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!

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

October 26, 2017October 26, 2017

Tucson Music Hall

“There are still like 15 spots left.”

We were a few cars back in a long line for a parking lot that attendants were debating whether to declare full.

Fortunately, we made it in before they closed the lot.

When Caitie from Arizona Opera had warned me to get there early, I thought maybe she was joking about my tardy arrival to the lunch hour concert.

Turns out, Tucson Convention Center parking is no joke.

Even though the world premiere of the Riders of the Purple Sage opera was a big event, it wasn’t the only thing backing up traffic at Tucson Convention Center that night.

After we’d parked, I asked a security guard the quickest way to Tucson Music Hall.

He replied with “Oh! Are you looking for the rap thing?”

I was wearing a long velvet dress and heels.

“No, not the rap thing…”

A few minutes later, someone asked if we were looking for the game.

Apparently, in Tucson, no one bats an eye if you decide to don formalwear to see hip hop or hockey. And we noticed several people wearing cowboy hats to the opera.

What to know about Tucson Music Hall

Tucson Music Hall is the site of Arizona Opera’s Tucson performances.
It’s located on the Tucson Convention Center campus, along with the Leo Rich Theater and the Tucson Arena (which the locals confusingly kept referring to as “TCC”).
Tucson Convention Center is not the same place as the Tucson Expo Center.
Sun Link Streetcar Stop: Congress Street/Granada Avenue (6E or 6W)

Nearby:

285 ft – Museum of Contemporary Art

.4 mi – Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block

.5 mi – Hotel Congress and Maynard’s (lodging + dining)

.7 mi – Mercado San Agustín (dining + shopping)

.9 mi – Mission Garden

Parking:

Tucson Music Hall shares parking with other convention center venues.
Event parking rates vary. We paid $10.
We parked in Parking Lot A, but Lot C may be closer.

Shopera at the Opera

Performances in Tucson also have a lobby full of shopping and refreshments for sale – wine, snacks, delicious-smelling coffee, and old school west-coast favorite Thrifty ice cream!

There’s also “Shopera at the Opera” with booths of Local artists and vendors, who give part of their proceeds to support Arizona Opera.

We enjoyed seeing the inventive ways that Southern Arizona Artists’ Guild member Betty Harris found to upcycle fabric scraps and thrift store pieces. Next to her was a Barefoot Books booth with a selection of really neat-looking kids books, including the very fitting Stories from the Opera.

August 21, 2017August 15, 2017

Crafts You Carry

Anytime you see me, there’s a good chance I have my watercolor kit with me. It’s also not unusual to have a roll or two of washi tape in my bag and/or a few ultra fine tip Sharpies. Maybe a partly finished scrapbook. You never know when you might need to craft on a moment’s notice!

My friend Anne always has knitting with her. It has its own little bag. If she has to wait for someone or is in a conference session, she’s working on a scarf or a sweater or hat. Unlike my watercolors, she can knit without looking at her project much, so it’s particularly good for things like sitting in Phoenix Comicon panels.

Do you carry craft supplies or projects with you? What’s in your bag?

May 8, 2017February 5, 2020

Vacancy

Phillip read an article an old hotel that had been sitting abandoned for years with plans to tear it down when the city decided instead to preserve it.

He wanted to go find the Edwards Hotel on his day off, so we drove to the Peoria address in the article. It wasn’t hard to find.

Even from outside the chain link fence, it was interesting to guess what had been there originally and what had been added later.

Then we took a stroll around Old Town Peoria, where there’s currently not much going on, but they have a revitalization program in the works.

In the meantime, they have ornate, agriculturally-themed bus stops, a handful of historic buildings (including a church that was turning 100 the week we were there), and a nice little community center with paintings and quilts on display. It was all a cozy contrast to the hollowed-out hotel.