nature paints and a magazine stool

Happy Earth Day everyone! If you haven't already seen my post from Monday dedicated to unique ways to be earth friendly, do check it out! 


In addition to adding some new eco-friendly practices to my life in honor of Earth Day, I also decided to try out two green projects from an amazing website I found the other day: The Way To Go. The first project was to make my own non-toxic paints! It seemed like the perfect project for me given all the painting I've been doing lately and my obvious love for nature. I had never thought too much about it, but when I read about this project I realized how possible it is to make your own paint given people have been painting on cave walls, tree bark, pottery and such for thousands of years….and they certainly didn't have Dick Blick to help them out.

The first step is to find objects in nature that can lend you some of their color. Examples from The Way To Go website include:


Red & Pink: crushed beets, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries
Purple: blueberries, blackberries
Yellow: onion skins, marigold petals, crushed dandelion flowers
Blue: sunflower seeds, alfalfa flowers
Green: spinach leaves

My choices were….

 Frozen blueberries

 Pine needles…..  and kale stocks.

 Frozen raspberries

 The little yellow flowers that are falling off so many bushes this time of year.

The next step is to place each item in a jar (I used old pasta sauce, honey and coconut oil jars…recycling at its best!). Then pour hot water over the top and let them sit overnight. Voilà! Nature paints! They have the consistency of watercolors so I'd suggest using them on watercolor paper (now I'm wondering how I could make thick nature paints similar to acrylics…hmm). My paints have been curing over night and I'm going to be experimenting with them later today. I'll post the results next week…

The next project, also from The Way To Go, was to assemble a flower stand out of old magazines. Yes, that's right! It was incredibly easy to make and I'm loving it!

Instructions: Open a magazine to the left, keeping the front cover open and flat. Fold 10 pages in half and tuck into the binding, including the back cover. Repeat until you've folded the entire magazine, then fold the front cover over the first 10 folded pages.

Repeat this on 1-3 more magazines, depending on the thickness of each magazine. When you are finished, place them back-to-back and you've got yourself a stool! 

Ideally, you would only use two moderately thick magazines so that you'd end up with two semi-circle fans that you could fit together (back-to-back) to form a circle. My magazines were much smaller, but they did the trick! 

Happy Earth Day!

unique ways to be earth friendly

Touch the Earth by Serpent Mandalas

I try to keep the majority of my eco-enthusiasm out of my blog given it is not in keeping with my main themes (creating, capturing, feeling). But, for Earth Day (this coming Friday, April 22nd) I make an exception! 

Every year I like to add a handful of new eco-conscious practices to my life. It's something that makes me feel like I have done some good and contributed to this beautiful yet fragile planet we live on. I know it doesn't always seem easy given some eco changes require a lot of commitment or effort, which can be intimidating. BUT, there are SO many little things we can do that make a HUGE impact on the environment (and the health of our bodies, as most eco-friendly practices do).

Here are some of those simple yet significant ways you can help the earth:

Reversible Coffee Sleeve by Crafty Staci 

Those nifty little sleeves your local coffee shop slips onto your hot beverage may keep your hands burn-free, but they are a huge waste of resources! They get tossed in the trash with your cup every time, but they are still perfectly functional and clean. My old practice was to simply keep one in my purse (off of an old cup of coffee shop coffee). But, this would be an upgrade and more eco-friendly.

Retro Watermelon Reusable Sandwich Bag by Bells and Unicorns

I've tried recycling my recycled plastic, BPA and PVC free sandwich bags (a change in and of itself), but it can get messy and tedious. Enter reusable sandwich and snack bags! They are lined with waterproof and stain resistant nylon so you can shake the crumbs out, turn them inside out to wipe them down or toss them in the washer. Amazing. Think of how many plastic baggies you could save by using these! I know for me the number would be pretty significant given I bring snacks on-the-go every day.

 Felted Wool Dryer Balls by Life Soap Simple

An upgrade from my previous change to eco-friendly dryer sheets. Genius. You simply toss a few wool balls into the dryer and they cut drying time significantly as the wool sucks moisture away from the clothes. They also cut static cling and wrinkles, but more importantly are free of the icky chemicals most commercial dryer sheets are leaching first onto your clothes then onto your skin. Wool dryer balls come both scent-free and scented. You can also add a few drops of essential oil to the outside. Bonus: they last FOREVER! Literally.

Dryer Pillow Sheets by zJayne

Another dryer sheet option. Made from recycled teeshirts, these dryer pillows are also free of synthetic ingredients and are scented by a pouch of real lavender buds. Bonus: they are adorable!

Un Paper Towels by Love For Earth

One of the biggest eco changes I've made in my life this past year is avoiding paper towels as much as possible. I had made the switch to un-dyed, recycled paper towels years ago, which made me feel a little better, but the truth is I use A LOT of paper towels. So, I bought a huge stack of reusable "paper towels" which I store under my kitchen sink and use for all my cleaning then toss them into a small pail I put in the corner of my kitchen. I simply wash them in hot water once a week then reuse. Seeing them pile up in that pail was also a great way to demonstrate to myself how much I really use. Gulp.

Reusable Organic Cotton Produce Bags by Oh, Little Rabbit

Much like the coffee sleeves, we fill so many plastic bags with produce every week when we grocery shop….then we toss them in the trash. We've been beaten over the head to bring our own bags on our shopping trips, but what about those pesky produce bags? It's simple to toss a few reusable ones in your pile of reusable shopping bags.

Pink Cedar & Tuberose Spray by The Dirty Housewife

Every time you spray the bathroom to disguise a less than favorable smell, or you spritz your couches with chemical-laden linen spray, you fill the air and your LUNGS with chemicals (not to mention they rub off onto your skin when you sit down on that fresh smelling piece of furniture). I'm a freak about filling my home with beautiful scents, but there are so many natural options out there….and not just the environment, but my sensitive skin and chronic asthma thank me for choosing a natural option.

Click here for last year's Earth Day suggestions.

winter produce

We've all heard that eating locally and in season is better for us and for the environment, but it's something that often slips our mind while grocery shopping or deciding what to cook for dinner. I have to admit that, while I do live a very intentional life and consider the environmental costs of everything I do throughout the day, I still struggle to eat in season. I check my produce's birth place while shopping, because I feel guilty buying something that has been shipped all the way from Chile, but sometimes I really want a fresh basil pesto or blueberry cobbler in the middle of the winter and I can't get past that hungry craving.

This past year, my husband and I have committed ourselves to making a better effort to eat in season as much as possible. One place that has been a regular source of seasonal recipes for me for years is the Kripalu website. I receive their e-newsletter (you can sign up to receive it here) and they always include a few tasty ideas for eating in season and nourishing your body during that particular season. They also have a fabulous cookbook that I own (and recommend) as well. Recently, I have also begun to find inspiration from the unbelievably talented cook Hannah J who is lucky enough to have a farm share so the recipes she posts always include seasonal fare.

Why should we care about eating locally and seasonally? In a nutshell, it tastes better because it's fresh, has not been sitting on a plane and in a crate for weeks and wasn't grown in a hot house; it's easier on your wallet since you are not paying for the gas and labor it took to ship that produce from the other side of the equator; and it's better for the environment as it cuts down on fuel consumption and ozone pollution.

So what's in season now? (Click the fruit/vegetable for recipes) Delicious clementines, satsumas, tangerines, mandarins, persimmons, pomegranate, grapefruit and cranberries; and butternut squash, parsnips, kale, cabbage, collard greens, fennel and radicchio (keep in mind this may vary depending on where you live).

Happy eating!

ayurvedic comfort for fall

Since I am currently contemplating getting my license to practice Ayurvedic healing (combined with a doula certification, possibly a prenatal yoga certification, and maternity and newborn photography of course), I decided to share a little bit about what that means.

Ayurveda is something I am passionate about and try to incorporate into my life as much as possible. Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine that has been around for over 5,000 years. It aims to heal individuals through food and lifestyle based on a person's specific mind/body constitution, or dosha as it is referred to. The ultimate purpose is to bring people into complete balance and harmony with nature. There are three types of doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. To determine your dosha take this quick quiz: Dosha Quiz.

Without going too much into detail, fall is a Vata time of year marked by cool, dry air and wind, which are elements that throw Vata out of balance. Therefore, to bring us into balance we must introduce the opposite of those elements with things of a warm, moist, heavy and grounding nature.

How do you know if the fall season has found you out of balance? If you experience any of the following symptoms, you may be in need of some Vata soothing: anxiety, insomnia, fear, nervousness, indecisiveness, dry skin, lips or hair, restlessness, weight loss, easily agitated, impatient, digestive issues, sensitivity to cold...the list goes on, but I'll stop there.

So, after that brief explanation of Ayurveda, here are two simple yet incredibly soothing practices that I bring into my daily life during the fall (other things include maintaining a regular routine, gentle yoga, warm oil massages, warm baths and warm drinks).

Spiced Bananas

One banana, sliced

1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter), melted

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon dried ginger

Melt the ghee (or you could use organic, grass fed butter) and mix with all the spices. Toss with sliced banana. Eat slowly.

Simple Aromatherapy

This is also an inexpensive, natural alternative to candles or incense. Simply fill a small pot or pan 1/2 way with water and add spices or essential oils (you can also toss in pieces of fruit such as orange rinds). You can make this as fragrant as you like by adding more or less of your scent, and you can control the degree to which you want to disseminate the scent through the air by turning the heat on the stove up or down.

Vata Balancing Aromatherapy

Cinnamon

Cardamom

Nutmeg

Cloves

homemade laundry soap

I guess it's no surprise that an artist might enjoy making just about anything herself. The act of creation in general makes me feel more connected to life rather than living on auto pilot. In that regard, I thoroughly enjoy repurposing old or unused items in my house and making things from scratch. Not only does this save big money, but it is an eco good deed and I am quite committed to respecting the earth in every way possible.

One expensive item that can easily be made yourself, and at a huge fraction of the store bought cost, is laundry detergent. You can make both liquid and powdered versions, but I currently enjoy the powdered version as it is a less involved process to make it and it also packs up nicely for storage. You can store it in a small tupperware or jar. I naturally like to keep mine in an old container that most people would've tossed in the recycling bin after using its contents.

So, here is my recipe for laundry detergent:

Use a grater to grate 1 cup of a biodegradable, vegetable based (castille) bar soap (I like Dr. Bronner's or Mrs. Meyers).

Mix 1 cup grated soap with

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup borax

Use 1 tbsp for light loads; 2 tbsp for heavy loads

happy earth day!

In honor of Earth Day, I digress from my usual musings on life as an artist to talk about the earth. It's only natural that someone like myself, who spends so much of her time rapt in the glory of the world around her, also cares deeply about treading lightly and with appreciation on this planet I walk around. It's simply in my nature to constantly consider....well, nature. Growing up my mother was always finding a new use for every old or seemingly disposable item in our household, we grew our own produce and herbs, drew our own maple syrup from the trees in our backyard, shopped at our local food co-op, bought things second hand. This list goes on. I have to admit that as I reached my teenage years I found these practices annoying and would have quickly traded a small carbon footprint for something new, shiny and overly packaged.

But, as I made my way through my college years I found those little seeds planted in me during childhood begin to burst and grow. It started with organic food and beginning to embrace the hippie soul I had suppressed for most my life, which later led me to move to San Francisco, a place whose influence cannot be elaborated on in a short blog entry. I can say that living there certainly excelerated the eco-conscious, handmade-lovin', hippie-influenced life that I lead today. These qualities and ways of life only seem to intensify with every passing day, so much so lately that I can't stop talking about Thoreau with my fiance and dreaming of leaving the consumer rich city we currently live in to settle in our own version of Walden Pond (while still paying our taxes:). Of course, I envision our pond as more of a hippie commune or small country house surrounded by produce gardens and like-minded people.

The point is, I'm obsessed with finding new ways to simplify my life that are kinder to the earth (and to my body). When I pour over the standard "100 things you can do to be green" checklists many magazines publish around Earth Day every year, I am in awe of how much I already do. But, I sometimes slip back into an "easier" way of doing something (read: less eco friendly) and so I always strive to commit myself to additional earth friendly practices.

I've made it a tradition to choose a handful of new goals every Earth Day with the intention of making those things a part of my normal routine in the coming year. This year I've decided to start making all of my own cleaning products, including laundry detergent. I'm already using eco friendly versions of everything, but I'm me....so I feel the desire to take it to the next level. I already have a few concoctions I've made myself over the years, but to take it to the next level I've spent the past few days pouring over recipes, and I honestly can't wait to make my first batch of laundry detergent.

So, in honor of Earth Day, I've chosen my top 5 favorite ways to be green. And they are:

* I can't say it enough...reusable bags, reusable bags, reusable bags. Store them in multiples places to lessen the chance that you'll forget to bring them into the store. Keep some by the front door, in the car, and in your work bag or purse. And use them everywhere, not just the grocery store (i.e. shopping at the mall, the drugstore)

* Find a new use for something old that you'd normally throw away. Check out some of my ideas pictured above: old jars can hold pens or just about anything (believe me I have them all over my house). Use them to organize items that don't have a home, fill them with your bulk food purchases or baking ingredients, use spice jars for smaller jobs (mine is holding my neti pot salts).

* Consider that everything that goes down your drain has an effect on the water system/environment, not to mention the effect it has on your body. Soaps, detergents, shampoo, toothpaste, and cleaning products all make their way into our water. There are plenty of natural alternatives on the market these days that smell delicious and work just as well. If you are feeling extra motivated, experiment with making your own products. I make a handful of bath and beauty products at home, and have begun making all my cleaning products. Look for recipes here: Earth Easy, Care 2 Make a Difference, or About My Planet.

* Really think about your paper goods consumption. Use microfiber clothes, dish rags and towels for the bulk of your cleaning chores and personal grooming. For the rest of your jobs, choose recycled paper products....even better choose unbleached recycled products. If every household in America replaced one roll of toilet paper with a recycled version, we could save 423, 900 trees (NRDC).

* Also consider your cotton products (cotton balls, cotton swabs, feminine products, sheets, etc). Cotton is the most pesticide-dependent crop in the world, accounting for 25% of all pesticide use (earth easy). This is terrible news for the environment, not to mention your body since these products are touching your skin every day.

And because it's difficult for me to stop the list at 5, a bonus tip: REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES. First of all, according to the Sierra Club 1.5 billion barrels of oil are used produce water bottles in America each year. And after we guzzle down these bottles of water, where do they go? I recently read about this man's trek through Nepal's Annapurna circuit and how he witnessed people just tossing their empty bottles on the ground. The piles were hundreds of thousands of bottles high because the Nepalis don't have a way to remove the trash. Gross.

I'll stop right there. Happy Earth Day! Hug a tree, kiss the ground and delight in what mother nature offers you each and every day.