I am extremely thrifty and eco-friendly, but not aesthetically gifted. My friend Loreen, on the other hand, brings an artistic talent to frugal green living that makes it seem like a rich and tasteful adventure. When I saw what Loreen did with what she already had (an old used dresser, a used storybook, and Mod Podge) and a six dollar roll of shelf paper, I was in awe. The best news is that you could also create a gorgeous one of a kind dresser for your baby’s nursery in just a few hours!

In the before pictures you can see that the secondhand dresser didn’t seem to have much potential for becoming the centerpiece of a green nursery. But Loreen, the Martha Stewart of eco-friendly, budget-friendly living, had a vision. She took a much-used copy of Where the Wild Things Are and cut out illustrations and text, adhering them to the dresser with Mod Podge.

While Mod Podge isn’t a heavy duty protectant, it’s totally non-toxic and Loreen notes that if the book decorations get ripped or written on, she can simply get another used copy of the book and put a fresh illustration on top.

Loreen cut out shelf paper polka dots to scatter along the front and then covered the top with a long sheet of the stuff. Since baby will use the dresser top as a changing table, the shelf paper will make it easy to clean. Isn’t it fabulous?

This is just the beginning of a series of posts on Loreen’s creative brilliance. She shows that rather than being a sacrifice, frugal green living can actually help you generate more unique and personal beauty in your home—and your baby’s nursery.  Have you been brave enough to create any unique furniture pieces or crafts for your baby’s nursery?  Please share!

If you’re like most of us, you’re scrambling to handle those last minute Halloween decorating and costume creation challenges.  We’ve put together a quick list of some great green Halloween tips for your festivities that are easy and cheap!

If you’re hosting a Halloween party this year, Rebecca has a lineup of simple and elegant Halloween crafts.  You may want to cut out a DIY Halloween spiderweb, or if you’re feeling less ambitious, you can make a DIY Paper Jack-O-Lantern with your little one in a matter of minutes.  There’s nothing quite as simple and spooky as the vintage DIY simple paper spider in its web from last year’s post.

Still haven’t picked up that Halloween candy?  There are several Organic and Eco-Friendly Halloween treats to choose from, or you could fill a bowl with coins, marbles, crayons, stickers and decorative band-aids and let the kids pick their own loot.

Simple DIY Halloween costumes can be the best part of the whole celebration!  They’re especially fun when you’re choosing family themed Halloween costumes or creating last minute baby Halloween costumes. If you want to get some laughs out of your pregnancy check out our list of DIY Maternity Halloween costumes.

How is your Halloween planning going this year?  Are your spiderwebs in the windows?  Are your costumes all set?  Please share!

We asked our readers what their favorite DIY Halloween costume ideas were, and they delivered!  How will they outfit those trick-or-treaters this year?

Pair of dice. Cut head and arm holes in boxes. Paint them or wrap them in white paper, add some black dots. (Thanks, Brittany!)

The world. Use old boxes to make a sandwich board that fits over the shoulders. Paint it. Attach planets, the sun, and the moon made from cardboard scraps onto a headband. (Thank you, Lauren!)

Fairy. Scavenge around the house for materials! Lauren’s daughter will wear a tutu over a onesie and sweatpants. Felt will cover her shoes, transforming them into fairy shoes. Make a wand out of a stick, ribbons, and paint. Fashion wings out of hangers and old tights. The final touch? A crown made from fake flowers.

Baseball player. If your child refuses to wear a store-bought get-up, just use one of his outfits that can approximate a costume! Ali transformed her son into a baseball player by dressing him in a baseball jersey and sweat suit he already had in his closet.

These last three are from Eileen:

The Wind. Use strong hair gel to make your child look like he’s caught in a wind tunnel. Add silver and blue streaks and a cloud. Attach some fabric to wire to stream behind him.

Classic ghost. It doesn’t get simpler than this! Cut eye holes in a white sheet for a retro Halloween look. (Check out the detailed instructions over on Kaboose.)

Spider. Here are Eileen’s instructions: Black turtleneck, black sweatpants, 4 lengths of pipe insulation (very cheap at hardware store) either painted black or, in our case, wrapped in black velour. Make the pipe insulation the length of his arms and attach it (sewing will be the most secure but hot glue will work too) to the side seams of the shirt. string them together and to his wrists and elbows so that when he lifts his arms, 6 of the spider legs go up (number 7 and 8 are his legs). I attached some big eyes to a black ski cap. Finally, we looked at spider markings in a book we found in the library and we used bright green duct tape (reflective tape, even better) to make spider markings on the back and legs for visibility.

Need more ideas? Check out these vintage posts:

Family Halloween Costumes

DIY Halloween Costumes for Kids and Babies

Last Minute DIY Halloween Costumes for Babies and Kids

More Fabulous DIY Maternity Halloween Costumes

My $1 Maternity Halloween Costume

The $2 Baby Pumpkin Halloween Costume

Happy costuming!

Last year I dazzled you with my Paper Spider. (Not to brag or anything, but this easy Halloween craft was showcased on the French website Bulbinblue earlier this month!) What crafty goodness do I have in store for you this year? Another, different paper spider. A creepier, crawlier paper spider:

Here’s how you do it:

1. Fold a white, square piece of paper in half, making a triangle

2. Fold it in half again

3. Fold that in thirds

4. Cut the top off at an angle

5. Draw a web pattern as shown

6. Cut out the web

7. Fold a piece of black paper in half and cut out a spider

8. Unfold the web, hang it on the window, stick the spider on it, and shiver in fright!

1. Cut a pumpkin out of orange paper. (Go directly to How to Make a Paper Jack-o-Lantern if this step seems too daunting!)

2. Have your child draw a face on the pumpkin.

For more advanced Halloween crafts, check out some of our vintage posts:

How to Make a Paper Spider in Its Web (I’ll have a new version of this coming up soon!)
How to Make a Cardboard School Bus Costume out of a Wagon
How to Make Your Own Compostable Diaper out of a Pumpkin
How to Make a Paper Jack-o-Lantern

Have you been asking yourself lately, “What do Joy and Rebecca have to say about celebrating an eco-friendly Valentine’s Day?”?  Well, you’re in luck because today’s post highlights some of our fascinating thoughts on this very subject.

First, there’s Joy’s Valentine’s brownie recipe. Not only will it woo the health-conscious chocolate lover in your life, these treats are guaranteed to cost less than a foil-covered box of chocolates.

Would you like to celebrate without shelling out hundreds of dollars for tickets, dinners, and diamonds? Readers weigh in with cheap, green date ideas.

Finally we have a few ideas for homemade Valentines. Potato print valentines are perfect if you need to mass-produce some cards for a child’s class. In our last-minute eco-friendly valentines post, we discuss how to make Valentines out of organic materials . . . such as rocks. Or perhaps you would like to know how to make a paper heart valentine—we reveal our paper-cutting secrets. (Strange fact: That post happens to be our most popular post of all time!)

Here’s to a happy Valentine’s Day!

Are you still suffering flashbacks from wrapping, taping, and then cleaning up mounds of paper this year?  Even if you tried to go green by using recycled paper, wrapping everything and then cleaning up the holiday mess is labor intensive.  You may never have had have time to sew up a batch of gift bags before the holiday crush, but why not do it now?  Holiday fabric and ribbon are on sale and it will only take you about two hours to make bags that can wrap up all your gifts for years to come—with no waste and no yearly cost.  (My mom is still wrapping our gifts in festive bags that we’ve used for over thirty years!)  While you’re at it, whip up a few out of simple patterned fabric and have bags that can be used for birthdays, Valentines, and random surprises.

I am NOT a talented seamstress, but I’ll walk you through the steps so that you can stitch up some holiday bags yourself.  This one is made from ribbon we got for seventy-five percent off and fabric I had left over from my daughter’s curtains.

You’ll need:

• Fabric (as much as you’d like to make small and large bags)
• A sewing machine (Try to borrow one for an afternoon!)
• Fabric Ribbon
• Pins (optional)

First fold the fabric so that the outside pattern is facing inward.

Then cut two six-inch pieces of holiday ribbon.  Lay the pieces on top of each other and sandwich them between the seam toward the top of the bag with the ribbon strings extending inward.

Sew a seam around the three sides of the bag, including the ribbon in the seam.  Then turn the bag inside out.  Finish off the bag by doing a rolled seam on the top edges to prevent fraying.  You’re done!

If you have time and skills you can applique patterns onto the bag front or stitch on decorative ribbons.  You can also use iron-on letters to personalize bags for each of your children. (My mom finally gave me mine after I’d had it for my entire childhood.)

The finished bags look really cute, pack up easily, and won’t cost you a dime for decades to come!  I hope you get a bit of time to make things easier on yourself next year.  If you’re swamped you can ask a crafty family member to whip you up a homemade set or buy a Wrapsacks set of gift bags on Amazon.  Have you found a way to avoid wrapping paper?  Please share!

Even small tots can participate in the holiday preparations with this simple craft.  If you use cloth napkins instead of paper on a regular basis, you may want to dress them up a bit for the festivities.  This simple craft should be done within an hour and will help your little one contribute to the holiday table.  If you already have a few of your child’s paintings to use, you’ll be done in just minutes!

Materials needed:

• Paper
• Tempera or watercolor paints
• Paintbrushes
• Tape
• Ribbon

Technically, these aren’t napkin rings at all, but simply decorated wraps for your cloth napkins.  Pick out the colors that will accent your holiday table and then set your child lose on a blank canvas.  When the painting is dry, cut it into two inch strips.  Roll your cloth napkins up and use the painted strip as a ring.  Cut and tape it shut.  Then add a decorative ribbon on top.  Done!

Why waste money on plug-in devices that spray chemicals into the air when you can scent your house with natural ingredients? This time of year, I like to buy whole cloves in bulk from the grocery store to make a simple homemade air freshener. All I do is take a small saucepan, fill with a cup or two of water, then sprinkle in a small handful of cloves. Keep the pan on low heat and let the spicy smell waft into the room. Of course, this does expend a bit of energy. I’m working on a bicycle-powered version of this little trick. . . .

Do you have any homemade potpourris or air freshener ideas? Do let us know!

Do your paper snowflakes come out looking like doilies? Do you wish you had the creativity, skill, and expertise to cut out a proper paper snowflake? Keep reading to learn how a prize-winning* snowflake cutter makes it happen.

1. Fold a square piece of paper in half.

2. Fold it in half again.

3. Fold it in thirds, so it looks like this:

4. Cut the top part off.

5. Cut out pieces to create your snowflake design. Note that there is very little paper left! Cut nice, skinny lines to create a delicate paper snowflake. Cutting out tiny shapes all over will result in a doilyesque snowflake.

The finished product!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

*All right, so I never really won a snowflake prize.

Paper snowflakes make the perfect cheap DIY holiday decorations. They work for me! For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, head on over to We are THAT Family.