Customizable greeting card
 Customizable greeting card
 Customizable greeting card
Art of Green Recycling
Art of Green Recycling


  • Resourcefulness as Eco
    Resourcefulness is pivotal to my personal eco endeavors. I need to make the most of what I have and be a cautious, discerning consumer. What I don’t purchase is more important than what I do purchase. Not purchasing saves more resources and money than even the most thoughtful purchase. Resourceful use of what products I already possess is not only a creative challenge but an intellectual one. I would not experience these enjoyable challenges if every time a need arose in my life I satisfied it with a trip to a store.


    Camping is one great example of the need to be able to problem solve and be resourceful with limited tools and materials. When camping you are usually a distance from various retailers that could supply your need, often the need is immediate and you have few materials to work with…….Holy MacGyver!! Now I am not claiming to be on MacGyver’s level of expertise but am able to almost always solve my dilemma. My solutions might not be elegant but they satisfy the need while giving me some intellectual esteem, hey, it feels great to be able to come up unique solutions.

    I try to bring the camping attitude home with me by considering what resources I have on hand and how I can use them to meet my need before hoping in the car or online. The personal satisfaction I get from these challenges far outweighs the inevitable problems and occasional failures. I try to learn from the problems and failures applying this knowledge to future challenges. To be honest there are times failure is so complete that only a retailer can help me out but these are starting to be fewer and farther apart.

    Another part of this equation is my acquisition of some basic tools and supplies. I actually have quite a few tools but some get used often and others maybe yearly. Must have tools for the resourceful are: Scissors, preferably a couple sizes and types, utility knife, a nice heavy duty one, needle-nose pliers, wire cutters, hammer, saw, measuring tape, drill with bits, some nails, brads and screws, sewing needles in a variety of sizes and styles. Supplies to keep on hand: Duct tape-masking tape-plumber’s tape-fabric glue-Ecopoxy-wire-threads in variety of sizes and colors and markers. These items will see you through many challenges both at home and on the go. Next given time, space and money I would add in the following tools: Files-awl-soldering iron and more cutting tools like shears, specialized scissors, cutters and pliers in various shapes and sizes plus some paintbrushes. Additional supplies include: Colorant kits since they can be paints or dyes, more wires in various sizes, double stick tape, and Tackifier.

    The last grouping of tools and supplies while not essential will allow a bit more finesse in your resourcefulness and even add in some decorative elements. Meeting needs is not just about repairs it is also about celebrating life and all that goes with it including last minute gifts, enhancing your environment or exercising your creative muscles. Challenge yourself what you can make from what you have, you might just surprise and delight yourself with what you make.


  • Excuses, Excuses Plus a Fun Cord Basket/Bag


    I admit I have been really lax about keeping up my blog lately and could list a million and one excuses but will spare you that ordeal.  Whatcha really want to know is about making stuff, right?

    Here is my own design on using fabric scraps along with macrame cord to make a convertible basket/ bag.  You can tuck the flap and strap inside for a basket or vessel or pull them out and use it as a bag.  This is one continuous piece of cord from beginning to end.

    Why do I like using macrame cord?  Well, for one thing it keeps the bottom and strap cleaner and is more sturdy than fabric wrapping. Another reason is I can use it plain, uncovered as a design element.

    I did not measure as I went since I was winging it and had no idea how this would work out.  My guesstimate is I used about 1/3 bundle of macrame cord.  OH!  I did email the macrame company about this concept thinking they might be able to sell some product to fabric stores but got no response.

    You will need:
    about 1 1/2 yards of fabrics, here is a good place to use up plain jane or scraps
    1/3 bundle of 6MM cord (somewhere around 140')
    Lots of sewing thread
    Optional button
    Scissors
    Sewing machine

    1. Set your sewing machine for its widest zigzag, mine is 5.  Start coiling the cable and joining it with zigzags. Go around and around until you create the desired base size.  Now this is a tad tricky but you will get the feel for it; start bringing the cable inwards as you stitch around to start creating sides.  I went around 3 times to start to build up the sides. Cut your thread but not the cable.
    2. Tear or cut 1 1/2-2" strips of fabric.  There might be a better method for doing this but here is what I did.  I wrapped the fabric around the cable them folded the ends into the center and straight stitched them down.  I wrapped and straight stitched 20' or so then trimmed off the thread and started zigzagging the covered cable around the basket.  Repeat until basket is size you desire adding in some plain cable stripes if you like.  I just found it easier and less wasteful to go back and forth between wrapping fabric and zigzagging.
    3. When the basket was at the height I wanted I stitched plain cable halfway around. Next I stitched the strap by tacking it with a couple zigzag stitches to the side of the basket then bringing the cable over to the opposite side and tacking.  Next I laid a second cable side by side next to the first and zigzagged them together.

    Tack at opposite side then add third cable length to complete strap.  Make sure you tack each cable length well at each side so your strap can take lots of wear and tear.



    4. Now you will need to start fabric wrapping cable again unless you want your flap to be plain cable.  Instead of going around and around you are going to zigzag back and forth forming a triangle.  At the very end I added a loop to go around a button.  Now cut off the cable and trim your threads!


    Here is another shot of the basket with handle/strap and flap folded in.


  • Reclaimed Materials Park Benches
    Thought I would share with you the benches a group of us made and installed at our local park.  The Parks department had no money for benches and there were none at the park.  A number of elderly people come to the park everyday and need a place to rest.  The first 3 benches went in this past weekend and 3 more are in progress. 
    Materials were reclaimed from a couple of construction sites.  The 2x4s my husband salvaged from an old Navy building being torn down while the 4 x12s were from a retaining wall being replaced.  Metal pipe was leftover from another constructions site.  All were sanded and sealed with ESF Marine Varnish.

    Here is a shot of the backless benches with Taffy who is blind sniffing it out.

    Just a bit of sharing, now off to do some more varnishing.

    Be Kind to Animals Week!


  • Kindness to Animal Week
    Kindness to animal week started out rather sad for me.  Sabrina from Twitter posted an urgent plea to save/adopt a lovely young lab from a shelter in Lousiana.  This 7-8 month old pup was being put down because of space.  I sent out some urgent emails to people I know in the area, no, not effected by the oil spill and emailed the shelter offering to pay to keep the dog alive longer.  You could see in the dog's eyes how wonderful she would be for any family.  Here is the email I got with names erased so I don't get sued or something:

    Hi Barbara,

    Labs are so sweet but they are so numerous here in the South that they are hard to place. Really they are a dime a dozen.

    What we do is try to get rescue groups interested in saving pets by offering financial help for their care: most dogs here are heartworm positive and you know how expensive it it to treat. Where does the money come from? Donations. We transfer donations for a pet to the group who takes the pet.

    If you would like to know more about this, please read this page: http://members.petfinder.com/~LA26/guardian_angel.html 

    I do not want to mislead you, there is no guarantee, but this is certainly an incentive that rescue groups appreciate. I suggest you work with a local group.

    We have limited space so are needing to euthanize many healthy young dogs.  I am sure this is the same across the country.
    Shelter Person x

    Sooooo....
    Please if you can adopt and give a forever home or foster while a home is sought.  If your circumstances allow please donate to shelters and rescue groups.  Fundraising ideas to come...one I wish I would have thought of earlier is Mothers Day sponsoring of a dog.

    PLEASE if your pet is not spayed or neutered please get them fixed ASAP and support local spay/neuter clinic.  These are some of the kindest things you can do this week to celebrate BE KIND TO ANIMALS WEEK.

    Thanks for listening to me rant. xoxo


  • Earth Day Sandals
    Ya know I am all about using what you have, trying to keep things out of landfills, using stuff up or passing it on.  My husband took one look at these sandals in progress and thought I had lost my mind.  Honestly he may think that very often but that's OK.

    My mom gave me a pair of white sandals that were structurally sound but a bit stained; its impossible to keep white sandals looking pristine.  So I first brushed some Moss Colorant with a dab of Fabricmagic on the insides and edges.


    See what I mean, looking pretty nasty at this point.  I let the Colorant mix dry while I scouted around for fabrics.  I found some scraps from a pillow I am making out of some of the previous post's silk screening.  Earth Day graphic with green seemed like the way to go.   Next I used Gel Medium to decoupage fabric bits onto the none velcro spots.  Brushing a coat onto the sandal then over the top.  I didn't worry about the edges or cut precisely.  After the gel medium dried I trimmed off the excess fabric with an Exacto knife then applied another coat of gel medium over the outside.

        
    I am liking the pattern shoe idea and am going to go dig up some more not so pristine pairs to try this same technique on......clogs would be super easy and so would most flats and maybe some old boots.

    All my supplies are from Earth Safe Finishes, totally non-toxic, no VOCs or BPA.  I use these products everyday not just for Earth Day because I believe in their quality and safety.
    Happy Earth Day!