Gift Cards

So I found another use for used gift cards~ as this is my idea out of the gate but for me it's a nice addition to my used gift card line! Guitar picks! my son plays a little and he thinks they are cool!
You can get a set over at my easy shop www.RadicalRecycks.etsy.com  If you have a custom request let me know!

Holiday Waste

So now that the holiday's are over (with the exception of New Years) what are you going to do with all those cards you received from thoughtful folks that were thinking of you this Christmas? throw them away? I think not! at the very least recycle them but maybe first you should tear then in half and flip them over and use the black sides for notes, list, to-do's! then when your done recycle them!

Did you remember to recycle all that wrapping paper & boxes?

Mail Trash

So yesterday the gifts I purchased online start to pour in and I am thinking what am I going to wrap them in? I am not sure if I have enough packing paper saved up from the year to wrap everything so I had seen that there was a tutorial on how to turn a tyvek (those postal envelopes that you can't tear) envelope into something not sure didn't read the tutorial but I am sure this is how it turned out! so I went down stairs (hobbled because I pulled my lower back garbage picking on Monday!) and whip up this cute bag from a priority envelope! it could so be used for a Thank You gift and you could just circle the word Thank you that is printed all over the inside of the bag! but for Christmas it to will work since it's red right? So now I am looking at the mail in a whole new light!

Odd Cool Stuff!

I get this daily email from Thrillist.com it kind of seems more geared towards men but they have all kinds of weird stuff on there like a weird converter ~ 1 Tom Cruise = 133 placentas ! or a beer shooting cooler. Today's was this GymyGym chair which is an exercising office chair but the best part is it is made from 95% recycled materials! check it out http://gymygym.com I would love to have one at work!

Party time

I am sure you know that I work at a place that sells swing sets and because we have a hugh indoor showroom we had two party rooms built when we built the building so on weekends there are up to 8 parties! well I put recycling bins in the party rooms, a sign on the wall guilting them into recycling for their children and even a sign on the party room door but to my dismay only a few of them actually recycle! I ask the employees to leave the trash from the sunday parties so I can sift thru it on Monday pulling out all the plastic bottles, returnables, plastic silverware, juice pouches and any wrapping paper that hasn't found the food! The saturday parties trash tends to start smelling by sunday so the employees  feel them must toss it so I figure I have to let it go and know that I am doing something by saving those who had parties on Sunday~ damn those Saturday folks!lol!

Well a lot of people out there make all sorts of stuff from juice pouches and I really don't feel I need to travel that road since it's so well traveled (I like to take the road less traveled & bumpy) but everytime I have a show I get the "oh you make stuff like those juice pouch bags" No people I don't! but to stop them from saying that & the fact that I do come across a poop ton of pouches I decided to make these juice pouch Pockets! everyone loves them and at $2 a pop who wouldn't!

One thing leads to another

I joined a easy team!! yeah! and then when I went to the team page there were links and I started clicking which lead to more stuff like this  http://www.etsypreneur.com/ . I have signed up but not sure what it's all about really and I think it's pretty new. You should check it out if you have an etsy shop it seems like it might be a good thing and if nothing else it won't hurt!

Craft Appeal

Someone on Etsy suggested I check out this site called Craft Appeal so I did and posted something and I won!! Sweet huh? here's my Award.

Eco-Friendly Award | Art & Crafts Awards | November 2010

other's inspire the fire

I have been making MoHawk hats for awhile now and have been wanting to make a toddler size but haven't really had the fire to sit down and do it~ well someone asked me to make a custom MoHawk hat for their toddler ~ so there was my fire! Now for the Hawk well she wanted some oranges and grays well before she could suggest it I had the ahh moment and thought why don't I tye dye it and dye the roving like I would a lump of yarn~ then she suggested something along those lines as well! I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of doing the Hawks that way before! Funny how somethings are right in front of your face but you can't see them!
Here's a picture of one of the toddler MoHawk hats I made. Love this one so much I'm thinking of making one for myself! you can see more at www.FiberJuJu.etsy.com

Recycle~Upcycle

One of my items today made it to someone's Treasury! So when I went to check out the Treasury ( which can be found here http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ce5d0d1aeef8eefdd137a8b/trashed-up-for-real?index=0 )
I found these cool Newpaper bags~ I have wanted to make these but just haven't had time and now I don't have to at a great price for 3 of them! and she even uses that strapping that is around newspapers for the handles~ very clever!  Check them out~

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62273870/handmade-set-of-3-newspaper-gift-bags?ref=tre-4ce5d0d1aeef8eefdd137a8b-8

Happy Accident!

The other day I was getting all the Gift Cards cut up for assembly when I made a circle but it didn't get all of the image I wanted so I decided to cut out more of the center~ it didn't come to me right away ~ it was as I sat organizing the circle into the combo's I wanted when it hit me to use the "O" and I couldn't be happier with the results! not this open's up another world of possibilities!

New Purse

I have whipped up a T-Shirt purse this weekend~ well two of them so far but only one made the photo shoot! It's made from a Wolf T-shirt and I love how it came out! you can find the pattern here if you want to make one yourself or you can purchase one in a few days when I post it on my etsy site!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/56482797/bucket-bag-pdf-sewing-pattern

It's a great way to use up those old t-shirts!

Butter Love

I have been making butter for a bit now and doing it by shaking it in a jar~ I have been longing for a butter churn and keep seeing them at Antiques stores but can't break off with $125 which is what most of them were going for. This past weekend I stopped in an Antique store not to far from home and SCORED one for $40! there were a few for $65 as well but this one came with it's instructions & a Blue Moon recipe booklet.

This moring I whipped up some butter~ it is much easier and really the easiest part is the washing of the butter! I just poured out the butter milk and put a cup of cold water in and churned emptied and repeated until the water was clear. Boy at half quater cost $2.98 with only the carton to recycle and I got a heap load of butter!

Now for the handy dandy instructions that came with the Churn and some Recipes from Blue Moon!

Jello

I recently was at my mothers and for whatever reason was looking through her cupboards~ I know not nice right? but trust me she has things that she doesn't even know she has! so while looking I saw the jello mold from when I was a kid~ oh it brought back great memories so I let my brother know it was mine(he let me know the grandfather clock was his~ not a fair trade but to me it was)!  Well while I was at my friends house the other day I saw that she too had one of those molds and told her my story and that I loved that thing. She is such a good friend that she gave it to me! she said she doesn't use it  and she got it at a garage sale for a quarter and it's hard to pass up Tupperware that is only a quarter! My day was made and Jello was on the mind. Here it is before the unveiling but I won't show you that because it wasn't as pretty as my mom's I think  I didn't fill it up all the way so I will have to devour all this jello so I can make another one.

Project's in Work

Well I got into a Nov show and waiting on word for the December one but I do have a truck show in December so that should be good for some Christmas Cash!

Today I got all my Wristlets prepped and ready to be assembled! My friend cuts my patterns for me and I pay her so wait that means I have an employee! I'm moving up to being a real business!

Flower Pot

My god son and his siblings had their yearly birthday party so I wanted to make something special for their mom that would represent me and my love for them so I had the idea to make flowers from plastic bottles with stems made from plastic silverware and the pot was a soup can collage pauged then filled with plastic caps for the filler~ oh the best part was a picture of each one of them in the center of the flower~ you can see a picture of it on my Facebook Fan page just search Radical Recycks. So I was so loving how it turned out I decided to just make some with nothing in the middle for decoration~someone had given me these old Avon containers that I had not come up with anything for yet so they  made the perfect pot & instead of plastic caps since they were a bit to big for the pot I used those glass pebbles that I have had floating around my house for years now!! I used a plastic fork for the stem since i couldn't glue the steam to the flower. How cute would these look at a wedding shower for the guest gift!

Party Recycler

Well when ever I am invited to a party I am a freak about the recycling~ to the point I have everyone from the party coming up to me asking what they should do with their plates, cups, silverware, bottles, etc.... well I am sure in the back of their mind they think I am just a whack job but you know what to bad because I do what I do for their children! And I am sure they also wonder what in the world do I do with the recyclables? recycle them or hoard them ? Well here is what I created with the goods from the last birthday party~ flower magnets made from the Plastic water bottles! These particular magnets will be given away at the Yellow Door in Berkly Michigan for their Grand opening! the first 100 people get goody bags so if you live in Michigan I suggest you put this shop on your to do list! I just set my table up today~ and now that I see my goods with the table I need to go back next week and spruce it up!

Paper Crain

When I get internet orders I want to give them a special Thank you for their support but what to give them that is special enough yet not take up most of my time making? finally it came to me but i had to make sure i could do It because let's face it this origami is as easy as It looks. so i struggled a bit at first but after a couple of tries it all came together and i now have my special Thank you gift! it of course is made from old magazines!

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daily grind

only 10 more months until my dream becomes a reality. Everyday it is harder & harder to drag myself to the office but that's because there's light at the end of this tunnel. I know I will be scared to death when the final day approaches & my big plans for my new daily route will not be as i dream they will be but it's what i must do to make my life What i believe its meant to be!

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Gift Card Score

Look what one local store collected for me! Yes, they (won't say who) are helping keep plastic out of the landfill~ I can't get everyone to do it so I will be very excited for the ones that do! Now off to make something with them (already got necklaces down but maybe some earrings and bracelet to match!)

This is how long it takes for things to decompose if just out there as litter~ it will never ever break down in a landfill as dirty is put over the trash which does not let any sunlight it to do it's job of breaking things down but the dirty ends up mummifying it! I got this from Keesta.com

Here’s how long it takes for commonly used products to biodegrade, when they are scattered as litter:

cotton rags 1-5 months

paper 2-5 months

rope 3-14 months

orange peels 6 months

wool socks 1 to 5 years

cigarette butts 1 to 12 years

plastic coated paper milk cartons 5 years

leather shoes 25 to 40 years

nylon fabric 30 to 40 years

tin cans 50 to 100 years

aluminum cans 80 to 100 years 

plastic 6-pack shower holder rings 450 years

glass bottles 1 million years

plastic bottles forever 

No Pictures :(

I have no Camera it's driving me up a wall! *& I can can't find any of my back up's~ oh take that back the one I found is no longer in working condition! My daughter claims not to have it but everytime I find it I discover over 100 pictures that she has taken of herself on it! So I have been using my phone which is a great camera but then you have to email them to yourself and for whatever reason that didn't seem to be working out for me the other day when I took over 50 pictures of stuff that I needed to post! Ok breathe deep and hopefully it will turn up!

Sprouts

My beans are sprouting! I just read an article in Urban Farm on growing micro greens indoors which of course got me excited~I just imagined my house with all these sprouts all over the place but then remembered I don't live alone so I will just sprout one jar at a time! Its amazing how quickly they grow and are ready to eat in 4~5 days now how to trick hubby into eating them!

Yummy Paper!

I love paper & have to control myself when its back to school time & the paper is piled high. While @ Target this year I found tree free paper! Its actually made from stone. It feels so odd silky smooth yet heavy. I have yet to write in it for fear I will never have it again!
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Lately I have been wanting burlap coffee sacks & while I'm Denver my friend Sarah gave me a few that she had. Well my cousin called me yesterday day & asked me if I wanted some burlap coffee sacks & not just a few but a pick up truck amt! Well actually there's one more truck loads worth he is suppose to drop off so I think my sack longing is no more. Now what to make with them?

Sweet Treats

Just got home from Denver yesterday! It was fun filled with adventure, food & conversation ~ I miss my BFF already! while out there we found Gigi's cupcakes and they were so Yummy!! Cupcakes joints are popping up all over the place they are super hot right now and I hope they stay hot!.

It's about time Lady!

Well my freind has been on me that I need to make myself a purse to use as it's the best form of advertising! My friend Wendy from http://www.recycledlps.com/ cares around one of her album purses and someone noticed it and did an interview with her for national geographic! If you love it flaut it!

My problem is everytime I made one that I wanted I ended up selling it! the last one I drew up plans and everything just had some finishing touches. Then I did the Maker Faire and sold more than half my bags the first day so I had to finsih it up and put it out there for sale~ It was the first bag to sell the second day! So finally I made one for myself and here it is!

Heaven and Earth

Well today is my birthday and my saying is this "Today is the day Heaven & Earth Collided & created such a being as myself" Pretty fabulous isn't it? and yes I thought it up all on my own years ago so everyone only has to hear it once a year! It will be my last year in my 30's but next year on this day I should be in Vegas if all goes as planned!

So life once again has seem to be wild ~ every night I have plans which non are what I really need to be doing! I did however manage to get 18 jars of pears canned and 3 jars of salsa canned before the fruit flies carried us away! Now if I could just have a day or two before the next wave of pears become rip for fruit roll ups and dried pears life will be good!

I have been obsessed with making Gift Card necklaces so much so I have now cut up all of our credit cards! The one necklace I made of all Gold and Silver credit cards will be on display at the Janice Charach Gallery in West Bloomfield, Michigan starting September 2nd until sometime in October~ I should know these things shouldn't I??? I just like making the stuff everything else is just minor details! I have several for sale on my etsy site and the most treasured ones are the ones from Farmville gift cards and too boot I just kicked the farming habit after two years!

I also have whipped up some of these cuties they are Plastic Bottle Flower Necklaces! I still have to put these ones up on Etsy but again minor details! not so minor when I am broke and it's no joke huh?

Inspired Artist Workshop May 2011

I am pleased to say that I am going to be one of the Artist's at 

The 2011 Inspired Artist Workshop in Charlotte, NC

Limited Space 

Register Now!

Time to Make it a Go!

So it's been an eventful week! I put in my years notice at my day job~ I know a year everyone laughs at me when I tell them but it was agreed upon long ago that if I ever left I would have to give a year's notice and couldn't do it in the busy time of year so just before my 40th is when I will be on my own! Scary yet exciting. I read somewhere awhile back that a Goal is a dream with a deadline so I posted it on my computer screen at work and Made my goal~ to be on my own (no day job) before I'm 40! so here I am starting to make my Goal a reality! and I love my hubby for helping me reach my Goal!

I also did a Trunk show today at a hair Salon called "The Studio" in Farmington Hills, MI . I meet one of the salon owners at a Green Breeze show I did a couple of weeks ago and the show wasn't that good for me but so I thought! I met Tasha and honestly she is one of my biggest Cheerleaders! I love this Gal she just talks about my stuff with such Love!  I had a Great day there and meet a ton of Fantastic Ladies! I can't wait to go back!

Then on my way home from the Salon I stop at a road side place and got a bunch of corn to freeze and topped off my night with a dinner that had food from my garden in it!

Green Craft Issue #3

I am proud to say that I have an article in the lastest issue of Green Craft Magazine! It just hit news stands and it chalked full of fabulous "Upcycling" ideas which are sure to inspire you!!

I love this one made from bike tires!!

Tee Shirt Obsession

I cleaned out my closet and now I have all these shirts that just sit in a pile~ Alot of them are white with those discolored underarm areas so you can't give them away and other's have holes so what to do with them??

Well I came up making bracelets with them. Not only are they cute but they are absorbant on those hot days~ maybe I should make a headband.....Hmmm my wheels are turning!

Grey Tee Shirt

White Tee Shirt ~ Then Tye Dyed

Now you can only use so much of the tee shirt to make bracelets so what to do with the rest?? Well make Tee Shirt Rag Rugs that what! I already have a few of these~ one in my bathroom and one in the bedroom.