Making Stuff From Stuff

It’s one of those eerily beautiful, rainy days here in the Hudson Valley. We’ve hardly had any rain to balance the assault of crazy hot, humid stickiness that’s enveloped the area. The summery mood and dimly-filtered lighting is just delightful for creating projects that may have been put on the back burner because it was just too damn hot. I love creating stuff from found stuff. It is especially sweet when the stuff is free, the directions are self-explanatory and the materials are mostly natural

I’ve seen this project done before, but this morning I followed the links around the globe to find the source of the images of this simple project. My pointing and clicking started in the Netherlands at the Stylefiles (a fabulously creative site for interior design inspiration), which took me to Poppytalk from Vancouver. It’s a design blog that collects inspiration from emerging design talent. One such talent hails over at the totally awe-inspiring, aqui pelo campo blog from Portugal, which is the source of these photos.

No DIY directions needed for this one. Just create this rustic and functional coat rack from a few sturdy branches, a piece of nicely weathered leftover wood and some nails. Then relish in the satisfaction of making stuff from stuff.

Summertime And The DIY Is Easy: 10 Green Projects

Have you vowed to step off the fast-track and slow down this summer? With the emergence of hot days and long evenings, see it’s the perfect time to kick back, for sale unplug, viagra 100mg get creative and indulge in some summertime DIY. From whipping up a batch of natural sunscreen to creating a solar backpack, these 10 eco-friendly summery DIY projects are sure to get the creative juices stirring. CLICK HERE FOR MORE Artwork: Ben Scott

DIY Natural Stone Knobs

"A stone is ingrained with geological and historical memories, ”says master stone artist and environmentalist" ~ Andy Goldsworthy. If you are like me, you pick up stones and rocks to remember places, to connect with nature and because you like the “feel” of stones. From almost every view inside and outside of my home, you can spy a cluster of stones or just a lone beauty here and there.

Stones have been used for many years in spiritual healings and for meditative purposes. Since stones come from the Earth, many believe their properties possess an abundance of powers from promoting good health to acquiring prosperity.

Do you collect stones? It is easy to make your own stone knobs for drawers or cabinets using the materials and technique below. The natural color and texture of the stones, along with the size of your drawer or cabinet door, will determine your unique one-of-a-kind knob.

DIY Natural Stone Knobs

Stone-Knobs-2-480

Materials:

Rocks – beach, river Drawer pull(s) – a small metal cylinder with a flat top surface – one that will withstand repeated stress pulling. Glue – we used Gorilla glue Coarse Sand Paper

Stone-Knobs-in-line

What to do:

1. Collect rocks – select size and shape according to drawer or cabinet size. 2. Wash and dry thoroughly. 3. If the draw pull is smooth, sand the end of the drawer pull where it will be glued to the rock to rough it up. 4. Sand the rock on the side that the drawer pull will attach to. 5. Glue the stone to the drawer pull. 6. Let dry and screw into drawer.

This article originally posted on Care2.

First Things First: “What Matters Most?”

Since this is the first post for my shiny new blog, I’ve been thinking a lot about “What matters most?” Of course, we can’t name just one thing. Our unique circumstances and priorities are what matters. I narrowed my answer down to three things: Family…Home…Planet. These lofty subjects are so intertwined. For me, they create the makings of a lifestyle. What matters most is how they ground and sustain us. Family, home and planet form the foundation from which we grow, connect and build healthy econests. Here are some images that say econesting to me. Family

Our families are timeless, and moments in time. This picture is of my dad and daughter at my uncle’s house. I can’t remember the summery occasion, but it was an eclectic moment of creativity, balance, beauty and patience (he had a way with crying babies). The perfect mix of old and new.

Home

It's summer, and these calm and breezy images say econesting to me. If I can't live right smack dab in a natural environment with beautiful things, maybe this house by a lake will do? A girl can dream, right?

Planet

I’ve had this photo pinned on my inspiration board since I developed the econesting name a few years ago. The elegant connectedness of changeable beauty, and the fragility of nature's resources says planet to me. The nest may be empty, but wouldn't you love to spend some time there?

There you go, these three things matter to me. It’s funny; sometimes I post three or four articles a day, as you’ll see as I continue to update the links to my Care2 and Planet Green articles into the archives. But, this first post for econesting came slower. I wrote it with a different intention. That was immensely satisfying. My hope is to continue to inspire and share musings about subjects that matter to us. What matters most to you?

Image credits: Beach: Day via The Style Files, Lake House: ChicTip, Northern Oriole Nest: Richard Barns via House and Garden

A Barefoot Home Makes Life a Breeze

I don’t know about your lifestyle, cialis but mine is pretty casual. From the clothes I wear to the informal home I live in, stuffiness is not an option. There’s no need to stand on ceremony when you enter my home. Just toss your shoes at the door, curl up your feet on the couch and relax. So, when Taunton Press sent me a book called, The Barefoot Home by Marc Vassallo, I was excited to find a book that shows us how to make barefoot living synonymous with a healthy home. The Barefoot Home celebrates dressed-down informal living in its best form. The photographs present the reader with examples of how to bring nature into your nest with a casual and comfortable breeziness. It begins with this manifesto: CLICK HERE FOR MORE Credit: The Barefoot Home