On the eleventh day of CFK Christmas my true love gave to me

eleven calculators adding

ten GPS devices

nine laser cartridges

eight iPods singing

seven cell phones ringing

six inkjet cartridges

five PDAs!

four Nintendo GameCubes

three digital cameras

two video games

and a laptop with 3 gigahertz processor speed.

On the tenth day of CFK Christmas my true love gave to me

ten GPS devices

nine laser cartridges

eight iPods singing

seven cell phones ringing

six inkjet cartridges

five PDAs!

four Nintendo GameCubes

three digital cameras

two video games

and a laptop with 3 gigahertz processor speed.

I’m kinda adoring this. Simple to make and practical in every way. What is there not to love?

Check out the vid on Youtube!

This one’s super cool, too. And, let me just affirm that duct tape is surprisingly effective at creating smooth and pretty chic surfaces. So never fear, go on…make your bag.

Check out the vid on Youtube!

This is what’s on my mind, right now.

Here’s a great idea for a creating a professional looking hardback journal…But don’t worry, there’s an even easier tutorial below (that includes lots of really great additions that I’m totally using…and it allows you to continue adding pages even after you’ve completed the book.)

Check out the vid on YouTube to be linked to the tutorial that inspired this one (above).

Check out the vid on Youtube

Hey everyone! Did the holidays come quick this year or what? I’m all antsy, yet excited about it. My whole family’s gonna to here. Man, it’s gonna be a loud house, ha! I’m glad we’re all going to be together, gorging ourselves with way too much food and being all merry and whatnot. Ok, enough of my rambling.

Here’s my holiday manicure!

A coat of China Glaze Luna layered over two coats of China Glaze Recycle. Luna is a sheer, icy blue with tons of small and large holo glitter. Recycle is a nice shade of medium gray with blue-ish tones. The pic above isn’t the greatest, but it’s closest to what the colors look like in real life.

Wearing Luna alone did not look cute. The glitter kept shifting even after waiting a few minutes between each coat. Three coats later and it was a chunky, uneven hot mess. I wiped it off and started all over again, but with two coats of Recycle this time, and that made Luna sooo much better. It provided a nice base that also brought out the blue tones in Luna.

I loves me the sparkle!

It’s festive for the holidays (though I’d wear this look year-round) without being cheesy. *No red and/or green, no poinsettia nail art, or 3D snowmen popping out of my nail beds. Just a nice glitter bomb!

I know I mentioned this when I showed you my polish haul, but I’ll tell you again. The main reason I bought Luna was because it’s the name of my bunny, and I loves her to freakin’ death! Here she is in all her cuteness, my Luna.

Yup, she's a big one. I heart her!

What’s on your nails today? Are you wearing festive holiday nails? Do tell!

Have an awesome day!

*If you are into red and/or green, poinsettia nail art, or 3D snowmen popping out of your nail beds for the holidays, then awesome. It’s just not really my thing.

Very cool.

Posted December 23, 2009

Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

Most mass-produced wrapping paper you find in stores is not recyclable and ends up in landfills. Instead, here’s a great chance to get creative! Wrap presents with old maps, the comics section ofa newspaper, or children’s artwork. Or use a scarf, attractive dish towel, bandana, or some other useful cloth item. If every family wrapped just three gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

Buy Energy-Saving Holiday Lights

Now you can decorate your house with LED lights that use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights, and can save your family up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season! LED lights are available at many major retailers, including Target, CostCo, and Ace Hardware.

Add Organic and Local Foods to Your Holiday Feast

Support local family farmers who grow sustainable meat and produce. Not only does it taste better, you’ll be doing your part for the planet too. Looking for an organic turkey or ham for Christmas dinner? Find out where to get local green products in your neighborhood.

Stocking Stuffers: Test Your Eco-Knowledge

Do you have a family member who loves the outdoors? Stuff their stockings with Sierra Club Knowledge Cards, which come in a variety of outdoor themes ranging from survival skills to baby animals. Another great stocking stuffer is “guilt-free” chocolate! Give the gift of organic, fair-trade chocolate and you can eat your way to a better planet.

Give a Gift the Gives Back!

Help support the critical work of the Sierra Club and give an eco-friendly gift at the same time! Sponsor a Wild Place this holiday season and share our country’s most special wild places and national parks with friends and loved ones. Sponsorships start at $20 and come with a range of special gifts, like a photo, plush animal, certificate of sponsorship, or a backpack. For last minute shoppers – or the most eco-conscious person on your list – download a virtual version and print or email your gift right from home

Get a Pesticide-Free Tree

Demand is on the rise for Christmas trees that are not covered in chemicals; some growers use 40 different pesticides, as well as chemical colorants. The good news is that there are now a number of tree-farms that sell pesticide-free trees, so ask your local Christmas tree seller, or search for an organic tree farm near you.

Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Ninety-eight percent of Christmas trees were grown on farms, not in forests, so at least it’s not as if you’re cutting down an ancient tree. Each year, 10 million Christmas trees end up in the landfill. While your tree won’t fit in the recycling bin with your newspapers and bottles, you can recycle your tree: many cities offer programs to turn your tree to mulch or wood chips. Call (800) CLEANUP or visit www.earth911.org to find the tree-recycling program near you.

Donate Your Time or Money to an Environmental Group

Get into the holiday spirit by volunteering! There are countless ways to help improve your community – and the planet – from cleaning up a local river to helping inner city kids experience the outdoors for the first time. Contact your local Sierra Club to find out about volunteer opportunities near you. A donation in honor of a loved one can also be a special holiday gift.

Do a “Cool Home” Tour with Our Energy-Saving Checklist

Take a pledge this New Years’ to reduce your home energy use by buying energy-efficient light bulbs. Installing only 6 compact fluorescent light bulbs will save the average American family $60 per year. You can also use our handy “Cool Homes” checklist to see what easy things you can do in your home to save energy. If there’s a fire in your fireplace this Christmas, turn down that thermostat! Lowering the temperature even five degrees can take 10% off your energy bill. Check out a complete list of energy-saving tips.

Recycle Your Old Cellphone

Getting a new cell phone for Christmas? Not sure what to do with the old one? Now, you can drop off that old phone at any Staples store, as part of the Sierra Club cell phone recycling program. Each year, 130 million cell phones are thrown out, weighing approximately 65,000 tons. Recycling your old phone prevents hazardous elements like mercury, cadmium and lead from ending up in our landfills. Find out more.

Last but not Least! Get Ready for Dinner-Table Debate

Are you likely to be the lone environmentalist at the dinner table sometime soon? Win arguments and influence people with our famous holiday survival guide. You’ll find ready responses to the predictable dinner table arguments that’ll be directed at you. Who knows, you might even make a few converts!

Questions? Need help with Real Estate?  We can help you.  Call or write today.     e-Mail michael.hughes@sothebysrealty.com Direct 303-359-6627 Visit us at our Website: www.bolderrealestate.com

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A way to recycle old skis:

These are two of many creative examples.

Plugging in the Sun

By Michael Hughes             December 23, 2009

Sunlight bathes us in megatons of energy if we could just harness enough of it. Lightweight photovoltaic panels or PV’s are turning unused warehouse rooftops in to solar collecting giants.  Some scientist s and researchers say that the new flexible thin film solar panels will someday power entire cities.

Near Las Vegas about 182,000 parabolic mirrors that sit on 250 acres start to come alive as the sun comes up.  They concentrate their heat on oil filled pipes that heat up to 750 degrees and drive steam turbines to power generators that produce electricity.  Enough electricity for 14,000 homes.  Nevada Solar One belongs to Acciona, a Spanish company that generates the electricity and sells it to the regional utility.

The Sun Catchers created by Sandia Labs in Albuquerque, New Mexico are near going in to production.  At daybreak the mirrors turn sun ward concentrating light on a Stirling engine driving pistons and creating electricity.  Stirling plans to create some 60,000 sun catchers in the desert near Los Angeles and San Diego.

According to National Geographic “if photovoltaic panels covered just three-tenths of a percent of the U.S. a 100 x 100 mile square they could power the entire country.

Questions? Need help with Real Estate?  We can help you.  Call or write today.
e-Mail michael.hughes@sothebysrealty.com Direct 303-359-6627 Visit us at our Website: www.bolderrealestate.com

Visit us at Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Boulder-CO/Boulder-Real-Estate/205684724655?ref=ts

Treating our planet and environment better does not just consist of big projects and massive funding.  The big differences actually come in small packages.  Politicians and stars can perform all they want to appease public opinion, but the true secret to changing the face of our globe lies in the hands of the everyday man and woman—in another word…you.  And one small difference that any individual citizen can make is eliminating the use of plastic bags in their lives.  

At first glance, plastic bags seem like a convenience that makes our lives easier.  They are right there at the store when you need them.  You can even reuse them at home once you take your groceries out.  And they don’t really take up much space in landfills if you scrunch them up into little “throw-away balls.” 

So in a way, plastic bags don’t seem like as big of a problem as they are made out to be.  But fortunately most humans over 5 years old have the ability to practice the mental exercise of foresight and look past that “first glance.”  To see what’s really going on with plastic bags. 

Every year, Americans alone consume over 84 billion plastic bags, which is a disturbing figure on its own.  But are we the only ones in the world to do so?  Not at all.  

Can you even comprehend those kind of numbers?  Try to form a mental picture in your mind of 1 billion bags.  How about just 1 million bags?  Until we actually try to mentally picture it, they are simply numbers to us, but in reality, the effect those numbers have on our planet are downright frightening.  We are talking about 84 BILLION BAGS.  Every single year…  

The reality is, as most of us know but have a tendency to ignore, plastic bags by themselves are a major source of pollution.  Just in the US alone, plastics in general make up roughly 25% of waste, and over 8 billion plastic bags manage to make it into our waste system.  

Wait, but aren’t there 84 billion bags being consumed?  Where happens to the rest?  

Some, fortunately, are being recycled and reprocessed; however, most never make it to the trash can or the recycle bin.  Littering is a major problem in just about every country in the world.  

In fact, did you realize that there is a huge mass of plastic caught between the currents in the ocean that is 500 miles wide?  The mass is like a huge plastic soup composed of trash that has made it into our ocean currents and collected in this one spot, and there are thought to be several others around the world. 

Eventually, problems with such a global effect as this will need to be deal with—hopefully sooner than later.  And it is you as the taxpayer who pays—for the production, the maintenance, and the clean-up.  

It’s time to re-evaluate an informal social norm that saps you of your money and your world’s health.  

Yet you are just one person.  You can’t organize all of the “green” events, and you can’t make everyone else change. 

But it’s going to take all of us “average” folks to change our lifestyles and habits to truly make an impact.  When everyone gets on board, the changes become exponential.  You only have control over yourself, but even if this is just one little choice, it’s an important choice with big results.  

Just changing one habit can  even alter how the people around you live, creating a ripple that spreads across the waters of humanity.  

So today, make that choice.  Stop using plastic bags and start using reusable bags instead.  Pick up litter that you see, and spread the news–it’s time for everyone to contribute to this plastic revolution. 

It’s no longer a matter of choice; it’s a matter of reality. Visit www.gogreenitems.com for more great green ideas.

starbucks paper bags

so this year for my christmas presents, i decided to use them to wrap my presents

with the help of some gold ribbons and pretty christmas tags, here’s the outcome…

simple and direct re-use (tamad version)

using the red starbucks christmas edition paper bag

another version

this one using powerbooks paper packaging

my favorite

dear friends — we will be accumulating a lot of waste this coming season. this can’t be helped because it’s part of the celebration, let’s just make it a conscious effort to re-use paper packaging, plastics, save energy without dampening the festive mood and share, share, share…

happy holidays to all!

Seattle Public Utilities announced this morning that Georgetown-based CleanScapes will award $50,000 to the neighborhood it serves that most reduces its collective garbage by early spring– including recyclables and compost.  

The winning neighborhood will get to use the money for a capital project of its choice such as a pocket park. Eligible neighborhoods are located in Northeast and Central Seattle, including Magnolia, Queen Anne, Madison Park, Madrona and Leschi (see map here).

CleanScapes is offering garbage-reducing tips, some more appealing than others. Number one on Martin’s list is cutting down on junk mail. “Instead of three L.L. Bean catalogues, maybe you only need one,” he says. Assuming L.L. Bean cooperates, who could argue with that?   Read full story….

and ahhumm, last minute photography too, i know, i didn’t even iron them….

these are all the emmeline apron by montessori by hand

the bottom one is made from 2 repuposed sheets and i reckon it looks pretty cool

and i wrapped before i took a photo of the finished product, but i made the lots of pockets tote by keyka lou. 

image: keyka lou

her patterns are really clear and come together quickly, so, really, what more could i ask?

Have you licked the last stamp and posted your Christmas cards?

It’s nice to get a card in the mail with the personal touch of a few words and a the name of someone you care about. I like to tear open the envelope and enjoy the beautiful designs that my friends and family have chosen.

It’s hard to believe that, only a few years ago, the ultimate eco-friendly cards were made of recycled paper. Today, many of us are sending holiday greetings by email. I know it’s not as hands-on and doesn’t offer the reader the pleasure of feeling the texture of the paper, seeing the sparkly images, or putting them on display…as some like to do. However, for me, it’s still a way to show others that I care. It’s not too late for you to reach out and touch someone with an e-card. There are several sites that offer the service for free.

I created this little greeting to send to my friends and want to share it with all of my readers.

I hope you have a happy holiday filled with hours of contentment.

Wishing you peace, love, joy, and a Merry Christmas!

Marion

Don't be a grinch

I am that crazy lady at Christmas, birthdays, or anniversaries who saves all the boxes and tissue paper. My husband thinks it’s a problem and that I am crazy but I am just being green. I tell him “just looking out for the environment, honey” he goes along with it anyway. I am glad I have that quirk, I have not had to buy a single box or tissue paper this year for Christmas presents. All of those boxes and tissue paper would have ended up in the landfill anyway. I even had enough wrapping paper from last year to last through this year too. No, I didn’t collect everyones wrapping paper, not a bad idea though. Hear are a few ideas on how to make Christmas even greener:

1.) Save the boxes and tissue paper for next time so it doesn’t end up in the trash

2.) Do you have left over fabric from a craft project you were working on? if so turn it into a pretty wrapping. Like Martha. . .

3.) Friendly fillers: packing peanuts and bubble wrap are a recyclers worst nightmare. Instead use items like, shredded old wrapping paper, unsalted peanuts in their shells or a pine bough.

I would love to see pictures of your green presents or hear more ideas on how to make Christmas greener.

Mary Janes Farm Magazine had a great article about recycling and re-using things that are not traditionally recycled.  Of course, when it comes to recycling, most people think about glass, plastic, paper, cans separated neatly into containers that are taken to the local recycling center.  But what about the other things we throw away?  Below are some of resources to help you recycle or re-purpose your unwanted items.

Crafting a Green World – craftingagreenworld.com – Crafting a Green World features do-it-yourself projects that incorporate reused, recycled, and natural materials. Find knitting, sewing, crocheting, and other project ideas for eco-friendly and fashionable clothes, crafts, gifts and more.

Freecycle - freecycle.org – Freecycle is a non-profit network of over 4,000 local e-mail lists where members give away and get stuff for free.  The sky’s the limit – furniture, toys, electronics, shoes, building supplies — and none of it costs a penny.  Everything posted must be free, legal, and appropriate for all ages.  Each Freecycle group is moderated by a local volunteer, and membership is free.

How Can I Recycle This? – recyclethis.co.uk – The site is entirely devloted to “Creative ideas for Reusing and Recycling Random Stuff.”  If you’ve ever wondered what on earth to do with leftover food, wires, thimbles, broken stepladders, or anything else, you might find the answer here.

Plug-In To eCycling – epa.gov/rcc/plugin – A partnership between the EPA and consumer electronics manufacturers, retailers, and service providers, this sites goal is to offer more opportunities to donate or “eCycle” your used electronics.

Rehash - rehashclothes.com – You can swap clothes and accessories for free.  According to their site, the average American throws away about 68 pounds of clothes each year.  You can post clothing, accessories, and even books that you want to get rid of and even search for items you might want.  You can specify what you are looking for in return.  People can make offers and once an offer is accepted, it is up to you to exchange items.  It is fun and easy!

Earth 911 – earth911.com- Earth 911 provides you with a super-network of resources.  It provides answers to hard-to-recycle questions and profiles thousands of recycling centers.  You will also find an online events calendar listing eco-activities throughout North America as well as lots of practical advice for living green.

On the ninth day of CFK Christmas my true love gave to me

nine laser cartridges

eight iPods singing

seven cell phones ringing

six inkjet cartridges

five PDAs!

four Nintendo GameCubes

three digital cameras

two video games

and a laptop with 3 gigahertz processor speed.

Laser cartridges are everywhere!  These clunky things are really bad for the environment…and we mean really bad.  A laser cartridge in the landfill can take 450 years to decompose.  So don’t throw them away, send them to CFK!  We take over 20 different brands of laser cartridges, and we make sure that every cartridge on our list gets refilled, refurbished, or recycled.  Give the Earth a gift this holiday season and send us as many as you can, as often as you can.  Click here for a list of the cartridges we accept and their values.

Christmas is almost here, and sadly it will fly by soon enough.  For those of us who enjoy a real holiday tree, what better way to give back than to recycle your tree.  In some communities like New York and Denver, Christmas trees are mulched, and the excess material is made available to the public free of charge.  In Los Angeles, Recreation and Parks as well as participating Fire Station locations will be accepting Christmas trees Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010 and Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010 from 9:00am to 4:00pm.

Approximately 33 million real Christmas trees are sold in North America each year according to the U.S. EPA, make sure to recycle them properly.

Earth 911 has great tips on how to do so properly.

http://earth911.com/blog/2009/12/21/5-step-treecycling-guide/comment-page-1/

Imagine it’s your kid’s birthday. You know, the kid in the manger, all swaddled up. And these three old dudes show up with gifts. Only they brought buttons, cork, and stuff from nature or something. You give a half smile and bow but… are these guys out of their mind? What on Earth are you supposed to do with buttons, nature, and cork? … 

Made from recycled buttons, TheLittleGreenBean's Etsy shop

Made using recycled buttoms, CinnamonWoodsCrafts' Etsy shop

This looks like it could be a mistletoe alternative. I’m really into kissing balls right now so I like this a lot. 

Made using recycled crab shell, Art4RecyclingHearts' Etsy shop

Made using recycled cherry wood, BallyBrophy's Etsy shop

Made using black cherry wood and recycled paper, RockCandyVintage's Etsy shop

Made using reclaimed acorns and twigs, TheCuriousHoliday's Etsy shop

So so cute. Nature is so good to us. To create something like these little toadstools would be a fantastic crafts project. 

Made using recycled corks, TeaandSquirrels' Etsy shop

Made using recycled cork, SudioSu's Etsy shop

I LOVE this angel! She just looks super cool. 

For a special treat see what one reader did to re-use corks from her infamous (and quite sizable) wine cork collection over on the Salvaged Grace Facebook page. 

i love this tree comprised of glass mineral water bottles . the beer bottle trees are for cw– although he would probably prefer to see a stack of dark brown ipa bottles.  come to think of it, i haven’t seen a green beer bottle since college. . . my tree would of course, be a chandelier of wine bottles.

the ‘ice tree’ by paprika was commissioned as a christmas decoration for the furniture retailer domison’s window installation [via design boom]

beer bottle tree by paul deakin, a student at the University of Southampton, England [via riotact] . a grolsch bottle tree