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This installation, check by Thomas Voorn via Design Milk portrays all that I love about winter (which is almost everything except shoveling).
This image danced across my computer screen as the flakes began to fall.
Dust of Snow ~ Robert Frost
The way a crow Shook down on me The dust of snow From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart A change of mood And saved some part Of a day I had rued
You've heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, right? But, have you heard about DIY December? Probably not, because I am introducing it right here, right now on econesting!
Last year, I created an ambitious holiday gift guide for Planet Green. It was called, Truly Gifted: An A-Z DIY Holiday Workshop For Everyone On Your Holiday List. It was my anecdote for curbing spending, raising my eco-consciousness and reconnecting with something I love to do: create handmade gifts for my family and friends.
The introductory post to the Truly Gifted series is the only post not showing up on the Planet Green site, so here's an excerpt:
"I did the unthinkable. I ventured into New York City on Black Friday. It was mostly a social visit, but it was hard not to get caught up in the shopping frenzy. You would never guess from the amount of people who braved the stores with their fellow throngs of holiday revelers that there was ever a weakness in our economy, or that our planet was overdue for an eco-consciousness-raising. I found myself tripping over a minefield of holiday stuff and compromising my personal eco-footprint right and left. After an exhausting few hours, I was happy to be tucked back into my nest. The experience reached my deepest resolve to buy less and make more.
Sure, you could go out and buy eco-friendly gifts for everyone on your list, or save gas and time by shopping online. But why succumb to more spending and unnecessary waste? Creating gifts for others allows you to share your great green intention of respecting the planet, by passing along to your recipients the awareness of treading lightly on the environment."
5 DIY Gift-Making Tips
DIY December
During the next few weeks leading up to the crescendo of all winter holidays - Christmas, I will provide an alphabetical array of green DIY inspiration for everyone on your holiday list. Since I wrote a post for every letter of the alphabet (absolutely exhausting, but fun), I'll be including excerpts and new information. The posts will have an eco-friendly DIY project for everyone on your list. How cool is that?
Revving to get started? Here's a real easy project to get you in the DIY gift-making and giving mood:
DIY Gift Tags
Forget store bought gift tags, Lolly Chops provides stylish free patterned, downloadable gift tags to print out and personalize.
I'll be posting a blizzard of DIY projects. So don't forget to check back each day for greenest of holiday gifts you can make yourself.
Photos: Emma Innocenti via Planet Green, Lolly Chops
Having just written a popular Care2 post last week, How Grateful Are You? Take The Test, I thought I was ready to shift into a few posts about the winter holidays. Instead I found myself contemplating a peaceful way to get away from the clutches of the Holiday Creep. Now it's time to delve into another topic that tugs at some of us as we merrily inch closer to holidays ~ Holiday Traditions. It's a biggie around here.
Do you have more than one set of holiday traditions in your home? If so, I believe that with compromise and understanding, the symbols and rituals of Christmas and Hanukkah can be interwoven to create new traditions.
When I wrote about this a few years ago, I Goggled around to find statistics about interfaith families. I discovered that approximately 25-35 percent of American couples are part of an interfaith relationship. This makes the winter holidays a uniquely mixed blessing.
I’ve always approached the issue of blending Hanukkah and Christmas from gut feelings. These include sharing the best of both faiths and the richness of a multicultural extended family. Around here it is not fraught with difficulty or resentment. We are all rather enriched by the integrity, sensitivity and respect we share about the subject. When my kids were young we talked about the acceptance of discovering new traditions by reinforcing the similarities instead of the dividing differences. We stayed connected to our respective holiday traditions and built new ones together. This year is a bit easier, as Hanukkah starts on Wednesday. Then in a few weeks the Christmas tree decorations can be hauled out (we're always a little late getting the tree up).
Here’s a mix of somewhat unusual and non-traditional ideas for bringing the symbols of Hanukkah and Christmas into your home. Does your family blend together holiday traditions?
Econesting Notes:
Please check back tomorrow because I have a surprise for those of you who have a long holiday gift list. I promise to offer a creative eco-friendly alternative. Stay tuned and...
Happy Hanukkah to those who light the menorah this week!
Photo: Life Magazine
At the beginning of the heating season, I'm all gung-ho about heating with wood. Hauling wood is exhilarating exercise, and the oh-so-toasty radiance of a wood fire is enchanting. After the initial infatuation wears off, I start grumbling about it…mostly, about the mess.
2 Problems, 2 Solutions:
Problem: There are splintery pieces of wood that gather around the stove which makes walking barefoot treacherous (and messy).
Solution: Remodelista presented a beautiful wall-mounted log holder via Skona Hem. Not only does this wood holder look handsome, it frees up floor space. While it may be an inspirational solution, I can't read a word of Swedish, and there are no particulars of where to purchase such an item. Has anyone found an off-the-floor solution for the in-house wood stash?
Problem: This morning I piled up a few logs into my arms, stoked the fire, then ran out to have breakfast with friends. Someone commented that my jacket made me look like a porcupine. I looked down and there were spikes of wood embedded into the fleece. Geeze.
Solution: While writing Stalking The Wood Pile, I came across this DIY wood tote on the Whipup site. It’s stylish, functional and easy to make. The creator of the project was in the process of building a house and says, “I made this firewood tote to help move all the logs to the house site. This firewood tote sews up super fast, and will make carrying wood to your fireplace, or building a house just a bit easier.” Brilliant!
Download the DIY pdf instructions and CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Photo Credits: Rais, Remodelista, Whipup
"If music be the food of life, play on." ~ Shakespeare
Music’s relationship to brainpower and wellness is truly music to my ears. The NAMM Foundation website outlines the positive effects of music-making on stress hormones, the development of new skills, confidence level, memory loss, self-esteem and overall mood.
To find some benefits of making music that you may have never heard about, read my full post HERE.
Possibly, even more remarkable than all the glowing accolades from the NAMM reports, is how music feeds the soul. Music, the book by photographer and filmmaker, Andrew Zuckerman is sure to be holiday gift hit. In this highly entertaining trailer for the book (via SwissMiss), musicians from different musical genres describe their relationship with their "food of life" ~ music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o1hP_Mlc_A
Photo from Ben Fink
More econesting music: Living With Green Music Oil and Water Don't Mix (with video) Dar Williams Talks Sustainable Living, Music And The Book That Kicked Her Ass (Interview) “One World, One Love” – Charity and Peace In The House of Marley
