This Saturday and Sunday, makers and DIYers from across the country will be showing their work, doing demos and leading how-to sessions at Maker Faire Bay Area.

As a DIYer and maker, I have participated in several Maker Faires and this weekend will mark my fourth with Vertical Theory. It's an event not to be missed if you're a  maker, a DIYer or even just wanting to learn something new. From high tech objects to gardening projects, artists, craftsmen, engineers and designers will spend the weekend sharing their ideas with thousands of attendees.

A very hands-on event, Maker Faire is perfect for families and people of all ages. For deets on attending this year's Maker Faire Bay Area in San Mateo, CA, you can check out their website.

Can't wait for Saturday? Here are a few of the sustainable-minded exhibits that we can't wait to see in the Maker Faire Homegrown Village:

1. Urban Biofilter

Mobile Greenbelts are fabricated out of upcycled and palletized totes. For these modular systems, plants are selected that grow quickly and provide dense foliage for air filtration and wastewater reuse and treatment.

2. Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

Tumbleweed provides the means to to reduce your carbon footprint, eliminate reliance on mortgages and have the freedom of living with less "stuff" by building your own little house.

3. Guerrilla Gardens

Become a modern Johnny Appleseed, spreading seed balls to restore natural beauty. These guerrilla gardens are full of wildflowers native to North America, enjoyed by humans and wildlife alike.

4. TE+ND Rover Project

The TE+ND Rover project consists of robots that care for on-board gardens of native California plants by working with community members through the exploration of migratory ecology.

5. Beekeepers Guild of San Mateo

The Beekeepers Guild of San Mateo is an organization dedicated to educating both new and experienced beekeepers. This exhibit will be staffed by experienced beekeepers to answer questions, offer support and provide products from their hives for sale.

6. The Happy Chicken

Interested in keeping chickens? Learn the basics from housing to feeding to basic healthcare from the folks at Dog Island Farm, a local Bay Area urban farm.

7. Vertical Theory

I'll also be showing my project, Vertical Theory, so stop on by! Vertical Theory provides an alternative food source for urban dwellers. This vertical farming system utilizes hydroponic technologies and felt. The design requires minimal space, resources and maintenance to grow fresh food indoors.

Instead of tossing your cardboard, you can reuse it to make fun cardboard crafts!

Cardboard is pretty ubiquitous, isn't it? It seems like you can't buy many things without ending up with a bit of cardboard that's headed for the recycle bin.

Paper recycling is pretty efficient, but it does take energy to send the cardboard away and to actually do the recycling part. If you do end up with some spare cardboard laying around, you can use your crafty skills to turn it into something usable again instead! Here are some cardboard crafts to get you started.

1. All you need to make the cardboard shelf pictured above are boxes, an X-acto blade, a ruler, and glue!

2. Esprit Cabane shows you how to turn cardboard tubes into cute side tables.

3. Cats love cardboard, so next time you have some big boxes laying around, you can whip them up a cardboard cat playhouse!

4. Transform old toilet paper or paper towel rolls into a tree wall decoration.

5. Got a lot of old tea boxes handy? Whip yourself up a sweet little circus train.

6. Don't toss that old cereal box! You can upcycled it into a pillow box for wrapping gifts.

7. You don't need to buy an expensive scanner. Try this reclaimed cardboard stand that turns your digital camera into an instant scanner.

8. Transform an old corrugated cardboard box into a functional laptop stand.

9. Got an empty 12 pack box? Turn it into a set of embroidery thread bracelets.

10. Inspiration & Realisation shows you how to turn an old tin can and a corrugated cardboard box into a recycled vase.

Have you guys done any fun cardboard crafts lately? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments!

Max McCurdo restores and recycles unwanted products into new and well-designed objects, from bathtub couches to washing-machine drum coffee tables. Similar to the work of Ramon Coronado, this cool reinvented shopping cart chair is another great upcycled piece by McCurdo's company, Reestore.

McCurdo's design is not only inspirational, it's atheistically well designed and I suspect quite comfortable. The "Annie" chair takes an ordinary object and gives it a second life, suitable for any living room or office in need of something cute and comfy with a dash of iconic design. Although a bit costly at £550.00, a great inspiration to DIYers and my fellow makers.

I am loving this whimsical little circus train that crafter Mer Mag made from old tea boxes and brightly colored duct tape!

She and her boys got crafty and cut up some empty tea boxes from the pantry to make these little trains. They used duct tape to embellish, but I bet you could cut back on the tape in this project if you used junk mail paper and a glue stick instead. All you need to make your own are:

• Small, empty boxes (from tea, animal crackers, etc)
• Duct tape
• Junk mail and a glue stick (optional)
• Scissors
• Brads
• Imagination!

Get the tutorial here!

We're big fans of wine cork craft projects, and these sweet wine cork micro-planters combine corky crafts with another thing that's close to my heart: growing things!

Over at Crafts Unleashed, you can learn how to create your own mini succulent planters with just some old wine corks, a wood carving tool set, cuttings from a succulent, and a little bit of good potting mix. Easy peasy! I think these would look great as part of a tablescape. Maybe if you arranged a bunch of them on a pretty, vintage tray!

How would you show off your wine cork micro-planter?

We're all about adding splashes of greenery to small spaces around here, and whether you have a big back yard, a tiny porch, or just a windowsill to work with, container gardening can help you do just that.

The kind folks at Timber Press sent me a copy of Fern Richardson's new book, Small Space Container Gardens, and I have got to tell you, I am in love! The book is all about how to plan, plant, and maintain beautiful container gardens, and she does an great job of demystifying some of the trickier parts of gardening.

Richardson talks you through planning your garden from choosing the right plants for your climate to how to arrange them in their containers and deck out your container garden's space. What really struck me about the book is that so many of her tips are useful for even a back yard gardener. When I read the chapter on using plants to create privacy walls, I ran out back to my husband to show him Richardson's suggestions. Sure, potted bamboo is a great way to get privacy on your patio, but it also just might be the eco-friendly solution for covering up our ugly chain link without the disruption or footprint of putting in a wood privacy fence.

I loved the common sense ways that she talks about choosing your plants and the breathtaking photos of small space container gardens from all over the world. Her ideas are inspiring, and the photos make you want to run to the nearest garden center immediately.

She also includes crafty ways to create containers and accent pieces for your garden, often using reclaimed materials. Even the ones that don't specifically call for reclaimed materials are ripe for upcycling. She offers some ways to make cheap garden center pots super cute, but you could also use her stenciling and painting techniques on containers you find at the thrift store or even ones you already have in your stash.

Whether you're planning a small container garden or want to beautify your backyard, this book is full of helpful tips for beginning gardeners.

So, you've made the leap and replaced those old incandescents with efficient CFL or LED bulbs instead. High five! But now you're stuck with a pile of useless old light bulbs. Boo! What's a crafter to do?

Over at Rook No. 17, Jenn shows us how to turn those inefficient old light bulbs into super sweet hot air balloons! All you need to make your own are fabric scraps, glue, the cap from an old water bottle or sodapop, paint, and ribbon or ric rac. Depending on what you have in your stash, this project can cost as little as a dollar to make! Pretty snazzy, right?

Get the light bulb hot air balloon tutorial here!

Via: Dollar Store Crafts