Love 2 Upcycle: May 2012

May 30, 2012

Wasteless Wednesday~ Staycation Instead!

We all know how expensive it is to travel, especially with today's economy and high cost of fuel~ Some families just can't afford it! What's the popular alternative nowadays? A Staycation!

Here's some great ideas for your summer days, and best of all by staying close to home, you'll be supporting your local businesses, saving money and WASTING LESS!

1. Have a Spa Day in your home! This may not appeal to everyone in the family~ but you never know...Plan a party with a spa theme, or just put on the ritz for your visiting friends. BHG has some great tips for a spa themed "get-away"!

BHG.com

2. Host a Croquet Tournament! Traditionally, white is the popular attire, dress it up with some fancy decor and drinks, design a homemade, whimsical trophy or two and` Woohoo! You've got a fun day for all ages! Don't like croquet? How about volleyball, frisbee or badminton!

StaycationIdea.com

3. A Family Summer Book Club~ Choose a book each week or two, or even monthly for all of you to read separately or to each other. Then pick a night to have a themed dinner or snacks and talk about the book you've read! Liven it up with some trivia questions from the book written and asked by a rotating family member and give small prizes to the winner. But watch out, this idea could turn into a year round event! You could also use this idea for a Neighborhood Kids or Adults Book Club!

4. It's Movie Night! Rent a movie to watch indoors or out! You can make your own outdoor theatre with popcorn and everything~ and you can wear your PJ's if you want!

5. Which leads to the next idea: A Backyard Campout! Tents, campfire and, of course, S'MORES!

6. How about a Neighborhood Concert Under the Stars? If you don't know anyone who plays music, see about pitching in with a few neighbors to hire some musicians and put on a concert! Families can bring a dish or snack~ or each bring their own blanket or chairs and a picnic!

7. Not Music Lovers? Throw a Backyard or Neighborhood Carnival! Rent a bounce house, get some face paints and have someone artistic paint faces, make a dunk tank, have a pie throw and get someone to do some clowning around! You can even make balloon animals!

Whatever you like to do, there are ways to do it with friends or family and have a fantastic summer right in your home or neighborhood. Venturing out is easy too, we'll give you some great ideas for one tank trips next week! In the meantime, have fun getting ready for summer!

Have a great Wasteless Week!
;) Cat

May 28, 2012

Breaking the Plastic Habit

I'm so excited about my first blog post on Love 2 Upcycle. Based on the title you would never know that I plan to make my feature center around gardening, but that is the idea. What inspired this title you ask? All the plastic bags that lodged themselves in my shrubbery. They didn't even come from my yard but they ended up here anyway.

The Problem:

Do you have a plastic bag problem? or even a paper bag problem? If I forget to take my reusable bags, I generally get paper over plastic, but only if they have handles. (Seriously what is the use of a bag with no handles?) Even doing that I have managed to collect an alarming number of plastic bags over the last year.

The problem is that plastic doesn't biodegrade, it is with us forever. If you want to hear more about the larger plastic problem, check out this article on the Great Plastic Garbage Patch in the South Pacific:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/great-pacific-garbage-patch2.htm

The Rationalization:
Why do we continue to use plastic bags from the grocery store?

"I'll use them for my trash bags." is my personal favorite. I use it all the time.

"I forgot my reusables." Sigh, only too true.

"They are so handy." Especially those Ziploc's.

Alternatives:

There are a lot of great alternatives to plastic bags. Here are a few options:

Reusing:

What if you have a stash like mine? Rather than throw them away here are some fun ways other (smarter than me) people have come up with to reuse plastic bags.

99 ways to reuse plastic bags (How Stuff Works)

Plastic Bag Crafts (Green Living Tips)

Hoping your garden is a little greener,

Nikki
www.etsy.com/shop/ThisNThatbyNikki

May 27, 2012

Sustainable Sunday: Summertime

Happy Sustainable Sunday! Each week 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.

This week's theme is Summertime, which seems to fit perfectly into our three day Memorial Day weekend here in America. Memorial Day is a way to remember and honor those who have died in our nation's service. Memorial Day weekend is also the unofficial start to summer. Millions of Americans dust off their beach chairs, and dig out their bathing suits to enjoy a long weekend outdoors.

Our Upcyclers selections are perfect for the start of a summertime season of outdoor living!

Lunch Tote, Drawstring Bag, Reversible Bag by Stitchuation

Enjoy an outdoor picnic with this adorable eco-friendly lunch tote!

Vintage Shabby Chic Mosaic Pitcher by Rush Creek Mosaics

Serving lemonade pool side with in this gorgeous pitcher!

Romantic Vintage Summer Dress - by AuburnArtisan

Attend a summer party in this pretty vintage dress!

Runner-up selections this week:

Bandeaus in Summer Colors by Whiskey Dog Print Shop

Teal Recycled Cotton Floral Statement Necklace by Creative Customology

Funky Upcycled Butterfly Hair Clips by Cut and Tear

Cheery Hand embroidery wall art by Rose Mauve

As you can see I had a LOT of beautiful upcycled items to choose from this week! Enjoy more eco-friendly creations this summer by using our team tag "teamupcyclers" when shopping on Etsy.

Enjoy your weekend outdoors!

Thanks, Bee

The Wooden Bee - inspired to recycle wood

www.thewoodenbee.com

May 24, 2012

Thrifty Thursday~ It's a "Three" for All!

Once again, I am amazed! I searched Etsy for our team tag~ teamupcyclers and

Wow!

I found some incredible bargains!

This time I was thinking "Hmmmm, what could I get for three bucks?" There were so many choices, I decided to go with a theme~ and, of course, with Memorial Day weekend coming up here in the U.S.~ I had to do the summer thing! Beaches, picnics, travel and bright sunny colors~ that's what I'm talking about...

Coffee Cozy by Cream No Sugar

Map Notepads (Set of 3) for $3 by Prairie Peasant

Lemon Rag Heart by American Recycle

Original Abstract Art Card by Fyre Shadow

Crochet PDF for Boho Anklet/Bracelet from Granny Takes a Trip

Limeade Bow by Banana Pickle Designs

Arizona Tea Can Flowers from Upcycled Supply

Heart Confetti from gr3een

Americana Envelopes by PotterAbout

I hope everyone feels a little more inspired to enjoy your weekend~ and to go thrifting! You know I already am!

;) Cat

May 22, 2012

To Pin or Not to Pin?

Do you use Pinterest? Millions do, and not just to pin items of interest~ the original concept behind the site. Companies and organizations are using Pinterest for marketing, including us! We have not been on Pinterest long and already have over 200 followers~ but some of our boards have twice that many followers! Etsy jumped on board (no pun intended) by adding a pin button to all listings~ and most bloggers have a pin button as well. You can also install a Pin It button to your toolbar enabling you to pin any image from the page you're on to a board.

There's a bit of finesse and courtesy involved with Pinterest, as with any social networking media. You don't want to spam or over promote your own products, and you shouldn't mass follow~ Pinterest won't let you anyway, it's against their Terms of Use policies. But used wisely, it is now one of the most effective marketing tools currently available! Here are a few infographics, ironically found on Pinterest, that will shed a little light on the statistics and impact it can have.

So there you have a small sample of the infographics out there about Pinterest~ believe me there are many more, as well as tutorials, guides and statistical analyses. If you're on Pinterest, I hope this encourages you to utilize the network for more than its addictive fun. If you're not~ here's a couple more links (look closely, this article already has several!) that will help get you started! But be careful, what you've heard is true~ it's highly addictive!

Pinterest 101- A Tutorial

Getting Likes & Comments on Your Pinterest Boards

One last note~ if you need an invite, just send us an email to teamupcyclers@gmail.com and we'll invite you!

I'm off to Pin!

;) Cat

May 21, 2012

Style Report: Don't Buy Dad a Tie!

We've got some better ideas for Dad this Father's Day! Progressive and fresh looks for him or his man cave, these eco-friendly upcycled gift ideas will rock his world~ and he won't secretly roll his eyes and sigh. These three collections were put together on Polyvore where you can create collections of all the things you love~ kind of like Pinterest, but you can pin lots of things and then put them together like a collage! All of these fantastic products are available on Etsy and all but one came from our team of Upcyclers! I love the idea of giving something handmade and unique~ Don't you?