Easter Egg Garland

I found this craft on Pinterest…yes, I know you are shocked but I figured this could come in handy for a few different reasons besides some pretty garland. I wanted to green it up just a bit.  You can make less disposable items to use for decorations year round or even just for multiple Easters.

Supplies:

Non Toxic Eco Paste (the original craft calls for liquid starch and flour)
Water
Pastel Hemp Cord (or any ribbons/thread/string you might have at home)
Shallow bowl for dipping string
Biodegradable Balloons (or regular balloons if you have them at home)

Directions:

1. Put eco-paste and water in a shallow bowl and mix

2. Blow up balloons to desired sizes.

3. Place string carefully into bowl and either coil the string and press into sticky mixture but keep your hands on the end of the string so you can find it easily.

4. Wrap the string around your balloon in the desired patter/shapes. Make sure to wipe off excess mixture so it doesn’t dry that way on your string.

5. Once finished wrapping the balloons find a place where they can sit and dry undisturbed. Wait at least 4 hours to make sure they are completely dry.

6. Pop your balloons! Then you can string them on a garland, place them in bowls or hide them around the house!

These eggs will last for quite awhile and can be kept around for decoration long after Easter is over. You can put candy and toys in them carefully and use them as gifts. There is alot to be done with these eggs.

Repurposing & Home Decor

I have been doing a lot of crafting around my house lately trying to see what I have to repurpose. Pinterest has been helping me with ideas as well but I wanted to see what some books have for repurposing ideas. I was almost on hoarder status saving things I knew I could get use out of but I wasn’t sure when I would find a use or for what and now I have found it.Repurposing & Home Decor has some really great ideas for me. Repurposing & Home Decor is an excellent how to for DIY repurposing projects as well as gives you advice on what not to do along with helpful tips. I am really excited to start playing around with some things I have laying around. I have a large backyard that I have been dying to fully utilize and this book is just the ticket to getting my yard where I want it to be.
What are your repurposing experiences? How tos? Do’s and don’ts?

Owl Kitchen Art

As usual Pinterest has blown my mind! In my quest to find crafts for items that would otherwise be recycled or thrown out I found these crafts that use jar lids, pot tops,strainers, forks, spoons, bottle caps, whatever!! I am in love with this! The Kitchen Owl makes for a great housewarming gift or rainy day craft for students. The Kitchen Owl is the perfect way to really implement the ideas of Reduce, Recycle, & Reuse.  Think of all of the things that would have otherwise been thrown out. Talk about another man’s trash is another mans treasure!  This just goes to show that you really can reuse almost anything if you put your mind to it creatively. 
I found this at the perfect time because while reorganizing my kitchen I put aside a bunch of kitchen items that really aren’t so usable anymore and should be recycled or things we had a bunch of that we didn’t need. I cannot wait to break open that box and get started on all the fun animals that can be made. You can probably do bunnies, kittens even dogs. Get creative you can add other things to the kitchen craft they don’t have to all be metal. Use glitter or paint and make them colorful. Add stickers or jewels to them.

Preserve Toothbrush

This is basically the awesomest thing I have seen in a really long time. This toothbrush was made from recycled yogurt cups, they come in multiple colors and sizes. Stonyfield has partnered with Preserve to take their plastic scraps and plastic products to make the razors, tongue cleaners and toothbrushes. Preserve Jr. donates a portion of their proceeds to the National Wildlife Federation. Preserve does all recycling and manufacturing in the USA. The package that the tooth brush comes in is a no postage necessary mailable package to send back your toothbrush when you are done. The colors of the toothbrushes I bought are super cute too. My toothbrush is bright pink and the bf’s is a super cute blue. The brushes feel just like any you would buy in the store. I’m not sure why but I thought the brushes might feel different but they don’t which makes them even cooler.
I went to www.preserveproducts.com to see what else they have to offer and I am excited! They make razors, kitchen supplies, table ware and even to go products. The website is neat and clean and most of all colorful! I am soo in love right now. Preserves tableware is dishwasher safe which I think for moderate greenies/families is a definite plus.
You can also sign up for Gimme5 and Recyclebank on the Preserve website where you an earn rewards for recycling! If that isn’t incentive for doing the right thing I don’t know what is. There are all kinds of ways to earn points on both sites. I am extremely excited I found these sites and cannot wait to start earning points. The fun part is I already use most of the products that earn you points as well as have been recycling them! If only I knew about this sooner. Are you a member of Gimme5 or Recyclebank? If not you can log on with your Facebook account and show other people what you are doing.

Don't Throw Away Your Old CD's

I have been cleaning out my house alot lately trying to organize and possibly upcycle things in my house I never use anymore. The other day I found a huge binder full of old CD’s I haven’t used in forever since I put all the music on my iPod. I didn’t want to throw them away as I had literally hundreds but I wasn’t sure how to make the best use of them. No one wanted them of course so I had to figure out something awesome to do with them. You see upcycled CD’s online and in stores often so I figured why can’ t I do the same. Here are some things I found online that I thought were cute.

1. The obvious use them as coasters. Glue either felt or some other cute fabric to it and you have automatic free coasters for your home. They make a super cute house warming gift and you can even decorate them if you want to add some personal flare.

2. Party decoration. Make flashy garland out of them for an event or even as permanent decor for your home. If you or maybe your child is a music lover why not string together some of their fave CD’s together and hang them from the ceiling or around the room as a border.

3. Make it art! Have unused frames at home? Take some CDs that are special to you and decorate them and hang them on the wall. This is also a perfect gift to give to someone that appreciates music and maybe a certain CD is special to them.

4. Use it as a party craft. Have no idea how to entertain a bunch of kids at a party. Hand out old CD’s and tell them to decorate them as they wish. Find cheap frames and some backing and let them make their own fun. Even go with the above and make their own coaster.

5. Bird Deterrent. Do you have birds that are always running into your glass doors or windows? Help them avoid hurting them selves by hanging a few on you doors and window so they can avoid flying head first into your house.

6. Are you a painter? Use them as pallets to mix your paint. There is already a hole in the middle for holding. You can keep clean them off easily and reuse them or keep them for mixing the same colors.

Do you have any fun uses for old CD’s? Let me know and I will post them on the Beagle!

Napa Soap Company

I have written about Napa Soap Company before and just held a contest for some lucky greenie to win a sample set of their soaps that ended yesterday. I have a fragrance background from past jobs I have had and for some reason the sense of smell is really important to me when using products. I cannot stand over scented or artificial smelling products. It ruins the whole thing for me.
The Napa soaps I received were not only packaged beautifully (and not over packaged which is something I have been seeing lately much too often) but what I noticed immediately was the careful detail to the scent of the soaps. That is one of the most important elements to any good soap, in my opinion. The soaps looked so beautiful in their packaging I really didn’t even want to unwrap them.
I appreciate a green company that pays attention to detail. The Napa Soap Company website is great, their products are lovely and the prices are quite reasonable. They live up to their green practices which is also an extremely important to me when purchasing a green product. Overall, I am going to say that I am impressed with Napa Soap Company and will be sure to use their product in the future!
Have you ever tried Napa Soap products? If so tell me about them!

Bike Chain Picture Frame

I’m not generally a fan of recycled bike chain merchandise like jewelry, bags, chains, but this frame caught my eye. I like the shape and pattern of the chains in this frame. It’s simple but interesting.  You can even decorate it up if you like with odds and ends you have around the house.   The idea for these frames came about when someones bike chain broke on their way to work. There are plenty of uses one could have for a bike chains which is good but this picture frame sort of makes sure it won’t end up in a landfill somewhere. People generally keep picture frames for long periods of tome or at the least give them away. It’s not easy to break a bike chain and as long as it is constructed sturdily the frame could last forever! Another special perk to the bike chain picture frame is that it is made in the USA. That’s just one more reason why you should be buying these for yourself, friends, family, even strangers! You can find this frame and other super cute items at Hipcycle!

DIY JEWELRY ORGANIZER

I am not generally a fan of yard work. I don’t mind keeping up the garden or starting it but the hard raking and digging isn’t always my cup of tea. I especially despise rakes! We are not friends and more often than not I hurt myself or someone else when using one. I found this amazing idea for old rakes at WebEcoist.com!
I have a ton of jewelry I’ve acquired/made over the years and although I have a huge jewelry chest that is quite well organized you can always use more organization, I feel. The image above displays perfectly and simply how an old rake can be quickly transitioned into a jewelry organizer, however I would go one step further and instead of using just a string for your earrings (some earrings may not stay on well) I would say find old mesh or tulle you have around the house. Cut it to fit the area of the rake and either clue or tie it to the rake. This way you can fit more earrings and keep them attached more securely. I cannot wait to get home and take apart all of the rakes we have at home for this exact purpose….maybe it will get me out of yard work this year!!

Valentine’s Day is around the corner and if you don’t have the time or confidence to up-cycle a gift for your lovie the least you can do is make your purchase responsible. Show how much you love your hunnie and our environment, kill two birds with one stone if you will (No actual birds should be hurt please and thank you). Here are some awesome deals from some even awesomer eco-fab places.

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Eco-Chic Events

This article was written by our fave guest blogger and one of my closest friends Danielle Mosley! She wanted to share some excellent tips for hosting eco-chic parties in 2012.
Even though the holiday’s are over there is still a full year of events left to be scheduled!
Here are some simple tips on throwing zero-waste “eco-chic” parties:

1. First things first are invitations.
The easiest way to send an eco-friendly invite is an Evite. There are so many sites doing that these days so you can find the perfect one. Try Evite.com or Stationery by Amy Adele.You can also make your own invites out of things you have from around the house or find items such as recycled card stock at your local craft store. You can be original with the writing by using cut outs from a magazines or even images and make the invite a game to figure out, left over ribbon from the holidays, buttons, you name it!  Be Creative and have fun with it! Guests appreciate when the host goes out of their way and personalizes the party.

2. No matter the size of your party you are going to notice a pile up of trash from plates and cups to straws and cutlery. Skip the plastic and try reusable flatware. Plenty of places also sell biodegradable utensils and flatware, even napkins. Like these Bamboo Plates, Biodegradable Trash Bags or these Biodegradable Paper Straws.

3. Next is décor…you can deck out the whole party with biodegradable goodies like balloons and crepe paper steamers Make your own confetti with scraps of paper from your amazing homemade DIY invites. You can make a pretty amazing centerpiece with magazine flowers . You can even create a mini version of this for a party favor for your guests. Use clean vegetable cans, decorate the outside with a solid piece of recycled paper and decorate in a similar fashion to the invites. If your event calls for real flowers please make sure to buy them locally, make sure they are organic like OrganicBouquet.com.  If you keep bottles and jars like i do you can use them as vases or votives and make cute take aways for your guests as well. If you use candles safely you can save energy and since it is winter if you cook your food and plan arrival times can keep your venue warm without having to turn on your heat.  If you have to use party lights make sure to get energy saving bulbs, no need for your bills to sky rocket just because you want to have fun!

4. Next are food and drinks obviously. I know you know to go local and organic which is easy enough now many local groceries have their won organic or natural sections. In some areas it isn’t as easy to find organic wine or liquor. One of my fave organic wine retailers is OrganicWineCompany.com or you can try Crop Vodkas or Prairie Vodka. If beer is more  your style then try Eel River`s Certified Organic I.P.A .
If you are unsure what kinds of apps and fun food to serve you can always check out our receipe section where I have plenty of fun food for the greenie in you! Also keep in mind if you use all organic foods and biodegradable flatware, cups, utensils you can throw it all to be composted.