Earth Day Q&A with The Reuser

#EarthDay2016

Yesterday, I got the hare brained idea to do a FB Live video about Earth Day! Yay!

Here is the video with some show notes:



1st Question:
What would you tell a green-newbie about where to start? What are a few easy ways to begin reducing waste?

My answer: start with a durable bottle and bags to start, then you can attempt other habits, like durable/reusable to-go container, napkins, utensils, etc.
DO NOT do it all at once! It takes me years sometimes to fully create/solidify a habit.
2:00: I mention Liberty Bottleworks (my favorite bottles!-the link will take you to the Amazon listing for the bottle shown in the video and is an affiliate link*.)
3:00 I mention collapsible to-go containers. Here is an affiliate link* to an Amazon listing for a collapsible bento box.

2nd Question:
6:30 I often get asked "But I'm only one person, are my efforts going to make a difference?", I'd love to hear your answer to that!

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead

My TEDx talk

3rd Question:
Can you give the group some suggestions how they can encourage change in others without coming off condescending and like a jerk? I struggle with this I've made many changes for the better in my own life and would like to see those changes in others around me.
A: Starting with yourself is great! People won’t change unless they’re ready. You do you and let that influence those around you!

At 9:00 I talk about "hidden benefits" and mention Glass Dharma straws.*

Final Question: Who are you wearing?
11:30 My haulternative video with Little Did You Know.

If you like what Andrea got, you should consider my ProThrifting services!















*Affiliate links help me to make a small percentage of your purchases for helping you to find great products. This in turn helps me to serve you more fresh content!

Green gifts-what my family got this year

First of all, yes, I know this post is ridiculously late. I hope to some day write for a living (and thus, you can expect regular content updates) but that day is not today. If you think this post is late, you should know I've been sitting on a post since August of this year and I'm thoroughly embarrassed by it, because it's a virtual home tour and the lovely people that let me in to their home were so excited about it. But...I'll get to all of these things eventually!!!

I blog fairly frequently about lessening your environmental impact around the holidays. I wanted to share with you the gifts that my family got this holiday. Everyone got at least one gift from me that had some kind of green "cred." It might have been handmade by me or by someone else or it might have been reused-come from a thrift store. Here they are:

Mom: My mom loves blue. She loves lapis, so gifts for her often are pieces of lapis jewelry. This year, when I was in Spokane on business, I stayed an extra day (had a fabulous day!) and found an artist's cooperative shop. I bought handmade lapis earrings and a blue glass pendant for Mom.

Not-husband: NH and I invested in a new bed this year as our Xmas present to each other. So, we didn't do much else in the way of gifts. I did, however, make him some handwarmers (he's always too cold and me too warm.) out of some of the fleece left over from the scarf I made (see below.)

Brother 1: I found these nerd propaganda posters from a local artist for NH and decided to get my bro one, too. He also works on cars fairly frequently, so I made him a citrus scrub as well.

The carriage that transported us around the
Wade House-a living history site in Wisconsin.

SIL 1: I found green beaded earrings that made me think of L when I was on vacation in August, in Wisconsin at a little local handmade vendor fair. She also got a scented candle that she admired while we were shopping at Check 'Em Off, Green

Brother 2: J got a handmade wooden bottle opener, purchased at Check 'Em Off, Green and some handmade seasoning blends (made by a colleague and I-we made enough for secret santa gifts and some for my bro, too.)

SIL 2: V loves foxes and I often find things for her that are fox themed. (a handmade custom hat from Etsy one year, framed fox prints the next.) Earlier this year, in one of my favorite local thrift shops, I found a fox T-shirt that I thought she might like but it was not her size. I went ahead and bought it anyway and then used a fleece sweatshirt that I gathered at the clothing swap to make the pictured scarf.

cut t-shirt panels. Was trying to decide
white vs. brown fleece.

went with the white fleece in the end.
Finished scarf

Nephew 1: C often asks for video games, so I helped buy a game but also found one of Matt Groening's books for him at a local book shop.

I decided to give the potions some names.

Nephew 2: Since my youngest nephew and niece are a bit younger, I was able to create some things for them. J got a handmade Harry Potter wand (inspired by this, but I decided to use large gauge knitting needles instead of chopsticks-bought them from aforementioned thrift shop) and also made him some "potions" in reused bottles. (I glued the lids shut, so J&L wouldn't have to worry about the bottles ever spilling.) These potions are much more interesting in real life and I was pleasantly surprised by how much J seemed to enjoy them.

J loved this hat when he saw
it at Check 'Em Off, Green

J also got a handmade alien hat made from old sweaters, purchased at Check 'Em Off, Green and some honey sticks from a local beekeeper (he loves those-also purchased at Check 'Em Off, Green.)

The wig in-process

Niece: Earlier in the year, J had received a handmade Rapunzel wig from me (for her birthday) and I also made her a tutu in pink and purple. I also had an extra "potion" on hand for her in pink and it was a good idea, since J&J are thick as thieves and when he was "mixing potions" and "saying spells" on them, she wanted in on the action.














Cousin's kid: I also made hair bows for all the little girls in my life. They were inspired by this post. R got some of these, as did 4 other little girls.

some of my first hair bows (and some
rosettes I made out of scraps)

more hair clips-the pic on the right shows them all ready to go. I used some vellum map material
to cut out tag shapes and then wrote on them with Sharpie.

So, there you have it. I bought some of these items as early as this time last year. I use an iPhone application to keep track of my Xmas list and this helps me save money by not only buying things when I see them but also by buying me time to prepare thrifted items for gift-giving.

I'm very lucky to have a family that not only accepts reused/thrifted gifts, but who also buys them for me. We also use fabric bags in our family to cut down on wrapping paper waste and it's become somewhat of a "thing" to have the bags reused year after year.

Here's hoping you had a fantastic holiday season and you got some fun gifts this year. Anything you're particularly excited about? Leave a little note in the comments-I'd love to hear what you and your family do to save money or reduce waste in the holiday season.

Refashioning: XS skirt to XL

There are 3 blogs that I follow that aim to take old, ripped, torn, stained, unfashionable and/or thrifted clothes and "refashion" them into new wardrobe pieces. I've been creating a number of headbands for myself (another post...I'll get to it...eventually...) but this skirt project was one of my first forays into refashioning an actual item of clothing.

Most of the headbands I've been creating are made from t-shirts. I stopped at a rummage sale a few months ago and the clothes were a buck a bag. (My favorite find was a vintage apron. I LOVE aprons, but I digress...) They didn't have a ton of fun t-shirts, but I found enough shirts to make a dollar bag of clothes totally worth it. A lot of the other items I picked were much too small for me. I picked up 2-3 shirts that I loved the fabric and figured if they didn't fit my colleague, I would make headbands out of them. (They fit Melissa, so she kept them-yay!) This skirt was originally an Extra Small. There's no way it was ever going to fit me, but it was a little long and I hoped that I would be able to chop off the top panel and make it fit. After some false starts, I'm happy to say I have successfully refashioned my first garment.

Enjoy the progression:

To see if this project might work and to gauge where to cut the small skirt, I used a skirt that currently fit and laid them together. After much fretting, I basically decided to just cut off the entire top panel.

The blue skirt is the one that fits.

You can see the size labels in this photo.
I'm not making this up! ;)

Checking the size/length

Removing the lining.
I had originally planned to try to replace
the lining, but it proved too difficult
for my amateur sewing skills.
Instead, I just wear bloomers with the skirt
as it is quite transparent.

Making the chop!

checking color of jersey material to mend lining
(didn't end up using) This T was too white!

Here, you can see the jersey that I ended up
using. It's a much nicer color match.
The piece that was cut from the top of the skirt
is shown here. That section was eventually made
into a headband. 

repairing the lining (where I had to cut around the zipper)

Too bad I didn't actually end up using the lining...

After I cut the top section off, I tried the skirt on
to check it would go around me and to check the length.

repairing a side rip. (The skirt
was fine, but I was a little rough
on it and accidentally ripped near the side seam.)

inside view of the repair

Here's where the process kinda jumps ahead. I'm not sure why I have a serious lack of photos here. It's probably because I took the project to work with me for a few days. I tried to do way too much at once and ended up badly mis-sewing it. I got LOTS of seam ripping practice on this project. I decided to add a panel of jersey and then used elastic from a pair of not-hubby's old boxers for the waist band. I have to say, up until the point of threading the elastic, I was really dubious about how this would turn out.

Once I threaded the elastic, this project really looked promising.  

Sewed up the elastic and then hand-sewed the casing.

Finally, here's a pic of me wearing the skirt and headband, from earlier today.

I can't believe I changed the size of a skirt from an XS to an XL!!!

I miss the Junk Brothers

I think one of my first exposures to "creative reuse" was the short-lived* HGTV show The Junk Brothers. We were chatting about the show today and I was trying to convey the level of awesomeness that Steve and Jim were able to create with discarded items. I really wish there was an online gallery of before/after photos from the show. I've been searching for just that for awhile now. I'll link to a few things I've found.

Jim and Steve pose with their tricked out mega-BBQ

List of episodes with before photos (these aren't nearly as impressive without being able to see what they were transformed into

Interview with the brothers in Make: magazine (has some photos, but no captions...)

This guy made a kitchen island inspired by the Junk Brothers show. This is one of the only "after" photos I have and it wasn't even their project (Although, I remember this one and it's very similar.)

Anyone know if there's some place where you can view a gallery of all the before/after projects? I think I'll try to see if I can find this show on Netflix. It really was inspiring (although, the boys are much better carpenters/reusers than they are actors-sorry guys, but your banter was painful...)

*Apparently, it wasn't nearly as short-lived as I had originally thought. I think I only watched one season, possibly part of the second. Seems like there may have been as many as 4 seasons, though.

More reuses

Here are some #reused material projects I thought you might like: (These products can all be purchased at the Clark County Habitat for Humanity store.)

Can you guess what this bench is made out of?
For a clue, check out where the front panel meets the legs.

A: A crib!

These dog houses are made from all reused materials.
Check the next photo for the ingenious lining of the door arch.
Can you guess?

 Reused Hose!

This birdhouse is made from an old paint can and many other fun reused items. 

Seriously, if you like reuse projects as much as me, you should really check out your local Habitat For Humanity store (Called ReStore, everywhere but Washington State)

And, for good measure, here are two more fun things I ran across while spending wasting huge amounts of time on Reddit.

Plastic bottle turned scoop

Cabinets #reused to make a child's play kitchen

Janell is so crafty!
Go check out the rest of the story.
It'll warm your heart. 

My friend, Janell, made a completely adorable play kitchen for her little one, using mostly reused/upcycled items from the Habitat For Humanity thrift store and a few items from Empower Up's thrift store as well. Go check it out!


Update: Through Pinterest, I stumbled upon two more completely adorable play-kitchens made from reused/upcycled furniture.

Waste Reduction segments (video)

To see videos of my recent waste reduction segments online, click on the links below:

I recently realized that not everyone has access to Facebook and that's where I was doing an ok job of posting my recent waste reduction segments. So, I decided to add them all here. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions/suggestions. 

An antique camera in the front lobby of the KPTV studios

November (talking about the then-upcoming Check ‘Em Off, Green event) 

Mark your calendars, now! Check 'Em Off, Green will be December 1st this year.

December (talking about reducing holiday waste associated with gift-giving via buying local, reusing, etc.)

January (talking about waste reduction through swapping unwanted items online) 

We also have been having an issue with extraneous amounts of needles found in the recycling stream, so I did a news segment on that as well. (One note: the # of needle sticks quoted in the segment is incorrect unfortunately (or, fortunately depending on how you look at it) The # of people getting stuck by needles is more like 1 per month.)

Special thanks to KPTV for helping us get out the waste reduction message.

Post-holiday swapping of unwanted items

So, the holidays are over (Hope you had fantastic ones this year!) and I bet you might have received some new games, clothes, books, DVDs? If your home is bursting at the seams like mine, you might be considering what to do with items you no longer want/need/use. Consider swapping them! This Wednesday, I'll be going on the KPTV Good Day Oregon MORE program to talk about swap sites. In preparation for that, I've updated my list of swap sites for you. There's 25 sites on my list-I've made sure they're all active.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to vet them all for you, but you can easily click on whichever ones you think sound interesting and check them out for yourself. I'd recommend looking at the total number of items available, what type of feedback system they have, etc. Also, it's probably a good idea to decide what types of items you'll be swapping most often before picking a swap site or two. I'm a long time member of Goozex and it works great for me to swap my movies and video games, but it would not work for me if the majority of what I had to swap was clothing or kids' items. There are other more appropriate sites for that.

Here's an article with some great common sense tips to keep swapping safe.

So, how about you? Have you ever tried swap sites? What are your favorites? I haven't found any that really dazzle me in terms of handling "all" items. You?

Happy swapping (waste reduction) in 2012!

P.S. My list of swap sites is always available under the Resources link to the right.

Waste less this holiday season

Using these tips/tricks:


For me, the time of year when I buy the most "stuff" is, hands down, the holiday season. I'm sure most of you can probably relate. I remember when I first started really "getting into" waste reduction thinking to myself, "Yeah, but to purchase sustainably around the holiday season is going to be near impossible." Fast forward to this season and I can honestly say that every one of my gifts has some (or a lot of) green cred. Most of my wrapping will also sport that claim. In the spirit of giving, I want to share some tips/tricks that have been helpful to me. (And invite you to share your own in the comments section below.)


You've heard me talk about the waste reduction hierarchy before. We're going to use that hierarchy to look at our gift-giving choices. 


REDUCE:
To reduce is to not buy stuff or make waste in the first place. 

A giraffe relaxes in the sun at Oregon Zoo

• For the person who is impossible to buy for, instead of buying stuff, give money to their favorite charity in their name. Are they an animal lover? Perhaps the Humane Society would be a good choice. If they or a loved one have been affected by an illness, donating to research for a cure is a nice way to say you care about them. 
• One of the best ways to reduce our consumption of "stuff" is to give experiences. Giving a membership to the zoo or OMSI not only eliminates material goods, but encourages families to spend more time together. Or, you could give babysitting for a night to a family with a new baby or offer to take your nephew to a football game. Whatever your family members enjoy, try to find a way to allow them to enjoy that experience.
• If you're looking to reduce packaging or the environmental cost of buying something produced out of your area, Etsy can be a great option. Etsy is an online marketplace of handmade products. Often, these products are made with recycled or reused materials. They also allow vintage items, which fall into the category of reuse.
• Buy durable: The better built a product in the first place, the less likely it will be to break down. If it doesn't break down, you eliminate the need to buy a new one. Often, spending more initially for quality will pay for itself down the line when you still have the product years later. (and you don't have to relearn how to use that new toaster!) When something does break, consider repairing instead of throwing away. For that matter, do you have someone in your life that loves shoes? (I think most of us do....) a gift idea for them would be to find a local cobbler and purchase a gift certificate. Keeping their favorite shoes walking another day will eliminate the resources associated with a new pair.
• When wrapping presents, consider reusing comics or other paper. (and thus reducing the need for new wrapping paper.) With a little sewing skill, you can also create some reusable fabric bags. I'm very surprised by how well my family has taken to this idea. Now, the bags are usually considered a part of the present and they make an appearance the following year. 

REUSE:

When we purchase or gift a reused item, we're automatically cutting the environmental footprint of that item in half. (by eliminating a new item from being manufactured, transported, etc.) The more an item is reused, the lighter the load on our planet's limited resources.

• Give the gift of thrift. Shopping at local thrift stores can be an adventure and can result in significant money savings. If you know someone who is a thrift store junkie, many stores have gift cards. 
• Ebay: Lots of the items on Ebay are actually "new" and the site can also be a great place to find something like that scent that your mom loves but they stopped making or that last glass that completes the set your sister loves, but Uncle Stewart broke last season. 
• Craigslist: What's better than reusing *and* keeping it local. If you're concerned about the safety of Craigslist, there are lots of common sense tips/tricks to avoid being taken advantage of. 
• Swap sites: One of my favorite swap sites is Goozex. You send movies and video games that you're no longer using to other members and receive points based on the value of the sent items. Then, you're able to use those points to get used items from other members. Many swap sites work in this same way and there are lots of different sites out there (for things such as books, clothes, children's items, jewelry, etc.) I have a list (unfortunately, has not been updated in quite some time) of many swap sites. But, if you're wondering if something can be swapped, just do a simple search for an appropriate swap site. If it has value, chances are you'll find a site on which you can swap it.

RECYCLE:

Lastly, recycling is always important. We have two duties as consumers. The first (and most obvious) is to recycle everything that is acceptable in our recycling systems. The second, though, is to close the recycling loop by buying products with recycled content. If no one values recycled content, the market for those products dies and recycling (and all the associated savings in water, energy and pollution) die with them.

• As mentioned earlier, many products on Etsy (or at a local bazaar or artists market) will have recycled content. This keeps these items (that may not have a strong traditional recycling market) out of the landfill. 
• Purchasing recycled content can be tricky, but is not impossible. One company that I think has a strong environmental ethic and has many options for purchasing recycled fibers is Patagonia. They also have a fairly new (launched Black Friday, 2011) intiative in which they encourage all steps of the waste reduction hierarchy. 

So, what about you? What waste reduction ideas have you implemented that you're particularly proud of? What would you like to try next season? What are your concerns about waste reduction in gift giving? What are some barriers that you think have kept you or others from implementing waste reduction techniques around the holidays? 

#PurJuly day 4

Yes, yes, I forgot to post yesterday. We had a fun day, hanging out with friends and by the time I remembered I was supposed to post, it was almost midnight. I just couldn't do it.

I did purge, though. I'm getting rid of this watering can. I bought it at a thrift store and unfortunately, it doesn't work-the water literally doesn't come out of the spout. That explains why it was in the thrift store in the first place, I guess. Why I've kept an item for so long that doesn't work is a mystery. It's usually about not wanting to get rid of something either if I think I'll use it in the future or if someone else can get use out of it. 


This item is a very rare example (for me) of something I bought at a thrift store that didn't work out. Usually, when I decide I need a new item (for example, a vacuum sealer) I look at thrift stores first. In this way, I find very little items that I have to buy new. This saves me money and lessens my footprint on the resources of our planet. It can also make me feel better about purchasing items that I don't necessarily "need" but do still "want" (For instance, a candle warmer.)


Here's some great reasons to thrift store shop. For the purposes of this blog, reuse is the best, of course, but I've learned to never question people's motives for making greener choices. 

#PurJuly day 1

Day 1:

And I'm already cheating. This item is something I purged last weekend, but it's because I *had* to purge it then, because the artist that I gave it to was in town. So, I think that's a valid excuse for cheating. Rules are meant to be broken, right?

These glass pieces were left over from my upcycling project last year. I made jewelry organizers from thrifted frames, corkboard and fabric, but had much* of the glass left over. When Recycled Arts Festival rolled around this year, the organizer asked me to facilitate an artist material exchange. We worked with 2Good2Toss to set up a special section of their website dedicated to materials artists could give away, sell or solicit for. I put my glass on there and was emailed by one of the artists. I luckily remembered to weigh my glass before I loaded it up and it weighed (a surprising to me) 11 lbs! I found Naomi in the park and then had to go back later to take a pic, because I forgot that part. :D Thanks Naomi! I hope the glass works well for your project.

1 down, 30 to go...

*A little story about the glass: We have a framed picture of our logo for Vancouver Green Drinks. At Check 'Em Off Green last year, some rambunctious kids were running around the easel holding the frame. They knocked it, it dropped and shattered. Besides it being a huge mess, I was upset that we would have to find a new frame or go without. Then, I remembered that I had all these pre-cut pieces of frame glass at home and sure enough, had the right size for a replacement.

Recycled Arts Festival Tossed and Found experience

The last weekend in June is the award-winning Recycled Arts Festival in Vancouver, WA. This event is totally amazing-A wonderful way to see the creativity from artists all over the region. (This year the festival features 108 artists!!!) Get a jump on your holiday shopping!

One of the unique aspects of the festival is the Tossed and Found booth. 

"I can't believe someone threw that away!"
Pictured are actual items from the 2011 collection.

The tossed and found experience offers a glimpse into what people are disposing of at the transfer station. Items are collected at the transfer station for about 2-3 months prior to this event and displayed for the public to view. Following the event, everything will be donated to The Paws and Claws thrift store (The St. John's one on 52nd Ave.) where it will be available for purchase. Be sure to visit this display for an awe-inspiring glimpse into the world of waste and to learn about alternative disposal ideas. Make sure to pick up a copy of the Clark County Thrift Store Map!


The Tossed and Found Experience is brought to the festival by Waste Connections, Inc. and Columbia Resource Center.

Waste Reduction Tips for the holidays

I get a weekly "tip" email from Clean Scapes and I particularly liked this one. I couldn't find it online* so I reposted it here. Happy Waste Reduction to you this holiday season!

During the holiday season there are many opportunities to go green. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans throw away 25% more thrash between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day than any other time of year, which translates into an extra one million tons of waste generated nationwide each week!

What can you do to reduce waste during the holidays?

Give Experiences. Support the local economy by purchasing gift certificates for experiences.  Look no further than local restaurants, museums, sporting events, concert halls, theater shows, and classes for everything from yoga to guitar lessons for a unique and special gift for every interest and age group. Or, give the gift of a shared experience and make a date to do something special together. 

Shop Sustainably. With local and regional holiday craft fairs, it’s easy to support local artists, farmers and merchants. Other ways to shop green include purchasing items made from recycled content or items made from renewable resources, such as bamboo. And when you shop, don’t forget your reusable shopping bags!

Re-Gift! Make it a white (elephant) holiday! The easiest 'shopping' can be done at home. “Re-gift” things that have gone unused or unopened and find these items a new home.

Re-Charge. When you purchase gifts that require batteries, consider purchasing rechargeable batteries and a charger. Each rechargeable battery replaces up to 1,500 single-use batteries.

Give Homemade. Get crafty! Save money this holiday season by making your own gifts and cards. No matter your skill level, the sky is the limit for do-it-yourself projects.

Donate. Instead of a gift, donate to a charity in a frien! d or family member’s name.  Holiday donations are a great way to support local non-profits and help the community.

Reduce Packaging. While shopping for holiday meals, consider buying in bulk, or purchase items with the least amount of packaging.

Bring Your Own. It's easy to reduce waste when you bring your own travel mug to the coffee shop, take your refillable water bottle with you for on-the-go hydration, and stash your reusable shopping and grocery bags in the car to carry your holiday purchases. Reusable bags also make wonderful gift bags, and provide an eco-extra for your special someone.

Around the Table. Before stocking up on single-use plates and cups, save money by using reusable and washable plates, cups, silverware, napkins, table clothes and serving dishes. For larger parties and a festive table, combine resources by borrowing tableware from friends. If you are looking to save money, purchase gently-used durable serviceware at local second-hand retailers.

Holiday Recycling! Encourage your guests to pitch in. Set out and clearly mark your recycling bins, and if you have food scraps collection service, help guests keep food waste out of the garbage by using a collection container for food scraps

*Clean Scapes-if there's a way to view your weekly emails online, please let me know!

Artist Profile #5:

Business name: Zoe's Gifts from the Heart  




I live on the Washougal River where I have a studio open by appointment and offer day retreats from Memorial Day through mid-October.  I renewed my interest in knitting when we moved here 10 years ago due to the long winter days.  


At first all my fiber was from local yarn stores. Most of my embellishments were recycled jewelry or buttons.  Now, I tend towards hand spun and hand dyed wools from local fiber growers and look for even more vintage or hand-made items that can be used to make my work truly one-of-a-kind.  

Much of my manufactured wool now comes from garage and estate sales and left-over wool becomes pins for hats and scarves.  It gives me great satisfaction to know that I am supporting other local artists and passing on old items that other people have enjoyed.  

My winter goal is to master the spinning wheel and begin to use the 25 tubs of angora rabbit wool we have harvested from our bunnies.  I am also beginning to create fiber jewelry - lots of fun.

What am I going to give this holiday season?

Here's some ideas for the special people on your list:

You still have time to gather up some friends and your holiday lists for this Saturday! Come on out to the Check 'Em Off, Green holiday gift event. All the vendors are locals (the farthest anyone is traveling to be here is Goldendale-everyone else is from Clark County or Portland.) There will be jewelry, hats, clothing, food, toys, experiences etc. Most of the items are hand-made from recycled and reused materials. If you've ever shopped at the Recycled Arts Festival* and would like to buy in a similar way for your holiday gift needs, come see us this Saturday from 12-5 at the Marshall Center. With 47 vendors, there's sure to be something for everyone! Here's some ideas:

• Enjoy a chair massage and buy massage gift certificates for that stressed person on your list
• Got kids? You might like to get them some recycled crayons or a capri-sun notepad, a new hat or a book about a local dog named Metro
• Know someone who likes bling-Get them some hand-made jewelry. We have lots of vendors who make jewelry from fun items, like beverage bottles, skateboards, fused plastic and many others. Or, if they're like me and already have too much jewelry, buy them an upcycled organizer.
• For the DIYer in your family, you can purchase a gift certificate to the Habitat For Humanity store
• Got a loved one that loves their garden? Purchase some yard art or seeds
• Can't find anything for that person-who-has-everything? Purchase a brick or a calendar from the SW Washington Humane Society and your purchase will help pets find forever homes.
• After you've exhausted yourself, enjoy a warm drink and some lunch on-site from Reo's

Also, if you've recently realized you’re drowning in holiday decorations you never use, bring them to this event and swap them out with others, all for free!

We hope to see you there! This event is open to the public.

*Recycled Arts Festival is a super fun annual event put on by Clark County, the last weekend in June

Artist Profile #4: The Reuser (yours truly)

Name: Terra Heilman

Website: Well, that's kind of obvious, isn't it? (You're here!)

Inspiration: I've made upcycled jewelry organizers. They're made of almost exclusively all thrifted materials. My inspiration was that I had a giant jumble of jewelry and I was looking for a good way to easily organize it. I've also made some reusable produce bags-the inspiration for them is trying to eliminate plastic waste in my grocery purchasing.

Why green gifts? I absolutely love the holiday season, but I don't want to be contributing to the problems this planet is dealing with, when giving gifts. I also love the stories behind green gifts. When you purchase a green gift, you're connecting with your community and often, the artist who made the gift. That's pretty special.

Pool toys and pantyhose as props

I stumbled upon this fun use of pantyhose, pool noodles, twine, etc as props for the show The Producers.

One of my favorite sentences from the post: "The pantyhose technique is actually really great for props and especially masks because it is cheap, pliable and lightweight...a must if you're going to be balancing a four foot sausage on your head"


Indeed!

Reused fabric scraps as tablecloth

A few months ago, a colleague and I took a trip to SCRAP. She found a very large bin of upholstery samples and decided to make a tablecloth out of them. Check out the finished product: