recycled biz cards

While I absolutely LOVE the business cards I sometimes order from moo.com (especially their mini moo cards!), I find that the cost is just more than I am willing to pay for something that I will end up giving away. At roughly 25 cents for each card, when I'm handing out 100 or more at each craft show, well, it adds up!

That's why I came up with a way to print biz cards myself, and for (darn close to) FREE! 

I gather paperboard boxes (cereal, cracker, six-pack, etc.) from my local transfer station (or friends and neighbors!), open 'em up and flatten, and then use the nice big self-inking stamp that I got online at stampxpress.com (go to their 'eco-friendly' stamp section) to stamp my custom logo on the blank side of the boxes. 

I've made THOUSANDS of these cards and my investment (if you can call it that!) was a $15 stamp and a $5 bottle of ink. Super easy, inexpensive, and best of all: RECYCLED! Which is, as you know, what I'm all about!

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new work

Laptop bags made from repurposed upholstery fabric, faux leather, Army surplus strap.

Repurposed burlap drapery fabric, faux leather.

Upcycled denim, repurposed upholstery fabric, Army surplus strap.

Find these and more in my online shop

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new work

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got your moose yet?

The animal-friendly way to bag your moose this season:

on a tote made from recycled lumber wrap! Get yours here

*No moose were harmed, mistreated, pestered, or annoyed in the making of this tote bag!*

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let the games begin

This past Friday I set up shop at the Belfast Art Market in Belfast, ME. It was a perfectly gorgeous first day of summer AND a very busy first show of the season!

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new work

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recycle those CD's

Since January 1st, I have been doing my usual 'new year cleaning' and had rounded up a number of CD's that are too scratched to play or have been written over so many times they're useless. I had thought about reusing them for some crafty project (oh no! not another one!), but thankfully soon lost interest in THAT idea...

So what to do? Recycle them of course! A quick Google search of 'cd recycling' brought up a few options - I chose The CD Recycling Center of America because a) it is close to home, and b) it's FREE (other sites charge a fee).

This is what they have to say:

"Each year, billions of CDs and DVDs are manufactured, while millions of these discs end up in landfills and incinerators. If you use, sell, promote, distribute, or manufacture compact discs, it is your responsibility to promote how to recycle them. Compacts Discs, when recycled properly, will stop unnecessary pollution, conserve natural resources, and help slow global warming. Spread the word to help us save the world we all live in."

They also recycle floppy disc's, VHS tapes, cell phones and inkjet cartridges. Yeah! 

And they have this great little video about the whole process - from how to sort your media and packaging, to how the plastic is processed for resale and reuse. It really is a fascinating process!!

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new work

Burlap cross-body purses. Materials: repurposed coffee bags, cotton duck cloth, webbing, nickel hardware. 

Available at The Center for Maine Craft, W. Gardiner, ME. Coming soon to Waterfall Arts, Belfast, ME and Common Street Arts, Waterville, ME.

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of leaves and mulch

This past Saturday dawned cool and crisp (and wind-free) and soon I was lured outdoors to do some impromptu leaf-raking. Nothing crazy mind you, just cleaning up around the edges and tucking the garden beds in for the winter under a layer of leaves. Besides, I had work to do inside and I needed to get back to it! Well, one thing lead to another: the sun (finally) rose above the trees, the temperature (quickly) rose above 60 degrees, and I was finding more and more leaves to rake!

Eventually, I had a good pile going and needed to move them from point A (lawn) to point B (garden) with the most bang for my buck (as in: one fell swoop). That's when I spied the kiddie pool... Why not? I had yet to use it for its intended purpose (fill with water, splash around), although it did get used as a giant wash tub this summer (more about that here)... Let's see if it could pull its weight (heehee) during the fall season!

Wow! That thing holds a lot of leaves! At first I tried to pick it up and carry it (dumb), and then push it with the rake (somewhat smarter), and finally I drilled a hole in the rim and threaded a piece of rope through it so I could drag it (brilliant!). It worked great, and 2 more trips to the garden with leaves and that project was complete.

However, there was no way I was going back indoors on a day that was more like a flashback of late August, so I needed to find more leaves to transport... And I found them in great quantity on the vast expanse of nothingness that is my leach field! It abuts the edge of the woods and was covered in a thick layer of leaves and pine needles. Wet, heavy leaves and pine needles. Directly downhill from their uphill destination... And that's when I spied it... my seldom used gas lawn mower... Why not?

 So with visions of finely shredded leaf mulch being (effortlessly) spewed uphill and ever closer to their final resting place (my compost corral), and my father's voice in my head saying "You really shouldn't mow when it's wet", I (inserted ear plugs) and then cranked that sucker up!!!

OK, so it wasn't entirely effortless... but the results were spectacular:

And as soon as Frankenstorm has passed, 

I will go to the beach and collect seaweed to top the pile off with!

Piper the Safety Orange Dog stands guard over our pile 'o garden gold!

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pure genius

                                     Baz Ratner /Reuters /Landov

I don't know which is more amazing: a) this bicycle will retail for around $20, or, b) it is made entirely from recycled cardboard!

To read the full NPR blog post by Mark Memmott click here. The post also includes a fascinating (and beautifully shot) video of the mastermind/inventor/genius behind this bicycle, Izhar Gafni. You'll get a look at the Israeli inventor in the process of  creating the bike and also see the finished product in action.
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