Lessons from A Child May 13, 2008

Yesterday, my 10 year old had a playdate with a friend from school.  Usually when these hook-ups happen, the friends are happy to let my eight year old tag along.  Unfortunately, yesterday, when the boys went down into the basement, I could hear the friend telling my little guy he could not play.  Of course, he was heartbroken and came up the stairs in tears.  Now this presented me with a dilemma.  Do I force the older boys to include the little one or do I allow them some time to themselves?  On this day, I opted to give big brother some “big kid time” by trying to engage my little one in an activity with me.

I had just received over two pounds of vintage buttons from someone on e-bay.  I had been anxiously awaiting these buttons… hoping I would receive many fabulous, unique buttons to create rings.  When I opened my package, I was so bummed to see what looked like a lot of just plain, old boring buttons!  I thought, however, that I could occupy my little guy by having him help me start to go through the buttons to look for anything that might be special.  He was skeptical at first but then after watching me start to put a few combinations of buttons together, he started to do the same.  Pretty quickly, he was out pacing me in creating combinations and surprisingly, his future rings were beautiful!     

I was amazed at what he was creating and watching him taught me a few lessons:

Don’t be afraid to try different or unusual combinations.  Often buttons he put together or the order of how he put them together would never have occurred to me.

Also, he reinforced the old adage. “Never judge a book by its cover.”  I looked and saw yucky, boring buttons.  He looked and saw beautiful creations.  (Checkout his beautiful ring at the top of this post or go to 2monkees to see more of our creations.)

As the dinner hour approached, it became necessary to stop.  We were both sad to put away our creations and found ourselves making “just one more”.  It was gratifing to spend time with my little one in a quiet, creative pursuit…..and it was nice to be reminded of the joys and creativity of a child.

Cool Green Mom’s Day Present May 12, 2008

Look at this cool Mom’s day present my boys got me.  It is hip, stylish messenger bag from Ecologic Designs.  This bag is made from recycled billboards and the bottom is a recycled inner tube.  How green is that?  It has tons of room and functional pockets- perfect for carrying all my stuff!  I can’t wait to load it up!!!

This company was founded by hardcore outdoor enthusiasts who began to question the impact of all the gear they purchased to enjoy the wild, wild world.  Out of this concern for the environment, Ecologic Designs was born.  Under their Green Guru and Green Goddess lines, this environmentally aware company offers surf board bags made from billboards, messenger bags made of billboards, hemp and inner tubes and clothes crafted from bamboo…………and this is just a short list of the functional, green products they carry.  Next time you are on the hunt for gear for your active lifestyle, check out Ecologic Designs to lessen your impact on the environment.  

Happy Mother’s Day! May 11, 2008

Happy Mother’s Day to all those amazing, deserving moms out there.  I  hope everyone is having an awesome day.  I had a great day!  I was treated to breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants and then got to go on a family bike ride in the forest.  It doesn’t get much better!!

Unfortunately, the day is drawing to a close.  I have decided, however, that Moms deserve to be honored more often than just on one day.  I am extending Mother’s Day by having a giveaway for some lucky mom.  You can win this pictured t-shirt from 2Monkees by entering a comment on this post before Friday, May 16th at midnight.    This shirt is printed on organic cotton and is available in size small to xl.    So if you want a chance to extend Mom’s Day and express your inner Earth monkey, just add a comment at the end of this post.

(If you have something a little more sparkly in mind for yourself, don’t forget about Ananya Studio’s 40% off everything sale.  Checkout their sterling silver and semi-precious stone fair trade jewelry.  Just enter csale in the coupon code box at checkout to receive your discount.)

Studio 410 May 8, 2008

For years, I have been seeing artists create beautiful and useful items from old silverware.  However, it was not until I came across the unique jewelry from Studio 410 that I felt compelled to actually feature these creations on Our Great Green Globe.  I absolutely feel in love with this rustic looking necklace.  The combination of the oxidized silver, handmade or recycled charms, and the inspiring saying, SEEK BALANCE, FIND HAPPINESS, is perfect!  This necklace is so beautiful, it would be difficult to tell that the main piece is actually a vintage sterling silver spoon.

Susan Richards, the artist behind Studio 410, lives in Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada.  She is a multi-talented artist who likes to create with her two dogs and cat in her studio.  (In fact, you need to checkout Studio 410 Pets, Susan’s new etsy store featuring eco friendly pet beds, felted wool tug toys and felted wool balls.)  Even your beloved furry friend should be lucky enough to be treated to one of her creations!

Sanguinaria May 7, 2008

WOW!  Look at this beautiful, bright, cheerful reclaimed mirror.  I love the vibrant colors and intricate pattern of this handpainted mirror from Sanguinaria.  The mirror frame was saved from a death in the landfill  and then painted with previously discarded paints. Ribbons from old pieces of scrap clothing decorate the edges and  recycled electrical refuse wire also makes an appearance!  What an unique creation from a bunch of old trash!!

Sarah, the talented creator of this work of art, features many  different products in her shop- hand dyed yarn, recycled tags, paintings, and recycled envelopes.  It seems that most of her art features bright, bold colors with amazing detail.  Sarah donates 50% of the proceeds from the sale of her yarn toward the scholarship program for a wonderful girls summer camp in Maine.  Check her out to bring a little color and sunshine into your life.

Vivienne Strauss May 6, 2008

It was somewhat of a wild weekend this weekend.  Both my parents and my in-laws were in town to celebrate my son’s First Communion (or so I thought!).  We had two baseball games and classic soccer tryouts, First Communion rehersal and a surprise birthday party for me.  (And yes I was totally shocked!)  All of these activities, while very exciting and lots of fun,  left very little time for sleep and/or relaxation.  (It doesn’t help that we live in a hundred year old house and any time any one moves anywhere you can hear every footstep!)  So today when I woke up, I found myself feeling a little like the unfortunate woman, Betty, in this original collage on a vintage reading card by Vivienne Strauss….. a little disconnected and strung out.   Hopefully, unlike this poor glamour Betty, my feelings of being disconnected will be cured with a little nap. 

This talented artist from Portland likes to start her one of a kind creations on some type of recycled material.  I love her bright colors and unusual, somewhat retro looking compostions.  Her etsy shop features her original collages, pen and ink drawings and original watercolors. Learn more about Vivienne, her creations and her vintage collections at www.vivienneart.blogspot.com.

And the Winner Is….. May 3, 2008

The winner of our soap-on-a-rope giveaway from Ananya Studio is Michelle B.  (My eight year old son helped pick the winning number.)  Congrats and Enjoy!  Thanks to everyone who left a comment to enter and keep checking back because we will be starting a new contest sometime next week.

Ananya Studio is also now offering 40% off all our fair trade sterling silver and semi-precious stone jewelry.  We are trying to clean house a little bit to make room for new stock.  Just enter csale in the coupon code box at checkout to receive your discount. 

Don’t Forget!!!! May 1, 2008

  Mom’ s Day is quickly approaching!  Don’t forget about Ananya Studio’s 30% off sale for Mother’s day.  Just enter mom in the coupon code box at checkout and receive 30% off your entire purchase of beautiful sterling silver and semi-precious stone fair trade jewelry.  (And this discount doesn’t only apply to Mom’s day gifts, feel free to pick up a little something for yourself!)

Also, don’t forget!  Today is the last day to enter the Bath Products giveaway.  Just leave a comment at the Giveaway post to be enter to win a cool, hip soap-on- a-rope. 

Garbage of Eden April 30, 2008

  Every once in a while, I feel the need to add a little bling to my life.   I found these cool, bright colored bangles from Garbage of Eden on etsy.  An armful of these skinny bangles made by wrapping recycled plastic around a brass bangle is the perfect summer accessory!

Stephanie, the talented artist behind these cheerful bangles, strives to ”design useful and good lookin’ new objects out of materials that would otherwise just sit in a landfill, the streets, or your backyard.”  All of the bags used in these bracelets have been donated to the artist from friends, family or strangers who responded to a post on Brooklyn Freecycle.  What a great way to get the community involved in recycling! 

Not only are these bangles good for the enviroment and the community, but Stephanie donates 10% of the price of your purchase to one of these charitable organizations: Just Food (www.justfood.org), Added Value (www.added-value.org/), Time’s Up (http://times-up.org) and others. 

To learn more about this unique artist, visit her blog at www.garbageofedendesign.blogspot.com.  She offers tips about running a craft business, recycling and shares her love for all things creative!  It is an informative read! 

Emmy Lou Helmuth April 29, 2008

  Despite that the fact that it is suppose to be Spring here in the great Northwest, I still find myself longing for a nice warm cup of something to get myself ready to face the day.  When you live in a 100 year old house and Spring is just refusing to actually break through, it is nice to have something to warm the bones in the morning.  Try as I might, I often forget to bring my own reusable coffee mug to the local coffee shop and with the baristas making the drinks so scorching, I then find myself reaching for a drink sleeve.  Of course, environmental guilt then ensues.  For this reason, I love these hand knit drink sleeves by Emmy Lou Helmuth.  They can be stuffed in your purse, making it a snap to reduce guilt because they are always around.  

Emmy Lou offers many different beautiful hand knit products including coasters, hats, headbands and this purse that looks like a bright explosion of color.  It is soooo funky and fun and I love that it is made with recycled silk yarn.  This gorgeous yarn  is manufactured by a women’s cooperative group in the Himalayan mountains.  During production, the women cut off the ends of saris and then spin the scraps into yarn.  It makes for a beautiful bag!!!!

To find out more about this talented artist, visit her blog at http://emmylouhelmuth.blogspot.com.  It is filled with positive stories about the knitting community and interesting posts about Emmy Lou’s creative process.