By Kelly Dunleavy •
October 31, 2008
Though you may not be able to celebrate like Heidi Klum and Seal (above as Eve and the apple), who threw their yearly bash earlier this month, you can still party hard with some last minute D.I.Y environmental Halloween costumes.
By Beth Bader •
October 30, 2008
© Bernd Juergens | Dreamstime.com
Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Beet
Leery of the leek? Afraid of asparagus? Broccoli your personal Boggart? It seems witches are not the only green thing that scares us. You are not alone. According to a 2007 study published in the American Journal of Medicine, fewer than a third of us eat enough fruits and vegetables daily.
Perhaps it’s time we faced our deep-rooted fears?
Number 5: Beets.
I clearly recall making little towers of canned, pickled beet cubes. I don’t remember eating them more than once. It was a long, long time before I faced down a beet again as an adult. As my first season participating in the Eat Local Challenge and as a member of a CSA, I felt compelled to cook whatever came in the weekly box in whatever way I could to make it palatable.
What I found out was, they are pretty good. That, indeed, everything not in a can tastes a whole lot different. Beets are especially good roasted and especially good for you as they are rich in the same anthocyanin compounds like wine and berries.
And the Top Four Are …
As the daughter of a dentists and a proponent of healthy eating, I have a reputation. I’m the mom who doesn’t buy her kid candy.
Nope.
I
Don’t
OK. So you don’t think I’m absolutely draconian, He does get candy in his Easter basket, I do let him eat a piece or two at birthday parties and yes, grandma, grandpa and even my DH buy him candy.
But I don’t.
You see, I grew up that way. We didn’t have candy in the house. Candy was something for holidays, other people’s houses and, of course, Halloween (though we gave out apples instead of candy to the disappointed trick-or-treaters that appeared at our door).
So Halloween’s a tough holiday for me. I cringe when I see the shear amount of candy he ends up consuming between Halloween parties, school events and even the candy bowl that magically appears at many of the stores we frequent around this time of year.
This time of year finds me furiously brushing his teeth and hoping for the best. Over time though, I’ve found a few tricks that seem to help reduce the amount of unrefined sugar he ingests.
1. Good Deeds Begin at Home – This year, instead of buying a bag of commercial candy treats consider giving out small toys instead. The dollar store often has trinkets that won’t upset your green soul too much – like chalk, crayons and notepads. If you tend not to get too many trick-or-treaters at your door, consider spending a bit more and buying little wooden toys or if you really must give out candy, make it organic.
By Kelly Rand •
October 24, 2008
We sure are excited about the upcoming Halloween holiday here at Crafting a Green World. Do you have your costume ready? What about decorations?
Ready Made Magazine has this great refresher course on pumpkin-carving how to; including a clever CFL template to carve into your pumpkin! What a perfect idea to not only make your own costume for Halloween, but carve your green ideals for all [...]
By Reenita Malhotra •
October 20, 2008
Because I love encouraging my kids to be creative, Halloween becomes another excuse to get them to make some great artwork that I will invariably want to put on display for the rest of the year. Best of all, there is more than enough in the way of recycled materials to use as raw materials for their artwork.
By Skye Kilaen •
October 17, 2008
Welcome to the seventh Carnival of Green Crafts!
This one had an extra day to percolate while I was on my way home from Colorado, the state where my environmental consciousness was born when I was in high school.
And though that means the Carnival is a day late, is by no means a dollar short. So sit back and enjoy this collection of green and crafty goodness.
Before we begin, a few administrative notes: The eighth Carnival will be hosted at Things We Make, which is part of the Hallmark Magazine website! Send in your posts via the carnival submission form. The Carnival of Green Crafts home page has background info.
Now on to the carnival!
By Kelly Rand •
October 13, 2008
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love thinking about what my costume is going to be and how to create my perfect look for that year. I think I’ve only purchased a complete costume maybe once or twice in my life. Half of the fun of Halloween is making your own costume.
You too can make your own costume and make it more environmentally friendly with the resources that we here at Crafting a Green World have given you throughout our blog posts. It’s not that scary, just remember these three tips:
- Use what you have first
- If you don’t have the perfect item to create your outfit, then Thrift it.
- If the first two tips have not produced all the items needed for your ghoulish garb, use eco-friendly items such as yarn or fabric to create your monster personality.
By Becky Striepe •
October 7, 2008
[photo by Becky Striepe]
Halloween is probably my very favorite holiday. I just love carving a pumpkin, putting on a costume, and playing make believe. Of course, this meant I was overjoyed to stumble upon Green Halloween, an organization aimed at promoting what they call “The Three G’s:
By Katy Farber •
October 1, 2008
I must admit I get consumer google eyes around Halloween time. Those pre-made brand new costumes from Pottery Barn, Target, or any other retailer for babies and toddlers are tempting. They are cute. They require no sewing (yes, I have no skill in that department). But they are expensive and more of the consumer glut that I have a goal of avoiding (or at least limiting).
So, what does a non-crafty, super busy parent to do try and to have a Green Halloween?
*Think Simple: The costume does not have to be huge and extraordinary. Kids will just love dressing up. Find your dress up bin, or old clothes bin, and see what you have.
A wand, poofy skirt, and a leotard? You have a fairy. Just add some sort of crown (throw colorful ribbon on a headband–even I can do this!), sparkles in her hair, and layers of frothy, gauzy, magical clothes. Do you have a hardhat, tool belt and a small toy tool? There’s your builder. Grab a striped shirt, eye patch, and make a hook out of foil for your little pirate. Check out what already exists in your house. Better yet, do it with your child and have them pick out what they want to be. The ideas are endless.
By Wenona Napolitano •
September 23, 2008
Crafty green Halloween décor may be lurking in the most unusual places…like your trash can or recycling bin.
You can create cute favor boxes crafted from cardboard toilet paper rolls and bejeweled black cats from empty plastic laundry detergent bottles. Old scraps of fabric can become ghastly ghosts and discarded pieces of wood can be transformed into a creepy cemetery in your yard. Empty Styrofoam containers and leftover Styrofoam packaging can also be transformed in reusable tombstones.
You don’t have to spend a fortune on new mass produced stuff at the Halloween store to have a frightfully fun Halloween. Instead you can go green and reuse everyday objects and implement natural elements to turn your home into a Halloween haunt.
Happy Halloween! As you celebrate the holiday with your best eco-friendly costumes, don’t forget to enter the Green Halloween Costume Contest — Deadline: Midnight Tonight!
