auclairdelalune

Upcoming Trashion Promo Swap!

2010-07-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my sachets for the upcoming Trashion promo swap! They are ready to mail!

Eco friendly at the beach!

2010-05-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

This idea for creatively re-using what would otherwise be discarded comes just in time for the summer season. While it may seem like such an obvious use for recyclable containers, I've noticed that every trip to the beach(and living in Florida we are there quite a bit) we are the only family who seems to bring those single use plastic containers along for the trip.

So many eco-friendly solutions do equate to thrift. Why buy lots of plastic beach toys when many of the containers that end up in your recycling bin come in all different shapes and sizes that are perfect for building sand castles? Also useful at the beach are those nylon mesh bags that fruits and vegetables come in. Use them to collect and rinse shells or to gather and rinse all of those smaller beach toys before you leave.

Start saving your yoghurt containers, laundry soap lids and scoops now - just in time for your next trip to the beach.

It's a great way to save both your wallet and the planet!

Etsyveg Ten Percent for Peace Event

2009-11-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

Join the EtsyVeg Team this week as we promote Ten Percent For Peace.
All this week, members of our team will be offering great handmade
items for you or your loved ones. We will, through the generosity of
the season, be donating 10% this week to a great organization called
Dollars for Peace.

You can feel great because you are buying handmade and supporting
local and small businesses and artisans who create each and every item
in a unique way, and because you are supporting an organization that
works to help people create a more peaceful world.

Visit the following shops this week to find great items, and some
great sales in a few of the shops.

auclairdelalune
amefaust - Free Matte and Free
Shipping
movetheneedle - Free
Shipping
starfirewire
urbanimal
claynfiber
aktie9
jenoconnell -Free U.S.
shipping, 1/2 off shipping elsewhere
beanlennon - Buy 1 get 1 half
off
griffinlamps
sweetvconfections -
Free 1/2 Dozen Cookies with every order
silentlotus
ladonnae
lostmitten
luniquejewellery
daisywares
sassandperil - Free
Shipping
veganosaurus/artbysusmitha - Free Shipping

End of Summer Sale!

2009-09-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

I hear rumors that in places other than sunny, sunny Florida summer is ending! To make room for fall, select summery items have been reduced!

2009-09-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

Starting next Monday, September 7th, a group of our fabulous vegetarian and vegan artisans will be offering specials in their Etsy shops! Keep watch for fabulous deals on unique handcrafted and vintage goods and supplies, a perfect way to start off the autumn season!

Look for specials like dicounts and free shipping in the following shops for the week of September 7th-13th- don't miss it! Check in later for an updated list...

aktie9
amefaust
auclairdelalune
chickscratch
CollarMeGorgeous
jackandjillsmom
jenoconnell
judysmosaicsupplies
loveluca
Karramandi
KneeDeepOriginals
krugsecologic
magglepie
midnightrabbits
movetheneedle
ThisisBexx
pandawithcookie
silentlotus
TheAwesomestPossum
veganessa
vibrantmosaics

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Etsy Trashion Summer Sale & Giveaway!

2009-07-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

the Etsy Trashion Team is having a Summer Sale and Giveaway!

... to promote Environmental Awareness!

for just one week... July 20 – 27

just visit the following Etsy shops
to save on fine and funky upcycled goods...
and come win this fabulous prize pack!

http://www.remaker.etsy.com 20% off everything in shop

http://www.loneweever.etsy.com 15% off everything in shop

http://www.rikrak.etsy.com/ 15% off various items in shop

http://www.ecogeneration.etsy.com/ 10% off everything in shop

http://www.alexkeller.etsy.com/ 10% off everything in shop

http://www.auclairdelalune.etsy.com/ 15% off everything in shop

http://www.beachchicken.etsy.com/ 15% off everything in shop

http://www.bellavioletta.etsy.com/ doe doe birds with purchase

http://www.junck.etsy.com/ 10% off everything in shop

http://www.lostandfoundobjects2.etsy.com/ 20% off in shop

http://www.palmfrondartist.etsy.com/ 10% off everything in shop

http://www.foundthings.etsy.com/ 20% off in shop

http://www.eyepopart.etsy.com/ 20% off everything in shop

http://www.westernartglass.etsy.com/ 10% off leaf collection
http://www.candycalamity.etsy.com / little yummies magnet with purchase

...................................

& find other promotions and participating shops @

http://etsytrashion.etsy.com/

AND... To enter the fabulous giveaway...

visit one of the participating shops,
then leave a comment about your fave trashion items on the
trashion blog post for the event on the trashion team blog!
you may make up to five entries.

Or…make purchases in participating shops to receive
additional chances for every $10 you spend!

The prize winner will be randomly selected on July 28th.

it's a great time to support fabulous eco-artists! the Trashion Team on Etsy is a group of artists that create art, jewelry, fashion and home accessories from materials that were leftover, discarded, or found! so wonderful & beautiful, isn't it!
happy discovering!

Fairy House

2009-07-03T14:57:00.001-07:00

We have a perfectly lovely vacant home at the base of one of our trees. Now we just have to wait for the fairies to move in!

National Geographic in my own backyard

2009-06-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

After three weeks of being hostess, it's now time to get the house and yard in order. Our overgrown and undertended backyard has turned into a veritable National Geographic wildlife adventure. Not sure that I really needed to renew that zoo membership after all...

1st stop: The compost

Turning the compost unleashes all things slimy and slithery (good for composting, but still pretty icky). Lizards to the rescue! Can you find the stealthy creatures? They're quick and sneaky, looking for lunch.

2nd stop: Overgrown garden

Time to prune and weed the garden. The good news is that our rain barrel is filled to capacity (saving up for a non-rainy day?). The bad news is that weeds (especially that invasive air potato) seem to have taken over. We pull out weeds and then decide to prune back that fennel that seems to have spread, become leggy, and has gone to seed. After clipping a few stalks (to take inside and dry), a fabulous discovery! Caterpillars! Looks like the fennel is here to stay awhile longer, having become host and habitat. Can't wait to watch the metamorphosis.

Bottle cap Magnets

2009-05-29T10:01:00.001-07:00

As summer approaches, it's time to find fun, crafty, eco-friendly projects to do at home. My daughter received a craft kit as a birthday present that uses bottle caps to create little mini-scenes. There are all kinds of possibilities for the things you can do with the bottle caps, but today we turned them into the ever useful refrigerator magnets.

Any kind of bottle caps will do -- beer caps, soda caps, or maybe even lids from larger bottles or jugs. Either save them up over time, or ask your neighborhood bar or restaurant if they will save them for you (always a good way to keep the word out about recycling). The craft kit we received came with pre-cut circles of pictures to put into the lids, but we also cut up magazines and box labels to use, and photographs would also be great. Just make a pattern of what size you will need, and then you and your kids can cut out little circles with different scenes for your bottle caps. You can also glue in all kinds of objects to make your bottle caps 3-D. We've used Mardi Gras King Cake babies (it looks like they're bathing in the cap), bits of broken toys and beads, just about anything you can think of. Of course this is a great way to repurpose old magazines, and those bits and pieces of toys and costume jewelry that might be hanging about. If you wish, you can seal your bottle caps with a variety of clear coats that can be found at craft/hobby shops.

After the bottle caps were decorated, we used sticker magnets to easily attach to the backs of the bottle caps. Another possiblity would be to cut up old promotional magnets that you might have laying around and use white craft clue to attach them to the bottle caps. Voilà -- instant fridge magnets!

Spanglish Miembro de la Semana

2009-05-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

Check out this week's Spanglish Miembro of the Week!

createev1

Createev1 writes:

I am a photographer in North Florida. My favorite form of relaxation is to capture nature at it's best. I love to photograph flowers, birds, ( all kinds of animals in general) and beautiful landscapes.

Living in Florida myself, I know that it is a beautiful place to capture nature! Enjoy this wonderful artist's lovely photographs!

createev1

createev1

createev1

To see more of her work just click here

Friendly neighborhood ibises

2009-05-14T08:10:00.001-07:00

Take a look at some of our friendly feathered friends who dropped by for a snack!

Spanglish Miembro de la Semana

2009-05-11T17:55:00.000-07:00

Check out this week's Spanglish member of the week: tumbleweedstudios

This very talented and busy mom is a professional digital artist who specializes in the giclée making for artists and galleries. She is also a crafter and an explorer who is elaborating on her jewelry designs.

In her words:

"I love to try new ways to make art, I always tumble around things that inspire me and make meaningful art out of them . So you'll be seeing more of me in the next days, months and hopefully many years to come."

Recycling in the garden – Part Un

2009-05-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

If I weren’t vegetarian I would say that this is a way to kill two birds with one stone (maybe it’s a way to stun two tofurkies with one stone?), but a rain barrel is a great way to both reduce and reuse all at the same time.

Water is a limited resource, particularly this time of year in Central Florida. There are lots of ways to reduce water consumption in the home, but one of the areas that deserves attention and is one of the most wasteful uses of fresh water is irrigation. Aside from choosing native plants for landscaping and reducing the need for irrigation through xeriscaping, rain barrels are very effective tool for catching and storing rainwater to use in the garden, thus reducing the need for city water.

I’m not the handiest of people in a carpentry sense, so I signed up for a class offered by my local county to get help in constructing my rain barrel. It took very little work and materials to construct the one I use. My food grade quality drum is recycled, and the other materials are easy to find at any hardware store. Easy instructions can be found on line (one to check out would be http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/Rainwater-Harvesting-Rain-Barrel-Setup.aspx).

Last year we connected the rain barrel to an extra soaker hose we had, but soon found that we didn’t have the water pressure to make this work well enough to distribute water through the garden. This weekend we upgraded the rain barrel irrigation by connecting damaged hoses (yet another way to recycle/re-use!) with holes drilled every six + inches. This proved to be a terrific project for older kids learning to use tools. We had to figure out how to use the hose repair/attachment kits to connect our damaged hoses and then we had all of those holes to drill.

Project was completed in very little time and is working great. Now all we have to do is wait for it to rain:-)!

Spanglish miembro de la semana

2009-05-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

Check out this week's miembro de la semana: agmode

She describes her work as "wearable art" and this is truly the case with her lovely collection of crocheted and knit accessories.

Ditch your dryer!

2009-04-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well, spring has sprung and it is time to get outside! The eco-friendly focus for this week is ditching the gas or electric dryer and upgrading to a solar/wind powered variety. It’s not as complicated as you think – we’re talking about clotheslines. Your gas or electric dryer is a wasteful energy hog! While you can find very efficient washing machines, dryers are pretty much all in the same sorry boat.

The very cool website and blog "Project Laundry List" http://www.laundrylist.org/ offers a top ten list of terrific reasons to ditch your dryer:
Dryers use ten to fifteen percent of domestic energy in the United States!
10) Save money (more than $25/month off electric bill for many households).
9) Clothes last longer. Where do you think lint comes from?
8) Clothes and linens smell better without adding possibly toxic chemicals to your body and the environment.
7) Conserve energy and the environment, while reducing climate change.
6) It is moderate physical activity which you can do in or outside.
5) Sunlight bleaches and disinfects.
4) Indoor racks can humidify in dry winter weather.
3) Clothes dryer fires account for about 15,600 structure fires, 15 deaths, and 400 injuries annually. The yearly national fire loss for clothes dryer fires in structures is estimated at $99 million.
2) Can be an outdoor experience that is meditative and community-building.
1) Demonstrates that small steps can make a difference. Don't have to wait for the government to take action!

Now, most of the world is probably thinking “duh – why wouldn’t you use a clothesline?” but here in the U.S. there can be a bit of a stigma attached and some homeowner’s associations won’t permit residents to hang their laundry outdoors. It’s time to break that stigma and make clotheslines mainstream again! The more people who hang their laundry out, the more commonplace it becomes. You can buy very cool retractable clothes lines and racks on line, or you can pick up a simple clothesline at your neighborhood hardware or dollar store, and small retractable lines for indoor bath or laundry room use are also widely available. Pick up some clothespins and you’ll be in business.

On the plus side air dried laundry smells great, but it can also be a bit stiff. Remedy this by remembering to use a natural fabric softener (avoid those nasty petroleum based products) or adding a quarter cup or so of vinegar to your rinse water.

Save money, energy, the planet – what’s not to like about clotheslines?

Happy Etsy Day!

2009-04-24T06:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Etsy Day! ¡Feliz día de etsy!
Joyeux jour d'etsy!

Spanglish miembro de la semana

2009-04-20T01:57:00.000-07:00

Check out handbag cave -- Spanglish group's miembro of the week. It was so nice to be Spanglish group's miembro of the week last week, now it's my turn to help promote this lovely shop with very creative bags.

Visit:

handbagcave

To see more of her work just click here

auclairdelalune

Upcoming Trashion Promo Swap!

Eco friendly at the beach!

Etsyveg Ten Percent for Peace Event

Monday, November 30, 2009

Ten Percent For Peace

End of Summer Sale!

Etsy Trashion Summer Sale & Giveaway!

Fairy House

National Geographic in my own backyard

Bottle cap Magnets

Spanglish Miembro de la Semana

Check out this week's Spanglish Miembro of the Week!

Friendly neighborhood ibises

Spanglish Miembro de la Semana

Recycling in the garden – Part Un

Spanglish miembro de la semana

Ditch your dryer!

Happy Etsy Day!

Spanglish miembro de la semana