Can't Afford What You Need? Make It!

One of the benefits of an economy collapse is having a mass scale realization that maybe we don't need as much as we want, and many things we do need can be handmade! Of course you can't make dollar bills cause it's against the law... but there are many other ways to save money and be creative. I truly believe that with industrialization and the mass manufacturing of everything we use that people don't feel as useful or inspired, causing some of the depression that has swept the nation over the last 20 years. Being creative is a basic need for emotional and mental health - and making not only crafts but things which are functional in our lives gives a sense of purpose and pride. A biological fulfillment you just can not ever get from shopping at walmart or the mall.

If you are feeling intimidated because you feel like you don't have sewing, crocheting, or building skills - Don't fret! The cool thing about having the Internet is that there are hundreds of tutorials for FREE on you tube that will show you just about any skill you could ever want to learn. Want to learn to sew a button on your shirt go here, want to learn to french braid your hair go here , want to build a cob house go here, or crochet a scarf go here. There are also instruction books in the library (for those who can actually learn from a book, unlike myself who needs to see real people do it). If you do have a little extra cash you can pay for classes or join groups... take a look in your local paper & you'll see right away there is a group or guild for just about any skill you can dream up!

When you are poor or eco minded (or both) and you don't want to D.W. (do without) then the inspired choice is to D.I.Y (do it yourself)!

;) xoxo

DIY: Making Natural Rope

My friend Bort came by yesterday and taught me how to make rope from the Yucca plants in my yard! Making natural rope is not hard once you get the hang of it- it's just a magical formula of twisting it the right way and oh so tightly... and you will pick up speed as you go along.

You can use the Yucca plant to make some really strong rope, but there are tons of other trees and foliage you can use such as the poplar tree. In the pic below Bort is cutting some of the dried leaves to make strips that will twist into rope...

Once you have your dried leaves you will want to rub it down over your fingers to 'break up' the fibers, then make strips by pulling pieces as shown below. You can pull bigger pieces if you want thicker rope, and small pieces for dainty rope.

To begin your piece of rope you will need two long strips that you pulled from the plant, holding them together evenly.

Then twist the two strips together tightly as shown above... but keep twisting the small segment between your fingers tighter and tighter... Till it starts to buckle and forces itself to make a loop.

Hold your loop between your fingers, and then begin to twist the two strips furthest away from yourself. Twist them AWAY from yourself (this is crucial and does something magical which I can't explain)...

Take the little twist and cross it over towards yourself, then repeat the twisting & crossing over and over.

You repeat this pattern until your rope is done. When adding in new strips, simply twist them into the existing rope very tightly and continue on. My rope shown below had several pieces twisted in and is still super strong!!! :)

It can hold rocks!!!! Yay Baby!

Thanks to Bort, pictured here swinging from a tree vine - for being so patient and teaching me this awesome skill.

Check out the VIDEO with more pictures and instructions on how to make rope HERE on youtube or HERE on One True Media!

xoxo

Pretty Things Outside

Here are some pictures I took today of some neat nature moments behind my house...
#1. Pinkish tree roots exposed from being on the edge of a stream/run off.
#2. Black Walnuts surrounded by chickweed.

#3. Old moss covered cinder blocks that toppled over making the shape of a tombstone.

#4. Tree branches hugging each other.

#5. My kitty Toots belonging on Cute Overload for being such an adorable watch cat!

Did I mention nature rocks!?!?

xoxo

Recipe: Vegan, Gluten Free, Macrobiotic 'Minestrone' Soup

The following recipe is an easy to put together faux minestrone soup that caters to eliminating many food allergens. I came up with this one using my slow cooking cajun skills and memory of how the taste of minestrone soup satisfies hunger on a chilly day.

• Organic Groceries You'll Need: Collards, Yellow Squash, Broccoli, Red Onion, Red Beans, Brown Rice Noodles (elbows or shells).

• Organic Seasoning : Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme, Bay Leaf and/or Sage), Ume Plums or Sea Salt, Kombu Seaweed, Olive OilStep One: Chop up all the veggies and put them in the pot with water & your seasonings of choice. Bring to a boil and then simmer on medium.Step Two: Cook your Red Beans in a separate pan with bay leaf, rosemary, and pitted ume plum or sea salt. When they are cooked enough to be flavored you can add them to the pot of veggies to cook together.Step Three: Add your Brown Rice Elbows or Shells to the pot and keep simmering on medium till they are cooked through. Make sure to add another half ume plum or some extra salt for the noodles, which makes them easier to digest!

When you are done (I slow cook this for hours) and ready to serve add a little fresh olive oil & a shot of ume vinegar on top your bowl of organic yummy unreal minestrone soup... mmmmmm. This soup turned out so good I already ate 4 bowls today!

PS- If you have allergies to rice try noodles made of corn or beans instead. Another alternative is to add potatoes for a starchy flavor instead of noodles.

Reason #158 Why I Belong in the Woods

Because those are not the ears of a human, those are the ears of a __________! (Fill in the blank in the comments section).

Paper Bags: What To Do With Them?

In elementary school paper grocery bags were for one thing only and that was for making protective covers for our school books! This crafty upcycle project always mystified me because in our throw away society it was rare we re-used anything growing up.
Upcycling paper bags for new uses may seem a little on the crunchy side at first but there are a few cool ideas out there and I am looking for ideas from you too!

1. A Cat House - As shown in the picture above almost every cat I have had the pleasure of knowing loves a grocery bag. They will play in it, tear it up, sleep in it, shoot like a cannon into it...the fun only ends when the bag is destroyed and ready for the recycle bin.

2. Holding Recycles - I frequently use paper bags to hold my paper recycle together because the bag can be recycled with it's contents. It keeps things more organized and helps cut down on the funk ass smell of junk magazines.

3. Stationary/Drawing Paper/Diary - Why buy paper to write on when you can cut out cute little squares and press a stamp or sticker on it and write a friend a letter!?!! It's also great for drawing on with charcoal, pencil, & ink, or putting a bunch of pages together to make a diary. Just punch some holes and put scrap fabric or twine through them to hold the pages together. Everyone needs a journal to write privately in!

4. Seed Packet Business Card - Check out Autumn's fantabulous tutorial at Crafting A Green World on how to turn your brown paper grocery bag into business cards that double as seeds packets... all done on your home printer!

5. Puppets - This is either a project to do with your kids, nieces and nephews or for your inner child. Which ever you choose these easy animal puppets from brown paper bags are so super cute (my favorites are the raccoon and frog!), check out how to make them HERE. (The animal eyes, legs and smiles can be made with junk mail or magazine cut outs too!)

6. Recycle (the obvious!) - When the life has gone out of all these ideas, don't forget to recycle the paper and help contribute to saving a few trees.

What do you do with paper bags? Please share all your ideas to reuse paper grocery bags no matter how crunchy, crafty or crazy!

Fur Free Fashion Competition

Calling all ethical designers- here is a fun competition that challenges the fashion industry to make some fabulous fur free creations that help show the world that fur does not belong on the pages of magazines and shoulders of Hollywood stars- cause the fur industry is gross!
Here's info about the contest:::

"Are you a designer? Born Free USA and E Magazine are looking for independent fashion designers to enter fffashion: Fur Free Fashion Design Competition.

You could win one of three cash prizes and a chance for your design to be featured in E Magazine — the nation's leading environmental news magazine.

Put your compassionate eco-savvy talent to the test by filling out an entry form and submitting a photo of one of your fully constructed fur free fashions. Deadline is April 1, 2009.

Prizes:
1st Prize: $750 cash and your design professionally modeled, photographed, and featured in an ad in E Magazine, and a feature profile of you and your design on the fffashion website and in related media exposure.

2nd Prize: $500 cash, recognition in E Magazine, and a special profile of you and your design on the fffashion website.

3rd Prize: $250 cash, recognition in E Magazine, and a special profile of you and your design on the fffashion website.

Finalists: The top 10 participants and their designs will be recognized on fffashion website.

Top entries will be judged and winners selected by Sophie Uliano, green living guru and author of New York Times Bestseller Gorgeously Green; Summer Rayne Oaks, eco-model, activist, spokesperson, and resident expert for Discovery Network’s Planet Green; and Brita Belli, editor of E / The Environmental Magazine. "

PS - I am personally not against the use of animal fur for those indigenous people in cold regions where it's the only way to protect themselves from the harsh weather conditions (or in other natural settings)- what I am against is the exploitation of living creatures used in torturous ways to turn a buck for greedy industries.

Reason #157 Why I Belong in the Woods

Because when I wear sexy heals they all end up looking like this!

xoxo

Stinky Laundry: Toxic Detergent

Yesterday when I opened my back door I almost got knocked out by the most overwhelming detergent smell I've ever confronted! My very kind & lovable landlady hang dries her clothes on a line just like me, only she uses regular store bought detergent rather then a natural alternative. Not only does regular detergent out gas the most noxious smell even when used in small amounts, but this was like half the box had been dumped in for a one load of clothes. Just trying to walk past the eco savvy drying line of pretty colors was like swimming through a bottle of perfume designed to make you pass out.

What really worries me about products like this being sold to the public is that they are being sold without an ingredients list and under the false pretence that they are regulated and safe. These companies have no one watching over them, chemical additives in detergents and dryer sheets include hazardous substances that are known carcinogens as described by the EPA. The main problem is lack of government regulation on selling toxic chemical based products- and worse the lack of public education about what products we use in our daily lives. This lack of education is compounded by the "trust" consumers put into companies because of the marketing tactics used in advertising & the cheap prices. (Since my BFF is an important guy in an advertising firm, I have learned first hand many of their tactics to get the public to trust and therefore buy- it always will just be hype.)

Still think they wouldn't sell us "rainforest" scented detergent unless it was OK? Think again...check out how the EPA has set up the Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative (SDSI) in order to try and recognize and catalogue the detergents that are safest for you and the environment. "Safer surfactants are surfactants that break down quickly to non-polluting compounds and help protect aquatic life in both fresh and salt water. Nonylphenol ethoxylates, commonly referred to as NPEs, are an example of a surfactant class that does not meet the definition of a safer surfactant." What poisons aquatic life poisons all life, but since most brands won't list their ingredients you would never know you "clean" your clothes in poison.

Unsafe detergents not only literally stink causing asthma and allergy reactions, but they also are seeping into your skin - so you might not get a rash or blemishes but as the toxic load builds up these types of chems can later cause other chronic illnesses. Many fragrances are also known neurotoxins and I am convinced that the reason my landlady calls me lisa, laura, lindsey, lizza, and every 'L' name but Leslie when she sees me is because she lives in a foggy cloud of detergent & perfume poison that has chems known to funk out our critical thinking skills, fog our thoughts, and some are even engineered to trigger brain functions that make us want to buy things!

Clothes actually need very little if any soap to get them clean, the washer (machine, wonder wash or hands) do most of the real work. A washer repair man once told me you only need a few drops of soap and that "they only tell you that you need more so you'll buy more." Now that is as economical on price as you can get- a box of natural detergent could last you a long time! There are natural alternatives at most healthy groceries - but even a little baking soda or a drop a vinegar will get the job done. Smelling like an artificial flower is not smelling clean...
real clean smells like the sun!

Happy Washing! :)

To Read about specific ingredients of detergents and their effects GO HERE.

Recipe: Organic Gluten Free Mayo From Scratch

Making organic mayonnaise from scratch is surprisingly easy once you get the hang of it - it takes very little ingredients and can be flavored exactly the way you like. Real homemade mayo doesn't look or smell like the store bought stuff we are used to, instead it is yellow in color and 100 x's more creamy then it's manufactured cousin could ever be! It's also more neutral in taste and can be flavored by adding things like dill, mustard, extra salt, or other herbs & spices.To make organic mayo you'll need the following groceries: Eggs, Olive Oil (Almond or Grapeseed will work also), Lemon, Salt, Vinegar (I used ume vinegar which is salty already!).
Optional flavor choices : Dill (this is what I used) or mustard, cayenne pepper, extra salt, etc... you can be really creative since the mayo base is mild in taste.

FIRST STEP: Take two eggs and drain/separate the whites out of them, then save the yellow yolks in a separate bowl. You won't be using the egg whites for this recipe and can save them for something else. (I fed them to my cat Toots who loves raw egg.)

STEP TWO: Add 6 teaspoons of lemon to your egg yolks and 2 teaspoons of vinegar, and mix together. You can use either a whisk or a blender to get the mayo party started! I went with my blender on a moderate setting, putting in the egg & acidic liquid mix plus some dill & salt.

STEP THREE: Here is where the magic happens and the adrenaline rushes in... pour approx. 1 cup of oil into the egg mixture VERY SLOWLY, like a dripping drizzle steady stream of oil - while you are either blending or whisking.

Here's the catch... (and this happened to me) if you put too much oil suddenly your amazement at how creamy & fluffy your mayo has become will burst into a soupy nasty liquid. This is when the mayo "breaks". And mine broke alright- I kind of cried a little. The thing is, don't follow an exact measurement on how much oil to put in, just slowly pour the oil in till it becomes mayo-like then STOP. :) So that this will happen..............

Creamy dreamy mellow yellow mayo!!!

And look how tempting it is, just totally sticking to my spoon just like real mayo! YAY!

Use your organic mayo for all the fun things you use store bought mayo on - pasta salad, potato salad, sandwiches & for dressing and sauces. All it needs it's your personal flavor and imagination!

xoxo