Many thanks to our guest blogger, Caroline Smith, who created this custom post for us.  Caroline is a keen “freecycler” and runs a website that offers a range of slipcovers for most types of furniture.  (We love Freecycle and support reducing, reusing and recycling everything.)

Are you ready for a different style of decor, but your furniture’s still in good condition?  Do you want to redecorate for the holidays but can’t fit new furnishings into your budget ?  Does it bother you to have to throw out perfectly usable furnishings in the name of style? Are you concerned about waste and the overflowing landfills in this country? If so, you might want to consider utilizing slipcovers, Freecycle, and some of these green tips for recycling furniture. (more…)

Any aspiring wood nymphs in the house?  This Woodland Nymph Half Face Mask is handmade (to order) by Honolulu-based balmasque.  It takes a couple of weeks to make and ship, so it’s probably not an option for this weekend’s Halloween festivities…though if you have a modicum of design skills and live next to an enchanted, moss-covered forest, you may be able to go all DIY and whip up one of these yourself.  There are other handmade masquerade style masks available as well.

If you’re like me, you have several boxes, drawers and assorted containers holding a jumbled mess of precious accessories.  Here’s a solution for storing and displaying that mound of tangled earrings, bracelets and whatnot on your dresser…a retro-looking jewelry rack created from a repurposed printer’s drawer.

A perfect DIY project for anyone with access to antique desks, flea markets, or auctions, a working knowledge of hardware stores and a modicum of talent with tools.

Easier solution – buy one of the many racks sold  @ birdblueheaven’s etsy shop (pictured above)

Because even a manly home needs some soothing touches…perfect for today’s new-age man cave, garage, or NASCAR themed home – this Busted Knuckles Wind Chime II is created from recycled stainless steel wrenches, 25lb test fishing line and a large industrial washer.

The smaller brother of the original Busted Knuckles Wind Chime goes for $22 @ windchimesandmore’s etsy shop – sleeveless vest and tattoos are optional.  An obvious DIY opportunity.

When my grandmother passed on not too long ago, my family set to the task of cleaning and clearing out the home she and my grandfather had built 50 years before.  Her backyard greenhouse, half-acre garden and jar-filled canning room felt like relics of a bygone era.  Around the long kitchen table, my family reminisced… homemade wines and sauerkraut, handmade clothing, a 1960’s rooftop solar installation—homemade by my grandfather—and a geothermal heating and cooling system he’d crafted himself too.  They, although they’d never have considered themselves as such, were quintessential DIYers.

The DIY lifestyle, having gained slow steam in the down economy, is long forgotten to the majority of Americans.  Today, we’re living a predominantly “throwaway” existence, according to Mark Frauenfelder, editor-in-chief of Make magazine and author of “Made by Hand” (Portfolio, 2010), released earlier this year.  In his new book, Frauenfelder chronicles his own do-it-yourself escapades, including beekeeping, cigar-box-guitar crafting, home tutoring, and even a rendezvous with a backyard chicken coop.

A few days into the engaging hardcover, I found myself nostalgic for my grandparents’ home.  The processes that Frauenfelder describes in great detail had made me hungry to craft.  The book, chock full of his (often frustrating) experiences, provided a buzz to the brain—a reminder of the fulfillment that creating something from scratch brings.  Despite the lengthy process of learning a trade, coupled with the trial-and-error phase of re-dos, the truth remains that building our own “stuff” is what we humans were made to do. To create.  To perfect. To try, try again.

While it’s absolutely guaranteed to NEVER be the easiest approach, tackling a project on your own is often an environmentally considerate, mind-sharpening, and cost-effective option.  If anything, Frauenfelder reminds us of just that.  And sometimes, a simple reminder is all that we need to shift gears.

(Full disclosure: Portfolio provided us with a review copy of “Made by Hand,” which retails online and in national bookstores for $25.95.)

You won’t find Better Homes and Gardens in any of my bookmark folders – but I do like their DIY instructional on repurposing a flea market chair into a shelf and towel rack which I came upon over at Recyclart.  Nice idea for that weekend country retreat of yours.

Way too many American backyards are littered with decaying cars — toxic evidence of past glories, bad decisions and bygone times.  But this ’65 Volkswagen Micro Bus is a stellar example of making something cool and functional out of junkyard debris.

Whether you consider it ‘upcycling’ or ‘recycling’ this is an approach we all should probably embrace more fully.

via: recyclart

Contributor Theresa Gould’s latest update on her organic farming learning experience.  A husband, wife and their seven children team up and start planting the seeds…

As many of you may know, we are well into our first growing season.  I started to write an update a while ago and just never got it typed up.  We have been incredibly busy, to say the least.

First, let me share that we are indeed gleaning from the fruits of our labor.  I think this may be the most exciting part for the children.  Harvesting is like a treasure hunt to them and has made all the work worthwhile.  One of our sons last week said, “I used to hate the garden, but now I love it because I love zucchini!”  What he means is that he loves the zucchini cake that his sisters bake for our family!

We are currently harvesting Swiss chard, kale, peas, beans, cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, onions, lettuce and some tomatoes are almost ready.  Our radishes are done; soon we’ll have sugar baby watermelon – yummy!

It has been a lot of hard work. Even my husband, who never thought of himself as a farmer, has said that it has been fun and enjoyable, but hard work.  He has thoroughly enjoyed learning to drive and use the tractor that our farmer “landlord” has let us use freely this whole season.  I drove it once or twice to see if I could do it and so I’d know how to, but otherwise I let him go to it because I know it’s “his” thing.  I was and still am content to weed, plant and direct the children.

The Learning Curve
As beginner farmers we have had our own learning curve.  We were very disappointed not to have much lettuce (we planted quite a variety), carrots, pumpkins, beets, cauliflower or cabbage come up.  Due to our late start, we direct planted most of our seeds, but will not do that next year.  We plan to start earlier and begin planting inside, in February.

We are still learning how to deal with the pests and disease that can attack vegetables.  However, to be honest, so far they have caused minimal damage.  We have been using a solution with essential oils and water and spraying it on our plants and I think it has really helped.

Looking Ahead
We are looking ahead to doing some fall planting, with seeds already sprouted in our mini indoor greenhouses.  This is in preparation for the future, as we may try a couple of small farmers’ markets that have the least amount of commitment (a day or two here and there) so we can get our name out there and our foot in the door for next year’s growing season.  We do have a farm name in the works and will share it as soon as it is official!

Ahh…the wonders that can be created from scraps of driftwood washed ashore on one’s local beach.  The weathered pieces of reclaimed wood that create Wrecked Driftwood’s furniture – stools, mirrors, coffee tables, shelves and cupboards were hand-salvaged off the beaches of the England’s Westcountry from Cornwall to Dorset.

The folks at Wrecked Driftwood gather the raw materials for their work by walking many miles of beach with rucksacks – heading homeward at the end of the day with armfulls of wave-beaten, sodden wood, gifted them by some of the fiercest storms the Atlantic Ocean can spawn.

Inspiration for your next D.I.Y. project?