Photo by Remake at Etsy.com

I’m going weak at the knees just looking at Remake’s recycled paper goods, made from mostly salvaged materials, and screenprinted and assembled by hand. Business envelopes are turned inside out, exposing their patterned interiors; discarded folders, alphabetic dividers, and ruled paper are bound into notebooks; everything old is made new again. (From $5, Etsy.com)

Photo by Remake at Etsy.com

Photo by Remake at Etsy.com

Photo by Remake at Etsy.com

Photo by Interweave Press

On sale now: A special felt issue by Interweave Press. As a free online bonus, the editors have thrown up their own favorite ways of recycling and reusing old wool sweaters, including repurposing a “shrunken disaster” into a teddy bear, house slippers, and even a yoga-mat bag.

Photo by Interweave Press

Related articles:
1. One-of-a-Kind Woolen Gifts
2. Recycled Wool Felt
3. Recycled Wool Blankets, Scarves
4. Cozy Up
5. Better Latte Than Never
6. Hello Cupcake!

Art by Anne Johnson

Inspired by coastal and tide-pool inhabitants, artist Anne Johnson’s beautifully embossed note cards and gift enclosures are printed on recycled and tree-free papers, using water- and soy-based inks. Ten percent of each sale goes to wildlife conservation.

Johnson’s objective is to connect with people through her art and to inspire them to protect wild places and creatures she believes are worth saving before it is too late. Treading lightly upon the earth, she believes, is more than right and responsible—it is the path to the future. ($14.25 for a set of five, PassionFly; $16 for an assortment of six, The Succulent Wife)

Art by Anne Johnson

Photo by cruadin, under a Creative Commons license

In the “Ask Martha” column of August’s Martha Stewart Living, one reader asks for ways to banish flies and mosquitoes in her yard without using chemicals.

The grand dame herself—or some lesser mortal on her staff—replies:

Birds are the best insect control nature has to offer. They’re much preferable to chemical sprays and bug zappers. Swallows, in particular, subsist mainly on winged insects. A pair of swallows can eat thousands of mosquitoes in a day! That’s one reason I keep so many birdhouses on my properties. Swallows are common all over the United States. They like open spaces, so hang your birdhouses—ideally bluebird boxes with an entrance hole of one and a half inches—near fields and lawns, rather than in heavily wooded areas.

Banishing creepy crawlies and fliers is one thing, but you can also help stem the dangerous decline in once-common backyard birds, some of whose numbers have fallen more than 80 percent in the past 40 years, according to the National Audubon Society. Here are sustainable birdhouse and bird-feeder options (besides thrifting or making your own, natch) that will garner you some frequent-flier privileges of your own.

Sanctuary, sustainability, and self-sufficiency are the cornerstones of the vocational training at Brown’s Foster Home for men with developmental disabilities. The residents hammer out hundreds of birdhouses each year from reclaimed materials, including rusty hardware, driftwood, and 200-year-old barn boards. Aside from providing some income, these birdhouses are also a source of accomplishment and dignity. Each house is numbered, dated, and cataloged. ($35-$75, Recycled Reflections)

Untreated cedar, salvaged from a local Portland contractor, was used to shape the classic lines of this handmade birdhouse, which will fit wrens, chickadees, bluebirds, downy woodpeckers and other similar-size birds. The overhang helps with drainage, and the door flips open for easy interior cleaning. “Most birds prefer untreated wood because it allows their claws to grip the naturally rough walls more easily,” says Emily, the store’s owner. A percentage of the profits go to the Nature Conservancy or the Portland Audubon Society. ($12, PaperSeed Shop at Etsy)

The birdhouses and feeders of this family-owned business are constructed by hand from wood reclaimed from fallen barns in northwestern New York. Natural cracks, splits, nail holes, peg holes, insect damage, knots, and warping from age lend each birdhouse distinct characteristics that make it a unique piece of American history. Includes a decorative grapevine wreath wrapped around the exterior of each mini abode. Bonus: Free shipping within the United States. (From $19.99, Poppy’s Birdhouses)

Smaller birds such as finches may prefer to mob around this recycled-plastic bird feeder, which comes with multiple perches. Shatterproof polycarbonate windows ward off feathered troublemakers, while spelling long-term durability. This Smith & Hawken exclusive’s regular price is a somewhat steep $49, but it’s currently on clearance for half that. The company also sells a matching window-mountable birdfeeder ($33.99, clearance), so you can peer in on the action and drive your cat batty at the same time. Eat your heart out, Animal Planet. ($23.99, Smith & Hawken)

I’m a tad ambivalent about PopOutz’s birdfeeders. On the one hand, they’re lightweight and can be flattened to save space, lowering their fuel and transport demands. But while the company fashioned its feeders out of 100 percent recyclable polypropylene plastic, it could also have done one better and used recycled plastic, as well. The low, low price of two bucks could go either way—ubiquity or disposability. You gotta admit they’re cute, though. Comes in six colors. ($1.80, Unipeck of America)

This plea came verbally—my friend Liz wanted to know where she could find non-padded mailers that she could use for her new reusable-tote business. Her only requirement: the mailers have to be recycled and recyclable.

In case this is useful to any other environmentally forward entrepreneurs—psst, check out our list of small-biz resources for women—here are some of the options Liz has to protect both her bags and her planet:

1. Gator-Pak Rigid Mailer
100 percent recycled paper fibers, with 95 percent post-consumer content; available at Frontier Paper Co. and PakOutlet

2. Jiffy Rigi Bag
75 percent recycled paper fibers, with 62 percent post-consumer content; available at Office Depot

3. Quality Park Catalog Envelope
100 percent recycled paper fibers, 30 percent post-consumer content, chlorine-free; available at the green-paper store Dolphin Blue

Signed, stamped, and sealed,
Chekhov

Have a burning question about health and the environment? Leave a comment or e-mail chehov-at-worstedwitch-dot-com.

Photo from Buy Olympia

Photo from Buy Olympia

New from Tenth and Grant, six new notebooks based on the above designs, printed with soy inks on recycled paper and chipboard. Tip: To recycle retired spiral-bound or ring-bound notebooks, simply separate the metal spines from the pages before chucking into the appropriate bins. ($12 each, Buy Olympia)

Related article:
1. Previously New at Tenth and Grant

Graphic from ReadyMade

ReadyMade, my favorite mag “for people who like to make stuff” has generously opened up its print archives online. You can search past issues by keyword or browse the archive by issue (although the latter function is less user-friendly). You only have to part with your e-mail address, but that’s hardly a sacrifice when you can learn tricks such as how to transform a pillowcase into a pencil skirt, how to commandeer the contents of your recycling bin for your garden, and how to turn a pair of metal file cabinets into an island for your kitchen.

Remember the Yarntainer? It’s a great way to store twine, too. In this case, a takeout soup container tames the hemp twine we use to tie up boxes for recycling. (Dang Noo Joisey laws.)

Photo by Hammocks & High Tea

I’m quite mad for the sharp, clean lines of Hammocks & High Tea’s notecards. Inspired by the “life and culture of the tropics,” the cards are screenprinted by hand with nontoxic inks on recycled white paper. ($4 per card; $18 for a box of 6, Hamoock & High Tea)

Photo by Hammocks & High Tea

Photo by Hammocks & High Tea

Click on each image for details

Photo by Twice Sewn

Photo by Twice Sewn

Why do kids get all the cute gear? These are from Twice Sewn, a little outfit that breathes new life into found textiles from Northern New Jersey’s finest thrift stores.

Photo by Amy Karol

At my parents’ home a few weeks ago, I found a bunch of old barrettes of mine with cracked plastic shells, looking like sad miniature butterflies with chipped wings. The metal clips themselves, however, were still serviceable if you peeled off the plastic tops. I snuck them back into my old drawer, saving them for another time when I was able to figure out what to do with them—don’t throw them away, Mom!—and I’ve been prodding my brain meats for a solution since.

To my absolute delight—and, I’m sure, my mother’s—Amy at Angry Chicken has shown me how I can reuse those slightly dinged up metal clips to create adorable felt barrettes for my inner little girl. (Procreate schmocreate.) Her name is Cordelia Arwen Honeysuckle Marylouise and she likes bologna sandwiches and slugs. We rock out, yethiree we do.

Click on each image for details

Photo by Hable Construction

I’ve always loved the idea of attractive under-bed storage that doesn’t resemble flattened, oversized Tupperware. Hable Construction has a looker of one, made from 53 percent sustainable linen—I’m not a fan of the conventional-cotton content, however—and handprinted and assembled in New England. If the $215 price makes your wallet go into toxic shock, Martha Stewart has a step-by-step guide to making your own under-bed storage box, though, admittedly, it’s not as cute.

I’m personally leaning towards the idea of painting over a few old or discarded drawers, outfitting them with casters, and fastening kitty-proof hemp-canvas covers over them. And if I’m feeling particularly fancy, switching out the drawer pulls—which ease access—for vintage glass ones.

Photo by Elvis Robertson

With a name like Elvis, how can you not aspire to fabulousness? Ms. Robertson has it in sheets. After studying graphics and illustration at St. Martins School of Art, and stints at various ad agencies and design companies, Elvis decided to fly solo with her bespoke textile company, Lovely, producing delicately handcrafted pieces she says are inspired by “English eccentricity, handicrafts, and a celebration of people coming together to share skills and produce pieces.”

Her primary ethos: Community and loveliness. A believer in recycling—she mostly works with vintage fabrics—and working within the community, Elvis uses textiles to “bring people together with the emotional and deeply intimate links that we all share with fabrics and stitch.”

Look below the fold for more in her own words. (You can find more of her gorgeous textile work on her Web site.)

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