Bloomingdale Holiday Market Sunday, December 5th, 4-9pm Big Bear Cafe (1st and R streets NW) I know you’re thinking of really making this year a handmade holiday right? You’ve probably already gathered your ingredients for all the cookie platters you plan to make for parties, clipped all the necessary recipes from various resources and maaaaybe [...]

I had the pleasure of meeting Eve VanDalsen at Arts on N this past August. Eve constructs bags and wallets built to last (and last and last) out of beautiful leather remnants. She is a rockin’ lady who moved here recently from Detroit, and will soon be on the move again, this time to Luanda, [...]

The squeal heard round the jury-room for Jennifer Strunge’s Cotton Monsters explains why they sell out so quickly in her etsy shop whenever she does an update. The Baltimore seamstress works without patterns to create each and every colorful little beast, and uses almost exclusively recycled materials (except the stuffing, which she buys new). Strunge [...]

Steampunk jewelry has never been my style, but I still respect people making things in this currently popular style. So I often find myself searching for Steampunk stuffs on Etsy. I recently found and can’t stop thinking about these awesome converted toy guns by River Wraith. Can you believe this is a converted Nerf gun, [...]

I always joke that some upcycled products make me worry about a post-apocalyptic future. But these baby shoes made from trash by MoJo Trashion are going to give me nightmares. They are actually really cute, but they make me think of a future when we all have wear shoes made from noodle wrappers. The awesome [...]

Got old sweaters? Make some seahorses! These lovely seahorses ($40 for the set) by Snaulkter are made from 99% recycled materials; old (washed) sweaters and plastic shopping bags in the fins to make them crinkle. Not only do I love these guys because they are upcycled, but they are totally kid friendly. I could see [...]

My favorite upcycled products are those that are made from actual trash picked up off the ground. That’s why these rings from Metals And Thread made out of used cigarette lighters are just awesome. In the listing for this ring, they write: A sustainable and artistic approach was used to make these pop art jewelry [...]

I have no nostalgia for listening to cassette tapes. All that rewinding. Fast forwarding, rewinding. But I do have an old picnic basket way back in my closet full of them. Mix tapes, Cindy Lauper, long lost lo-fi projects and me doing a radio show at age 6. What to do with all these tapes? [...]

Get to know this year’s Crafty Bastards vendors! We’re posting a series of interviews of crafters who will be at the CB festival Saturday, June 28, at the Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center in Silver Spring, MD. Fisticuffs Leather specializes in cuffs and watchbands decorated with pieces of found art. Not only are the cuffs distinctive [...]

You are invited to join the Craft Mutiny for a Supply Swap Happy Hour on Tuesday, June 24th from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Chloe in Adams Morgan, DC (2473 18th St NW). Drop all your unwanted arts and crafts supplies with us, have a drink, hang out and talk crafty. The Craft Mutiny [...]