Green X-mas Ornaments, Wrap and Decor Ideas

I love these shadow box ornaments made from old ornament boxes via Recycled crafts. It makes me think I could do this with old X-mas cards.


Recycled Crafts also have these bows made from old VHS tape, but it seems to me these could be ornaments too. If you did colored vellum behind them and made sure they were well lit, it could neat...something like that anyway.

I found these Soda pop can Star Ornaments on This Next. I thought they might inspire some different designs.















I also liked this StarBurst Ornament from Thrifty Fun, which can be made from the remnants of gift wrapping paper.









Thanks to Belladia for her post on this Martha Stewart Newspaper Tree

Shopping at Thrift Stores is Eco-Friendly

In my quest to reuse items that would otherwise go to waste, I did a quick run to the thrift store for some craft supplies. Well, I got some of those, but I also lucked out and found some really cool toys for my son.

HERO CITY ROCKET PARK PLAYSET. Regularly $40, I paid $5

Bob the Builder Tri-level Puzzle Regularly $10.95, I paid $1
AquaDoodle Draw 'n' Doodle Regularly $20-$25, I paid $1
Of course, I'll share my crafty finds later, after I turn them into something fabulous.

Green Gifts For the Skilled and the Not So Skilled

Obviously, everyone can't make these, unless you have a kiln that is. However, maybe you know someone who does or can be inspired by this wine bottle cheese tray that I found on Craftster.

If you're lucky enough to have someone who's good with tools, this side table revamp may be a possibility. I think kids would love it and it seems like everyone has one of these old tables they don't use. Out of the Crayon Box talks alot about how she did it on her site.


Definitely check out So You Think You’re Crafty’s site for tons of great ideas like this ribbon wallet.

Need something for a heavy reader? You can a tutorial on how to make these VHS bookends over at Craft Stylish.




I found this pencil holder made from diskettes that could go with a green desk set.



Here's an instructional video on how to make a very cool & simple throw pillow out of a T-shirt from Generation T:




Then we have Eco Bite's "Eco Christmas Gifts from A -Z" which has a pretty thorough list of ideas

Energy Saving Products Fall Short With Packaging

Can Someone explain to me why energy saving products such as GE's CFL light bulbs is packaged in #3 plastics? While some of their products are packaged in cardboard, not all are and I don't understand why. Most curbside recycling programs do not include #3 plastics. If we're honest, most don't search outside their curbside recycling to find areas to recycle other plastics. Some areas don't have it even if you did seek it out.

You can find out more about recycling GE's light bulbs here -AND- you can contact GE about your packaging concerns here. I know I'm going to.

If you've noticed this same problem with other energy saving/Eco products, please feel free to comment.

The Economy Has Boaters Up A Creek

I had watched some newscast about abandoned boats "littering" the seas and our coastlines awhile back and thought I should share the gist of the story. Being that I don't have a boat, it's not something I think about. Apparently though, boat owners who have found that they can no longer afford to take care of their boats, paying dock fees and such, and unable to sell, simply let their boats adrift at sea. I'm not just talking small fishing boats, but some are huge yachts, just rotting at sea.

The owners are actually sanding away the registry numbers in hopes of not being connected to their discards, but more and more laws are being brought forth to try and deter people from doing this.

There are many reasons why these laws are so important. For one thing, these boats carry toxins like lead, chromium, copper, mercury and zinc that are seeping into our waterways. This, of course, affects the wildlife. Secondly, the boats are causing problems with other vessels trying to navigate the seas. Once a vessel becomes a hazard, it has to be removed, which is expensive and guess who has to pay for that...us! We're paying for it in more ways than one.

Join the Million Baby Crawl‏ and say “NO” to toxic chemicals found in household products

Thanks to Zach for letting me know about Seventh Generation's Million Baby Crawl‏ to Washington "to demand a law that will regulate toxic chemicals found in household products".

In their words:

The federal law that should protect us from health-harming chemicals just doesn't work. Since 1976, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has required safety testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemicals on the market. We need a stronger chemical law to keep our families safe and healthy.

If you want to read more about the specifics, go here. On the site, you can create a crawler of your own or, by all means, support my crawler here.

Here are some videos Zach shared with me about the cause:
Babies on a soapbox
Babies crawling to Washington