Anew: Clearing The Pipes

After a few days of family and self-imposed unplugged bliss (an absolutely scary state for a blogger) over the holidays, I've now been thrown in the other direction. I'm struggling to find my way back into the prolific writing groove that generally drives me. Maybe it was that exhaustive A-Z DIY Eco-Gift Guide which was so much fun to organize and write - but, it kind of sucked the blogging out of me for a few weeks. Could it be the fresh year awash with newness and all the connotations that accompany that? Right now, I'm tip-toeing back into the blogosphere with a few new posts and a sprucing up of this blog (coming soon). I'm also moving forward with more careful intention. You can read about that here. This is new for me. I generally catapult myself on pure instinct - then "see where it all lands." The twists and turns have been exhilarating, and continue to allow me to keep singing my Econesting tune. While I could keep truckin' merrily along, I'm also taking in the larger landscape of what's next...

2 things on my mind right now:

1. It would be nice to monetize this blog. Any ideas?

2. I would like to collaborate more. Any ideas?

2 newsy-related items:

1. I will be profiled in the next issue of Where Women Create. This is an absolutely awe-inspiring honor to have 6-8 pages of magazine real estate devoted to…me. I promise to tell you more about that very soon.

2. If you are in the New York area and have any interest in starting your own blog, join me at Wing and Clover for a workshop: Blogging The Basics: A Niche and a Knack.

As the image above suggests, I'm clearing out and reconstructing for the new year. Will you be learning some new tunes - exercising your pipes differently in 2011?

Credit: Carl Kleiner via Design Love Fest (My dad was a trumpet and trombone player, and a master tinkerer. He would have loved eco-art - although it wasn't called that yet.)

Living Inside A Snow Globe

snow-globe-photo5600 There is a simplicity to winter when a snowstorm casts a shadowy blanket of calmness onto the woods around our nests. Its quiet stillness is like the insulated caress of living inside a dome of snow. The storm at my home arrived right after the barreling in of far-flung children, presents and all the holiday festivities. In its wake, the storm left us a winter wonderland, but no chance to fulfill our travel plans to drive to my mom's on Sunday. Instead, the four of us unplugged, unwound and reconnected as a family. It is in this calmness that I hope you also had a moment to step back and enjoy the wonderland of your life.

Make and Shake Snow Globes

I had a small childhood collection of souvenir-type snow globes. They are long gone, but those tiny window wonderlands pop into my thoughts each winter.

When I was a teacher, I created snow globes with the school kids for holiday gifts for their parents from this adapted Martha Stewart project. It was my way of sharing everything I love about winter (which you can read more about here, here and here).

Materials:

A jar (baby food or olive jars work well)

Ceramic figurines

Small evergreen tips or flowers from craft shops

Glitter or fake snow

Distilled water

Glycerin (available in drug or health food stores)

Clear drying waterproof epoxy

Small piece of sandpaper

What to do: 1. Sand the inside of the lid until the surface is rough. 2. Adhere the figurine to the inside of the lid with epoxy and let dry. 3. Fill the jar almost to the top with distilled water. 4. Add a pinch of glitter–not too much or the glitter will stick to the bottom of the jar when it is flipped. 5. Add a dash of glycerin. 6. Screw on the lid tightly, being careful not to dislodge the figurine. 7. Shake the jar and watch it snow!

Photos: Materialicious, LA Times,  Martha Stewart

DIY Eco-Gifts For The Yoga Enthusiast On Your Holiday List

A regular yoga practice can be a welcome stress reliever. Yoga provides an opportunity for relaxation and quiet reflection that calms anxious holiday bodies and minds.

Whether the yoga enthusiast on your list practices slow-paced Hatha Yoga, or hot, hot Bikram Yoga, I bet they would love these 3 handmade yoga items:

1. The complementary practices of knitting and yoga make this Knitted Yoga Mat Bag an inspired gift.

2. Your yoga enthusiast will love these supportive, softly-sanded handmade Wooden Yoga Blocks.

3. I just love these Yoga Pose Cookies (hint, hint). Here's a healthy gingerbread cookie recipe that is sure to have a heart opening effect on your yogini.

For 8 more yoga gifts CLICK HERE.

Namaste.

Photos: Baked Ideas, Canadian Living, Yoga Direct

DIY Eco-Gift For The X-traordinary Techie On Your Holiday List

Do you have a techie on your list that goes to extraordinary measures to repurpose electronic items that would otherwise be relegated to the landfill? I bet that person has a bunch of dead computers lying around (doesn't everyone). When a dead computer gets thrown away, it does not biodegrade. It just lives in its toxic hole and continues to die a slow death - Yikes!

Computers can be reincarnated, and 62 Projects To Make With A Dead Computer (and Other Discarded Electronics), by Randy Sarafan will have your techie turning dead computers, printers, cell phones, iPods and keyboards from trash into treasure. They'll even learn how to make an iMac terrarium, a laptop digital photo frame, a mouse pencil sharpener, and a slew of amazing new creations.

Who knew?

Photo credit: Amazon (...but buy it locally if you can)