Green: literal and metaphoric

It's about time I cleaned up my act. I have a confession: I barely recycle. It's a matter of pure, unadulterated laziness. As the bags around my trash can pile up, I simply can't or don't try to remember which is paper, which is plastic, which is trash and which is partying remains from the night before.

But I can change! Or I can at least try.

Martha came through to get me on my way. Today, I decided to start with green crafting. Thankfully, Martha has a convenient section on her site dedicated to recycling crafts. So I picked one, and went with it.

I thought the T-Shirt Necklace, looked super cute. This was facilitated by the fact that I have an awful lot of Gap t-shirts lying around that miraculously get holes in them the first time I try to wear them. But I continue to wear them and end up looking like a hobo. I figured with this craft I was killing multiple birds with one stone: forcing me to stop wearing ratty tees, making something cute and wearable and trying to cut down on the trash I throw out every day.

It helps that this was exceptionally easy, as well!

Instructions (courtesy of Martha and cucumbersome.com, which inspired her):

 Tools and Materials

• Soft cotton T-shirt
• Ruler
• Scissors or rotary cutter

1. Lay the shirt on a flat surface; cut off the hem and discard. Then cut the body of the shirt horizontally into strips approximately 3/4 of an inch long. (They will actually be loops.)
2. One at a time, pull the loops open and stretch until the fabric starts to curl. Stack the loops on top of one another so that all the T-shirt side seams are in the same spot.
3. Once you have the thickness you desire, wrap the seams with a scrap piece of fabric (about 6 inches long) from the same shirt. Tuck the end of the scrap under itself.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Recycled Craft: The T-Shirt Necklace