You don't have to toss those giftcards in the bin! Upcycle them into a super cute necklace instead.

Don't you just love getting a gift card? You get to shop and choose exactly the thing you want. The only trouble with gift cards is that once that balance hits zero, their usefulness is pretty much done. Some stores let you reload gift cards - now there's some regifting we can get behind! - but if you're stuck with one that you can't refill, reusing it is the next best thing.

Crafter Vicki O'Dell - aka The Creative Goddess - shares a tutorial for turning an old giftcard into a cute necklace. What I love about this tutorial is that you'd probably never know that she used a giftcard to make the sparkly shell-like beads on this necklace. All you need to make your own are:

• a good pair of scissors
• alcohol inks - don't want to spring for them? You can make your own alcohol inks from reclaimed markers!
• a heat gun - though I wonder if you could melt these on low heat in the oven instead
• tweezers or a wooden clothespin
• 3 yards of jewelry cording
• hole punch
• jump rings

Ready to get making? Click here for the tutorial!

Mother's Day is just 3 little days away! If you haven't made anything yet for mom, we've got some DIY last-minute Mother's Day gift ideas to help save the day.

When time's running short, it's tempting to head out to the store to buy a Mother's Day gift, but a handmade gift for mom doesn't have to take much longer to make than a trip to the mall. Handmade gifts have more heart than something mass-produced, and when you make a gift yourself, you're opting out of the cycle of big box store waste, to boot!

1.  Mother's Day Plant Flag

Does your mom like to garden? Instead of cut flowers, you can gift her with something that she can nurture, and make it extra special with a customized flag made from reclaimed paper.

2. Fabric Flowers

If she's not into gardening, you can still skip the cut flowers and the massive carbon footprint that goes with them. Check out these simple-to-make fabric flowers that you can create in a flash!

3. Wine Cork Pendant

Does your mom dig jewelry and a nice glass of wine? Make her a personalized necklace from an old wine cork!

4. Blue Ribbon Brooch

Show your mom that she's #1 today with an upcycled brooch made from book pages.

5. Upcycled Photo Album

Get nostalgic, and gift mom with a handmade photo album full of photos of the family.

Do you have a handmade Mother's Day gift in the works? We'd love to hear what you're making!

Mother's Day is on May 12 this year, so if you want to get crafty for mom, you've only got a few days left!

This Sunday is all about making mom feel special, and what says special better than a sweet blue ribbon that you made yourself? Bonnie over at Crafting a Green World used a page from a reclaimed book to create a super cute blue ribbon brooch for her momma, and she shared a tutorial so that you can make one for your mom, too!

What I love about this project is that not only is it totally adorable, it won't take you too long to make. Perfect for us procrastinating children, right?

It only takes a few materials to make an upcycled Mother's Day brooch of your own:

• an old book
• scissors
• white glue
• hot glue
• crayons and markers
• brooch pin - the sort with a flat back

Ready to whip up a blue ribbon brooch for Mother's Day? Click here for the tutorial!

Image Credits: Creative Commons photos by Bonnie Getchell

Do you hoard wine corks like I do? Let's bust that stash with some upcycled wine cork crafts!

Unless you're buying box or screw-top wine (no judgement here - lots of good bottles come in boxes or with screw tops these days!), chances are every time you pop a bottle of vino, you're left with a cork in your hand. Don't toss those suckers into the trash! Save them in a bowl for some rainy day crafting instead!

Wine corks aren't always made from actual cork, which for most of these projects is a-ok! The plastic corks are just as fun for crafting as the natural cork ones, and those plastic ones are actually a lot easier to cut up than natural cork. For either sort, a sharp, serrated knife gets the job done nicely if you need to slice and dice your corks.

Ready to get crafty? Check out some of these wine cork crafts!

1. Wino Cork board - If you have a nice stash of corks going, you can turn them into a mini cork board to keep your a little bit more organized.

2. Micro-Planters - Make your self the teeniest garden ever by transforming your old corks into micro-planters for succulents.

3. Plant Markers - This project works best with natural cork, but if you use a permanent marker that contrasts with the color of your synthetic cork, you can even use the plastic sort to make these cork plant markers!

4. Decorative Heart - Another project that's best with natural cork, though you could modify it with some artfully-placed synthetic ones. Gather your corks and make a sweet cork heart to hang on the wall!

5. Pendants - Use paint to add a pop of color and stamps to embellish your very own handmade wine cork pendants.

Have you made anything cool out of old wine corks? Tell us all about your favorite cork crafts in the comments!

Check out these beautiful pendants made from reclaimed wine corks!

We love crafting with wine corks around here. That humble little cork in your bottle of vino has so many crafty possibilities! Whether your bottle has a plastic or a natural cork, it's worth collecting those suckers in a little bowl, because both make great, free craft supplies. The bonus? When you craft with your old wine corks, you're keeping that material out of the waste stream.

Over on the Fiskars blog, Lisa Storms shares a tutorial for making some super sweet wine cork pendants. You only need a few materials to make your own:

• A sharp knife - I've found that a serrated blade is best for cutting cork
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Stamps
• a 5mm eye screw

You probably have most of these supplies laying around the house! Ready to make your own wine cork pendants? Click here for the complete tutorial!

[This magazine rack is made from recycled cereal boxes!]

Feeling guilty about the cereal boxes in your recycle bin? Pull 'em out and try some of these upcycled projects to give them a new life!

Recycling is great, but reuse is always better! Cardboard recycling is pretty efficient, as recycling goes, but it still takes energy to turn old cardboard into new paper products, and transporting cardboard from your home to the recycle center produces carbon emissions, too.

Boxes are a natural pick for storage, right? When I was researching some ideas for cereal boxes, I noticed that so many of them were organization-related! Next time you polish off a box of cereal, save the box for one of these home organization cardboard crafts!

1. Magazine Rack - Do you have magazines all over your house? Tidy those suckers up with a cereal box magazine rack!

2. Expandable File Folder - Get organized! Check out how to turn an old cereal box into a chic way to store your files.

3. Mini Album - Get your photos all in order with an upcycled album.

4. Fabric Storage Baskets - Cover old cereal boxes in fabric to make boxes for all kinds of organizing needs!

5. Closet Organizer - Tame a messy closet with the power of upcycled cereal boxes!

Have you guys made anything fun with reclaimed cereal boxes lately? Share your ideas in the comments!

Turn reclaimed cardboard into a DIY mini photo album!

That light cardboard from old cereal boxes, frozen pizza boxes, or six packs is endlessly useful for crafting. It's sturdy, easy to cut, and flexible enough to use in all kinds of projects from gift boxes to sweet little toys. Over at Dollar Store Crafts, Rhonda shares another awesome craft you can make from reclaimed light cardboard: a mini photo album!

Rhonda uses new wrapping paper to decorate her photo album, but you could really use any kind of pretty paper you like. Maybe you are like me and save pretty wrapping paper from gifts that folks give you? You could also use recycled scrapbook paper or even the insides of  junk mail envelopes to cover your album. Oh, the upcycling possibilities!

To make your album, you will need:

• Reclaimed cardboard - old cereal boxes will work best
• Reclaimed or recycled paper
• Mod Podge
• A brayer - this is a rolly tool that will help you cover the cardboard in paper without ripples and lumps. A rolling pin will work in a pinch!

Ready to make your own upcycled mini album? Get the tutorial here!