DIY Junk Mail Cork Coasters

I came up with this project because I have so much cork scraps and my favorite material to upcycle with is junk mail!  It's so plentiful and I like revealing it's inner beauty, literally.  Here's an easy coasters project! 

{ Materials needed }    

• cork squares
• junk mail with patterns on inside
• paint and brush
• mod podge hard coat (or any waterproof sealant)

{ Instructions }

1. Cut junk mail with patterns into 4x4" squares to fit your cork squares.  Place on adhesive side of cork.
2. Paint whatever pattern you'd like onto junk mail paper.
3. Seal it with mod podge hard coat (purple bottle).  I chose this one because it is a non-toxic, waterproof sealant since we will be putting cold drinks on these coasters after all.  

I plan to add these packs of handmade coasters to Christmas wine baskets this year!

*The cork squares I offer are natural, eco-friendly, and from a renewable resource.

Happy upcycling!

Egg Shell Candle Tutorial

Earth911 saw my egg candles on my Flickr account and asked for me to create a tutorial for their blog, uh yes!  Way to motivate me to finally get this tutorial together.  

Let's get started!

Supplies Needed:

a. Candle thermometer 

b. Clean, empty egg shells

c. Old pot for boiling water

d. Wick (or old birthday cake candles)

e. Used candles (once melted, you can also reuse the wicks)

f. Melting pour pot 

You can probably find most of these materials around the house, but you may want to head to your local crafts store for the candle thermometer and melting pour pot. in handy for candle crafts for years to come.

You have three different wick options. Brand new wire wicks can be purchased from your local crafts store. But I recommend recycling old birthday candles or wicks from used candles to cut back on environmental impact. 

You can salvage wicks when melting down old candles: Once candle wax is melted, simply extract the wick from the melting pot using tongs or a skewer.

Next time you're scrambling eggs, remember to salvage your egg shells for use in your candle project. 

Start by cracking the top of each egg with a spoon. Break shell away carefully until the hole is large enough to pour content out. 

Rinse your eggshells using hot water, and run your finger around the inside of the egg to remove any remaining shell pieces. 

Let them dry, and they're ready for crafting!

I repurposed wax from old, un-burnable candles for this reuse project. 

Reusing old candle wax is a great way to cut back on waste, but it can be tricky if you don't know what you're doing. So, keep these safety tips in mind while working on your project. 

>> Firstly, candle wax is flammable. This includes parrafin wax, soy wax and beeswax. So, do not use direct heat to melt your candles. Keep flammable items away from the stove, and never leave melting wax unattended. 

On the off-chance that the wax does catch fire, do not douse it with water. Keep a fire extinguisher or baking soda handy, and reach for one of these instead to avoid a crafting mishap.

Cover your workplace with newspaper for easy clean-up - since wax is not fun to clean off counters,.

To begin melting your wax, boil water in an old pot or saucepan and place the melting pot inside. 

Add used candles to the double-boiler setup, and heat to between 125 and 150 degrees Farenheit. 

Check the temperature frequently with a candle thermometer, and never leave wax unattended. 

Tip: Don't let your mixture get hotter than 250 degrees Farenheit or the vapors could become flammable.

Trying to fill your egg shells with wax all in one pour could yield less-than-perfect candles so I do two pours to give the candles a smooth surface.

For the first time around, pour melted wax into eggshells about three-fourths of the way.

Allow your candle wax to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Once the wax has slightly hardened, gently insert wicks into the center of your egg shell candles. 

Before moving on to the next step, your wax should be soft yet thick enough to hold up the wick by itself.

The first pour will create a concave around the wick. So, a second pouring will fix this. 

Top your candles off with more melted wax, enough to create a smooth surface.
Allow your candles to set for at least two hours before using.

Float them in a bowl of water or use egg candle holders.  

Happy upcycling!
EcoMonster

White Junk Mail Envelopes

yay, we were so excited to find that our junk mails with windows made it on the front page of etsy! woohoo!


i n k e d . w h i t e s
I hated the white junk mail envelopes for a while since they were still ugly no matter what I did but I finally came up with the solution! Sad thing was, the day before I cleaned out my drawer and decided to recycle them because I didn't know I would have an epiphany for them the next day. urghh. Oh well, future junkies will be saved.

Mini Cassette Tape Necklace

c a s s e t t e . n e c k l a c e


{info}
3M answering machine cassette tape
chain about 13" in length
100% post consumer recycled necklace

{recycling process}
This cute little cassette was rescued from a lonely 2nd hand shop shelf and turned into a cool retro necklace with misc. metal scraps.

{materials recycled // from}
cassette tape // 2nd hand shop
necklace chain // yard sale
zipper piece // old jacket

Birthday Candle Eggs

Made more eggs but this time even the wick is upcycled since they're from used birthday candles that were trimmed down.

{recycling process}
These egg shells were rescued by a great friend who wanted to help spread the green message! Used vanilla candles rescued from a 2nd hand shop were remelted to make these cute little ones. Used birthday candles trimmed down to serve as recycled wicks. Then packaged in cute strawberry baskets and donated straw packaging. Tah-dah! 100% post consumer egg candles.

{materials recycled // from}
egg shells // friend
straw packaging // friend
strawberry baskets // 2nd hand shop
used vanilla candles // 2nd hand shop
used birthday candles // friend

Green Organization

It's eco-friendly and cheap! Instead of studying for a midterm I decided to organize and label all my craft supplies, materials, etc... Being a college kid, I definitely don't have the money and it's just not practical since I'll be moving soon to purchase permanent organizers.

Cup Containers for markers, pens, crayons, etc...

These were first used for black light beer pong which worked out really well. Now that they have retired they're living their next purpose as organizers. Labeling them just personally makes putting things back a quicker process.

Shoe Boxes as containers to organize certain supplies and materials. Since I have so many different crafts going on, things get lost really easily. It would be easy to pretty them up by just wrapping the boxes in different types of paper but obviously I'm too lazy to do so and am just happy with them as naked boxes.


Record albums as wall organizers for my recycled paper crafts. I blogged about these last time but I actually sorted them this time and labeled them because I just love everything labeled apparently. Again this awesome idea was from paper and stitch


that's all for now!
toodles,
ecomonsters

Green Organization

recycled organizing project no. 1 - cereal box filers
I found this idea on martha sewart's organizing section and had to try it. these are great for magazines, although you have to search for a big cereal box i think. I'm just using them to store my scrap papers at the moment. You can use so many recycled resources to cover these cereal boxes up. I used a gift bag that I saved from my birthday because it was way too cute and I knew it was going to come in handy.

other fun recycled materials you could use:
sunday comics or plain ole newpaper looks cool
decoupage with comic books or magazine pages
used gift wrapping paper
grocery paper bags and rubber stamp them to make it cute
comment me your ideas

cereal box + cute gift bag = stylish filer
+ =

recycled organizing project no. 2 - record album cover wall organizers
awesome diy by paper and stitch.


here's my own wall below. sorry the pictures are blurry but i'm too lazy to retake them. lol, mine doesn't look organized anymore with all the recycled papers hanging out. i love it since my wall was so bare and being a student it's more efficient to utilize my wall space in my cramped room for ecomonster projects. the great thing was, after i saw the diy i was thinking i should head to the thirft store to purchase some records for this project but instead i got to rescue some off the streets! it was really meant to be because we parked downtown and when we got back to the car, they were litterally dumped behind a shop. that really made my day greener! :)


okay that's it for now. hopefully i'll get to finish other organizing projects when exams are over which feels like never!

toodles!

the ecomonsters are here

ecomonster is surely making a turtle slow progress due to school loads piling in. since it takes so long to get a full stocked online shop up and running, we decided to start off small by blogging our progress. our goal is to make being green easy for all ages and likes. we strive to attract the bystanders over to the greener side with our unique and fun products that everyone could appreciate.

so here are just a few projects the monsters were able to crank between exams! enjoy :)

no. 1 - grocery paper bag book cover

{materials recycled}
paper // grocery bag

{how}
used the old school trick of turning a paper bag into a useful book cover for my cell bio book. then simply rubber stamped ecomonster logo all over.
no. 2 - pow comic bowl - SOLD


{materials recycled}
wooden bowl // curbside trash
comic books // 2nd hand shop

{how}
decoupage with old comic books using mod podge glue.
it was time consuming but it was fun. i'm glad i tried it on a simple and easy shaped bowl.
no. 3 - junk mail address filer

for sale to a green-hearted home.

{materials recycled}
paper \\ junk mail
wooden container \\ 2nd hand shop

{how}
cut junk mail into same sizes to fit container. still need to add the alphabetical letters on somehow.

no. 4 - gamer envelopes


available on our etsy
{materials recycled}
gamer book // retail trash
labels // paper scraps

{how}
used a template i found online (forgot where) but made lots of adjustments until I liked how they came out.

no. 5 - reversed junk mail envelopes

available on our etsy
{process}
EcoMonster gave these unwanted junk mail security envelopes a makeover by revealing their inner beauty, literally! Equipped with blank address labels. Seal with tape or lick and tuck the flap inside.

{materials recycled}
junk mail envelopes = paper = wood
mini labels from work = paper = wood

no. 6 - magazine envelopes

free with purchases on etsy while supplies last.

{how}
magazine pages turned into stylish eco envelopes with a template I found online (again, forgot where but will look for source).

{materials recycled // from}
paper // magazines

no. 7 - mini cassette necklace

for sale to a green-hearted home.

{how}
mini cassette tapes rescued from a second hand store and turned into retro jewelry.

{materials recycled}
mini answering machine cassettes // 2nd hand shop

no. 8 - egg candles

for sale to a green-hearted home.

{how}
organic eggshells filled with unwanted left over candle wax.

{materials recycled}
egg shells //
wax from used candle // 2nd hand shop
vintage holders // 2nd hand shop

have a sunny day :)
ecomonster
greener@ecomonster.com