Category — Green Living

I love to read magazines like I love to read picture-books.  I’m a creative, so naturally I’m very visual and that’s why I think I enjoy reading magazines so much.  I know getting magazines is not a “green” habit, but I’ve tried to read subscriptions online and it’s just not the same.  Page layout is an art-form and that paired with the smooth texture of the pages, really get me excited!  Not to worry though, just because I get magazines via mail, doesn’t mean that I just toss them into the garbage.  No no!  After reading these beauties, I go back through and tear out all of the recipes I want and all of the beautifully inspirational images and stories.  In addition, I also use some of the pages for crafty projects.  Once I’m through with them completely, I recycle them.

What started this post was when I looked over and saw my growing pile of un-read magazines!  I’m so behind, and if I don’t catch up, I’ll for sure be reading this summers editions in the Fall.  What I need is to take a small break with some tea and just read.  That’s not going to happen today, but maybe this weekend… (smile).

If you Google something along the lines of “Making Crafts out of Magazines” you can find some pretty nice projects.

Today started off nicely by the dogs allowing me to sleep in until 8am!!!  Oh my goodness, I have not slept past 6:30am in over 3 years now.  The dogs are on a schedule, I suppose.  Then we got ready and went to a local Farmer’s Market where they had some lovely Colorado products.  We first browsed around to scope out what we wanted to buy, then we went for it!  We ended up leaving with a bundle of fresh radishes (yummy), a pound of pickling cucumbers (to make my great grandpa proud), apricots, Jalapeno hot sauce, soy-based sauce, an avocado for our sammy’s, and some homemade and freshly-poured Root Beer!!!

I think the best part of it all for me, was when the guy poured the root beer from the barrel it was made in, into brown bottles and topped them off with a cork!  How lovely!

Now I’m spending the day updating the blog and shop.  I think I’ll take a stab at pickling tomorrow or Wednesday.  I’ll let you know how that goes   Happy Sunday!

RL

Eeeeeeee… I bought a new planner about a month ago and I can’t hardly wait to use it!  I didn’t buy one at the end of 2010 (I know, I know, crazy!) and then realized in May that I really needed one.  I use my iPhone Calendar and iCal on my Mac, but I really like to hand write things and check them off as I complete them.  I get a real sense of accomplishment.  So, I bought one, but they don’t sell them starting at the beginning of 2011 this time of year, they start at July 2011.  So, I’m patiently waiting to write in this fella.  Isn’t it cute!?  I bought it at Target for $8!  What a steal.

Well, I hope your Monday is going well.  I’m busy working on organizing my studio space and writing Blog Posts for the week… so I better get back to work.

I’m in love with garland of all kinds.  You can use garland to spice up any occasion from the holidays to a birthday.  It just makes me happy…

{twig & thistle}

{project wedding}

{mockingbird hill cottage}

{creature comforts}

{amy atlas}

{scissor variations}

These are just fabulous!  I love the idea of these products and their functionality within our daily lives.  We need to be responsible in every part of our lives… even down to our doggie bags!

I love stumbling upon great eco-products that look great and serve a purpose!  Sylvacurl of Vermont offers all natural wood curls to ship your breakables all over!  See for yourself!

Here is another fun and easy way to transform that scrap paper into something fabulous!  You can get the complete how-to over at maya*made.

I stumbled across this the other day and simply fell in love with the idea!  Mandi at Here’s Looking At Me Kid shares a fabulous way to stay green and creative while shipping products or gifts through the mail.  The full how-to can be found here at A Beautiful Mess, but basically you just use a paper bag and stitch it closed.  The great thing is that you can decorate it as you wish!  It’s also a great way to save some cash.  I love this idea so much, I’m going to adopt it!  I actually have a similar idea that I’ve been actively using for about 8 years now.  I’ll post a DIY on that soon!  Thanks Mandi!

Images via A Beautiful Mess

Oh, boy did I find some great Easter DIY Projects for you!

1.  Homemade Marshmallow Peeps at twig & thistle
2.  Grow your own Easter Grass with Ecoki
3.  Fabric Easter Basket at Moda Bakeshop
4.  Easter Bunny Cake Pops with Bakerella
5.  Ribbon Wrapped Easter Eggs at Woman’s Day

After watching this weeks Shark Tank on ABC, I would like to give a shout out to two products that I think are just great!  The first being Llama Brew™, an “Eco-Friendly Green Fertilizer,” and Nubrella, “The Ultimate Weather Protector.”

“Llama Brew™ is made from 100% organic llama and alpaca manure and is packaged in recycled bottles.”  I just love to see when people use natural resources to do the same job as man-made items.  Chemical fertilizers are dangerous to our environment, the animals, and our families, so why not go natural?!  The surprising thing is that there is no fowl odor this product is very affordable!

Nubrella is a great alternative to your average umbrella, because it protects you from rain, snow, sleet, etc.  It is easy to use and you an use it hands-free without it flipping inside-out on you!  This means that you can use it while riding a bike, sitting at your child’s soccer game, walking to work, or anything else you can think of!  This truly can make life easier when standing up to the weather.