Green Options

Holiday stockings don’t need to be made from plush furry fabric or rich red velvet. They can be made from any fabric you like that reflects your style, eclectic tastes, or interior decor.

A long time ago I worked for a furniture store. One day they were clearing out all the sample fabric swatches and books that had been discontinued. And what were they going to do with it all?

Toss it in the dumpster. Stacks and stacks of rich, fancy, and fabulous pieces of fabric. All to the trash. I just couldn’t let it happen.

So you’ve decided to try babywearing — perhaps you’ve read the Babywearing 101 series, or Baby Essentials That Aren’t, here at Eco Child’s Play.  As a green-minded parent, you may now be wondering what options exist for slings and carriers made of organic and eco-friendly fabrics.

You might be pleasantly surprised.  From small-business WAHM handmade slings, to big-name brands, there is a wide selection of organic baby carriers out there to choose from.  Whatever style of carrier you prefer, organic options in natural colour-grown fabrics and vivid naturally-dyed colours abound.

Here is just a partial list, to help get your search started.

One of my favorite parts of blogging is when artisans contact us to review their products. I love discovering handmade gems I might not discover otherwise.  One such recent discovery is recycled glass jewelry and lavender sachets by Elena K. called Grace and Jewelry.

Lavender is one of my favorite herbs, and the silk sachet created by Elena K is beautiful. It smells wonderful, and beaded adornment is really nice.  As my daughter says, “It smells goodie!”

Over the past week or so I have been sharing sources for Eco Packaging Handmade For You, because a popular tip for all crafters is to make your packaging creative. But we don’t all have time or our creativity is reserved for our fabulous products. There are however some sellers that truly excel at the packaging ephemera. To wrap up the series I wanted to share with you some of my favorite seller ephemera from purchases I have made on Etsy.

I hope you are enjoying the Eco Packaging Handmade For You series. In today’s post we will be taking a look at some great handmade bags and boxes perfect for product packaging or even gift wrapping. In all things I believe in the KISS motto - Keep It Simple Silly, and packaging is no exception. You do not need extravagant overdone packaging that will probably be thrown away by the recipient. Instead keep it simple, keep it easy to open, and keep it handmade.

One of the simplest ways to embellish your products is to add a beautiful hang tag. You can have professionally printed hang tags made with your logo, but they always seem so sterile and lifeless. Instead consider buying handmade creative hang tags for a unique addition to each product. They also make a great place to jot a quick thank you.

You are doing your best to use handmade and recycled packaging.  You believe in reusing, reducing, and recycling.  Let your customers know that your care.  Stamp your commitment to the environment on every package you send.  Here are my favorite recycling stamps available on Etsy:

Not all of us are lucky enough to be craft divas ready to whip up the perfect gift for Mother’s Day. For the rest of us there is Etsy where you can find a beautiful handmade gift mom is sure to love.  Whether or not you want to fess up to buying your handmade gift is up to you.

Flowers are a traditional fall back gift for mom, but this year consider a handmade floral-inspired gift that will last a bit longer.  Here are my top picks for eco-friendly Mother’s Day gifts.  All of the gifts in this roundup are floral-inspired and made from natural and sustainable materials.

We missed this when it happened a couple of weeks ago, but a bank in South Africa has been up to some interesting advertising gimmicks. Billing itself as a “truly green bank,” Nedbank installed what is being called the world’s first billboard made from woven plastic bags in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The billboard was created using 2,000 (!) reclaimed plastic bags that were woven together to make the billboard, which measures over 120 feet in length. Nedbank employed seven crafters to create the billboard, taking them about six weeks to complete the project, making this a huge handmade project.

Here at Eco Child’s Play, we LOVE Stubby Pencil Studio when Kate Rosenthal,  mama of twin girls started her quest for safe art supplies, she found a wonderful niche to fill.  I had the opportunity to meet with Kate a while back and see her in action.  We spoke about her quest for safe products, the new CPSC/lead regulations, and how one person’s vision has turned into a busy home business.

With Easter coming, we have baskets to fill and my first thought was of Kate and her wonderful shop.  So hop on over to Stubby Pencil Studio and order up some of these fabulous eco friendly art supplies and toys (If you are in the Portland area, you can arrange pick up).  You’ll feel good knowing that your children are getting safe, sustainable products and our Earth will breathe a bit easier as well.

Start with your choice of basket or packaging (Stubby Pencil offers two basket options this year and also carries Envirosax).  If you already own baskets (or buckets, bins and bags) reuse those of course.  If not, opt for a container that can get lots of reuse (and you know your world best, so pick: a galvanized metal bucket, a cloth shopping bag, a wicker basket, a hat turned upside down, a kid sized wheel barrow, etc…

Some of our favorite basket filers:

I found an Etsy seller putting her vintage buttons to good use.  She makes custom monogramed pillows and wall art with vintage buttons.  Peggy of Letter Perfect Designs hand sews each carefully selected button into place.