eco friendly gift ideas

Frugal said... "Good News for the environment. Give gifts that use themselves up and don't clutter peoples lifes with stuff like :

• memberships and courses,


• lotions and soaps,


• art materials,


• stationary supplies


• food, like jam or salad dressings " Frugal website.

Other suggestions are:

•support local food growers, local artists and crafts people
•give vouchers for luxury items like beauty treatments e.g. manicures and facials, or a restaurant meal voucher
•movie tickets, theatre tickets, rock concert tickets, fun park tickets
•enviro friendly wrap - wrap gifts in material e.g. tea towels for food gifts, scarves for clothing or jewellery, re use paper,
•Earth Sky Sea eco friendly gift suggestions.
•Things from nature - like potted plants, flowers from your garden, mini cactus, a herb garden; pine cones and other seed pods you have collected make wonderful decorations; learn how to create with from Garden Mama
•Handmade - this idea is building momentum and has a really big following all over again. Why is handmade better for the environment? "Every item you make or purchase from a small-scale independent artist or crafter strikes a small blow to the forces of mass production." buy handmade.org Check out craft tutorials with Shannon at Rhythm and Rhyme; Handmade Items on Etsy or Made it
•support others who need help at The Green Gift collection were your money helps protect the environment and your gift is tax deductible or The Oxfam Collection where you can browse for charitable gifts

Good Art - A picture tells a thousand words

Good Morning,

Have you ever thought about why you like a particular artwork?

If you walk around any art gallery you will hear people saying "I like that ", " Oh wow, I like that one! " We all have done it.

Lately it dawned on me that the common link in the kind of art I admire is that the artist creates a world. It may be a strange idiosyncratic world, a kooky world, a raw edgy world, a romantic world or a mysterious world but it makes me want to find out more about the place...the place that the artist has created... and the good thing is I can visit that place in their creations. I can travel to new lands without leaving my house.

I admire these artists. Yes we all create - food, letters, our persona, our home, our lifestyle some create children but to create another whole world now that is seriously good.

Here is a short list of artists I am enjoying for this reason:

Eric Frietas and his amazing, moving, metallic world
Eric Orchard illustrates story books and comics amongst other things.
Greg Spalenka ancient world mystical illuminations
Tod Seelie photographs the everyday with an edge
Kinuko Y. Craft romantic fairy tale story world

They all have amazing sites too as you would expect from artists.
If you are a visual person, like me, here are some of their worlds. But I am not going to tell whose is whose - you will have to visit their sites to find out.
(If any one cares to identify them all correctly in comments I will send you a prize!)

" No great artist ever sees things as they really are... If he did, he would cease to be an artist. " comment by Oscar Wilde (please excuse him his use of the masculine.)

• OPENING ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC ORCHARD

Good craft

Interesting, earthy crafts and the really good thing is that these generous people post free tutorials on how to make all this good stuff:
Felt owl ornament with cut out - thanks Jessica
Sunny window star from Twig and Toadstool craft classes
Magic wands - thanks Shannon from Rhythm and Rhyme

Good things come in small packages

Making things with our hands is good for the soul
These things are just so cute and just ooze goodness. Little felt gnomes and pixies in purses and handmade felt animals.
Shannon also is generously good - showing us all how to create many of her good things: beautiful fleece birds
peg doll flowers