I generally try to avoid Pinterest. Just as a rule.

Because it’s dangerous there! For a busy person with much too much web to surf already, Pinterest is like a no-mans-land of endless, utterly gleeful time suckage. Recipes! Decorating! CRAFT PROJECTS!

You know how it goes. It’s basically the holy grail of design porn, which is so awesome and totally dangerously addictive at the same time. And that’s why I mostly stay away.

But hey, I’m a DIY enthusiast and a secondhand shopping junkie and a sucker for a good repurposing/upcycling. And Pinterest is just chock full of those projects. Which is great! It means the rest of the world is crafting and conserving and reusing and thrifting as well. I’m all for it.

Homemade cake stands brightened the spread at Waits’s second birthday party.

One thing I’ve noticed about so many DIY Pinterest projects, is their reliance on spray paint. Which makes sense – spray paint is cheap and quick, it’s easy to apply and it leaves an even coat with no brushstrokes. It’s ideal for DIY, but traditional spray paint is just about as toxic as you can get. Chock full of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that wreak havoc on the environment, and containing a chemical cocktail that can actually cause neurological damage, organ distress, or death . . . yeah, you could say they’re bad news.

The Good News?
So amazingly, spray paint manufacturers have begun to catch onto this whole “we actually care about the future of the planet” trend. And much to my surprise and delight, there’s now not one but TWO eco-friendly spray paints on the market. Pretty cool right?

1) The first is by Krylon – the Krylon H2O Latex Spray Paint – which is a big beautiful step in the right direction. Krylon H2O is a water-based, 100% acrylic latex formula. The VOC-emissions are reduced by 25-30%, and it eliminates 55% of the smog-causing chemical load in traditional spray paints.

Okay, so that’s an awesome improvement. Maybe it’s not perfect, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

2) More recent on the scene is Plutonium Paint. And this? has got me really excited.

Plutonium spray paint is served up in a recyclable, tin-free steel can. It has zero – NONE – CFCs. Using Plutonium reduces the carbon footprint by 50% over traditional aerosol sprays. And to top it all off? It’s made in America!

I’m super excited about this product, and what it might mean for the future of eco-conscious crafting. You can learn more about Plutonium here.

*** just in case you were wondering, I am NOT affiliated with either of these products in any way. I just think they’re rad and I was happy to find them, so I’m sharing the love ***




So this project – using thrifted, dirt cheap ugly old dishes and turning them into adorable, funky kitschy cake stands – is ridiculously easy. Like, literally 1-2-3 easy.

1. Procure dishes. Clean them.




2. Glue the plates to the cups. I used Gorilla Glue, which is vegan, but many glues are NOT vegan – just something to be aware of as a conscientious crafter!

Anyway, use books or something else that’s heavy to keep the dishes good and stuck while the glue dries completely.




3. Spray paint! (note – I left the tops unpainted on some of these, because I didn’t like the idea of the food touching the paint. On others, I painted the tops and then used some pretty doilies – also thrifted!)





And that’s that. Happy eco-conscious crafting!

♥