Sea Glass Designs June 23, 2008

  WOW!  This necklace from Sea Glass Designs is so stunning!!  The color of this piece of sea glass is eye popping.  I love it in combination with the oxidized sterling silver.

In browsing through the  Sea Glass Designs shop on etsy, I am amazed at the incredible combinations of colors and silver the artist has forged.  I never realized that sea glass could be found in such stunning colors.  Vibrant blues, reds, yellows and greens are all just waiting to be discovered in this talented artist’s shop.  I also love her castings of natural found objects like twigs and starfish.    Visit her shop to find the nature lover in your life a little something special!

You’ve Won! May 19, 2008

Sorry I have been so absent lately at the old posting thing.  It has been a hectic week!  I think I am ready to get back to it.  The exciting part is I get to start with a bang by announcing the winner of the organic earth monkey t-shirt from 2monkees.  Congrats to Stefanie from focusorganic , the lucky winner of the monkey t-shirt.  I am excited that Stefanie was the winner because she is a woman with a similiar philosophy to that of Our Great Green Globe.  Here is a great quote from her About Page, “In learning to be more eco-friendly, we can better ourselves, our lives, and the planet.  Implementing even just small changes into your daily living can help to make a big difference and my hope is that with this site, you may learn something new, and decide to make your life more green, as well. ”  This quote embodies Our Great Green Globe’s philosophy about trying to shine a spotlight on small producers and artists who are doing their part to change the world.

Checkout her informative blog and store where she has partnered with many retailers to offer organic and earth friendly products.  Her blog offers advise and tips for people trying to live a green lifestyle.  Focus Organic  is a great resource for all us “greenies” out there!  Congrats to Stefanie and enjoy!!

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.  

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. 

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.

Stonz April 2, 2008

  After spending a week in the sunshine and warmth of Austin, it was VERY difficult to come back to the snow and hail of Oregon.  Luckily today, the sun is shining, I just got off almost two hours on my bike and I caught a waft of lilac from the tree next to my front porch.  All these signs of Spring have activated my longing for the heat and grit of the beach.    Time spent strolling along the waves, feeling the sun on my back and searching for the treasures the waves have dragged in is time well spent.  These memories gave me an instant connection to the beautiful jewelry from Stonz on etsy. 

Stonz is the brain child of  a creative mother of twins  from Cleveland.  After attending art school, she worked for years as an illustrator for a large greeting card company and eventually opened her own graphic design business from her home.  However, the pull of (more…)

You Can Find Recycled Art Everywhere March 26, 2008

 Early this morning when I was making my way bleary eyed through the Austin Bergstrom International Airport, I was pleasantly surprised to see an exhibit featuring five Austin artists “show their creativity and resourcefulness in the new exhibit Lost and Found.   The artists utilize found objects in their art to create unique assemblages that offer a broad range of theme and style.”

When we arrived in Austin last week, my guitar playing son and I had been struck by a shiny bright guitar that artist Ronnie Weeks had adorned with die, trumpet keys and a  small carburetor at the top.  It was very cool!  Today, I noticed all the other artist’s work.  Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures I can share but it was a pleasant surprise to see Texan artists making such beautiful creations from found objects.

Stepping Stones- Again March 20, 2008

I couldn’t resist- I saw this beautiful pendant from Stepping Stones, one of my favorite etsy stores, and I had to feature it! The artist, Tracy Prince, calls this a Modern Day Abacus.  I love the combination of the grey stone with the sea glass beads- very unique!  I also love her silver hoop earrings that feature a combination of hand forged sterling silver hoops with side drilled blackish sea stones- sooo pretty!  As I said, when I saw the Abacus pendant in France’s own Tortillagirl’s Handpicked item list, I knew I had to feature Stepping Stones again!  (While on etsy, you should checkout Tortillagirl’s fabulous handmade fashions!!)  

2ReVert February 27, 2008

My boys are skateboard fanatics.  There is nothing they like better than riding the rails, practicing kickflips or executing the perfect ollie.  I have learned more than I could ever want to know about the creation of the ultimate custom board.  According to them,  a custom skateboard can be a thing of beauty!

 So I was not suprised when I read about 2ReVert, a husband and wife team, that creates beautiful jewelry from old skateboards they have salvaged from the recycling heap.  The wife of this creative family works in a recycling center where she salvages the boards for these works of art.  The husband is the actual craftsman of the (more…)