Eco Friendly

Cardboard Creations // MacBook

My middle daughter is in love with technology. She is ten now, but this love of all things electronic started long ago. I dug up this photo of her from when she was about four years old. I remember this day – her dad and I decided that she needed a day out with just us. We gave her options: movie, lunch, skating, dog park. She chose to go to the Apple store. We tried to talk her out of it, but then we decided there was no point in that. She would be happy there and that’s all we wanted.

At the Apple Store

Now she is ten. This winter, she had a sick (ish) day at home. I told her no computer/iPad/TV. By 9:05 she was bored, and that was fine by me. I don’t mind when my kids are bored because it actually forces them to use their imagination. She was dyyyyinnngggg without her iPad and could she pllllleeeeaaaaase use it for just 10 minutes. No, no, no. (You have to be strong with this one, she will wear you down). All that was left to do was craft! I had to laugh when she said she was going to make a laptop. After all these years, she still loves those keyboards. Steve Jobs would be proud.

She set herself up with supplies: cardboard box, glue, paint, string, sharpie. I helped her cut the initial shape of the laptop, but after that she did everything 100% on her own. She asked to borrow my keyboard, which I was working on at the time…of course. (Her little way of taking technology away from me.) And then she set about creating. I watched her looking back and forth, counting the keys, writing all of the symbols. She was in her flow!

Cardboard Creations // MacBook

Later on, we both got back on the real computer and found a photo for her screen. After she was finished, she made some tea and helped herself to some dipping cookies, and then she played on her laptop. (Like mother, like daughter). I love the One Direction photo she found and how she drew in little pink mustaches. Ha! That girl makes me laugh.

Necessity is the mother of invention!

12 Mar 2013By: Barbara Rucci Category: Crafts, Create, Eco Friendly, Featured, Recycled Tags: cardboard, recycled boxes

Paper Chain from Recycled Art

This project is super easy with beautiful results! Hop on over to You Are My Fave for my full post with instructions.

Happy Tuesday!

15 Jan 2013By: Barbara Rucci Category: Crafts, Create, Decorate, DIY, Easy, Eco Friendly, Featured, Teen Craft Tags: paper chain, recycled art

A Quilt for her 13th Birthday

My oldest turned 13 right before Christmas. I have been saving her old clothes since 1st grade for this very day! I made her a quilt a long time ago from her baby-to-kindergarten clothes, but that one was a small little doll quilt. This one was going to be big enough for her bed! She and I revisited these clothes right before I started to cut them up. She picked out the things that she remembered as her favorites, and we had a good chuckle over her early sense of style (let’s just say matching was not a priority). It’s amazing to see how her personality has developed through her outfits.

Born a collicky baby, she basically wore pajamas for a year. Hand-me-downs from my nephew put her in blue stripes for the next year. By the time she was two, she began making her own choices. She spent the next 5 years in dresses. Only dresses. Having missed that lesson on coordinating, her outfits were very eye-catching. Right around 2nd grade, dresses were out and pants were in. Jeans and t-shirts became the new uniform. Nowadays, it’s all labels. She and her friends are like Abercrombie clones. Though lately, there are days when she throws caution to the wind and pulls out her glitter tights and gold boots. I love seeing glimpses of what her teenage style will be. Maybe we’ll even share!

I love these photos that show her personality: Determined – Belting out Annie at age 4 / Protective – Hugging her baby sister / Playful – Discovering that her sister is now a friend / Helpful – Feeding the new baby (in her fave heart sweater) / Responsible – Always ready for a photo op (in her fave plaid skirt) / Funny – Goofing around with her little sister.

Being the oldest is not always an easy role. But she carries herself with grace and poise and has an inner strength that is enviable. She’s a special girl, what a privilege it has been to grow with her!

{Tender Threads quilts}

7 Jan 2013By: Barbara Rucci Category: Create, Eco Friendly, Featured, My Studio, Recycled Tags: quilt, recycled clothes, Tender Threads

Old Christmas Cards // Make a Book

I never feel right about throwing Christmas cards away. There is something about personal family photos that make it impossible to just put them in the trash (especially the awkward ones). A few years ago, I decided to bind them together with book rings and hang them up. On Christmas day, we love to flip through them and see how all of the kids have grown!

These are really simple to make, all you need is scissors, a hole punch, 2″ book rings, and some precious time.

Start by arranging them from smallest to biggest. Next, cut off any backs that don’t include photos. Sometimes, I will cut out the greeting and tape it to the back just so we remember ages and names. Next, punch two holes at the edge of the smallest card. Use this card as a template for all of the rest. Lastly, bind them together with the rings.

This project is so easy that I have now enlisted my kids to do it all for me! It’s great in many ways: They can see all of the photos of their friends, get to know some kids they’ve only heard about, punch holes, use the cool book rings mommy has been saving, and lastly…they can all fight about who does what!

Happy hole punching!

3 Jan 2013By: Barbara Rucci Category: Crafts, Create, DIY, Easy, Eco Friendly, Featured, Recycled Tags: book rings, christmas cards, old cards

Owl Collage // Recycled

Sometimes I wonder who is having more fun making stuff…me or the kids? I love collage! Come to think of it, as a graphic designer and quilter, I am constantly collaging. And existentially speaking, isn’t life just one giant collage of accumulated experiences? Some pieces are way in the back, hard to make out, while others are the focal point – bright and clear. It’s all about layering.

This project has many steps, but don’t be turned off. Once you have accumulated all of your collage bits, and have cut out the owls, you’re home free.

Supplies:

Cardboard (I used cereal boxes)

Metallic Tempura Paint

Pencil and Scissors (for tracing and trimming owls)

Owl template

Collage bits (old painting, old holiday cards…)

Round labels (eyes)

Elmer’s glue

First, we painted the cardboard (painting on the dull inside of the cereal boxes, not the shiny outside, so the paint would absorb and dry faster). When dry, I traced the owls and cut them out. Next I used my paper cutter to cut the old paintings and cards into squares and strips. I cut triangles for noses, and we used round labels for the eyes. I had the kids glue on their collage bits first, then put the eyes and nose on top at the end.

The kids didn’t want to stop making these. In fact, we have left this project out for more than a week and they are still making collages!

I hope you jump in and try collaging. I swear it’s not only fun, but strangely cathartic (in an existential way ♡).

{Best for ages 5 and up. Using the paper cutter is for adults only.}

19 Nov 2012By: Barbara Rucci Category: Crafts, Create, Eco Friendly, Featured, Recycled Tags: collage, owl collage, Recycled

Candy Wrapper Halloween Banner

It’s now 5 days until Halloween, and my kids are at their breaking point with me. I brought the Halloween boxes up two weeks ago but they are still sitting in the living room untouched. Until today that is! I found a ziploc bag full of candy wrappers and remembered that I had meant to make a candy wrapper banner last year. So, despite thoughts of cavities/promoting junk food running through my head, I made the banner. And whadyaknow? It’s pretty sweet.

It’s a multi-step process, but not hard. It took me about two hours from start to finish.

Materials:

String (I used Divine Twine, but black string would be better)

Large Needle

Colored paper (mine is from Staples)

Scissors, pencil, double-sided tape

Candy wrappers (I also threw in a few muffin papers for extra green)

To make the letters, I folded the paper lengthwise into three sections. This way, I knew the letters would be the same height. I drew the letters freehand and cut them out. I used double-sticky tape to attach the letters to the black paper. Next, I laid out the letters and the wrappers. Then I started from the end, and wove my needle in and out of each piece. I made sure to pull the first wrapper (which will actually be the wrapper at the end, to the furthest right) far, far down the thread so I had enough room to add everything.

That’s it! I attached it to my fireplace mantle on the little hooks that I use to hang stockings.

I’m not much of a black + orange girl, so this colorful banner makes me happy. My kids will be so proud!

This banner would also look really cute (ok, cuter actually) if it said “trick-or-treat”.

Happy Candy Day!

26 Oct 2012By: Barbara Rucci Category: Crafts, Create, Decorate, DIY, Eco Friendly, Featured, My Home, Party, Recycled Tags: banner, candy wrappers, Halloween

Ojo de Dios / God’s Eye

This summer has been flying by! We haven’t made much of a dent in our summer crafts list, I’m afraid. But there is still time!

One craft I was dying to make with the kids were these God’s Eyes. With their Mexican roots, these Ojo de Dios’ are so colorful and beautiful.

Here’s what you need:

2 sticks (from nature, or store bought)

Yarn

Scissors

The trick is all in the beginning. Hold the sticks tightly in a cross, then start by wrapping the string diagonally one way 6 or 7 times, then the other way. When the sticks feels secure, you can start the weaving. Basically, you just wrap the string once around the stick, then continue going around and around.

When you want to change colors, tie the new color onto the back and keep going.

While my two older girls (9 and 12) had fun with these, my little guy (6) found it a little challenging to keep the yarn straight as he went around. But with mommy’s help, he felt proud of his work!

We now keep them on our mantle along with our other summer craft collections. Each time I walk by, I get a feeling that I’m being watched over…it’s kind of nice.

8 Aug 2012By: Barbara Rucci Category: Crafts, Create, Eco Friendly, Featured Tags: craft, God's Eye, nature crafts, Ojo de Dios, yarn

Scrap Paper Collage

This was move-out week! We rent our house out in the summer and spend weeks cleaning out closets, sprucing up rooms, and leaving behind empty shelves that are clean and ready for a new family. Since school is out for my little guy, he had to fend for himself for many hours each day (without making a mess!).

There was a pile of scrap paper in the art room, left over from a banner we’d made. While I was upstairs scrubbing stickers off my daughter’s wall, my son was busy creating! I was able to catch the tail end of his project on camera, before he raced off to score a goal (he was Clint Dempsey that day, kicking the winning goal for Fulham).

I asked him where he had learned to do such a cool, 3-D collage. “Margot taught me, of course,” he said. Margot, his beloved art teacher at school, is my new hero.

When you teach kids to make with what they have, you give them a gift. Necessity is the mother of invention!

Scrap Paper Collage:

All you need is scraps and a glue stick, and a whole piece of paper to glue it on to (cardboard would be best). Cut or rip the scraps. Twist them, fold them, pleat them. Glue them down, and make sure to make a “bridge”. This is when you take one long scrap and glue it across other pieces. Voila! Simple.

20 Jun 2012By: Barbara Rucci Category: Crafts, Create, Easy, Eco Friendly, Featured, Recycled Tags: collage, glue, recycle

Magazine Flowers

These flowers are actually made from J. Crew catalogs, but you can make them from magazines and newspapers as well.

I love this craft for three reasons: 1) I can use all of those pretty catalogs that pile up in my recycle bin, 2) I learn about new color names like tidepool and Hampton purple, and 3) my kids are gaga over this craft because they can crumple!

I found this idea on made by nicloe‘s blog. The directions are easy and when you’re done, you can use these flowers as present toppers, as a garland, or just by themselves. We put ours on the mantle but plan on making them into a garland soon.

14 Jun 2012By: Barbara Rucci Category: Crafts, Create, Easy, Eco Friendly, Featured, Recycled Tags: magazine flowers, Recycled

An ECHOage Birthday

To continue with my birthday theme this past week (streamers are still up), I wanted to share with you our secret to a happy birthday party.

For the past three years, we have celebrated the kids’ birthdays with ECHOage, an online birthday party service whereby your child choses a charity to donate to in lieu of gifts. When the e-vite goes out, guests RSVP and immediately can contribute to the charity that your child has chosen. At the end, when the party has been “closed out”, ECHOage sends half of the donated funds to the charity, and half to your child. Simple!

From my perspective, everyone wins! No more toys to unwrap (Lord knows we all have enough toys) or to buy, easy thank-you notes to write (you can have your child write one note, make copies, then just add in the givers name), your child learns the value of giving and receiving, we can help those in need, and…your child can go to the toy store (or Apple store, depending on age!) with money in hand and chose something they have always wanted.

I made this poster for the little guy for his party. We displayed it as a reminder of how much all of his friends helped.

Spread the love of ECHOage!