Make a Difference with Things You Make

There are lots of ways to get crafty to do some good – regardless of your skill level!

Here are some DIY projects to make a difference.

Build a Little Free Library.

Make a place for a neighborhood book exchange! You can build it or repurpose a phone booth, mailbox, vintage bread warmer or other weatherproof container to house books in.

Organization(s):
Little Free Library

Good to know:

Crochet/knit a chemo cap.

Help someone with hair loss due to cancer treatment feel more comfortable.

Organization(s):

Good to know:
Before making a cap to donate, check the charity’s guidelines on best yarns and patterns to use. Many of them offer free patterns on their sites!

Make a composting unit.

You can reduce trash by composting food waste and turning it into something that’s good for your garden.

Good to know:

Make a card…

…for a child in the hospital.

Caitlin’s Smiles distributes handmade cards and “bags of smiles” with arts and craft supplies to kids in hospitals. You can make cards, tote bags, or donate art supplies.

Organization(s):
Caitlin’s Smiles

…for a cancer patient.

Make blank cards that will be personalized and sent to people with a cancer diagnosis.

Organization(s):
Card Care Connection

…for a housebound senior citizen.

While there won’t be an official Meals on Wheels campaign like last year’s “Love Letters,” you can contact your local Meals on Wheels program to find out about creating cards.

Organization(s):
Meals on Wheels

…for your congressional representatives.

Postcards may currently be the most effective way to let Congress know what issues matter to you.

Good to know:

Kids Art Congress has ideas for paint and collage, including using watercolor postcard blanks and kids’ art.
CollectiveVision gives tips on who, what, and where to write. They also have postcard sets you can order (if you don’t have time to DIY).
Postcards from the People has free downloadable postcard templates.

Make a blanket…

…for animal shelters (knit, crochet, sew, or tie).

You can knit, crochet, sew, or tie blankets for dogs and cats in shelters.

Organization(s):
Comfort for Critters

Good to know:

20-inch square is the preferred size.
They have free patterns and blanket ideas!
You can drop blankets off at a local animal shelter or ship them to their Illinois headquarters.

…for NICU babies.

Knit or crochet neonatal baby blankets.

Organization(s):
Knots of Love

…for veterans.

Organization(s):

Operation Gratitude gives care packages to veterans, as well as currently deployed U.S. Troops, first responders, and military families. You can make blankets, cards, caps, cool ties, drawstring bags, and/or scarves.
Quilts of Valor awards patriotic quilts to thank veterans.

For pollinators, make…

…a mason bee nesting spot.

Help save the bees! Solitary bees are great pollinators and don’t have painful stings.

Good to know:

Make a wooden pallet bee house
Build a small mason bee house
Drill holes into scrap lumber (National Wildlife Foundation)
UK tips

…a bat house.

Bats not only help pollinate plants, they eat mosquitos and other pests. As forests are cut down, they have fewer safe places to raise their young.

Organization(s):
Bat Conservation International

…a hummingbird feeder.

Hummingbirds need a lot of calories every day! They can fuel up on nectar at feeders or flowers like honeysuckle.

Good to know:

Make a hummingbird feeder from a glass bottle.
Make nectar for hummingbirds.
Tips for filling a wine bottle hummingbird feeder.
More about hummingbirds and their favorite flowers.

Craft for a Fundraiser

If you sell items you’ve made, you can give the proceeds to whichever charity is meaningful to you. Cash is the most versatile donation.

Stamp metal bracelets.

One fundraiser craft idea is hand stamped bracelets. MyIntent (who I received a necklace from) now sells a Maker Kit, so you can make your own custom jewelry. One fundraiser selling hand-stamped bracelets brought in over $4,000 in 3 weeks!

UPDATE: Found a discount code, so I wanted to share! VDAY25 will get you 25% off a MyIntent Maker Kit.

Organization(s):
MyIntent.org

What else can we make to make a difference?

PS While some of these projects are U.S.-specific, hopefully, they’ll spark ideas for anywhere you are!

January 29, 2018

This February Share Your #LocalArtLoves!

Let’s celebrate local art and artists!

Since we had fun sharing Local Art Loves last year, I thought we could keep the challenge going throughout the month of February this time!

Just look for art in your community and share photos using the hashtag #LocalArtLoves on Twitter or Instagram. I’ll post some of your finds here on the site.

Keep an eye out for public art, local galleries, neighborhood art walks, and rotating art displays at coffee shops or libraries. You can also share favorite art spaces, street art, or your own work.

Can’t wait to see some art from where you live!

First photo: Paintings by Bud Heiss on display at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

Last photo: Round sculptures by Hidden in the Hills artist Peter Skidd at Renee Taylor Gallery, Sedona.

January 15, 2018January 14, 2018

Violet

Since it’s the beginning of a new year, I thought I’d share some art, food, destination, and DIY ideas inspired by Pantone’s color of the year, Ultra Violet!

1. Berries, Le Marche, Italy. 2. Pantone Ultra Violet. 3. Chocolade Van Brugge, Scottsdale (photo: Stephanie Haworth). 4. Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix.

5. “Victoria” painting by Mari Orr. 6. Photo transfer tutorial. 7. Ed Mell art for Riders of the Purple Sage. (Photo: Tim Trumble).

8. Yuma Garden Company’s colorful carrots. 9. Making Chive Flower Vinegar. 10. Lo & Sons O.G. Overnight Bag.

11. Chaparral sage, Tucson. 12. New Year’s time capsule DIY. 13. Let’s Be Better Humans campaign bus. 14. View from Sunset Point rest area near Black Canyon City, Arizona.

Finally, a cake decorated with actual fresh violets….

Photos via respective sites, except as noted.

December 7, 2017March 22, 2020

10 Crafted Coffee Sleeves

A Zarf

I learned the word zarf when I was writing about a coffee travel kit with a list of accessories that included “Two Felt Zarfs.”

Looking it up, I found out it’s another word for something that goes around a coffee cup to keep you from burning your hands on it. Like a scarf for your coffee.

They definitely could have said “coffee sleeve” or “cozy” instead. But zarf is kind of a cool word. Originally, it was a fancy metal thing used with glass tumblers. Now it’s a cardboard ring around a disposable cup.

***insert pithy observation about the decay of civilization here***

The good news is there are several ways to make a zarf/coffee sleeve/cozy that you can use over and over.

(My sister-in-law Liz made me the cool fabric one above. I love the colors!)

Craft

1. Reusable Coffee Sleeve: First, a coffee sleeve in the most literal sense – made by upcycling the cuff of an old shirt.

2. Leather Cup Jacket: Make a leather jacket for jars or other cups without handles.

3. Fabric Coffee Sleeve: Inspired by projects she had pinned, Sarah from One Crafty Home sewed up a reusable sleeve and a put together a tutorial with a template, so you can make your own, as well!

4. Crochet Cup Cozy: Julie Tarsha of Simply Notable created this cute pattern for a cable-knit cozy that you wrap around a mug and secure with a button.

5. Felt Coffee Cozies: Tutorial for making 16 felt coffee cozies at once, so you can give them as gifts or set them out next to cups for hot chocolate at your holiday party.

6. R2D2 Coffee Cup Cozy: Twinkie Chan created this clever crochet pattern that uses acrylic yarn, a red button, a silver eyelet, and a safety eye with the post snapped off to make exactly the droid you’re looking for.

Shop

And, of course, if you’re not up for DIYing this time, there’s always Etsy!

Caffeinating Please Wait Cup Cozy by Sew Tara ($14).

Happy Fox Cup Cozy by Tiny Bubbles Crafts ($12).

“You Got This” Leather Coffee Cozy by Wilhelm and Friends ($18).

If you do end up with a cardboard sleeve around your cup, you can still re-purpose it as a travel flower press or work it into collage and other paper craft projects.

Photos via:

DIYs –

1+2. Me

3. Modcloth

4. Matt Pierce / Design*Sponge

5. Emily Abbate / CafeMom

6. Julie Tarsha / Simply Notable

7. Purl Soho

8. Twinkie Chan

Etsy sellers –

1. Sew Tara

2. Tiny Bubbles Crafts

3. Wilhelm and Friends

December 4, 2017January 3, 2018

How to Get a Melted Candle Out of a Jar

I love the look of candles in glass jars – until they’re all melted and stuck to the sides. I’d read a tip about freezing them to make the melted candle stub easier to remove, but that only works some of the time.