’t afford to remodel (and who can?) and are stuck with a peeling, fiberglass clawfoot tub, tap into some ingenuity and resource non-toxic paints and supplies, pure shower curtains, an organic floor mat and go to town.

If you’re opting to go the DIY tub redux route you will want to bone up on stripping off the old finish first. You can visit many good how-to tutorials at sites like ehow. Or,  if you have the budget, hire a tub refinishing service, like Bay Area Coatings. Either way, you are salvaging an old treasure that adds oodles of character to the modern bath.

Here are a few cool designs to inspire:

Steal this teal kids’ bath design from Canadian House and Home.

Basking in blue is oh-so-country French. Eating a baguette in the bain is nice, too. From Apartment Therapy.

How succulent is this cool citrus desert palette from Decorology?

Some lemon aid to brighten the old friend from Country Living.

Basic black is tres chic and sleek, from Happy Living Design.

Stripes to center the mod energy of the citified clawfoot, from Apartment  Therapy.

Check out other DIY ideas at this cute site.

Main Image: Fixer Upper

When I was young, still living at home, I’d leave the house for a run and hide my key under the potted plant near the front door. I’d never try this trick today.

Instead, I might use one of these simple Wrist Cuff Wallets I found on Etsy. They couldn’t be cuter or cheaper ($5) or easier to DIY.

Find any old cotton tee or sweat shirt and a couple of cool stamps like this deco flower and old Woodie truck and your do-it-yourself is done!

Tuck a key and a twenty inside the cuff and hit the road, or send your kids to school with their lunch money. Whatever the use, they’re too cute to not have one or two.

Easy to launder and comfortable to wear, my faves are the purple chrysanthemum (top image) and the olive green tree.

The collapse of the economy has had a curious effect on our culture. Shuttered chain stores and denuded neighborhoods have made us realize how unstable and unsustainable a society predicated on constant growth and fueled by the twin demon drugs of easy credit and cheap consumer goods can be. When the Circuit Cities go away and the lesser Starbucks close, we realize we didn’t really need them anyway.

All over the country, people are reconnecting with their communities, saving money, working cooperatively, bartering and living a less consumption-dominated life. People are realizing the joy of self-sufficiency and the beauty of taking care of one another instead of just ourselves. There are so many payoffs to living this way. It’s cheaper, it’s more meaningful and it’s easier on the planet.

The evidence of this movement is everywhere:

There’s the Slow Money Movement, which promotes an economy based on preservation and restoration rather than extraction and consumption.

Community gardens are on the rise. A National Gardening Association study indicates about one million American households have community garden plots and an additional five million say they would like to acquire one. The rise in community gardens has sparked a move by US Representative Jay Inslee of Washington State to propose a community garden grant proposal from the USDA. August has just been named Community Gardening Awareness Month. There are free farmstands, foraging movements and community canning projects springing up all over the country.

And this movement isn’t just about food. There’s the Buy Handmade Pledge, Really Really Free Exchanges, online bartering groups, DIY Bike Kitchens in San Francisco, Bozeman, Sacramento and LA, community acupuncture networks all over the country and even events that simply aim to take back public space such as Park(ing) Days and San Francisco’s Sunday Streets program.

At the same time, corporations are doing their market research and finding out what people care about right now, and they’re trying to get in on the action.

According to a Hartman Group Survey from 2008, 52% of consumers polled said it was important for them to buy local goods whenever possible. The report also found that the desire for “local” products wasn’t just about freshness but also about a return to simplicity, handcrafted production and the ability to match a product with a place or face.

Another survey shows an alarming lack of trust in corporations. A survey this year by IBM found that fewer than 20% of adult grocery shoppers indicate that they trust food companies to develop and sell food products that are safe and healthy. It’s no wonder people are starting to take matters into their own hands.

I suppose you can’t blame the corporations for trying to muscle in on the action. They wouldn’t be very successful companies if they didn’t. But a look at some of the latest marketing campaigns leaves me scratching my head. Corporate efforts at co-opting this movement are often clumsy at best. I wonder if they’re as off-putting to others as they are to me.

1.  My “favorite” recent action was by Starbucks.

After putting its less well-capitalized and often more quirkily authentic brethren out of business, sucking the soul out of the neighborhood coffee house, and commoditizing coffee to the point where consumers couldn’t see the difference between a $4.00 latte at Starbucks and a $2.00 latte from McDonalds, Starbucks was hurting. The company’s latest strategy involves “Unbranding” a few select stores by taking away the Starbuck’s look and logo and instead naming the stores after the neighborhoods that surround them. They are also sending spotters into independently owned shops and copying the look and feel, as well as sourcing the décor items locally. If it works, they’ll roll it out all over the country. Oh Goody. This one makes me want to choke on my home-brewed, fair trade, organic blend.

2. Another good one that got a lot more media attention was Lay’s Chips local campaign.

According to the company website, the campaign is meant to put a spotlight on potato farmers from California, Florida, Maine, Michigan and Texas that grow potatoes used in Lay’s Potato Chips. The theme line is “Happiness is Simple,” designed to “uniquely celebrate the brand, its place in Americana and role in bringing people together for life’s simple pleasures.” The campaign highlighted the simplicity of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips in a day and age where consumers are looking to keep things less complex. I don’t know if this would fly if the campaign showed the complicated machinery that harvests, transports, processes, packages and distributes the potatoes that makes those chips. I’ve got a simple idea: buy some potatoes from your local farmers’ market and roast them in olive oil at 400 degrees until brown and crisp. Save a few, cut them, dry them and stick them in the ground. Mound the dirt up around them. A few months later, you can dig up your own potatoes. I can tell you from experience that this works.

3. Then there’s the Eat Real, Eat Local campaign Hellman’s mayonnaise rolled out in Canada.

The campaign touts the fact that the eggs and canola oil used in the mayonnaise come from Canada. That’s all well and good, but it’s a processed food made from commodity crops, in factories, in a very very large country called Canada by a multinational company that also owns Lipton, Knorr, and personal care products Dove, Lux, and let’s not forget everyone’s favorite petroleum-based moisturizer, Vaseline. Come on.

4. Barnes & Noble has put together a video blog featuring “local booksellers” from all over the country.

Barnes and Noble Booksellers. Because as the site says, “All Bookselling is Local.” Really? I don’t think so. I’m all for promoting reading, but it would be nice if communities had the choice to shop at bookstores owned by people who live in their communities, spend money in their communities, feature local authors from that community and stock books of local interest. Now that’s local bookselling.

5. Whole Foods, Interloper?

Whole Foods has long touted its sales of local produce and the chain does do more than most of its competitors to support local farms. But it does something else that I find too slick by half. When it opens a new store in a new community, the store designers add touches of local color through themed displays, historical photos of the town or area, and murals.  Though it’s nice if they do hire local artists to create materials and I’m sure they sometimes do, and it no doubt makes for a pleasant shopping experience for the locals, to me it feels like a disingenuous way of establishing itself as part of the community and as an entity that has a history in the town, when it really isn’t and doesn’t.

6. Shop the local…box store.

Speaking of national chains masquerading as local stores, here’s a great article that details how shopping centers all over the country are rolling out “shop local” campaigns even though the stores in the shopping center are anything but local. Think Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, Target and other big boxes.

7. Localwashing

While we’re on the subject of Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart and other chains are increasingly highlighting locally-grown produce with big, hit-you-over-the head signage. But as this article details, much of the produce the signs highlight is anything but local, prompting a new word to be coined this spring: local washing.

All of these examples, like the fashion industry’s co-option of hip hop style, and the record companies’ mass marketing and replication of any fresh voice that comes along, are just part of living in a capitalist society. It can feel crushing sometimes. Looked at positively, it keeps us nimble, creative and active, in an effort to stay one step ahead of the marketers. Because once people get a taste of what it’s like to have something conceived of, built and shared among individuals – once we start to feel like humans, not just consumers – there’s no going back. It’s what keeps us innovative and what may ultimately save us.

Images: Ben Cumming, ginnerobot, grilled cheese, That Other Paper, elliottcable, fab4chiky

Ever wish the florist’s shop were run more like a buffet? You could stand in line with a vase in hand and ask for six pink daisies, four orange roses and six yellow lilies. Welcome to the fun-filled world of flower arranging! But, before you break your dependence on professional florists and set out on your own, brush up on the basics of this fascinating art form to craft beautiful bouquets.

Brainstorming is the first essential step in every creative process. Decide whether you’d like to make a horizontal, vertical, triangular, crescent, oval, minimal, lazy “S” or freestanding arrangement. Click here for more information about these varieties.

Choose your vase based on which type you picked.

If your vase is clear, line it with decorative greens like hydrangea leaves to hide the stems.

Move on to the line materials. Think of them as the skeleton of your flower arrangement, and use these greens to form the basic shape.

Continuing the analogy, fill in the flesh and blood of your arrangement with the dominant materials. These are the pieces that will determine your color scheme because they are the main focus of the arrangement. Stick to flowers of a similar hue, like purple and blue or red and orange.

Place the secondary materials evenly around the dominant materials. These smaller groups of flowers simply serve as an accent to the heart of your arrangement.

Plug the gaps with the filler materials. If you’re aiming for a minimal arrangement, don’t go overboard with this step. Just play around with your materials until you find a visually appealing balance.

Pass on this expressive, handmade gift to somebody special and proudly let them know that you’re officially florist-free.

Learn more about the different components of flower arrangements and find more tips at Better Homes and Gardens or get pointers from a professional at Apartment Therapy.

Image: Muffet

There is something about berries that screams summer to me. Where I live in England it’s the height of strawberry season right now and the berries are cheap and plentiful. They are also succulent and sweet with the summer sun -  unlike the watery tart versions you get from supermarkets out of season. For the next few months we will have a berry bonanza with raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries, red currants, white currants, black currants, and finally in the autumn, blackberries.

For my fifth birthday I begged my mother to make a strawberry shortcake – I think I must have been inspired by the saccharine Strawberry Shortcake doll that was popular with the under-seven set at the time. The only problem? We lived in Bathurst, a small inland city a few hours west of Sydney, and my birthday was in midwinter. There was snow on the ground and fresh strawberries were non-existent. My mother ended up making the strawberry shortcake with tinned strawberries. She was horrified but my five-year-old self was perfectly delighted with the result.

These days, you can buy imported berries at any time of year. In winter, in London the supermarkets are filled with cheap blueberries that have been air-freighted from Peru. EcoSalon readers are almost certainly aware of the terrible environmental impact of such a luxury but never mind the food miles, the fruit is inevitably disappointing as well.

Fortunately, there are better ways to extend the taste of summer fruit into the cold months – and now is the time to think about it. If you grow berries yourself, unless you have a large family, you probably cannot keep pace with the berry eating and need to think about preserving the harvest. If not, you can still join in the fun by visiting a pick-your-own farm (preferably an organic one, since conventionally-grown strawberries are one of the most pesticide-ridden fruits and vegetables) or taking advantage of discounts at the farmers’ markets.

The simplest way to preserve berries is to freeze them. The trick is to lay the berries out on a baking tray and freeze them individually before bagging them up – otherwise, the berries will stick together.

Or you can go for the time-honoured route and try your hand at jam-making. I tried it for the first time with my aunt in Scotland two years ago and it was actually far easier than I thought. It was also quite fast – it took longer to pick the berries than to make the jam. At the simplest level, it is simply cooking up fruit and sugar.

The standard rule is to have equal quantities of fruit and sugar – a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit (or a kilogram of sugar to a kilogram of fruit). You can play around with this a little if you like – for example, 16oz of raspberries to 14oz of sugar will make a jam that is slightly less sweet. Be aware that the sugar is necessary to preserve the fruit so if you cut back, it will not last as long. Some people use apple juice or honey instead, but I have never tried this.

The best option is to buy special preserving sugar, though if you can not find this, the closest match is granulated or raw sugar. You can buy preserving sugar with or without added pectin – the natural agent that makes the jam set. Some fruit, such as black currant, is naturally high in pectin anyway – you can tell from the stickiness of the raw fruit. Strawberries on the other hand are low in pectin and traditionally you would add lemon juice as the setting agent.

Before you start, wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water and then put them in the oven at about 100C (210F) (but don’t put the lids in for too long if they have plastic on the inside). This will sterilise the jars and also make them hot so they don’t crack when you put the jam in.

Stew the fruit in a pot, with just a splash of water to stop it sticking to the pot. Stir and wait for the fruit to start to fall apart – when you don’t want it to fall apart any longer, add the sugar. Stir and cook the fruit mixture for 10 to 20 minutes – it depends on the fruit but you can tell it is done when the mixture develops a gloss. Keep a saucer in the fridge and when you think the jam is done, you can test it by dropping a teaspoonful on to the cold plate – it is done if it sets. (Take the jam off the heat while you do the test and put it back if needed).

When it’s ready, spoon the jam into the jars and twist on the lids immediately to seal it in – you might hear a lovely pop as the seals go upwards. Apparently if you are using cellophane and wax you need to wait until the jam is cold, but I’ve never tried this. It should keep for about a year in the cupboard – refrigerate once open and use within a month or two. If you get good at it, it makes a wonderful gift for friends and family.

If your first attempt does not work out, don’t worry. There’s another name for over-cooked jam – toffee. You might not be able to spread it on toast, but it is perfectly delicious in its own right.

Image: abbybatchelder

We all want fresh, radiant skin, but you don’t have to throw down big bucks for an expensive facial at the day spa to achieve this youthful glow. Using ingredients from around your home (and your garden, too), you can make an assortment of 100% natural facial masks to suite all skin types for a tiny fraction of the cost.

Oily Skin

Mash up a cup of fresh organic strawberries and mix in three teaspoons of honey, two egg whites and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Smooth a thin layer over your entire face, leave it on for 1- minutes and rinse with warm water.

Dry Skin

Pulverize several almonds and thoroughly blend them with a teaspoon of aloe vera gel and powdered milk and a tablespoon of honey. Gently apply this mixture and use warm water to wash it off after 10 minutes.

Combination Skin

Remove the petals from a single red rose, soak them in warm water, pour out the water and crush them into small pieces. Add a tablespoon of yogurt and honey, two tablespoons of rosewater and mix well. Spread this concoction evenly over your face, wait 10 minutes and rinse with warm water.

All Skin Types

Grind a tablespoon of oatmeal to a fine consistency and blend it with a tablespoon of yogurt and a teaspoon of honey. Spread this homemade mask evenly onto your face, let it sit for 10 minutes and wash it off using warm water.

For more natural skincare tips, check out Sara’s ideas for DIY eco facials, Katherine’s picks for the best organic toners and Sarah’s list of 15 herbs for DIY skincare.

Images: audreyjm529, mynameisharsha, fsgm, polandeze

I was an artistic kid, but I had not an ounce of interest in learning how to sew, much to my mother’s chagrin.

She was quite the seamstress. Her Singer sat prominently in our playroom where she’d stitch and sew me new dresses, always searching for the coolest Vogue patterns”¦but nothing could change my mind. In the years since, I’ve had brief pangs of regret but they never lasted long. The kinds of crafts I like are more of the random sans-pattern variety, which is probably why I’m drawn to OutsaPop Trashion.

Here’s a classic case of DIY. OutsaPop’s real name is Outi, a self-proclaimed “crafty fashion addicted girl from Finland…[who's] most into customizing clothes for herself.” Her brand of sewing involves secondhand sweater reconstruction and the rules she follows are all her own.

Take the Lightning knitwear sweater (above) she made using material from three of four thrift store finds. Interested in making your own? Her detailed tutorial guides you through each step – and voilà, your old clothes are transformed into something new and unique.

You can see more of her reconstructed creations on flickr and at OutsaPop.