Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah to those that celebrate! And happy December to those that don't!

I create a little craft tutorial on my blog for a Jewish star garland using origami stars. I used found origami paper, but I think these would be awesome to make from old magazines or newspapers destined for the recycling bin. You can view the image in more detail on flickr .



Cheers!

Green your party season, and Happy Thanksgiving!

I'd like to begin by saying Happy Thanksgiving to you guys across the pond! But I have a couple of confessions.

The first is, I nearly forgot to write this post because I'm so busy (in a good way!).

And the second is that up until a few days ago, all I knew about Thanksgiving was that it is a day when lots of Americans eat lots of turkey. And on TV programmes everyone sits around the table listing what they're thankful for.

Well, I couldn't possibly list all the things I'm thankful for. But I think it's interesting how the idea of thankfulness is, I think, part of the core of the green movement -- thankfulness for the life we've been given and the planet we have to live it on. And what better thought to start what, for many of us, can be the most wasteful time of year?

So I thought I'd leave you with a few top-tips for reducing your rubbish this holiday season without spoiling your fun as you go partying, giving, shopping and feasting. And if it all seems a bit overwhelming, just do what you can. A little effort can go a long way ...

Christmas tree furoshiki, GreenerFrog on Etsy (also, click here to visit Hop Frog Pond for excellent furoshiki information and instructions!)

1. Furoshiki -- gift wrapping with fabric. Traditionally, the Japanese giver would unwrap the gift in front of, and then present it to, the recipient and take the wrapping cloth home with them. This isn't necessarily a practical solution in many cases, but it would be easy to keep a set of cloths for wrapping your family's presents. Make them part of your holiday tradition, re-loving them year on year along with the baubles!

2. Aim to only send cards to those you can't see in person during the season, and choose recycled or sustainably sourced cards where you can. Save the cards you receive to make new cards or gift tags next year!

3. Try to plan ahead, and if you want to give someone a gift but don't know what they'd like, ask! That way, you can avoid panic-buying that over-packaged gift set -- and if all else fails, get a gift voucher.

4. And when I say gift voucher, make sure you check out Etsy, DaWanda and other handmade venues for sellers who might offer them. :)

Vintage comet rhinestone brooch, ThePeacockFeather on Etsy

5. Make your new party dress a vintage gem, or check second-hand venues for a treasure somebody else got tired of. Then alter it to fit you like a glove! Admiring those sparkly embellished bandos that are everywhere at the moment? Grab a plain bando, and pin a vintage brooch and some trim to it for a covetable party hairpiece.

6. Avoid leaving a bad taste by buying local food; avoiding over-packaged food in the supermarket; choosing organic and free-range; and making full use of your fridge and compost bin for leftovers :)

Above all, remember to relax and enjoy yourself, and the company of your loved ones!

And this is my final contribution to Sew Green this year, so I'd like to wish you all a (very universal) Happy Holidays and my best wishes for the new year!

Maimy x

Eco-VDay

Valentine's Day giving typically consists of cards, chocolate, roses, & jewelry. While nice, those items can have a pretty serious environmental impact when done en masse. Here are some environmentally friendly and socially conscious alternate suggestions to make your Vday non- corporate and meaningful.

Cards:

"The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas." [source ] That's an enormous amount of paper used, and subsequent trash created. So instead of sending a card, plant a tree. Tree Greetings has an ecard that plants a tree per sale [link has sound]. Arbor Day also plants a tree for cards, even though it does offer a paper card.

Or go to your local nursery and pick up a tree to plant.
On my parent’s first anniversary, my dad gave my mom a baby tree to plant in the yard; when they moved, 25 years later, it was the tallest tree in the neighbourhood. That tree represented their relationship and growing love. How's that for a love metaphor? Advice on how to plant a tree can be found at Tree People.

100% post-consumer waste paper is also an option if you want to send a card, but a lot of that paper is bleached using chlorine. So look for cards labeled PCW [post-consumer waste] and PCF [processed chlorine free].

Chocolate:

Unfortunately for chocolate lovers, according to Tree Hugger, "most chocolate sold in the U.S. comes from cocoa farms where farmers work in unsafe conditions, receive below poverty wages, many of them children under 14 years old who are forced to work and denied education". Typically, any factory that does not respect workers, does not respect the environment. Make sure any chocolate you buy is certified fair trade. Global Exchange has several fair trade boxes here and I have heard wonderful things about Equal Exchanges chocolate, but I am not a huge chocolate lover so I don't have any personal recommendations, so please leave yours in the comments.

Roses:

Flowers are tough- I love cut flowers and I love a good flower arrangement. Unfortunately flowers have 50-1,000 [In California!] times the pesticide use allowed in food. The Environmental Working Group reports "There are no regulations in the U.S. governing the use of pesticides on cut flowers, and therefore, importers are not required to monitor pesticide levels." Since flowers are not food [to humans], they are completely unregulated; flowers are expected to be "pretty" and bug-free making the use of pesticides rampant. Not a very rosy situation. What makes it worse is that "Studies show that women -- who represent 70 percent of all rose workers - - have more health problems since many sort the flowers without wearing masks or latex gloves. Children under 18, who make up more than a fifth of the workforce, display signs of neurological damage at 22 percent above average." From Organic Consumers. And that pesticide flows right into groundwater and air- spreading through ecological systems before it gets passed on to the consumer.

Solution? Buy organic flowers. I found a few venders here, here and here. You can also go to your local nursery and pick up seeds to plant your own organic flowers that can be enjoyed all year.
Or you can you join a CSA and enjoy edible plants all year long. That is a delicious & healthy gift that keeps on giving.

Jewelry:

Diamonds are extremely controversial. From Amnesty International: "Some diamonds have helped fund devastating civil wars in Africa, destroying the lives of millions. Conflict diamonds are those sold in order to fund armed conflict and civil war. ...Wars that have cost an estimated 3.7 million lives." Right now there is no safe way to guarantee that a new diamond is not a conflict diamond. Here are some alternative suggestions:
Vintage jewelry- Vintage pieces are gorgeous and have a history [hopefully unlike the conflict diamond]. If you can keep it in the family even better. Not only green & sentimental- but the vintage styles are classic and gorgeous. Try your local thrift or antique store to find the perfect piece.

Etsy has tons of handmade jewelry- and a lot that use recycled materials. I started searching and got lost in a web of awesomeness. Again, leave any specific recommendations in the comments. To do:

Now that gifts are covered, here are some suggestions for you and you loved one [inlcudes pets & children] to do:

Donate your bras. Instead of buying new lingerie clean out your bra drawer and send them off to be donated and repurpurposed with The Bosom Buddy Program. I have always been wary of donated bras to thrift stores since I feel that they will get tossed and not sold. With this program you are sure that your ill-fitting, or nursing bras will go to someone in need.

Give Blood. You can save a life by donating blood. Make this an annual v-day tradition, and replenish with some fair-trade chocolate afterwards.

Find a local V-Day theater performance. The proceeds from your ticket supports local anti-domestic violence organization. "V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. Through V-Day campaigns, local volunteers and college students produce annual benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues, A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, and screenings of V-Day's documentary Until The Violence Stops, to raise awareness and funds for anti-violence groups within their own communities." Visit the website for performances in your area, or start your own.

And finally, volunteer or donate money that would have been spent on flowers or gifts. Domestic violence is the opposite of love and this is a perfect time to volunteer at a local shelter or donate. From the American Bar Association, "Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States." The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers a Valentine's Card for a donation; you can always donate and skip the card. Find a local shelter in your area and see if they need volunteers. You can also volunteer for a local V-Day performance [see above].

So that was an exhaustive list but I hope you are inspired to make this Valentine's day more green & sustainable.


*Images of hearts cut from my daughter's drawings.

leftover soup

This time of year, the leftovers abound. Around the holidays, I tend to stuff myself silly, but the overabundance is so great that even with overeaters everywhere, lots of food still gets thrown away. My partner and I are trying to get smarter about our budget these days - particularly our food budget - which has meant getting smarter about leftovers, and hopefully a little less waste.

Last week was Thanksgiving, and I decided to take responsibility for the leftovers this year, since I wasn't cooking much. By the time we left on Saturday there was a freezer full of turkey stock and big containers of turkey noodle soup for everyone to take home.

Being a vegetarian, I don't know much about what to do with meat, but I do know that you're not supposed to throw away that big old fatty, meaty turkey carcass after the meal. What a waste! Instead, we made turkey stock.

I had my partner's father pick off all the good-looking meat, and then I stuck the detritus (skin, bones, fatty stuff, neck and jiblets) into a huge big stock pot with a cut-up onion and a few bay leaves, and then filled up the pot with water. I brought the pot to a boil and then simmered the whole thing for the rest of the evening, about 3 hours. Then we pulled out the now-clean bones and all the other solid stuff and tossed it, let the stock cool, skimmed off the fat and then strained out everything else and put the stock into repurposed quart yogurt containers in the freezer. Turkey stock is a good replacement for chicken stock (except richer and tastier, I'm told), and will keep in the freezer for at least six months.

That's how we used about half the stock. The other half we used to make turkey-noodle soup. All we did was par-boil a bag of whole wheat egg noodles, drain them and then put them into the big soup pot with the turkey stock. Since this family likes to eat turkey sandwiches with the leftovers, I left the big slices of breast meat for that purpose, but took all the little funny bits, cut them up smaller, and threw them into the pot. Finally, we dumped in the leftover peas and carrots from the Thanksgiving meal and added some salt and pepper - voila! Turkey-noodle soup.

As I've said, I'm a vegetarian, so the soup was not really on my menu. But I did have a tiny cupful just to try, and now I see why they say that chicken noodle soup cures a cold. I think that soup could have cured much worse - it was about as warm, wholesome and comforting as anything I've ever eaten. Maybe next year I'll have two cupfuls.

There are also lots of opportunities for vegetarian soup from your holiday leftovers. You can make a big pot of veggie stock and then make delicious soup with pureed pumpkin, squash or carrot, or toss in lots of noodles, beans and leftover veggies for a scrumptious vegetable soup with dumplings on top. Just the thing for a simple supper when you've been overdoing it at the holiday parties.

Gift for Good

Holiday shopping. I know, right- but the holidays are less than 2 months away. Less than 2 months. Here is my round-up of socially conscious gifting suggestions:

Donations: I put this first, because the absolute best gift you can give is to your community. Nonprofit organizations have been hit hard by the recession- many states have cut nonprofit services from their budgets and organizations are scrambling to make ends meet. Organizations have also seen their endowments suddenly shrink drastically, and large corporate donations dry up. Domestic Violence shelters are closing all over California and one local museum has recently shut its doors. Many small organizations are one payroll away from closing. We depend so much on these organizations; they are the backbone of American society and losing them is devastating.
What I love about giving donations as gifts, is that you can make it extremely personal to the recipient by donating to a cause which has touched their lives. From breast cancer, to domestic violence, to youth sports, to girl scouts, and so on. Does your recipient love animals? Give to a local shelter. Do they get angry about trash on the beach? Etc. This also goes both ways- find an organization you care about and ask that in lieu of gifts, you want donations. Send your holiday cards out early and specify, or send a mass email. You can avoid the unfortunate trinket and make a real difference. It is also a huge relief for people who might stress over finding the perfect gift, plus they can give one gift donation as a family gift* and feel good about themselves in the process.
Many charities will send out holiday cards announcing the gift to the recipient [less work for you!]- check the website or call for more information. A great place to source out different charities is on Guidestar. Though I would recommend going directly to the organization’s website to donate. Also, most donations are 100% tax deductable for the purchaser.

Memberships*: Museums, zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, public radio, etc. These are donations with benefits. Not only can you donate to the organization, but the recipient can benefit for the entire year. Many membership driven organizations have holiday specials with gift-boxes that come with the membership. Double check that the organization is a 501(c)(3) [licensed nonprofit through the federal government] to ensure that your member fees go back to the organization. You can do this through Guidestar or call directly and ask. Again, most memberships are 75-100% tax deductable.

Gifts with a purpose: Many organizations have great online shops with merchandise that supports the cause. A lot of these stores carry more than just promotional totebags- Unicef has a great store as does the National Organization for Women. Heifer allows you to purchase an animal for a family in need, who will provide long term sustenance, and sustainability. They will also send a card to whom the gift is in honor of. If you are in the UK, Oxfam has a wonderful store. Find a cause you care about, and search their website for the “Shop” button.
I am extremely wary of any shopping sites that donate a percentage of your purchase to a cause of your choice, along with “Shop [insert colour here]” promotions since these often only donate a percentage of a penny on the dollar and have low to zero accountability. These tend to be marketing tools, rather that organizational support- see Think Before You Pink for more information on "pink-washing". You are better off making a direct donation.

Museum Shops**: Not only will you be supporting art in your community, but you can find great gifts by local artists, fair trade goods, collectable books, and eclectic knick knacks. They also have the best card selections. 100% of the proceeds of each sale goes back to the museum. [full disclosure- I run a museum store].

Locally owned businesses**: Small businesses can do 50-75% of their sales during the 4th quarter. If they have slow sales during the holidays, it can be financially disastrous to someone who has dedicated themselves to their store. By shopping at local businesses, you not only support the store, but the community benefits. “For every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community…in a national chain store, only $43 stays here” Visit 3/50 Project for more information on why you should support local businesses.

Gifts of service: Can you babysit? Can you make an amazing dinner? Carwash? Massage? Closet organization? Remodeling? House painting? Etc. Do you have time or a skill you can offer? For my baby shower, my best friend’s mom, who is a lactation consultant, gave me a free session. It was something I didn’t know I needed [it’s just breastfeeding- how hard can it be? Yeah right.], and made such a huge difference when it came to nursing my child. My daughter & I got a perfect latch immediately, and she had regained her birth weight less than 5 days after birth. I contribute my ease in nursing almost completely to that consultation. Of any gift, that had the biggest impact.
Print up a coupon or certificate and you might change someone’s life, or at least give them a much needed break.

Buying Handmade: Shop etsy. Or a favourite BigCartel shop. Or Supermarket. And in DaWanda in Europe. In November & early December there are usually a ton of craft shows & trunk shows. If you like a local artist, sign up for their mailing list to see any upcoming events. If you live near a Renegrade Craft Fair, go! And if you are in LA, shop at Unique LA. You directly support the artist who loves doing what they do and you show, with your dollars, how important art and crafts are to you.

DIY: Made with love by you. What can be better? With so much commercialization and cheap production, a hand knitted hat carries that much more meaning. Do what you know, or learn a new skill. Whipup.net has fantastic roundups of online tutorials. Work from your stash, or reuse materials to make your items as green as possible. If you plan to make your gifts, start now [2 months- remember!]. If you run out of steam, gift a card with a sample [piece of yarn, drawing of final project, etc.] and an IOU.

So this holiday season please gift with love and with responsibility to your community, the planet, and your wallet.

Please share other gift ideas or stories in the comments!

*These make great whole family gifts too. Read more ideas on family gifts over at Ohdeedoh.

**When buying from a locally owned or museum shop, you have the luxury of dealing with a knowledgeable sales staff [most likely the owner!] and are able to ask: Who made this item? Where was it made? How was it made? Who profits from the sale? Most sales staff are extremely proud of the items they sell and will gladly answer these questions- allowing you, the consumer, to make a socially conscious purchase. Also, do be afraid to ask for any sort of documentation on your purchase so you can pass that information on to the gift recipient!

All images are stock photos of the museum store.

last-minute ornaments

(posted today at f.pea)



Last year I first tried my hand at making some découpage ornaments.

This is a fancy French way of saying that I glued some stuff on glass balls from the store. Sadly, the balls weren't hand-felted from locally-raised sheeps' fleece or anything like that, they were just on sale after Christmas. Glass (or glass-like) ornaments also turn up in the thrift stores right after Christmas, which is a good way to both be more green, and to stock up if you're one to plan holiday projects 11 months in advance.

Anyhow, last year I really had a great time with it, and decided to do it again this year. This is a fun project for one evening at home with some hot chocolate and a new album of holiday songs. It's a very kid-friendly project, as well. I'd love to see versions made from kids' drawings!

Last year I made a set of Darth Vader ornaments for a friend, made with dark purple glass balls, and Vader pictures from a comic book. This year I decided to use drawings I'd done myself of little crafty scenes, and a couple of boxes of silver balls, to make ornaments as little gifts for my friends.

Here's everything you need for this project:



1. A box of ornaments; 2. A set of small drawings (small enough to fit on your ornaments, which is pretty small); 3. Mod Podge glue and a paintbrush for applying it; 4. Colored pencils or crayons; 5. Scissors; 6. Glitter (optional, but why would anyone skip the glitter??).

Just color the little pictures and cut them out carefully. Don't use markers to color them - the glue could make the colors run. Crayons or colored pencils work best. When trimming the pictures, I like to cut away as much white space as I can - this eliminates paper wrinkles when you glue them onto the ornaments.



Paint the back of a picture with Mod Podge, and then carefully place it on the ornament. Don't worry if it doesn't lie flat at first. Paint over the top of the picture, smoothing it down as you go. There will probably be some minor wrinkles - just try to keep them in the blank spaces rather than in the drawing itself. Flatten them down with the handle of your paintbrush, and make sure that everything is lightly and smoothly painted over with glue.

Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Really, a light touch is plenty here. The ones I did when I was generous with the glitter don't look half as good.

That's it! You can do a whole box of ornaments on one mug of hot chocolate if you're quick.



====
Okay Sew Greeners, I know you can come up with some ways to make this project even greener. I've been thinking about greener sources for the ornaments themselves (the thrift store, your attic...). What else could I do to make this a more eco-friendly project in the future??

Green Giving :: For the Kids

December has arrived, and Advent has begun in our house. The countdown to Christmas is a tradition brought from my own childhood where we would be rewarded daily with a new picture to discover behind the flap of a paper Advent calendar. In an effort to minimize "stuff" - and inspired by Stephanie - we made a move to a homemade "experiential" calendar a couple of years back, where every night would bring us a new activity. Build a Fort. Take a Walk to look at the neighborhood lights. Have breakfast for dinner. Write letters to Santa. Lie in the backyard and look at the stars. We tucked these ideas, written down on paper, into numbered miniature stockings I made out of felt and hung by the chimney with care.

There are many great ideas for handmade advent calendars to be found. A few from flickr:

1. first, 2. advent calendar, 3. Baby sock advent calendar..., 4. Advent garland, 5. Advent calendar for the boy, 6. advento, 7. advento, 8. stockings 1234, 9. Advent calendar, 10. advent calendar, 11. stockings_1234, 12. advent calendar


and more at the Creative Advent Calendars group.


And this great pattern over at the Purl Bee.





Another source of holiday inspiration, the New American Dream website is chalk-full of ideas. I find myself rereading many of the articles this time of year. A good start here.

give, give, give!

Do you have a few last minute gifts to pick up, or to make?

I do. But I'm going to forget about them. Instead, I'm going to the mall.

I'm serious. At the local mall, there is a big Christmas tree with lots of names still on it, of kids who have real needs - like warm coats and clothes for school - and who could really use a Christmas present from a friend like me (and you).

I'm going to go pick a name off the tree for each person left on my gift list. I'll take note of the child's name, age, and any other information there is about her or him. I'll buy her or him a new coat, a pair of sneakers, socks, mittens and hats, art supplies, or whatever they've asked for. Then I'm going to wrap the gifts right there at the mall, drop them back at the gift tree, and then go home.



Once I get home, I'll make another little gift out of each of those big gifts. It will go something like this: I'll grab a Christmas card (or make one) and write something like:

This year, your gift is a winter coat for Sam. Sam is seven years old and lives at Haven House, a home for children of incarcerated mothers. Thanks for helping Sam get something he really needed!

I think I'll make a little token to represent the item and then put the card and the token into a box and wrap it up in nice paper with a fancy bow. Voila! Double gift, and it was something that somebody really needed.

This might seem like something that your family members (or whoever you have left to get gifts for) wouldn't like, or might think is weird. But you might be surprised at how much they appreciate it. So... maybe we can meet in the Food Court for a latte?

toys without the tox

Has anyone else been bothered by all the horrible news about toys lately? With the holidays upon us, all the news about lead, phthalates and asbestos in children's toys seems particularly ominous to me. I've never liked the part of Christmas where kids are overwhelmed in beeping, spinning plastic toys and the city trash collectors have to do double-duty to haul away all the packaging and wrapping. But the pollution that's in our kids' toys is far worse. It's not that I ever thought that plastic doo-dads made in China were particularly good for kids, but lead, for crying out loud?

First, everyone should take action to let Congress know we need decent safety standards to protect kids from nasty chemicals. And after we've been responsible citizens, we can turn to being responsible consumers, and the toys we buy for the kids we love.

My suggestion? Let's make our own toys this year!

I love making toys, and Christmas is a great excuse for me to get Santa's workshop going on my kitchen table and make a whole bunch of them. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite resources on toy-making, and ask y'all to share yours, too.


bad kitty, a wicked but cuddly sock monster

My all-time favorite toy to make is a sock monster. All you need is rudimentary sewing skills, some old socks, polyester fiberfill or other toy stuffing, and your basic needle, thread, pins, scissors, etc. Sock monsters can be incredibly simple little goblins, or complicated animals with long, curling tails and embroidered features - kids seem to love all of them, no matter how well (or poorly) you can sew. The best book I know for sock monster instruction is "Making Stupid Sock Creatures" by John Murphy (read my previous post about this great book here).


knitted momerath village

There are oodles of resources on the web and in the library for knitting toys. This blog is devoted to toy knitting, and includes an index with lots of free patterns. I love Jess Hutch's toys, and her book is a gem (if you can get your hands on one). Lots of knitting books with kid and baby patterns feature toy patterns in among the sweaters and hats, especially books by Zoë Mellor and Debbie Bliss. "The Knitted Teddy Bear" by Sandra Polley is a great resource for knitters of all skill levels who want to make old-fashioned, cuddly teddy bears. I also really like "New Knits on the Block" by Vickie Howell, which includes not just softies but all kinds of neat costumes and accessories. "Family Circle Easy Toys" is a classic with both knit and crochet patterns - the copy in my local library has been well-loved in its decades-long tenure there.



For stuffed animals, dolls and doll clothes, a wonderful book I picked up recently is "Toys to Sew" by Claire Garland. Her toys range from ridiculously easy to not-very-hard, and the patterns are way cute.

And finally, puppets! You can make a puppet out of just about anything, and while you could make a puppet and give it as a gift, making puppets together with kids is so much more fun. I just picked up a copy of a beautiful book called "Puppets Unlimited with Everyday Materials," by Anushka Ravishankar & Gita Wolf. The authors include detailed instructions for making stick puppets, string puppets and many others based on traditional Indian puppetry, with regular junk from around your house. Their focus is on making the puppets together with children. Then you can make your own stage and celebrate Christmas Eve with a puppet show - a great gift for kids and grown-ups alike.

Have fun making some toys for the kids on your list this year... and don't forget to take action!

a little hut - a large inspiration

patricia is an amazing graphic designer. she is also an outright outstanding maker and crafter of things - as her blog - a little hut will attest.

i wanted to point out two ways in which she shares her creative genius with us.
check out her tips on recycling materials, and all of her tutorials in general.

wow. perfect ideas for holiday recycling if you ask me!



you can support patricia by buying from her shop too.

wrap away

it seems like a lot of us like to re-use wrapping materials.

i keep ribbons, tissue paper, boxes, padded envelopes and re-use them when i can. obviously i am not alone - yay!

shelly in canada wrote in with this tip:

I keep a stash of Christmas fabrics with our decorations, mostly fat quarters but there are a few bigger pieces. Every year we wrap all of our family presents with the fabric and tie them up with ribbons or bits of scrap yarn. They look great under the tree and after Christmas everything gets packed up again to use next year.

here's shelly's stash waiting to be used and....


here's a sweet little package

leah from michigan [leah - you didn't give us a link to you] provides us with a link to a pdf which shows you how to wrap things the japanese way in fabric!



here's the link to the pdf {it's from the japanese ministry of the environment!!}

finally - gretchen sent links to posts she's written about recycling and wrapping.... one on general wrapping ideas and one on how she used ikea instructions as wrapping.

thanks you guys!
keep your ideas coming! and have a wonderful thanksgiving if you live in the united states!

Me - R R R - y Christmas!

taking on a personal challenge of
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
this holiday season.

and getting the kids on board too. we have been having a lot of discussions on the difference between reducing, reusing and recycling - and the hierarchy of prefer-ability here. our words became actions yesterday.

last year we spent time cutting circles out of our received holiday cards as they came down off the piano. (handy 2 1/2" circle punch was a big hit with the kids and the activity was a perfect quiet distraction for a post-holiday afternoon.) this year we are reusing them in the construction of some holiday balls (oh elementary school memories here!) - to hang along our diningroom light fixture. while i thought i would remember how to do this - when i sat down it escaped me. a tutorial was found here.

happy holidays!

cross-posting this from jumilla bugs - after being inspired by f.pea's last post, thought i would put this up, and see what other crafty ways you are using the 3 R's this holiday season!

a composted party

As the holiday season approaches, you may be contemplating hosting a party at your house, and maybe you're even contemplating how to minimize the waste from such a party. We recently had a big party in our backyard, and experimented with composting the garbage. Some things we did right, and some things not as well, so I wanted to share some learnings with any of you party people out there who might be cooking up a fabulous low-waste event of your own in the next few weeks.

We don't have enough dishes and silverware for 60 people, so instead we ordered compostable plates, cups, napkins and flatware from Green Line Paper (there's probably a local supplier near you). On the day of the party, we set up the trash area with one garbage can, one recycling bin, and for the compost, we used a smaller trash can lined with a brown paper bag.

One thing we didn't do as well was to make clear signage to direct the composting, since it wasn't exactly intuitive for most folks. If I were to do this again, I'd make a big sign that says:

PLEASE COMPOST YOUR GARBAGE
1. Scrape the food from your plate into the garbage.
2. Tear your plates and cups into 4 pieces and throw them in the compost bin.
3. Throw your forks and spoons into the compost bin.
4. Thanks for feeding the worms!

We didn't actually have worms in our compost bin before, but a friend was nice enough to give us some from her kitchen worm bin to help speed up decomposition for such a large amount of stuff. If you had a well-running outdoor vermicomposting area, you could forego the plate-scraping and give the worms all the food waste (except for bones, if you had any). Even if you just have a kitchen worm bin, the torn up plates and cups make a great bedding medium for worms.

The party was great! And afterwards, we only threw one bag of garbage into the trash - and it wasn't quite full - so I'm considering the effort a success. Party on, worms.

we want to hear from you!

hello there sew green readers. sorry for our lack of posting of late. seems like all of us ladies have been swept up in flurries of activities.

but we have a request/hope.

the holidays are quickly descending upon us. i don't know about you, but i want to think small and local and a bit greener this year. many have already taken the buy handmade pledge - which is GREAT. but what else is there to do?

this is where you come in.

we'd love for you to send us your holiday ideas.

any tips, tricks, tutorials are wholeheartedly welcome. please send your posts with WEB SIZE [read 72 dpi and under 1000x1000 pixels] pictures to :: sewgreenblog AT gmail DOT com

we'll filter through them and post as many as we can.
please be sure to include any credits and links to your own blog or website or whatever. if you already posted something on your blog - we can cross post it!

we look forward to hearing from you!!

eco easter eggs

hi... i just wanted to post some links. you may already know about how to dye easter eggs using something other than food coloring or paas, but just in case you didn't....

wendy sent a link to this blog post from made by adrienne that shows a step by step onion skin coloring technique.

and jen posted a link to martha's version of how to do it [i love the photo of the bowl of pastel eggs].

i also found these instructions on the celestial seasonings website [which also has some great reading on the benefits on all different types of tea - a different topic entirely, but....].

i'm also really curious as to how dying fabric with these techiniques would turn out. anyone tried it??

sew green calendar