The Earth Savers Blog

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The Art of Surprise

Holidays are coming quickly and although purse strings are tight for everyone it seems that the season of giving feels stronger and perhaps more important than ever.

Here is a quick, easy, affordable and delightful twist on holiday gift giving that EVERYONE loves so don't limit this idea to children.  It can also incredibly eco friendly as you can re-gift, reuse, and recycle things in your own home incorporating them into this great gift.

How to make a SURPRISE BALL:

What you need: Scissors, ribbon, crepe paper, string or yarn, fabric, and your items.

1) Gather up any smaller sized items that you might want to wrap including pins, misfit game pieces, clips, buttons, coins, keys, poems, lockets, gems, ornaments, jewelry, candy, snow globes etc.  If you are like me ( ok- i can be considered a hoarder) you randomly have most of these things sitting in the house anyways! or you can go to the dollar store, or even make many of the items.  Try to gather about ten- fourteen per ball ( you can really have as many as you like, but it's fun to have at least ten)

2) Make a quick list of your friends and kids in your life and make a mental note of their hobbies, likes, or something personal about them and try to group little items. For example- my friend Mandy loves vintage anything- so i put together some pins, buttons, images, a brooch, an antique key and made the very center of the gift a vintage belt buckle i found for her in an old antique store that cost me about $3.00.  Then there is my seven year old daughter who loves fairies and kittens so her surprise ball had lots of little fun shells, fairies, rocks, a hello kitty eraser, a tiny bottle of nail polish, a tiny butterfly, and a fairy necklace.  Boys love pirate coins, matchbox cars, tattoos, marbles, maps,  silly putty or anything really.

3) Start by taking your largest item (My mother loves to cook so I made a beautiful French toile dish towel into a ball and used it as the center!) and then start to "wrap" the item in string, yarn or crepe paper winding it snugly so that it covers the entire item.  As you go - keep adding a new item to another layer continuing to try to keep the shape (many of mine come out pear shaped but don't fret...they are just as much fun to open!) Once you have made your ball large enough you can add the finishing touches.  I like to print out an image- cut it into a circle and add a strip of ribbon or cut the crepe into a smaller strip to make it look more festive.  Use the glue to fasten your image or a sticker sealing the last loose end or ribbon. It's also nice to put a tag or sticker letting them know to unwrap their surprise being mindful that things will fall out as they go.  They also "travel" very well so keep this in mind when you need to send a gift through the mail.

4) You can really be as creative as you want with these - giving them as hostess gifts, party favors, or creating a great tradition for other holidays. 

If you would rather skip the fun yourself and order one, you can always order your extra special surprise ball through me @ rodgers107@cox.net for $15.00 each but be sure to get your order in by December 18th.

 

How to Build a Global Community

Think of no one as “them”
Don’t confuse your comfort with your safety
Talk to strangers
Imagine other cultures through their poetry and novels
Listen to music you don’t understand*Dance to it
Act Locally
Notice the workings of power & privilege in your culture
Question consumption
Know how your lettuce and coffee are grown: wake up
and smell the exploitation
Look for fair trade and union labels
Help build economies from the bottom up
Acquire few needs
Learn a second(or third) language
Visit people,places, and cultures – not tourist attractions
Learn people’s history*Re-define progress
Know physical and political geography
Play games from other cultures*Watch films with subtitles
Know your heritage
Honor everyone’s holidays
Look at the moon and imagine someone else,
Somewhere else, looking at it too
Read the UNs Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Understand the global economy in terms of
people, land, and water
Know where your bank banks
Never believe you have the right to anyone else’s resources
Refuse to wear corporate logos: defy corporate domination
Question military/corporate connections
Don’t confuse money with wealth, or time with money
Have a pen/email pal*Honor indigenous cultures
Judge governance by how well it meets all people’s needs
Be skeptical about what you read
Eat adventurously*Enjoy vegetables,
Beans and grains in your diet
Choose curiosity over certainty
Know where your water comesfrom
and where your wastes go
Pledge allegiance to the earth;question nationalism
Think South, Central, and North-
There are many Americans
Assume that many others share your dreams
Know that no one is silent though many are not heard
Work to change this

Artist: 

Text: Members SCW Community ©2002. Illustration: Melinda Levine, cut paper

Dogeared Jewelry for the Modern Day Treehugger

At Little Bits our retail store, we fell in love with a tiny little line of necklaces that spread messages of hope and change and consciousness, and what a difference a couple of years make! The Dogeared collection has grown to include a variety of gifts for many occasion's, and beautiful jewelry designs for adults and children that are affordable and unique. 

I love their new look, lines, and designs and thought you might too....

Compost Catalyst

The New York Times recently reported a story by Malia Wollan about San Francisco's tough recycling laws. Amazingly the state has started fining those who do not adhere to their strict recycling laws by fining residents or business owners of up to $1,000 but the best part is that these laws now include composting.

YEA SAN FRANCISCO!!!

    "The city already diverts 72 percent of the 2.1 million tons of waste it's residents produce each year away from landfills and into recycling and composting programs."

The goal for this inspiring city is to send zero waste to landfills by 2020. Three bins will help the city manage it's goal with help from it's citizens by issuing three bins: one for recycling, one for trash and the new GREEN one for compost.

I remember doing an interview with John Bradford last year where he said "There are two simple things that every citizen in the world can do to make a difference, and that's recycle your plastics, and compost."

He went on to explain that by doing this we close the loop by reusing our packaging,  and replenishing our land with the nutrients it needs to grow nutrient rich foods.  Composting is easy for anyone to do- but just like developing a discipline for recycling can's and bottles- it's now adding that new action into your routine each day. 

Our family keeps our composting bin by the sink. Instead of throwing our veggie peels, and fruit cores and rinds into the sink or trash it goes into the compost bucket and the kids take turns walking it out to the compost pile in the yard at the end of each day or every couple of days.  It's a matter of being conscious as you run through your meal routine that is likely on auto pilot.

Here are a few recommendations to get started:

• Kids are great team players - so enroll their help telling them about composting and it's benefits to the planet. They also make great police so if you want someone to remind you when you go to throw those egg shells in the trash, they can blow the whistle until everyone gets in the habit.
• Make a list of all the items that can be composted- or an image of the veggie or fruit or shell and stick it on the fridge for everyone to reference
• Invest in a compost bucket or ceramic urn with a lid- you can check out other options here.
• If you want additional facts on how to compost or why it's so beneficial you can look here. 
• If you want more info specifically geared toward kids you can go here.

 

Never Thought to Recycle THAT!

Becky Roque is a hip twenty year old Miami college student who's been making her way through her tuition bills by waitressing.  Look how smart! That college education is paying off!
She pulled out her billfold to pay for her purchase at the register of our consignment store, and I could not help but notice....

"I just love making new designs and seeing a new use for boring or broken things, I especially when I can create wearable art." - Becky Rouque

Materials: Black Waitress Bill Fold
Acrylic Paint
Buttons
Glue

 

Please send us any images of your recycled items that might qualify for this new area of our blog!
If you have a recycled item that you would like to share we would love to showcase them on NEVER THOUGHT TO RECYCLE THAT!

It's easy:

• Send your email to mrodgers@littlebits.com with a description of your item and how and why you did it- what gave you the inspiration?
  
• your name, any details about yourself you want to share
  
• State or Country where you reside or what company you work for
• An image or several images of your item
  
• and why you think it's important to live green!

Mission Bird House- Activity for KIds

The real reason that you should build a house for a bird is that you'd be doing them a huge favor.  Birds all over the world are losing their homes and dying out, and certain birds have already become extinct.  We need to protect the ones that are left and you can be the hero that builds a place for a bird family to stay!

First a few facts:

Many birds migrate meaning that they can fly for tremendously long distances at different times of the year and because there are not enough trees or grasses in cities for all the birds to make their nests in- they have no place to "rest."

If the weather turns bad in late spring as it can sometimes do, birds who have flown back from the South to the North for the Summer months are left in frigid cold with no protection from the elements, so if you make a place for them to stay they might even make it "home" enough to raise a family right in your own back yard!

Kids absolutely love the wonder and beauty of birds, and their nests. They are fascinated by the little eggs, and how they hatch. Grab your kids and a a milk carton and find a good place to work together on a backyard birdhouse or two for your family. They also make a great gift!!

Materials:

• Empty (rinsed) half gallon cardboard milk carton

• Scissors

• 2 ft of wire ( medium grade- it needs to hold the birdhouse up but be pliable)

• Waterproof packing tape

• Dried Grass or leaves

• Hammer and nails

Step 1: Cut open the top of the carton
Step 2: Use the scissors to cut out a hole the size of an oreo cookie in one side of the carton for the "door" unless it already has a built in "spout" or hole in which case no need...
Step 3: one the other side of the carton make 2 holes with the nail - the top hole 1/3 way down from the top of the carton, the bottom hole also 1/3 up from the bottom
Step 4: Put the wire through the nail hole through the top hole along the inside of the carton and out the bottom hole
Step 5: Make a bed for the birds by putting the dry grass in the bottom, close the top and seal it tight with packaging tape
Step 6: Now take a walk around the yard and determine your "spot" - and if you can choose a spot close to a house window so you can watch..even better!
Step 7: hammer two nails into the tree about 1' apart one above the other and wrap the wire around the nails nice and tight so that the house stays in place
Extra: You can always embellish by using water resistant paint for decorating and of course use little dowels as "perch" areas outside their doorway

Now you are ready to wait and watch and see if your feathered friends will come to rest....

Best Friends.

 

Do we ever really forget about the first true best friend we ever had?  I know I won't.
My first real best friend was Marcie Blake, and I would have pretty much would have given her my right arm if she asked me to.  The power of friendship has gotten me through the very worst times in my life, and of course illuminated the very best times in my life as well. There is nothing like sharing an experience with someone and deepening a bond through thick and thin. My friends have taught me so much about myself, and about life, and about what it means to be a true friend. Sometimes you just connect with someone right away, and other times a friendship develops over time.

I watch my daughter now, almost seven as she deepens her relationships to her peers, and when she gravitates toward one particular friend I am always so intrigued. What makes that bond so tight and so strong even at such a young age? It's amazing to me. Today I simply marveled at their antics, giggling fits, fights, makeups, and sadness when it was time to part. They were as thick as thieves, and it truly made for a special day to simply be around them as they joyously played with each other and genuinely and deeply enjoyed each others company, and oh...an ice cream cone never hurts. 

Unplug This Summer.

Growing up my dad used to call the television the idiot box. I read an article yesterday that quoted that the average American child watches approximately 40 hours of television a week.

40 HOURS A WEEK.

Is that possible?
When I think of my work week, and how many hours I spend interacting with customers, organizing product, paying bills, thinking of new ways to market, I am exhausted. When I think about a child sitting mindlessly watching TV for 8 hours a day, without interaction, motor activity, intellectual stimulation, or imaginative play I am infuriated. What are we doing? How are we, as adults allowing this to happen?
In the age of green consciousness how are we to engage our children in becoming knowledgeable, capable, and compassionate stewards of the planet if they are not outside engaged in the wonder of nature and imaginative play? How can we expect them to use their own minds to exercise forethought or problem solving, or innovation if we teach them to be mindless and numb, and passive? How do we expect them to really care and create a deep connection and wonder to life and all of it's mysteries if we continually keep them indoors and occupied with the idiot box? PLEASE American parents...UNPLUG the television and set your kids free.

Thinking Outside the BOX

So which of the Earth Savers Gang characters would these fellows take after?  Well, a couple of them for sure, but I'll wager that Penelope Paper Saver and Zach Energy Saver would totally groove on this idea:

Meet Joseph Haskett, Peter Gill Case, and Joshua Brant who are working together as a new brand of architectural and urban development hero's to recycle several of the thousands of shipping containers that sit empty in ports around the country.  These shipping containers were once filled with all of the goods that our global economy thrives on but since the economy has slowed and thankfully the level of awareness rises these guys have taken a new look at the old, and with a little ingenuity conceived another life for the otherwise massive and useless steel boxes.

Read more about the Onlyville Box Office Project and join us at Earth Savers in giving them a huge nod for excellent innovation, green building smarts, and conscious lifestyle alternatives.