Earth Week Countdown Day 3

Happy Sunday! 
 

Nippy here today and wondering when I will be able to turn off the central heating. There is a lot to be said for living someplace with warmer weather and having lower fuel bills is one of them!  Maybe I will hit lucky on the lottery and make my dream of a living in an off the grid house with its own well and enough land for chickens, 2 goats, vegetable plots and an orchid a reality.

But enough of the day dreams – let’s get grounded with some real and earth friendly products – that won't break the bank.

Today I’m going to show off some re-repurposed everyday items that have been re-modelled into something new.  First is this functional card holder made out of re-cycled neckties:

At only $12 it was already a bargain but because Sandra is also taking part in the Trashion team Earth Day sale you’ll get a 20% discount refund this week.  As we say here you can’t beat it with a big stick!

So now that you’ve saved yourself a few extra dollars you can treat yourself, or a friend, to a gorgeous melted media pin like this from the lovely Rhonda aka oddartist: 

I love the pearlescent tones and delicate aqua color of this series of pins – all made from re-cycled cd’s.  And as a bonus Rhonda is also offering a 20% discount through this month!  

Final offering of the day is this funky recycled ring from Tammy over at junck.  

Tammy makes a variety of earth friendly jewelry using recycled gift cards and credit cards – and I love that each piece of the ring moves independently.  Gives a whole new dimension to those of us that like to play with their jewelry :) and at only $4.50 special sale price how can you resist?!

Well that’s all for today - I reckon you're all keen to spend more time checking out the other fab offerings from these sellers – so I’ll not keep you back any longer. And remember if you want to find more Trashion team items and fab bargains for this weeks sale check out all the participants at : http://www.etsy.com/shop/etsytrashion

Have fun and see you tomorrow with more earth friendly finds!

Stay safe and well!

On the 5th -8th Days of Christmas ...

To keep this on track I'm doing a combo feature today ... lets just say I went away for a weekends shopping/leisure break :)

On the 5th day of xmas I decided to plan out the herb and veggie gardens for Spring in plenty of time. So I headed over to the Etsy Organic Team mall and had a look at what fluffnflowers and Herbfriend had to offer.  What I love shopping about with them both is I know I'm getting seeds grown using organic principles and sustainable practices.  Now that's not just great from an environmental perspective but also from the all important taste standpoint.  Remember when fruit and veg had a smell and tasted like they should and not some sort of reconstituted plastic that someone prettied up to look great but sprayed with furniture wax?  Well - no fakes here!

For the herb garden I got some delicious Sweet Basil, Coriander (or Cilantro as it's called over the pond) and Dill from herbfriends shoppe:

Then a hop and a skip over to fluffnflowers where I settled on some hot Cherry Pepper seeds, some Buttercrunch Lettuce and some lovely sweet citrusy Hillbilly Tomato seeds. Yummy!

Now that's what I call a good days shopping!

On the 6th Day of Christmas I found these adorable Best Friend Forever bracelets from Kim over at the Eco etsy Team. How cute are these?! I love the idea of 2 people each wearing their half of the friendship heart and thinking of the other each time.

There was such a great selection in the team and I also got this eco friendly, functional Kindness in Flight Wrist Cuff Wallets from Mary. I love the screenprinted design and sentiment on these!  Make sure you click on the last photo on that listing to see just how much you can put in this cuffs secret pocket! Genius idea!

 
Next day - the 7th Day of Christmas (you are keeping up right?) I was off and about with a bounce in my step cos I was heading over to the Irish side of town and the Irish Rogue Artisans stores.  

First stop was Susan and a chance to look  around her new art gallery.  I was already a happy owner of some of her prints and art magnets and was dying to see more of her art!  I wasn't disappointed as her work is awesome! Difficult as it to pick just one piece to share with you here I've opted nonetheless for this wonderful Muscles of the Face assemblage. I'll not even attempt to analyze or categorize this - I'll just let you savor it yourselves in all it's majesty!

Dragging myself away I headed over to see Cathy and her marvelous papercuts and Scherenschnitte creations.  Totally fell in love with this beautiful Inspiration Rose - isn't it beautiful:

Day 8 found me back on the Irish side of town and this time whetting my senses in the Crafty Ireland shops.  Now you may not already know this but I'm a sucker for earrings and I love the intricacy of handmade lampwork beads.  So as you can imagine, I was like a pig in muck (or in seventh heaven for those of you with a more genteel turn of phrase) in lightkeepings shop.  Like all the artisans featured daily this is another shop you'll get lost in and end up drooling (so bring a hankie). Today though I'm just going to give you a teaser with these gorgeous Evening Rose earrings:

Last stop of the day and to round of the marathon shopping trip was redpossum and her lovely children's wear. Spoilt for yet more choice I figured this cute Ruffle Herringbone Cape was just the thing for my friends wee girl for xmas.  She's an active wean who doesn't like to be hemmed in and this will be perfect to keep her warm without smothering her! Now if I can order one of those in an adult size - and with the youthful complexion - please :)

So there you have it and my but you have all been so patient in reading todays extra long post.  Now you know why I didn't send a postcard ... but I was thinking of you all - honest!

See you tomorrow and stay safe and well!

Etsy Ireland in the Irish Times

Well, well, well - lots happening these days on the auld promotion scene! One of the teams I'm in got featured in the Irish Times magazine - how about that for some kudos?!

Big thanks to Alex who was the mover and shaker in making that historic event happen.

Now I know Christmas is about more than just sales and crazy over indulgence ... but for the whole hand crafted movement in Ireland this was a BIG deal!  Move over big guy ( < insert your favorite mass produced, unfair trading, exploitative store name).

But back to work here now ... I have a pile of very realistic looking onion ornaments on the floor that need to be somehow transformed into very pretty Christmas tree ornaments!  I'll spare you the details on how I managed to paint them into onion impersonators (unless someone, somewhere, needs a tutorial on how to make the perfect onion lookalike?) - nah, didn't think so.  The idea of trying to create a new craze of onion ornaments was contemplated ... but somehow I don't think that would fly. And even if it would I'm not a very good marketeeress.

I'll be back tomorrow with day one of the 12 Days of Christmas - when I'll be featuring some beautiful creations from fab course-members of the Etsy Organic, Crafty Ireland, Trashion and Eco Etsy teams I'm proud to be a member in, as well the Auld Irish folks who like to chat! Big thanks by the way to Ecoleeko for the great idea of the 12 days feature  and who will also be running a 12 days event on her blog :)