DIY Wedding Delights

Weddings enchant and inspire! It's wedding season, and during the research for an article about creating ethical weddings, I found the most delightfully creative wedding-related DIY projects – in white, of course.

The cake was a tree.

So the bride wore bamboo…

…and carried antique buttons too.

Descending the stairs of no-frills…

...she danced all night in her handmade espadrilles.

Credits and DIY tutorials: Abstraction White Rose Georgia O'Keefe, Wedding Shawl via Purl Bee, Cake Tree - Pretty Chic Blog via Craft, Vicente Wolf for Elle Décor, Button Bouquet - Letters4Lilly, Espadrilles - Between The Lines

No Sew Curtains and DIY Window Treatment Ideas

Let’s talk curtains. Do you have them? I don’t, unless you count a shower curtain. I do have a few bamboo shades, but mostly, I don’t use window coverings because I live in the woods. A reader recently asked me if I have a simple DIY pattern for curtains. As a green home design enthusiast, I realized that curtains haven’t interested me that much. So, I asked a master seamstress and fellow design lover – my mom, about curtains. As you may know, I have lots of DIY chops, but sewing isn’t one of them. My mom always offers to help with decorating and mending projects that involve sewing.

Much to my surprise, mom says you don’t need to know how to sew to make curtains. Better yet, curtains and rods can be made from recycled and natural materials. Sheets and tablecloths make fine curtains. Curtain rods are easily created from decorative branches. For no-sew curtains, curtain making tips, window treatment inspiration, 7 DIY curtain rods and tie backs...CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Photo Credit: Country Living

5 DIY Rugs

Have you ever seen a tag on a carpet that said it contained “unknown man-made fibers?” Are you scared of the “unknown?” If it’s hanging off a carpet or rug, maybe you should be. “Unknown” carpet or rug fibers are generally made from a cocktail of synthetic fibers such as nylon, acrylic, polyester, or polypropylene. These fibers may be treated with fire retardants, anti-static treatments, fungicides, dye and adhesives made of VOC's. Carpets are backed with polyurethane, synthetic latex, or PVC. Take a whiff. You can even smell the chemical odors of new carpets and rugs wafting up from the floor when you bring one home.

Don’t want to lay down the bucks for a new carpet? Then make your own rugs. While I love the look of wood, bamboo or cork floors, nothing cozies up a room like a rug. Small rugs can even transform into mini-versions of carpet when put together. Check out these 5 DIY rugs: CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Credit: Home Workshop

No More Plastic Hangers: An Eco-Friendly Project

Have you ever noticed that no matter how many hangers you have, there's never enough? Since hangers are the essential element for closet organizing, the choices are just a few – plastic, wire and cardboard (from the dry cleaner), wood, and fuzzy coated wire. I've mostly waved good-bye to the eco-unfriendly dry cleaner, and stopped buying plastic hangers. The dry cleaner was the major source for acquiring free wire and cardboard hangers. The cardboard on those last few hangers are either bent or disintegrated. I have a few plastic ones from years ago and wood hangers for the coats, but it's time for a hanger makeover. Did you know that an estimated 8 billion polystyrene and polycarbonate hangers clog our landfills every year? It is enough to fill the Empire State Building 4.6 times! Read more about this in this Daily Green article titled, “How Many Clothes Hangers Does it Take to Fill a Landfill?”

Want to bring nature into your closet and keep hangers out of the landfills? Revamp your closet or make some beautiful handmade gifts with these quick, eco-friendly hangers projects. CLICK HERE FOR 3 DIY HANGER PROJECTS

Credit: Swissmiss