Sustainable Sundays: Summer Travel Plans

Each Sunday we search and highlight upcycled creations made from over 2,000 sustainable shops on our Upcyclers Etsy Team!!! Shops that are actively upcycling and participating in our community are available for selections.

So everyone I know is talking about summer plans right now.  Where are the kids going to camp? Who's going to see Grandma this summer?  Friends and family are discussing exotic vacations and weekend getaways. 

Since planning and preparing for your vacation is the part of the fun. I thought I would seek out some upcycled items on Etsy that will aid us during our summer plans!  All handmade, all upcycled and all ready to help us enjoy our travels!

Vintage Samsonite Suitcase Upcycle Decor by Jolies Cutesies

Handmade European Burlap Tote Bag by Roots in Rust

Tropical Palm Cigar Box Purse by Fiorella Designs

Don't forget to write about it...

Recycled Handmade Journal by Moon Flower Books

You can enjoy more handmade, upcycled creations by searching our team tag: teamupcyclers on Etsy!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Bee
The Wooden Bee
www.thewoodenbee.etsy.com

Love 2 DIY on the Weekend: Make it for MOM!

Mother's Day is only a week away, so why not take some time this weekend to make something for Mom? I found lots of easy projects for children to make on Pinterest that don't require a lot of materials or craft expertise! Some dads are very crafty but some not so. Mom can show Dad (or a helpful friend) this article with a little nudge and he should be able to handle it from there!

Sunflower Seeds!

Paper Towel Tube Flower Ornament

Puzzle Pieces and Popsicle Sticks!

"Owl" Love You Forever!

Hands and Feet Flower

No Google Eyes? Draw Them!

Hot off the Press~ or Printer!

Coupon Book for Mom~ Click on it for more projects, too!

Write 'Happy Mother's Day' Instead!

We know it's tough sometimes, Mom~ the kids want to make you something but they also want to surprise you, so don't tell Dad which one to make and it will still be a surprise, Right? Dad's not around? No worries, gather the materials and give a little guidance and they can put the finishing touches on themselves. Or let an older sibling or friend help out! You deserve something special, especially handmade by your little loved one!

Have a fantastic weekend full of lots of family fun!

Thrifty Thursday: 20 THRIFTY Blogs 2 Love!

We love blogs~ not just because we publish one, but because bloggers are one great big community of like-minded people. We know about stuff, find stuff, learn stuff and when we are completely stuffed with stuff, we want to share it. So what do we do with all that stuff? We blog about it. Think of a subject. Google it. Bing it. Ask it. Dogpile it. You'll find blogs. Today I googled thrifty blogs.

Why?

It started with Pinterest. First, I found this really cool pin for making a cake stand. Since it's 'Thrifty Thursday', I thought how great would it be to write this week's article about things you can make with thrift store finds. So I clicked on the pin, it took me to a site that blogged about the tute. So I clicked that pic. Then I wound up on the original tute. It was an awesome blog~ Centsational Girl! I loved it. Then curious Cat that I am, one click led to another. Before I knew it, I'd found tons of fantastically frugal blogs!

So here's some of my favorites~ starting of course with my inspiration:

Censational Girl's Cake Stands

Nifty Thrifty Girl

Flea Market Style

And there's more!

Utterly Scrummy Food For Families

Let's Go Thrifting!

Cheap Like Me

52 Flea 

The Simple Dollar

Apron Thrift Girl

Thrift Store Junkies

Big Green Purse

Living the Low Income Life

Mr. & Mrs. Not Made of Money

Living on a Dime

Frugal Dad

So there's a whole bunch of blog shopping you can do this Thrifty Thursday! You'll find tips for cooking, budgeting, couponing, decorating, crafting, raising kids...Everything THRIFTY!

Wasteless Wednesday: Slow Your Roll!

Okay, this week's post may not be for everyone~ some of you may be a bit queasy about some of these suggestions, but if you take into consideration the waste produced by these common problems, you might think twice!

Toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, baby diapers, baby wipes. 

The U.S. produces 160 million pounds of waste just from the 17 billion toilet paper tubes  manufactured annually!  iReuse.com claims 40% of the waste in our landfills is paper products. Keep in mind most of the toilet paper we use goes to waste treatment facilities. So factor in our 17 billion rolls of toilet paper and the mind starts to reel.

Diaperpin.com does an excellent job breaking down the materials found in baby diapers and argues the case for cloth diapers. Polyethylene, polyacrylate, wood pulp, fragrances, not too mention the packaging and inks, all eventually wind up in our landfills. Heather L. Sanders wrote her article in 2002 and back then we were using 18 billion disposable diapers. That figure is now estimated at 28 billion!


We could go on and on.


Perhaps now the following seven alternatives will seem more attractive.


1.

Reusable Paper Towels~ Darling Discoveries

2.

UnPaper Jumbo Everyday Napkins~ Love For Earth

3.

Cloth Baby/Family Wipes~ Lover of Life Designs

4.

Eco Potty Wipes~ EcoFamily777

5.

Cloth Diaper Kit~ PoshDirect

6.

Wool Soaker Diaper Cover~ Chickadee and Me

7.

Cotton Handkerchiefs~ Whole World Bags

So, there you have it. Pretty products for not so pretty messes. You'll find them all on Etsy, as well as countless other handmade alternatives. Isn't it ironic that in our efforts to clean up our act, we're making an even bigger mess. Think about it.

Have a fantastic week~ and Remember to Waste Less!

The AP Team on Etsy asks 'What is Upcycling?'

We love it when we see upcycling in the news! Every article that brings our movement into the spotlight gives us encouragement that we are making a difference and that upcycling is here to stay!

Today the Advertising and Promotion Team on Etsy published an article on their blog announcing a month long recognition of Upcycling and the artists who sell upcycled products on Etsy! They asked their readers, "What is Upcycling?".

K5Art

In their article they featured several examples of upcycled goods and applauded the history and background of upcycling. They also cited a definitive article from Upcyclers Magazine by the same name~ What is Upcycling? We dedicate one of our blog's pages, Upcycling 101, to many excellent articles about upcycling, to help consumers understand the concept versus the more commonly known term 'recycling'. Like the AP Team said, the practice is not new, but it is becoming more and more recognized, especially in the U.S. We'll be checking out the AP Team's blog all month to see what other upcycled finds they feature!

Now for some news of our own: We've chosen the winner of our Earth Day Giveaway from Terbear Collectibles!

Earth Day Rubber Stamp

Congrats to #12~ Liz!!

Thanks everyone for entering and to Terbear for sponsoring our Earth Day giveaway with such a perfectly themed prize~ we couldn't have asked for anything better! Be sure to check out Terbear Collectibles for all of your custom stamp needs~ you are sure to find what you are looking for and if not~ Terbear will help create it for you!