Four more weeks until spring! Dreaming of longer days, warmer weather and most importantly— all the flower crafts 🌼 Here are some of my favorite low waste projects using upcycled and natural materials. Excited to work on some new things this season along with beloved traditions that we create new variations of yearly.

Also here’s your reminder to just make something, anything really. You can break the process up into (many) steps, which is what this season of life looks like for me. I’m typically creating during small pockets of time with a sleeping baby on my chest or hand sewing quietly in my car while baby naps (lol).

#lowwaste #upcycledcrafts #springcrafts #naturecrafts #flowercrafts #cottagecore

Some birthday party things! 🐭🧀 We call my daughter a little mouse because she loves cheese so I had fun finding a few fun mouse things. Fabric birthday banner pattern on my blog if you want to make your own. Details for the birthday crown in my previous post. #DIY #firstbirthday #birthdaydecoration #birthdaybanner #birthdaycrown #needlefelting #cottagecore

felted wool eggs 🥚 All you need is wool to make these reusable eggs that you can decorate and keep for decades. Here’s my favorite wet felting method for making them with a shortcut option added in. For this technique you’ll use a washing machine and an old pair of pantyhose or tights. I use core batting for the base because it is economical and felts quickly with a uniform look and the designs are added using wool roving. full tutorial is on my blog with links to all needle felting tools and supplies! #DIY #eastercrafts #easterdiy #reusableeggs #needlefelting #wetfelting #felting #feltegg #cottagecore

mini baskets made from walnut shells ✨ tiny baskets for the tiniest of treasures. I use pine needles for the handles because I have a lot of them but you can substitute with twine/ribbon or whatever materials you have on hand. Perfect for treasures and trinkets! #DIY #naturecrafts #upcycledcrafts #springcrafts #miniatures #cottagecore

making a fabric birthday banner for my daughter’s first birthday✨ Yearly traditions are big in our household, especially ones that revolve around birthdays. For my daughter’s first, I really wanted to make something that could be reused every year and that she will remember having throughout her entire childhood. I’ve seen a bunch of mass-produced versions of these and thought it’d be special to sew an heirloom piece using scrap fabrics and remnants from my vintage fabric collection. I made my own bias tape but you can certainly use a ribbon or premade bias tape. FREE TEMPLATE and full instructions on my blog! The flags can be adjusted to any size if desired— as is, my finished flags measure roughly 5.5 x 8” sewn with a 1/8" seam allowance. Link in my profile. #DIY #firstbirthday #birthdaydecoration #sewing #sewingprojects #birthdaybanner #cottagecore

a needle felted birthday crown for baby’s ✨first birthday ✨ brb, crying. This has been my most beloved annual birthday tradition for my oldest and I’m so grateful to be able to start it all over again from the beginning. 🥹 Such a special year filled with many firsts. Elliot and I call Frances a little mouse because she loves cheese, so I added a mouse holding a strawberry which is her favorite fruit. During her first months, some of my favorite memories were picking flowers while she napped sweetly on my chest, so I also added a bunch of flowers. The ties are extra special because Elliot crocheted them for her. As usual, designs are a combination of wool roving that have been needle felted on and embroidery. The stitch is a basic blanket stitch and my son used wool yarn that was naturally dyed to crochet the ties. #DIY #birthdaycrown #needlefelting #birthdaytraditions #handmadegifts #cottagecore #firstbirthday

beeswax eggshell candles 🥚🕯️ I’ve been making these eggshell candles for my son’s birthday every year since he was teeny tiny! He’ll be turning 9 in a couple months so I’ll make 9 of them for him this year. Eggshells are a wonderful low waste option for candles if you consume eggs— after they’ve completely burned down you can just crush them and add them to your garden soil (after removing any wick tabs). These will burn for 3-4 hours, depending on how shallow your eggshell halves are/how much wax you use. Materials: eggshells, beeswax, cotton candle wick, sustainer tabs, egg carton, heat-proof container to melt wax in (and something to place it on top of inside of the pot), candy thermometer (optional but recommended), clothespins Instructions: Melt beeswax using the double-boiler method. Dip your wicks n the beeswax, let cool and attach each to a wick sustainer tab. Use a spoon to gently crack open the top half of each egg, empty them out, wash them and remove the inside membrane. Place your eggshells inside of an egg carton and place a tabbed wick at the bottom of each eggshell using a small pour of beeswax. Pour your beeswax into each shell, straighten the wicks and secure with a clothespin. Let harden completely and trim wicks. #DIY #lowwaste #eastercrafts #easterdiy #candlemaking #eggshellcandles #eggcandles #beeswaxcandles #cottagecore

when your love language is handmade gifts 💕 here are the valentines gifts that I made for my two little loves (almost 9 and almost 1) this year— most of them made with a sleeping baby on my chest ✨ and all taking several weeks to complete lol. happy valentines, friends! project list (in order): ruffled heart pillow heart avocado pit buttons tiny heart button notebook hand-stitched fabric hearts scrap fabric candy trinket valentines #lowwaste #valentinescraft #upcycling #diyvalentines #avocadobutton #handmadebuttons

scrap fabric candy valentines 🍬 my oldest loves little trinkets so I made these valentines for him out of some leftover fabric and thin recycled cardboard that I saved from a watercolor pad packaging that we used up. These are really easy and quick to make— I created a cardboard form (for structure), filled with wool and trinkets and then wrapped it in fabric that I tied on both ends. I just added the wool for more structure but you can of course omit it entirely. You can also leave the ties longer and tie them into bows for easy opening. #valentinescraft #upcycling #diyvalentines #valentinesdiy #lowwaste

tiny heart button notebooks ✨ made with avocado pit buttons. Same deal as my original button books with an accordion fold for the inside papers. #DIY #avocadobutton #upcycledcrafts #fairynotebook #diynotebook #mininotebook #cottagecore #fairycore

scrap paper heart bookmarks ❤️📚 these origami heart bookmarks are so easy to make using any scrap paper that you have. I’m using leftover wrapping paper scraps cut down to 4” and 5”. Instructions below! Instructions: - Fold a square piece of paper in half (ours is 5”) and cut along the fold - Fold one piece in half lengthwise - Fold in half widthwise to create a crease in the center - With the open side facing up, fold one side up against the center crease - Repeat with the opposite side - Flip over and fold both top portions down - Fold the left and right corner down. Repeat for the inside corners - Secure the front flaps with a piece of tape along the inside, then glue all of the top flaps down #valentinescraft #papercraft #upcycling #paperheart #origamiheart #diybookmark

heart avocado pit buttons ✨ adding a special touch to this sweet little hand-me-down sweater given to me by a friend for my daughter. These are so easy to make and this is the process that I like best. In terms of thickness, I find that between 1/8”-1/4” is ideal, not too thick and not so thin with risk of breaking. The buttons shrink a lot in size as they dry. You can finish them with polish you’d use for wood and to wash I’d recommend following the same instructions for washing unsealed wood buttons! #DIY #avocadobutton #avocadopitbutton #diybuttons #handmadebuttons #upcycledcrafts #valentinesdiy

spiral beeswax candle 🕯️ This is my favorite candle to make to celebrate seasonal transitions and shifts. Tomorrow is the midway point between winter solstice and spring equinox (imbolc), so I’ll be lighting one of these spiral candles with my oldest tonight after baby goes to bed. I use an orange peel as a mold since it is biodegradable and low impact. These are neat because they burn down in a spiral shape and my total burn time for this was about 2 hours. Yours will vary based on the size of your mold and how much wick you use. Instructions are below! To make, melt beeswax using the double-boiler method. Cut a length of wick long enough to wrap around your mold (I pre-dipped mine in beeswax but it’s not necessary). Dip your orange in the melted beeswax a couple of times. Add the wick. Dip several more times. Remove the orange peel and trim any excess beeswax off the top. Place on a dish to burn and never leave burning candles unattended. #beeswaxcandles #candlemaking #diycandle #spiralcandle #DIY #imbolc #cottagecore

needle felted wool heart garland 💛 instructions below! This cookie cutter method makes it easy to form the shape quickly. You can then use embroidery thread to string your needle felted hearts together to make an easy garland. Materials: wool roving or batting, felting mat, felting needle, heart cookie cutter, embroidery thread, needle Instructions: Pull wool fibers apart, starting with a small amount. Stuff roving inside of the cookie cutter and use your felting needle to stab the wool all over. Repeat for the underside. Remove cookie cutter and shape the heart. When each heart is finished it will hold its shape and feel firm. Use a needle and thread to string your hearts together to create a garland! #needlefelting #felting #valentinescraft #valentinesdiy #feltheart #woolheart #heartgarland

This is your sign to start thinking about this year’s handmade valentines ✨ Here are some of my favorite low waste valentines that your kids (or you, I won’t judge) can make using natural, low impact or upcycled materials! #lowwaste #upcycloedcrafts #valentinesdiy #valentinescrafts #craftsforkids #diynotebook

valentines heart paper chains 💛 I’ve been making tons of these during the baby’s nap time— they’re a quick and easy scrap paper project. If this is goodbye and this is my last post here— you can find me on IG (username there is woodlark) and I have a blog with a lot of my projects (www.woodlarkblog.com). See ya on the other side, friends! #valentinesdiy #valentinescrafts #papercraft #paperchain #heartgarland #valentinescrafts #craftsforkids