Jewelry

Upcycling making wearable art with items that were bound for the trashcan has become increasingly trendy, and it is a fun way to hone one's crafting skills. This book offers plenty of inspiration for upcycled jewelry, as well as scientific information to encourage green responsibility. Owen includes facts on the environmental impact of the raw materials used in the projects, such as T-shirts and packing material. She discusses not only the space that these items take up in a landfill but also the energy costs of their production and the harmful by-products. The finished projects are cute and wearable items that will easily appeal to tweens, such as a purse made from old jeans, or a rag-and-button friendship bracelet. Step-by-step directions are included for each project and are easy to follow, with photographs and helpful sidebars. This is one of the few kinds of crafts that you can get a lot of use out of and kids will. Pair this with Pam Scheunemann's Trash to Treasure: A Kid's Upcycling Guide to Crafts, reviewed on this page.--Anderson, Erin Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 3-6-Each of these titles begins by supplying meaningful statistics regarding the staggering amount of waste that occurs on a regular basis in the United States. The information is presented in a manner that should impress and be understood by the target audience. For example, Holiday informs readers that there are enough Christmas cards sold each year to "fill a building that is 10 stories tall and covers as much ground as a football field," and Fabrics explains that it takes around 950 gallons of water just to grow the cotton and manufacture the fabric for a single pair of denim jeans. More green information is interwoven throughout the text. Each volume provides directions for six crafts that can be made by recycling household trash, such as a bird feeder in Gifts that is made from a juice carton, and a feeder in Nature that is a bottle project. Some of the activities can be found in other craft books. The precise directions are accompanied by sharp, clear, color photos, and all necessary items should be readily available in any household. These environment-friendly titles would make worthwhile additions to most collections. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.