DIY Gifts For The Artist On Your Holiday List: Eco-Art Box

DIY is already a part of an artist's creative ethos. But it can be a challenge to find art supplies that are both healthy and eco-friendly. Artists welcome gifts that don’t add to the toxic soup they are often faced with daily. Why not give the artist on your holiday list all the makings for an earth-friendly, non-toxic art set? 3 Eco-Tips:

1. Read labels on art materials carefully. If a label says the product presents a health risk, chances are it will also pollute ground water when disposed of. 2. To determine whether a product is nontoxic, look for the AP (Approved Product) seal from the Art and Creative Materials Institute. AMI reviews art materials for toxicology. These products are safe for children and adults. 3. Take a whiff. Smell is a good indicator of toxicity. If it stinks, leave it out.

How to make an Eco-Art Box:

Turn an old silverware chest into an art supplies box, repurpose a fishing tackle box, or make a box from scrap wood to house art supplies.

Fill the Eco-Art Box:

Ecoartworks provides all the makings for creating green art: plant-based pastels, natural paint sets, hemp sketch pads, plant colored pencils, recycled sketch books, drawing books with onion paper, soy crayons and more. Include a copy of the Green Guide For Artists. This fabulous book contains non-toxic recipes, green art ideas and resources for the eco-conscious artist.

For more DIY gifts for the artist in your life CLICK HERE.

Crafting A Career

Have you ever thought you could sell your art or crafts? If you have a creative hobby that you love, cheap and friends and family are often telling you, "You could sell that!" - why not consider subsidizing your income or making a living as a "craft-epreneur"? Folks all over the globe are reinventing their careers by selling their art and crafts.

5 questions to ask yourself before quitting your day job to run off with the crafters:

Who will buy your crafts? How will you finance your start-up? What will your wages be? How much help will you need to produce at a profitable scale? How much will you need to charge to break even or better yet, make a profit?

CLICK HERE to find out where to sell your art without selling your soul, and what my friend, Juliet Harrison who sells her equine photographs, has to say about marketing art.

An Inspired DIY Idea: Recycled Sweater Sleeve Cozy

Here’s what often happens to me: I am inspired by ideas and new products that I think could be easily made. That was the case this morning while I was pointing and clicking around the blogosphere. I spied this stunning handmade white matte-satin pot over on Swissmiss. It was created by Paige Russell. The pot appeared to be cradled by a sweater sleeve. Tea cozies are not generally my thing, pharm but this one spoke to me. Not only was it beautiful, cheap cialis it totally made functional sense.

Recycled Sweater Sleeve Cozy

How to: Using a felted wool sweater sleeve, viagra buy cut to fit. Grab a hot drink. So easy, so sweet!

Note: Felting will give the cozy a tight finished fit. A felted wool fabric will not unravel. I explain how to felt a recycled sweater here.

Photo Credits: Paige Russell

Art From The Deep Woods: Mushrooms and Moss

Inspired by the crispness of fall, and an invigorating trip to the Adirondacks to visit my friend Eliza, I’ve been noticing mushrooms and moss. While shells and driftwood reflect the brightness of summer, umbrella-topped mushrooms and velvety deep green moss set the mood for fall.

Shelf mushrooms are probably my favorite type of mushroom to forage for. They illuminate the woods of the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks with their salmon color and oversized caps. Deep inside fertile forests, shelf mushrooms can be found jutting off live trees and downed limbs. These mushrooms thrive in damp, dark spaces. They make hunting for non-poisonous, non-edible mushrooms a treat to find because these shelf mushrooms can be easily transformed into an interesting piece of art. Read more about these wild mushrooms here.

My family has fond memories of visiting Keene Valley and hiking the trails along the Ausable River to collect these fungi to make art with. Shelf mushrooms change color when bruised. My kids would draw fine lines on the inner surface of the mushroom by etching with a sharp pointy object. It's like soft carving on a block of wood. I spotted a fine example of shelf mushroom art (above) sitting on the mantle of a grand fireplace at the Ausable Club.

Another natural wonder found along Adirondack trails is moss. This lush plant rises in moist places and cushions the rock faces that anchor the forest floor. Moss is beautiful to look at, but did you know moss can be painted with too?

Images of moss wall art graffiti have been making the rounds of the blogosphere for a while now. Every time images of moss graffiti pop up on my computer screen, I find it delightfully whimsical to see the words and murals painted with moss. It's the ultimate garden wallpaper. Moss graffiti can be spray-painted onto a surface. It creates a naturally organic paint, as opposed to traditional enamel based aerosol sprays. If you love the look of moss graffiti, try this recipe (adapted from this Apartment Therapy post):

Moss Wall Art Graffiti

What You'll Need: Handfulls of Moss 1-2 Tablespoons Sugar 1/2 cup Buttermilk Water Blender Covered Container Paint Brush Chalk Spray Mist Bottle

What To Do: 1. Collect moss. 2. Clean the dirt off the moss. 3. Sketch out the image onto the surface with chalk. 4. Place moss in the blender. 5. Add sugar and buttermilk 6. Blend until thick like a milkshake. If it gets too thick, add some water. 7. Pour into container. 8. With the paintbrush, create your design on the surface. 9. Leftover moss can be stored in the refrigerator and reapplied if needed. 10. Spray your moss wall art daily with water. 11. The design should start to spread over the area.

Here is another recipe from Stories From Space that uses beer instead of buttermilk.

Let's celebrate fall in all its natural beauty! What inspires you in autumn?

Main Photo: Ditte Isanger Moss Graffiti: Environmental Graffiti

Pondering The Power Of Paint

It would be a cinch if one could taste test paint to see which color was the yummiest. One thing we do know is that all that delicious color equals power - the power to transform a home. Color is as close as you can get to an instant personality makeover or wardrobe change for your home. It’s an inexpensive design tool that can elevate a mood, make a workspace more productive, energize a cooking area, add sexiness to a bedroom, be a dramatic backdrop for art, or just set a calm tone for living. All that power comes from a can of paint. In the past, this elemental powerhouse has failed in one major area—its environmental healthfulness. I was standing in the paint department of my local hardware store (Williams Lumber) with paint chips and fabric swatches in hand in preparation of painting the main living spaces of my home (living room, dining room and hall.) While contemplating the overwhelming color selection, I'm thinking, “How do I want the space to feel and which color do I choose?” Well, I want it to feel cheerfully neutral. According to a very reputable source (the guy behind the paint counter), DIY interior painting is easy, but selecting a type of paint and paint color can be mind-numbingly difficult. He said, “People get dizzy looking at all the color choices. Try the new eco-friendly paints - they cover just as well as the regular paint.”

I wrote an article about eco-friendly paint, and we had already greened up a few painting projects. The health benefits for my family and the environment were enough reason to choose no-VOC  eco-friendly paints in the two bathrooms we recently renovated. Since one small bathroom is particularly prone to mold and mildew, we used an earth-based natural wall finish, American Clay. We also had great results in the other bathroom with Aura Paint from Benjamin Moore.

How do you choose a color from all of those “dizzying” choices? It seems the paint companies are trying to make the answer to that question easier with free color apps. Just snap a picture and you can instantly match it to one of thousands of hues in the color app systems. Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams provide coordinating color palettes for your inspiration. If you don’t have an iPhone (like me), take a cue from these apps and bring a photo to the paint counter with you when you choose colors.

How much paint to buy? Measure twice, paint once. Here’s a handy paint calculator to help determine how much paint will cover a space. With DIY projects like painting a room, you don't want to make a costly mistake. You'll want to get it right the first time. Most paint companies provide coverage estimates on the paint can label.

I'm still in the process of sampling Aura and Natura paint colors. My wall looks like a tasty patchwork quilt, but I'm determined to get it right. I would love to know how you choose a paint color?

Credits: Main Image via Happy Mundane, iPhone, Drawing – Michael Maslin