They look “JUST” like old fashioned ice skates.

I wonder if you could get some skates and take the blades off?

WhenI was a kid My mom always encouraged me to take on craft projects. One of my favorites was making Christmas tree ornaments out of liver lids. I love the idea of saving plastic from the landfill and making it inot a cherished item to be used again and again

Craftzine has a cool DIY tutorial on how to make them

 Roots and Wings has some beautiful creations!

Your Gramma's beer can hat

I often explain to people what my blog is about and then ask them what I should write about next. They always have some great ideas, and usually on a totally different train of thought than what I have been on. 

This morning, Drea (one of my favorite baristas at Cafe Bambinos) really hit a homerun with this idea. She asked – what about things made out of tin cans? I mean who doesn’t love a good beer can and yarn hat?  Thus began my quest to find a renunuist who is practicing this great lost art… 

The gramma of invention - Evelyn Richardson

The art of BEER CAN HATS  was 1st pioneered in the early 1970′s by an eccentric gramma — Evelyn Richardson of Long Beach, CA. Boy did she have a flair for creativity and the fun in life…

Nichole and her beer can hats

Okay – so back to my quest… meet Nichole Smith (no not THAT nichole smith) – a beautiful lady who learned this art from her Mom! Please take a minute to visit her web site  and check out her delightfully traditional, yet slightly upgraded classic beer can hats! (Now with hemp -for the hardcore partier!). You will not be sorry her work is impecable.

I came across this interesting story today, it’s nice to see mainstream media talking about this! Go REI and Patagonia, way to give back.

Love your leftovers

This is a recipe I came up with that makes for a very quick and easy meal (like breakfast) since the prep is done during another meal.  The cool thing about this recipe is that it can all be leftovers – if you save out a just a tiny bit of these things while making dinner the night before then you can just throw them all together and “Bam!” breakfast is served…

Renunuing at it’s finest

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons of fresh carrot – chopped into small 1/4″ cubes
• 1 teaspoon of fresh onion – chopped into small 1/4″ cubes
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons of leftover cooked chicken
• 2 tablespoons of frozen peas (staight from the freezer)
• 2 cups leftover cooked rice

.Heat the oil in a large skillet (on medium-high)
.Take a carrot and chop it up real small (1/4 ” cubes) – or save some that you chopped from a stir fry the night before
.Put it in the skillet with the hot oils (it should spatter a bit)
.Optionally add a LITTLE onion also chopped into 1/4″ cubes (don’t overpower things with too much)
.Saute till soft
.Break an egg into that mixture – and fry it up till cooked – but not overcooked
.Then put in leftovers – you just need a little of each (like a 1/4 serving)
 – chicken (cut into 1/2″ cubes)
 – rice (1 or 2 cups of leftovers)
 – frozen peas (straight out of the bag from the freezer)
.Stir it all together – and cook till the chicken and peas are heated through
.Add salt and pepper (lemon pepper if you’ve got it)
.Toss it all together and throw it on a plate

Optionally you can add other fresh veggies that are on hand (Chopped Small)
 – broccoli ends (the parts that are too hard for serving with the florets – peel off the outer tough edges)
 – string beans
 – kale (just one leaf plucked straight from the garden)
 – celery
 – fresh herbs
 – potatoes instead of rice
 – a squirt of fresh lemon juice

The trick is to chop everything up really small – and put in tiny amounts
The perfect way to Renunu your leftovers!

Free People Skirt

I love skirts – they’re so comfy and they can hide a world of lower body imperfections…

Got big hips or thunder thighs?
Hate to Shave?
Legs too short – or too long?

Someday in the next month or so chances are you will look in your closet and think I need something that will keep me cool on a hot summer day and you’ll probably want to grab a skirt! But wait, what if you’re tired of all your old skirts? Instead of taking a trip to the local mall, how about renunuing one of your old favorites from last summer?

Stretchy waists rock!

 My favorte skirt has a stretchy top and a ruffle sticking out from underneath.  Much like this one I found from “Free People“.  Pick out 2 skirts from you closet – and make this look for your self!!! I have about 7 lightweight solid colored underskirts that I keep handy for just this purpose. This one looks like it might work reversed as well!

Vests are always a fun addition to the outfit. I way to sort of finish off the look. I love how in the summer a vest can make you look dressed up – without the uncomfortable feeling of wearing alot of clothing! I found this lovely set of drawings that shows the varitey of vests that are out there.

Some Great Vest Ideas

I like the idea of making a vest out of an existing blouse. See if you don’t recognize one of your shirts in these vests – and consider how you might remove the sleeves to acheive the look of a vest from something you already have in the closet…

 Stitch on a couple of patch pockets – and your good to go!

Light a candle for the earth

This year it’s the lighting of a candle…

Officially – it’s April 21st, but really, everday is Earth Day! Things get busy,  time is lost,  life is hectic,  but amidst it all we can still take a moment to light a candle and consider our place in the circle of life and how we can make a lower impact on something we are borrowing from our children’s children’s children…

So Today -take a deep breath, light a candle, reflect upon what you can do differently this year to help preserve the environment for our future generations. Perhaps set a few simple goals toward that end. Next year maybe you can look back at these reflections and see if you are any closer to reaching those goals.

Next year? – Who knows…

Too much stuff

Today I had an epiphany

I have too much stuff, simply too many things lying around cluttering up my life. The urge of course is to purge, but then again, I have this sort of warped sense of sustainability where I allow myself to gather stuff – in the name of being p.c. and eco-conscious. Well today that ends – my new mantra is …

Get Rid Of Stuff… (GROS)

What does that mean in terms of the very thing that I am basing this blog on, which is Re-working our stuff into new useable stuff? Well – instead of going to the mall and buying more stuff, you can dig in the closet and find something you already have – and either get rid of it or rejuvenate it – using something you already have.  YAY! GROS!

Wait… Is reworking clothing the same as getting rid of stuff? mmm maybe not— or is it? Consider this;  if you have things in your closet that you don’t wear anymore, but you keep them because you liked them at one time, and/or they hold some special memory for you, does throwing them out constitute being green? Here are some eco-friendly alternatives.

• Donate them to the thrift store
• Throw a naked lady party (clothing swap)
• Do some magical re-working of those beloved items into something new and exciting to keep and cherish.

Any one of those solutions will certainly be better than piling toxic stuff in the landfill. Sustainable fashion: clothing that is made of materials that don’t pollute the environment, has a low carbon imprint and is not made to be thrown away after only a couple of wearings.

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