Skip the big box stores this year and create your own holiday crafts like these DIY eco-friendly holiday decorating projects! I think it goes without saying that we love DIY holiday ornaments around here. Not only do we have the satisfaction of being crafty, but we also love the fact that our ornaments are made from eco-friendly and/or recycled materials. Plus, rather than spendings tons of money on ornaments at big box stores, you can easily make your own! Here are 14 DIY ornaments to get you inspired: 1. Make a Recycled Gift Tag and Ornament — Want to include an ornament with each handmade gift you make this year? Make an ornament that can also double as a gift tag! 2. Create an Adorable Scrabble Ornament — Last week I created this scrabble ornament over at Feel Good Style. Not only are they oh-so-cute, but they’re super easy to make as well. 3. Button Wreath Ornament — Do you have some vintage buttons in your craft stash? Put them to good use with this button wreath ornament tutorial! 4. Upcycle Unused CDs into Mosaic-Style Ornaments — As the iPod generation, we’re all bound to have some unused CDs. Give them new life by […]
Continue reading... →Consider starting a new Black Friday tradition by visiting a state park. Forget the stampedes at the mall. Forget the sidewalk sales. Forget the shopping bags and gift receipts. This Black Friday, which falls on November 27, some states are encouraging folks to get reacquainted with nature by offering free admission to all the state parks within their borders. If you live or will be traveling in California or Minnesota for the Thanksgiving holiday, consider starting a new Black Friday tradition by visiting a state park – without paying an entrance fee. California leads the move, citing Seattle-based outdoor retailer REI with inspiring its move to waive the admission fees at 49 state parks for one day only, provided you print out your own Save the Redwoods pass. Black Friday – also known in the United States as the day immediately following Thanksgiving – is a commercial holiday of sorts which began with a marketing campaign by American Express in 2010. Now, the day is synonymous with holiday sales and stores filled with stuffing-stuffed shoppers. REI won attention from the media last month when the retailer, which has 143 stores nationwide, announced it would not open its doors on Black […]
Continue reading... →5 DIY Recipes that are good for you, the planet, and your purse. In a world where clever marketing distracts us from the actual ingredients in our toiletries, it’s hard to know exactly what we’re using to wash our bodies. In reality, 10,500 different chemical ingredients can be found in our vast body care market—some of which are thought to be carcinogenic or harmful to our endocrine system. Research done by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review in 2012 revealed a list of unsafe ingredients commonly used. The study exposed safety concerns ranging from skin depigmentation to reproductive problems. Other research on these chemicals remains inconclusive, but you can avoid any potential risks by opting to cook up your own body care products at home. Here are a few that we tried. SHAMPOO ½ cup distilled water ¼ cup unscented liquid castile soap ¼ teaspoon essential oil of choice Combine all of the ingredients in a bottle—any old bottle will work. Shake the ingredients well to make sure that the mixture is consistent. Pour some atop your head and lather. TOOTHPASTE ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 drop essential oil (peppermint, sweet orange, clove, or cinnamon bark is recommended) A […]
Continue reading... →About a year ago, Meatless Monday featured “Cowspiracy,” the documentary linking animal agriculture and environmental disaster. The film just nailed distribution through Netflix . Kip Andersen, co-producer/director of “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret,” considered himself to be an environmentalist. He recycled to reduce waste, took quick showers to save water, supported several environmental organizations. Then “I did some research and discovered all these incredible things — rainforest destruction, species extinction — can all be tied to animal agriculture. Jeez, this is the cause?” And if so, why was no one talking about it? Stunned, Andersen “checked the websites of my favorite nonprofits — Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Surfrider — I didn’t see anything on there. I started emailing and calling over months, years, and no avail. That’s when I started to step this up, that’s when I teamed up with Keegan [fellow producer/director Keegan Kuhn] to get to the bottom of this.” The bottom, it turns out, is a long way down. The feature-length documentary follows Anderson on his journey into the heart of darkness. And silence. “There’s suppression and mismanagement of information,” says “Comfortably Unaware” author Dr. Richard Oppenlander, the degree of which surprised even Kuhn of First Spark Media. “I […]
Continue reading... →Being an environmentalist doesn’t have to mean sacrificing dreams of having a family. In fact, as the five women on this list prove, being a mother can make us even more committed to keeping the planet clean and green. And while some environmentalists point to overpopulation as the leading cause of global warming, there’s more evidence showing that our mismanagement of resources is more to blame than the number of people on the planet.
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