Crafty

I'm not a very crafty person. I watch Martha Stewart and am envious of what she does, but every time I try something similar with glue sticks or glitter it looks like an actual 5 year-old did it. And thats not something I'm proud of. But recently I've come across a series of books.. if you can call two books a series.. full of crafts that seem to have been thought up just for me to do!

The books are called Simply Green. One book is Simply Green Parties and the other is Simply Green Giving. I know, I know. Enough with the "green" stuff already! I know it's a subject that some people don't even care about, but the ideas in these books aren't what you're probably thinking. You don't have to wear burkenstocks while you do them, nor do they call for you to eat only beans and rice or give up on your daily hygiene routines. Rather, the ideas given are just suggestions on how to reuse items you already have or items that cost next to nothing. It's being resourceful and creative at the same time. A win-win situation! Plus it's super cheap and gives you a reason to buy weird things at Goodwill or garage sales.

Here are a couple of projects I did last night. The chair project is from the Parties book and the luminaries is from the Giving book:

I have these two chairs along with two others that I got with a small round dining room table for super cheap. They were in great condition, but the seat cushions were a little ugly and dirty and I've been wanting to reupholster them for a while. The Parties book gave the idea to take an old sweater you don't wear anymore, cut it open and use it to reupholster the seat for a "Winter Warm-Up" party. Even though these aren't specifically for a party or any kind of entertainment, they look good! And I didn't have to give away two perfectly good sweaters that I haven't worn in at least two years.

The cost of this project: FREE!

These are three luminaries I made from birthday cards that were given to me and I had kept because they're pretty. But my bulletin board was getting a little overwhelmed with so many things stuck on it. This idea was in the Giving book and is one of my favorites. You take two cards near the same size (I like it when they're a little off) and line up the outside edges. Take a hole punch and punch as many holes in it you like then set them up in a square shape. Then you thread some twine or any kind of thread through the holes to keep them together then set them over a candle! So easy and super cute.

Cost of this project: again..FREE!!