The pile of towels we bought new eight years ago was perfectly viable, except for the dingy mint color that evolved through hundreds of washings. In my frenzy for a peaceful domestic space, I longed to buy a new set but realized that there must be some way to freshen up what we have. I was missing a few hand towels, but found some in a similar faded green at a thrift store for less than a dollar. I figured that the dye might help the whole lot look like more of a set.

After spending eight bucks on Rit Dye and one hour hastily attempting to dye the towels in a front loading washing machine, I had achieved my goal.

How did I do it? The truth is that I am the opposite of Martha Stewart. There wasn’t a studious perusal of instructions or a table laid with carefully chosen towel dying tools. I just tossed the towels in the wash and mixed up the dye in an old waste basket full of hot water. When I dumped it (clumsily) into my front loading washer, there was some spillage, but I started the load on hot and hoped for the best.

I then did several hot loads without soap. When I first pulled the towels out, I was sure I had ruined them. They looked a bit streaky and sad. I then washed them for about five more loads on hot with soap. After a quick toss in the dryer, I have to say they are gorgeous. They’re a bright stem green looks fantastic against my purple bathroom walls. My husband, who often has to suffer through my strangely creative ideas, has mentioned how great they look at least five times already.

If you decide to take on this feat, you should know that a top loader would have been far easier for dyeing. Also, I didn’t use the dye fixative and have found that there has been some very slight leakage on one piece of laundry in the wash. (Luckily it was just a rag.) The RIT dye instructions also call for using two cups of salt with the dye, but I had just a half cup.

I suppose you could even cobble together a collection of white towels secondhand and then dye them any color you’d like if you were feeling adventurous. The nice thing about my case was that there was no failure. If I ruined the towels, it would have been time to spring for new ones. If I saved them, victory!

In short, if I can do this project, despite my very limited attention to detail and my total lack of preparation, anyone can!

Surprise your tree-hugging Picasso with new, eco-friendly art supplies this holiday season!

Alex Eco Craft ($12.99) comes with everything your child needs to create over twenty craft projects. Best for ages 6-8.

Stockmar Beeswax Stick Crayons ($21.45). Set of sixteen crayons.

Eco Kids Natural Plant Dye Modeling Dough Made in the USA ($19.89)

Artterro Art Dolls Kit ($19.95). Here’s Amazon’s product description:

Eco-friendly art kits from Artterro have colorful, fun art supplies. No two kits are exactly alike, each features a unique assortment of colors and patterns. Craft four fun dolls with gorgeous handmade paper, glass beads, colorful 100% wool felt dresses and needle and thread. Turn them into bookmarks, decorations, scrapbook covers, friends to play with or even pins to wear! Ages 7 and up.

Check out all the Arttero Art Kits for more ideas, all around $20: the Artterro Wire and Bead Art Kit, the Artterro Paint With Wool Portrait, the Artterro Handmade Paper Bookmaking Kit, and many more.

Arttero Wool Felt Bug Kit

Or keep it simple with the EcoPaper Art Pad 9×12 Tree Free Banana Paper for $12.95. This paper is made from a blend of post-consumer waste and agricultural waste.

What art supplies are on your kid’s gift list this year?

Walking through the baby aisle in through any big box store, you’d think tots require blinking plastic playthings for constant entertainment.  As we point out in The Eco-nomical Baby Guide, parents need far less than they’re pressured to buy in those months leading up to baby’s arrival.  Plus, everyone knows the story of the child who receives a brand new gift only to end up playing with the ribbon and cardboard box.

So what do you have around the house that might fascinate your baby and toddler?

Cereal boxes, egg cartons, and toilet paper tubes. Young children bat them around and sit on them while older kids can use them to construct castles, caterpillars and many other three dimensional art projects.

Paper sacks and measuring cups. I love seeing how many hours a six-month-old can spend observing a paper bag.  It crinkles, it has an inside and outside, and it collapses.  What a fantastic device!  My children spent many hours nesting measuring cups and clanking them together.  Plus, the fact that these are obviously real adult objects that parents use regularly makes them extra appealing to tots.

Real pots and pans, wooden spoons, and grains or pasta. Sit your child at the table with a bowl of dry noodles or rice, several measuring spoons, and various bowls and cups.  They’ll be entranced by their cooking experiments and you may just get time to prepare a meal.

Keys were another hot item that parents listed when we solicited info for the The Eco-nomical Baby Guide, but then they aren’t always safe.  What are the favorite non-toys that your baby loves to play with at home?  Is your child chewing on Tupperware at this very moment?

I made these easy DIY Valentines with my five-year-old daughter using wrapping paper scraps. Magazine pages would work just as well. I simply cut out a heart from the patterned paper. Then, I cut out a larger paper heart from colored paper.  Glue the smaller heart onto the larger one, and use scissors to create scalloped or spiky edges. My daughter then used glitter glue to decorate around the edges–that part is optional.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Here at Greenbabyguide.com, we’re celebrating our fourth Valentine’s Day and we have a wealth of vintage posts to help you celebrate love with a green tinge.  DIY Paper Heart Valentines are simple and lovely and our Eco-friendly Valentine Baby Gift Ideas would be great picks for any tiny bundle of love.

If you’re short on time, consider Last Minute Homemade Valentine’s Day Cards for your preschooler’s class.  Those who are willing to have fun making a huge mess will enjoy having baby make Potato Print Valentines.

Indulge your sweet tooth by making Nutritious Valentine’s Day Brownies or try mixing some of your homemade sweet potato purees into some Baby Food Brownies.  (Don’t worry!  They’re for you, not the baby.)

Best of all, celebrate your relationship by planning a Simple, Frugal Valentine’s Day Date. Are you too exhausted for any romantic effort?  You’re not alone!  We know how it is to have Valentine’s Day with A New Baby. On one hand having a newborn is sheer bliss.  On the other hand, conflict and exhaustion.  (And those two states can shift back and forth on an hourly basis.)

Wherever you are in your parenting journey, I wish you rest. (And maybe a bit of chocolate.)  Do you have any plans this Valentine’s Day?

If you’re in a last minute panic and can’t imagine lugging your children through crowded shops, our vintage posts can save the day!

These fast and easy gingerbread cookies taste great and handle beautifully.  Although people always seem to be impressed by the mysterious qualities of gingerbread, you’ll have a batch whipped up in no time flat.  (There’s no refrigeration required.)

You can involve your children with making DIY: salt dough ornaments.  You can also use the dough for their little handprints if you want a great gift idea for grandparents.

Simple homemade play-dough is a great stocking stuffer or holiday craft to keep your kids busy while you tuck presents under the tree.

If you have a big chunk of unexpected time, you can whip up some DIY fabric holiday gift bags.  Give a set away as a gift or make one for your own crew.  We’ve used the set my mother made for our family nearly four decades and I now have a set of my own.  It makes wrapping presents incredibly easy and eliminates those scrapes of wrapping paper that litter your floor after those gifts have been opened.

What are you doing in the next week?  Are you taking any steps (even small ones) to make your holiday green this year?

Joy went over our top holiday crafts for kids a couple weeks ago. That post contains classics like how to make a proper paper snowflake and homemade baked Christmas ornaments. Yesterday Audrey and I spent a couple hours decorating construction paper trees and gingerbread men—a highly recommended activity for the preschool set. We also gathered branches and leaves and tied them onto a paper plate ring to make a simple wreath. Even really young children could enjoy gathering the supplies for that one, though I suppose if you live in a snow-encrusted area, that might prove difficult.

What are your favorite holiday crafts?

When the rain hits around here, cabin fever quickly descends unless we seek creative indoor entertainment.  Luckily we have a huge supply of cozy kid-friendly fall activities for those chilly afternoons indoors.

If you’re still waiting for that first baby to arrive, you can while away the time with our DIY baby mobile made of beautiful paper birds.  Or, you can whip up a few homemade hemp diaper liners to fill out your cloth diaper layette.  Don’t forget to buy or use your library for free access to books! Check out our practical little publication, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide for some entertaining and eco-friendly reading.

Those of us who already have a few little helpers will enjoy our homemade Play-dough recipes. You can even combine playtime with snack by making Edible Play-Dough!  While you’re mixing up play clay, make some salt dough for Baked Dough Christmas ornaments that can be slipped into stockings in just a few weeks.

Clove oranges are another great craft that can later be used for homemade seasonal gifts.  You’ll enjoy pomanders as all natural air fresheners that will bring those spicy scents into your home before the holidays hit.

Even if it isn’t quite time for snow, you can make some elegant paper snowflakes with your children on those long cold afternoons and then string them in the windows!  And one of our favorite creative recycled playthings is the DIY Cardboard Dollhouse made of a box and a few furniture catalogues.

And when this list runs out, you can always get the kids outfitted in PVC-free children’s raingear and hit the puddles!  Have you had any cold weather fun yet this year?  What is the temperature at this time of year where you live?

Also, don’t forget that our Sealy Naturalis Crib Mattress with Organic Cotton giveaway is coming to a close soon.  Go to our organic mattress giveaway post and enter multiple times!

On Tuesday we revealed our top picks for eco-friendly holiday cards. But buying a box of recycled cards and sending them far and wide isn’t the only way—or even the best way—to green your greetings. Here are some other ideas:

Don’t send a paper card at all! Electronic greeting cards save on paper and shipping. Check out Bluemountain.com, hallmark.com, and 123greetings.com.

Go for greener photo cards. Photo cards and foil-lined envelopes cannot be recycled. Check out Peartreegreetings.com for photo cards that are recycled and recyclable.

This homemade Christmas card was easy to mass produce. I simply cut out the snowy house scene, glued it on thick blue paper, and wrote “Merry Christmas” coming out of the chimney with a silver pen.

Make your own cards. Do an online search for “DIY holiday cards” or “DIY Christmas cards” and you’ll find hundreds of cute, easy ideas—many of which require materials you have around the house. DIY Life has a great round-up of DIY holiday card crafts. I’ve made cards using my paper cutting skills for several consecutive years. Cut a simple tree out of an interesting page in a magazine, glue on a piece of thick paper, and voila!

One of my simplest DIY holiday card creations–cut out a dove, glue it on the card, and scribble on “Peace” with a green pen.

Forgo the card-giving tradition altogether. I know, I know—this tip is no fun at all. But if you don’t enjoy sending out cards, don’t force yourself to do it out of obligation. After all, it’s the green thing to do!