I've always been a thrifty gal, my mother's influence from her own rationing and wartime in London experiences have helped shape me as someone who hates to discard. Even my craft studio is built around semi-conservation/upcycling principles - a lot of my crafting materials are stored in those transparent plastic boxes which prepared salads come in. They are ideal since they stack, are easily labelled, are lightweight and the contents are seen readily.
However, I'm not as quick as some sellers of handmade to jump on the eco bandwagon. I've made a few tagging changes to fit in with the Etsy perception of 'being green' (when in Rome, .....) but I'm still uncomfortable with whooping up eco credentials. I try to incorporate green-ness in everyday life and crafting but I'm no eco-warrior. The spotlight above brings together some of my more thrifty, upcycling projects and the new design of felted flotsam cuff above incorporates handspun 'sweepings' (from Yummy Yarn) with brand new wire (it's almost impossible to upcycle wire though my flotsam brooches do use up the odds and ends of all kinds of handcrafting offcuts). I love working with sea glass and am slowly working thru a stash of machine knit wool swatches for felting which my mother gave me.
With a little thought it's possible to work some earth-saving practices into your crafting life!
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