Treasures

I am NOT a collector or saver. My husband might disagree, seeing my bins of fabrics and yarns. But really, I'm not. This is why I am always surprised when, at this time of the year, I feel giddy and excited to open our stashed-away boxes labeled "Coat Closet - Christmas." During other parts of the year I forget the treasures these boxes hold. Like this beautiful, simple Nativity. The angel measures almost 6" tall and it's home in this new house is on top of the well-loved piano. I don't even mind packing away my brother's pottery for a while to make room for it. My grandmother, the one who my family says I am just like, gave it to me when I became a mountain mama. A friend of hers made it for her. I distinctly remember playing with the little baby Jesus as a little girl. He comes out of the manger! My own children discovered this fact a few days ago. What joy!

This is another Christmas treasure. I think this chiming rolly-polly Santa was given to me on my first Christmas. That would be somewhere in the 1970s. I *suppose* that makes it vintage. Oh my. Some of his paint is chipping off, but he has taken some beatings and still is well-loved. I am quite sure he will see even more rough play in the years to come. Sorry, Santa!

I almost always add a new handmade treasure to our small collection every year. Two years ago I saw this fabric and fell in LOVE. Our recycled, embellished old tree skirt was starting to really look bad and I knew it was time to make another. Well, life happens and 4 yards of Christmas fabric sat in my collection... until this year!!! So, I introduce to you my family's new tree skirt!

I wonder what memories and treasures will fill my children's memories in the years to come. What fills your's?

Why Wait?

The BIG sale starts TODAY! Many items have reduced prices and any order that has at least 1 set of lunchbox napkins in it ships for FREE*!

*this will be refunded to you via paypal. international shipping will be at reduced rates.

Black Friday preview

I'm working out the details of what I want to do, but there WILL be sales in my shop starting Thanksgiving and running thru Cyber Monday. I will be listing the exact totals of colors and fabrics that are available to make shopping easier.

Please remember to shop handmade for the Holidays!

Friday - again

Oops....It's Friday again and I have not posted anything all week. Sorry. Between having my husband away most of the week to dealing with interesting metal objects in the washing machine (that got it to stop working with a full load of laundry, water, and 4 more loads patiently waiting their turn!)... just not much time or energy to write.

I couldn't decide on a pic this week. My first thought was to share with you the quilt my daughter made - her first project on *my* baby, um, sewing machine. But that's listed in my shop. Well, then I remember that the actual baby doll quilt she made is NOT for sale - I'll happily make more if someone purchases the listing. And I'm really, really proud of her for piecing and sewing her quilt. Not trying to spam but.... So.... I'll give you 2 pics. The first is this baby doll quilt my 7 yr old made with little help from me. Apparently she's been paying lots of attention all of these years!!! The second is a beautiful circle I found in my boxes of vintage upcycled fabric. Gah, I love finds like these!!! A few pieced stars will be for sale soon in my shop but this one.... nope. My fabric-loving daughter has claimed it!

Happy weekend!

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{this moment} a friday ritual. a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. a simple, special, extraordinary mome

nt. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

- Amanda Blake, SouleMama.com

{this moment} a friday ritual. a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. a simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

- Amanda Blake, SouleMama.com

Not as much vibrant Fall color here as where we used to live...but these bushes at our house are beautiful!

Greener Holidays

Are you thinking about the holidays yet? Wondering how you can add more sustainable practices and also help others make positive changes? Here are a few ideas...

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The Green Grocery Bag Challenge: A Holiday Sewing Project Benefiting Mother Earth

Fact 1: US consumers generate 4 million tons of wrapping paper and shopping bag waste during the holiday season alone.

Fact 2: The US goes through 100 billion single-use plastic grocery bags every year.

Fact 3: This year, you can make a difference! How?

The challenge is this: Wrap your holiday gifts in reusable cloth grocery bags.

(SewMamaSew.com)

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The cool thing is that you don't have to be able to sew to use them. There are many ways to wrap gifts in reusables. Before you use reusable grocery bags, though, make sure the recipient needs another one. Some of us are overflowing with them! If they are like me and already have their own abundant stash, get creative. Consider a drawstring bag like those in my shop (btw, I'm always up for custom orders of these!) After they have received their gift, they can use this bag in sooooo many ways. My kids love the little ones I keep in my purse because they know I always have some interesting toys hidden in them. The larger ones make great knitting project bags, lunch sacks, shoe bags.....Another one of my favorite ideas is to use reusable sandwich baggies as gift bags! This cute bunch have handmade biscotti inside. These are available in my Etsy shop in assorted colored ripstop nylon (the material is made in USA!) and also in upcycled cotton prints and organic cotton solids.Or consider wrapping a gift in a reusable produce bag. Many people already have cloth grocery bags - help them totally ditch single-use plastics at the grocery store while also reducing your wrapping paper use! I think these would be beautiful tied with a BIG fat ribbon.There's also the amazing Japanese art of furoshiki, wrapping things in fabric. Use a scarf and it's 2 gifts! Here's a website with a great instructional pic of many of the basic techniques... http://xorsyst.com/japan/how-to-tie-furoshiki/

Happy wrapping!

Featured on a GREAT blog!

Check out FakePlasticFish.com!!! Not only is it VERY informative about kicking the plastic habit, but there's a great giveaway going on right now including my upcycled cotton sandwich baggies!

{this moment} a friday ritual. a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. a simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

- Amanda Blake, SouleMama.com

My 7 year old daughter took this pic. Not only do I adore her perspective, but I think she might have an eye for it!

CONTEST WINNERS!

You all had some great ideas! I loved reading them and I hope you did too! Drumroll please... And the winner is....

JAIMEZEE!

You get 10 extra entries. I've added them to the end, #s 10-19.

Now for the random number generator for the prizes....(I use random.org)

3

Jaimezee...that's you too! Wow, your FB post won. I'll be in contact with you so you can choose your napkins and send me your address. Thank you to all who entered.

I will post pics soon of some ways I've already begun to use the containers. I put a dry bean mix into a small hot coco mix container for my 3 year old son's creative, sensory and fine motor play. The large coffee containers will be decorated by my kids and used as gift-giving containers!

{this moment}

I still have a giveaway contest going on. Please scroll down to see how to enter and what the prizes are. You only have 1 more week to try your luck to win stuff! Here's my favorite State Fair photo from last weekend.

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{this moment} a friday ritual. a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. a simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

- Amanda Blake, SouleMama.com

{this moment}

I HAVE A CONTEST GOING ON RIGHT NOW...SCROLL DOWN TO SEE HOW TO ENTER AND TO SEE WHAT THE PRIZES ARE!!!

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I've read SouleMama.com for a long time now. It's about time I start participating in this beautiful Friday ritual to remind myself to get my camera out more often. Happy Friday everyone!!!

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{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. (taken from Soulemama.com)

My 3 favorite people hunting for fairy stones on a recent camping trip... in honor of my oldest child's upcoming birthday. Yes, this isn't a moment from this week but it's been on my mind (and I can't find the cord to upload yesterday's photos!)

contest update

I didn't mean to scare you off. You don't have to have the coolest idea out there just to enter the giveaway. Just jot down any idea in your comment and it'll count too!

I also wanted to add that these aren't the stronger metal cans that coffee used to come in...if it matters at all. Loving the ideas!

CONTEST!!!!!

That's right! It's a contest! Get your repurposing and upcycling creative juices flowing for this one!

But first, let's get real, what's the prize? Because there always should be a prize....

A SET OF 4 NAPKINS in any available fabric from my shop (SustainableHomestead.Etsy.com) **AND** A SET OF 2 PRODUCE BAGS!!! nice.

SEE THESE?

I'm starting to collect quite a few of these now that we live near a Trader Joes and hours away from our favorite roasters (who would let us reuse bags or just put the beans right into our glass container). I've washed them out and kept them. And spent some time trying to figure out the perfect use for them. For me, for someone else....whatever. I just don't want to add them to the landfill.

Here are the contest rules:

• Required First Entry: Describe a fantastic way to reuse these coffee cans in this post's comments! Get creative!
• Additional Entry: Share my blog on Facebook, then comment that you have done so.
• Additional Entry: Become a follower of my blog, then comment here that you have done so.
• Additional Entry: Become a fan of SustainableHomestead on Facebook, then comment here that you have done so.
• Additional Entry: Share my blog/this contest on twitter, your own blog, etc, then comment back here what you've done.

The details: Make sure I have a way to contact you. If I do not get a response from the winner within 48 hrs then another winner will be chosen. This contest will be done via random number generator BUT my favorite idea will be given 10 extra entries.

What does it matter?

I was recently told that something I was concerned about was trivial, that it was a waste of my time to think about. Really?

Changes don't usually happen with one huge step. Most people I know who consider themselves environmentally savy don't live off the grid, walk everywhere, etc. It isn't necessarily possible for everyone to go to that extreme. Instead, these families strive to think about every little part of their lives to see how they can reduce waste, reduce their dependency on fossil fuels, reduce their use of disposable items, and all that jazz. Sure, many grow their own produce, might have their own dairy cow, might ride their bike or walk as often as possible, might have solar panels... but the majority of change for the better is made up in the little things.

Every single one of us can make an impact. You can make it by what you choose to buy, by what you choose to not buy, by what you choose to throw away, by how you brush your teeth even.

Here are some mainstream companies that are trying, in very small ways, to be better. And even though I do not buy their products because of some ingredients they contain, I applaud their efforts to do SOMETHING. It shows that when we all do a little something, it adds up.

• Vaseline eliminated 110 tons of packaging per year. 110 tons!
• Suave Body Wash replaced its 9% recycled bottles with ones that are 26-29% recycled. This increases their recycled content from 139 tons to 426 tons every year.
• Dove Body Wash reduced plastic usage by 0.5 grams per bottle. This saves 122,000 pounds of plastic per year.

(I suggest going a step further... use bar soap instead of liquid. You'll not only save cash, but save even more plastic packaging!)

This is a simple reminder that change really IS in the little things. Your individual choices DO have a positive impact on cleaning up our planet and setting it right.

Time Really Does Fly

My baby is 3 today. How did this happen? I still vividly remember him like this. All scrunched up, so sweet and tiny. But he's such a big boy now, into fire trucks, legos, baking with mama, learning his letters, counting everything and anything, making up his own songs, playing elaborate pretend games with his big sister. What a great kid. Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Plastic bags everywhere at the Farmers Market. Makes me cringe. Makes me want to live in California or wherever else they’re banned. Plastic produce bags filling their carts at Whole Foods. I find myself wanting to ask these people if they know that there are other ways of bringing home their foods! But I do try really hard to not be “one of those people” so I walk on and use my SustainableHomestead drawstring produce bags and nylon bulk food bags without confrontation. I was thrilled to see SO many people using reusables at Trader Joe’s though… and then my daughter and I walked to the organic produce section only to find these foods sitting in plastic trays, wrapped in plastic wrap. Bleh. No thanks. I explained to my daughter why I wasn’t going to buy any of it and we walked on. She’s almost 7 and getting great at spotting these things on her own. Sometimes I feel like such a little fish in a big, big pond though.

I miss my garden! But I have found a local company that delivers produce to your house and it's all locally sourced...even milk! Maybe that's my solution? What's yours?

Here is my beautiful, reusable rainbow!

I am so excited that SustainableHomestead is restocked in reusable sandwich/snack baggies!

Now to take a sewing break to plan my winter knitting...

2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Yes! SustainableHomestead has been on ETSY for 2 years this week! To celebrate, upcycled hankies will sell for $2 a set with any other purchase. 1 week only.

Crafting Update

First of all, I have new fabrics for back to school shopping! Doggies with sweaters, pirate skulls, tropical ocean and cherries! I have plenty in stock, ready to ship. What a fun and easy way to spice up you or your kid's lunch boxes!

And here they are... my big boy's longies, felted and cut into coasters. I decided to mostly use the stripey parts. So far they work great! No regrets. I really enjoy seeing them and using them.

I've been a busy bee lately. I have had this hand batik fabric for several years, just waiting for the perfect project. It was so fun and quick to sew this tunic for my daughter.

I still have a new apron for me that's 1/2 finished and a big mess of nylon reusable baggies in progress. Wow, I really have had an eruption of craftiness lately! But, oh no, it doesn't stop with me. My kids have been making their own glittery play dough and my daughter is knitting!

Photography used to be my all-consuming addiction, I mean hobby. Back when I’d process my own black and white film, make a contact print, then painstakingly spend hours in my grandfather’s dark room making prints. I loved it. I’ve tried working up the courage to be more daring with digital. I want to. From here on I'm going to do my best to take more photographs, get faster at downloading them, and try out some new editing techniques. My grandfather ingrained it into me from an early age that a good photographer can get it perfect at the moment of capture if she takes her time and pays attention to the details. I guess that’s one thing that’s always bugged me about digital – the over-processing of photographs when just paying attention to the camera’s settings, lighting, and framing at the time the photograph was captured would have done the job. Well, I’m going to think a little less and take a little more. Hopefully I’ll start sharing more with you too. What’s your favorite trick or tip?

Speaking of...I have a few photos to share, but I need to download them first!

Treasures - What To Do?

More unpacking…. Discovered my remaining stash of longies for my little guy. Oh my. I have already picked out a few of the tiny ones to keep and treasure for always and have passed on others but now what do I do with these?

Big Duke “D” with stripey legs, shorties with an “R” on the booty, bear fetish with stripey legs and Christmas red and white stripey among others. When he was close to outgrowing these I just let him wear them hard…and they look it. Some were knit with mediocre wool that I happened to have in my stash. Sure, I might be able to wash them up and make them look great again… but do I want to give these treasured babyhood remnants away?

I am thinking that I might felt them and cut drink coasters out of them. I think I would like constant reminders of my little baby/toddler that is now a little guy. What do you think?

Reusable Cotton Baggie to the rescue!

Shock! I mean, I know that SustainableHomestead’s sandwich baggies are wonderful but I had no idea just how great a job they can do to keep snacks fresh! During our trips back and forth to close on a home and then a day later for our big move I packed various snacks and veggies in both cloth and nylon snack baggies and stashed them in my mom bag as well as the 2 backpacks we took with us. If you are a parent, you know the fear that hits you when you find a child’s food or beverage container that you KNOW is old. Ick, right? Yea, then you pray it’s not milk! 1 week+ after packing a cotton baggie with o’s I found them, sitting at the bottom of a backpack with a drawstring bag of emergency little cars. Not only had they NOT fallen out and gotten into every nook and cranny, but they were NOT stale! YES! IN COTTON! When I sold out of my nylon baggies and was out of fabric I tried to convince several people that the cotton ones are becoming my favorite because they work so well. Maybe you’ll believe me now. They’re lovely. If I knew where the video camera was right now (and if I had all the internet stuff set up yet) I’d let you hear the crunch for yourself. I’m not saying it’s going to happen every time because I usually do not try to leave snacks hanging out in baggies for 1+ weeks but…. You get the point. YAY for cotton!

Made in the USA!

I am excited to say that I have secured more fabric for my ripstop nylon food baggies! As usual, these are UNCOATED 100% nylon and now I have verification that all of this fabric is

MADE IN THE USA!

I am so excited and proud to say this.

This plus my many items made from reclaimed cottons make me feel really, really good about the items I make and sell. Now to just source some more organic cottons....

In celebration of the beautiful turquoise, blue, green, red and purples that I bought today I will make it possible for you to pre-order your back to school snack/sandwich baggies on my Etsy. In an effort to not overwhelm myself I did not order fabric in bolts, so get them while you can!

Pickles!

For the first time in my adult life I made pickles! I planted about 20 cucumber plants with the intent to can all the pickles that we will consume for the next year. Since we are preparing to move soon I instead learned how to make refrigerator pickles. We just do not have the time right now to dive into something that big. I also have volunteer dill in a flower bed that also needs to be used. It has been so much fun to see how far the wind and animals take seeds from the garden! I read every dill recipe I could find but then decided to created my own. Risky, I know. Well.... after a PAINFUL 24 hr wait to test them....

They are delish! The kids and I have a hard time keeping away from them. Right now I am just adding to it when it starts getting low again.

Yay Garden!