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. 

Heidi Leech April 25, 2008

The other day, I stumbled upon my old journals from when I was in high school and college. Oh, the teenage angst and drama that was recorded in these old, ratty spiral notebooks. It was interesting and maybe a little embarrassing to see some of the stuff that I had going on. What is shocking to me is that I entrusted all these valuable thoughts and feelings to a boring old spiral notebook…….. what lack of style. It seems my life musing deserved to be housed in something a little more hip like these beautiful journals from Heidi Leech. The Washington DC artist behind these amazing designs is a former aerospace engineer, now working as a web designer. Heidi creates these one of a kind journals covers from an original stitched collage created from shapes and pieces that are are punched, torn and cut out of recycled books, magazines and catalogs. The paper pieces are arranged, then glued and machine stitched together. The collage is then securely glued to the front of the journal. I LOVE all of her various designs……the colors and subjects really draw you in! It seems this woman is a multi-talented artist. In her etsy shop, she also features unique handcrafted jewelry, handmade cards and other stitched collages. Do yourself a favor and visit her shop to see all her unique offerings!

Bath Product Giveaway April 24, 2008

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite nostalgic items from childhood is the old bath time favorite of the soap on a rope.  I recall when my parents  bought my first one……. it was a bright blue turtle hanging from a woven white rope.  I loved it!  It just seemed so cool to have a shaped soap that I could wear as a necklace.  (Boy was I easy to please back then!!)

The Enterprising Kitchen has resurrected this old favorite with a more socially conscious, green twist.  The Enterprising Kitchen is non-profit organization that enables lower-income women who have been unemployed and underemployed to gain valuable job and life skills while creating beautiful bath and spa products.  The women of the Enterprising Kitchen create their products using only the finest ingredients and purest essential oils. All products are manufactured in small batches onsite at their Chicago facility and they sell to over 300 stores across the US and are available online.  The Enterprising Kitchen is a member of the Fair Trade Federation.

Ananya Studio (And don’t forget Ananya is offering 30% off all their fair trade sterling silver jewelry.  Just enter mom in the coupon code box at checkout.)  is beginning to stock a range of the incredible products from the Enterprising Kitchen.  (As soon as I can get them loaded up on the website.) To kick off this product offering, we are pleased to do a giveaway of their fun, new take on the soap on a rope.   The Enterprising Kitchen crafts their soap on a rope using the recycled, odd shaped scraps from their bars of soap.  Each piece is knotted to create a yummy smelling, colorful line of soap.  To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post.  The winner will be drawn on Friday May 2nd.

Trillium Artisans April 23, 2008

On days like today, when Portland is weighted down under depressing, cold grey clouds for what seems like the thousandth day in  a row, it is difficult to remember why I love Portland and choose to raise a family here.  Then, however, I stumble on something like Trillium Artisans and my love for Portland all comes rushing back. 

Trillium Artisans is a Portland group with a primary purpose to help small, low income crafters form sustainable, profitable businesses for themselves.  As part of the program, Trillium artists have access to product reviews, retail and wholesale opportunities, small business counseling, peer networking, and guest speakers.   Also, artists agree that of the products they sell through Trillium,  the items will be constructed of at least 50% recycled or reclaimed materials.    I love this program because it is supporting independent artists who are committed to helping our environment!!
 

Trillium began in 1999 as Eco-biz  and eventually combined with a business-planning program called the Entrepreneurial Training Program.  Trillium is currently funded by the City of Portland Bureau of Housing and Community Development, New Belgium Brewing Company, and the Oregon Arts Commission through the National Endowment for the Arts.   This innovative program has grown so much that artists now have their own retail store in Southeast Portland.   If you are not blessed enough to live in Portland (I guess I actually do love Portland), you can also purchase products through their website or on etsy.  Both the store and their website offers a range of beautiful, creative crafts that reflect the diversity of this group of talented artists.  When you visit their shop or website, you will find garden art, jewelry, scarves, clocks, hair accessories and too many other enchanting products to list.   

Organic Clothing Blog April 16, 2008

Just a quick shout out to The Organic Clothing Blog.  This blog is an extremely well written and in depth blog about all topics related to the environment.  Michael Lackman one of the owners of Lotus Organics is the author of this informative blog.  One of his recent blog entries focused on The Diversity of Green Jewelry.  In this entry, he writes a very positive review of Ananya Studio’s fair trade jewelry.  We were so honored to be mentioned in this wonderful blog and were pleased to see all the options for responsible jewelry that are available!  To feed your hunger for more knowledge about green issues visit the information packed Organic Clothing Blog. 

Flip and Tumble April 10, 2008

  Today as I stepped up to the checkout line for about the 4th time this week, I realized that once again I had forgotten the reusable grocery bags I had purchased to cut down on the number of bags my family uses.     I try to be prepared…….I keep them in my car but for some reason I almost never remember to bring them into the store.  Flip and Tumble has created the perfect solution for people like me- a lightweight bag that can be rolled into a ball and thrown in your purse or pocket.  What a great solution for absentminded people!  You might forget your reusable bag when you go into a store but you are not going to get very far if you don’t have you purse!!!

These bags are constructed of lightweight nylon ripstop and are designed to hold loads up to 25 pounds.   (It is big enough to hold 3 large soda bottles but when you roll it up, it is as small as a peach……ingenious!)  The 24-7 bag sells for just $12 online and it is estimated that in its lifetime, each bag can save the use of over 1,000 plastic bags.  Eva Bauer and Hetal Jariwala, the creators of the 24-7 bag,   have thought of everything……  Once your bag is ready to be retired, just send it back to them and they will recycle it.  I love these bags!!  I placing my order for some today.

Ecoflamingo April 9, 2008

 This funky magnet by the talented Maine artist behind Ecoflamingo reminds us what this blog is all about.  What a great way to express your inner “Greenie” to the world!

The crafty creator of the products in Ecoflamingo feels strongly about using the materials she has on hand to create her one of a kind works of art.  She turns old magazines into hand-rolled beaded bracelets, weaves together old beer labels  to make bracelets and uses scraps of wrapping paper and scrapbooking materials to make new creations.  In her own words, “If I can turn around things in my home and invent or refresh what I have, I am doing my part for it staying out of the landfills/dump. I feel that by doing this I am doing my part in saving the environment.”   What an inspiring philosophy!!!

Next time you are looking for the perfect small gift for one of your green friends, don’t forget to take a look at her colorful unisex woven bracelets.  At only $12.99, they make an easy gift for yourself or someone else interested in doing their part to save the environment. 

Kat’s Krafts April 8, 2008

 Spring has sprung in the great Northwest and I am loving seeing all the tulips and daffodils that are sprouting up around the neighborhood!!  Everything seems a little better with the bright colors of spring all around.  However, I realize that not everyone is so lucky.  If you are in a part of the world that is still cloaked in the snow of winter, these  little embellishments from Katskrafts are the perfect pick-me-up for you.  These delicate paper flowers are made from recycled Harlequin Romance novels and have cute button centers.  They feature  pinched, double petals and inked edges. They are the  perfect addition to any card, gift, or scrapbook!  What could be more romantic than a bouquet of flowers made from the ultimate in romance, Harlequin?

This talented artist also offers custom made wooden signs, magnets and adorable lunch box letters to let that special someone know how much you care.  Visit her etsy shop to see all she has to offer.

Clean Sheets April 7, 2008

 I just pulled my clean sheets out of the dryer.  The smell so yummy!!!! I fianlly got to use my new lavender scented Anti-static laundry spray from The Windsong company.  I love how fresh and clean they smell…….. is there anything better than the smell of clean sheets?  It was so easy to use.  I just put a few spritzes of spray on each side of the cute little frog patterned pillow that came with the spray and then threw it into the dryer with my sheets and clothes.  Hello fresh smelling sheets, goodbye fabric softeners loaded with chemicals!!!

Today’s Creative Blog April 4, 2008

Today’s post is taking a little different tactic.  Instead of featuring one specific artist, I wanted to talk about a fun, imaginative blog that helps me drool over all the possible creative outlets I would like to explore if I had a creative bone in my body.  Today’s Creative Blog is a blog that features everything creative-  from housewares, decor, jewelry and yes, even green artists.  The author is “a crafty, over protective mom who teaches fitness.”  She has a good eye for all things creative and a witty voice for relaying her stories. 

One of my favorite features was entitled A Year of Crockpotting and shares the adventures of a mom trying to use her crockpot for 365 days.  I love my crockpot so I was very happy to see this feature.  (I  know, crockpotting is sooooo 1950’s mom but with our crazy sports schedule it makes having a hot meal for the family a lot easier!)

Recently, while perusing this sight, I found a feature on Alexa Lott, an amazing artist who creates one of a kind pieces of art from items she recycles from the trash heap.   Look at this beautiful piece of art (pictured below) fashioned from estate sale finds.

So if you are feeling like you want to get your creative groove on but just need a little inspiration,  Today’s Creative Blog is a great place to see what other inventive types are doing!