I found a cool blog on Yahoo Green today called New Dress A Day . The writer of this blog is going to make a new dress everyday for a year... and she is doing it on a budget of 1 dollar a day using recycled clothing from thrift stores. Now I don't know much about the art of making clothes... but this seems like a really cool and interesting project... and it got me thinking... What kind of recycled materials can I incorporate into my crafts? How can I make something new out of something old? And how can I make something that is original out of something that already has a purpose and form? I have a few ideas already... but I still have a lot of thinking to do...

Today I made something for my kids called a No-More-Boredom box... or a crazy can. All you do is cut a bunch of index cards in half... and on each card write an activity. Get your kids to decorate the box while you write up some cards. I found it helpful to list the supplies they would need to do the project right on the card... that is unless it is self explanatory. You can list toys and games they already play with, crafts, science experiments, pretend prompts... whatever you come up with. You can even put small toys or craft projects right in the box. The Busy Books series by Kuffner has some really great ideas.... they even have a list in the back called Crazy Can Activities that you can pick from. Any rainy day or activity book would work, however, or just use your own ideas. Here are just a few of the long list of activities I put in the box: Sock/beanbag basketball Doll and baby play Hand art (trace hand and decorate) Indoor tent Musical instruments Funny face (cut out noses, ey...

I was hanging out with a good friend last night and she had a whole stack of homemade hula hoops... the girls were having a ball showing off, goofing off, and playing together. There were even a couple of adult size hoops so we all got in on the action. I was thinking that making hula hoops would be a fun and different gift to make for people for the holidays (or any occasion really). It could even be decorated by using double pointed needles to knit a colorful cover for the poly tubing. You can find instructions on how to make your own here .

Not really... but I need to start thinking about the holidays now if I'm going to make all my presents this year...and I am going to make all my gifts this year... I came close last year... and this year I'm going to do it! The only store bought presents under the tree this year will be from Santa... and we all know those are crafted by elves anyway. I thought that I would use this blog as a way to brainstorm and talk about making the holidays about something more than just spending a bunch of money... and there is no better time to begin than now... before the rush and craziness of the holiday season comes knocking. I've always loved to make gifts for people. I'm sure I made presents as a child... but as an adult it began with a cookbook that I made for several years and gave to all my friends and family. I loved doing it... and I am thinking about doing it again someday... I already have a surplus of recipes ready and waiting... all I need to do is get my husband'...

I have been knitting up a storm lately for my nephew who will be born at the end of September. Here are a few of the gifts that I made for him. The links go to my Ravelry project pages... and you can find the free patterns there. These Chucks were so fun to make. They were my first booties... and my first project with a color change in the middle of the row. They were not particularly difficult... in fact I'm sure I will be making more of these for expecting friends in the future. Some of the ladies at the shower put in requests for friends. I made this ribbed baby hat to go with the Chucks... No hip baby should be without a black beanie and matching shoes! I know the doll modeling this hat is a bit creepy... but hey creepy is good! Here is babies first tattoo . Since it is illegal to ink your little brat... I thought this classic tattoo design would be more appropriate done in yarn. And here is a little sock monkey . I used the anything animal pattern... added a sock-monkey-...