Need Some New Clothes? Consider Hosting a Clothing Swap....

Last night I had the pleasure of meeting a great bunch of women and then riffling though their clothes!! I have been into the idea of hosting a clothing swap for quite sometime, but was thrilled to receive an invite from a friend of mine, whose friend had gone ahead and planned one. It has been a long time since I participated in a clothing swap and it was so much fun! In addition to clothes, there was food and drink, but since Kim and I were the only ones with nursing little ones we were only able to stay long enough to swap some clothes. In the end I brought a bag of clothes and accessories and came home with the bag full of new clothes!! And I got to meet about 12 other ladies, from all over Canada, Australia, the UK, Belgium, and The Ukraine. I love that the evening was environmentally responsible to boot. What a way to reduce, reuse, and recycle! And since only one of my friends was there I could still go ahead and host my own swap sometime soon. My goal would be to attend a swap for each new clothing season.

Hosting a Clothing Swap
Here are a few off the cuff tips on how to host a clothing swap that I gleaned from attending one. I think the less rules the better is the number one rule...

* Invite lots of lovely ladies via an email invite such as Evite. Invite everyone to invite their friends. The more, the merrier, and the best selection.
* Invite people to bring wine or other bevies and nibblies.
* Ask everyone to bring clothes that still have some wear left to them. No garage sale or thrift store bound items (nothing against these places since I LOVE them but sometimes the clothes are not in the best shape...).
* Encourage attendees to also bring shoes, accessories, whatever is clothing related. I brought a bunch of plastic hangers to share. And some women even brought paperback books.
* Do not make it mandatory for people attending to bring items. There will be lots of things to chose from anyway and usually someone who has not brought something will wait until the people who have have made their selections.
* As each person arrives lay out their clothes on the floor in rows so that things are folded but easily seen. As more and more people arrive you can hold up the items for all to view while organizing them.
* The only rule at the swap I attended was that if two women were "fighting" over the same piece of clothing that the person who brought the most clothes to offer to the swap could have the item.
* My rule was that I wanted to try on each item I was interested in so that someone else could have it if it didn't fit me.
* At the end of the evening whatever is left over can be bagged up for the local thrift store. You can ask attendees to help with this.
* Consider variations on this theme, such as a male/female event or even a kiddo event.


And if you and a close friend are both bringing items to the same swap and you are around the same size, consider looking at each others items BEFORE the swap. In the end, I think I ended up with four items from the friend I arrived with. One of them is this sexy little number above! I scored the perfect black cardigan to go over it and I can't wait to wear it on our 6th wedding anniversary this month!

Ikea Does Away With Plastic Bags in Their Canadian Stores!!

I JUST received this in my inbox. I am going to post the complete email. Good for them! I know a few small local businesses that have tried this, and you would be amazed at how consumers react. I hope that now that such a large retailer has taken this step, that others will follow, and someday everyone will just have to bring their reusable bags with them. We can do it, it is a simple but effective change.

(Click on the image to make it larger for easier viewing...)

Rechargeable Batteries -Call2Recycle

Squid Girl, reader of my other blog, found that blog using a Google Alert search on "Rechargeable Batteries". I had written a post about the new Digital Polaroid Camera. I can't even IMAGINE how many sites come up a day that mention Rechargeable Batteries! Anyway, she directed me to this link for Call2Recycle. The site can link you to 50,000 collection locations nationwide that accept dead rechargeable batteries and old cell phones (I posted about a local cell phone recycling program recently). As the site says, "It is free. It's convenient. It's responsible". Check it out!

Feeling Accomplished...

Yesterday, I made a submission to a book project that I pretty excited about. I made it in just under the wire, submitted on the deadline day. I know it seems like I do that a lot but it is not in most cases that I am a procrastinator, it is that I literally seem to find out about things like this the day before. Such is the case here. I was checking out the Etsy home page, and the bottom of the page, where the Storque articles scroll by, caught my eye. Garth Johnson, of ExtremeCraft.com, is compiling a book called 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse. The book, which is being published by Quarry Books, is a great idea! From what I can tell it will be a gallery of sorts, no how-tos, just photographs of finished projects. The best examples of paper and book arts, jewelry, clothing, home and personal accessories, furniture, art, and miscellanea will be feature and Johnson put out the call through Etsy, to designers, artists, and crafters for submissions. There will be no cash payment for those selected but there will be lots of glory and a 50% discount on buying the book.


Mosaic Table by Tiffany Teske

I submitted 20 photographs for about 12 projects of mine. I was thrilled that Quin could go up to play at Norquay for the day so that I could work on it. It took me the better part of the day, even though I already had all the photographs. I needed to resize them to the required specs, make an image list complete with dimensions and materials used, and to file out a grant of rights. And you know how when you are trying to upload things, your computer never seems to work right? It took me a long time to upload everything but I really felt awesome when it was all done. I think it is important to always have good photographs of your work on hand. They can really come in handy when you have very little time to get together a submission. I am on pins and needles to hear back about whether any of my projects will be featured... stay tuned!


Tsotchkes Bowl by Tiffany Teske

Feeling Accomplished...

Yesterday, I made a submission to a book project that I pretty excited about. I made it in just under the wire, submitted on the deadline day. I know it seems like I do that a lot but it is not in most cases that I am a procrastinator, it is that I literally seem to find out about things like this the day before. Such is the case here. I was checking out the Etsy home page, and the bottom of the page, where the Storque articles scroll by, caught my eye. Garth Johnson, of ExtremeCraft.com, is compiling a book called 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse. The book, which is being published by Quarry Books, is a great idea! From what I can tell it will be a gallery of sorts, no how-tos, just photographs of finished projects. The best examples of paper and book arts, jewelry, clothing, home and personal accessories, furniture, art, and miscellanea will be feature and Johnson put out the call through Etsy, to designers, artists, and crafters for submissions. There will be no cash payment for those selected but there will be lots of glory and a 50% discount on buying the book.


Mosaic Table by Tiffany Teske

I submitted 20 photographs for about 12 projects of mine. I was thrilled that Quin could go up to play at Norquay for the day so that I could work on it. It took me the better part of the day, even though I already had all the photographs. I needed to resize them to the required specs, make an image list complete with dimensions and materials used, and to file out a grant of rights. And you know how when you are trying to upload things, your computer never seems to work right? It took me a long time to upload everything but I really felt awesome when it was all done. I think it is important to always have good photographs of your work on hand. They can really come in handy when you have very little time to get together a submission. I am on pins and needles to hear back about whether any of my projects will be featured... stay tuned!


Tsotchkes Bowl by Tiffany Teske

Reusing Packing Peanuts

I seem to accumulate packing peanuts and bubble wrap like there is no tomorrow. Especially over the holidays, since all of our family lives a far and they love to send things to us (thanks everyone!). This year I found myself with a large box of perfectly reusable peanuts and wrap. However, I already have enough of this stored to mail about 100 packages. It is time to pass some of it along. Since I love finding people who need what I don't want on Freecycle, I posted what I have available late last night. This morning, I have two emails. One, from the people I will give it to, who are moving in the spring. The other email contained the following suggestions:

1) Bring the packing peanuts and bubble wrap to a local store that would us them, like a kitchen store. We live in an area that mostly has independent shops, and I am sure the owners would be happy to save on expenses and take these off my hands.
2) Bring them to the UPS store. This is a chain that I would think would have plenty of this stuff, but the writer of the email had done this in the past. I supposed even UPS is watching their bottom line and it is nice that they are open to recycling. I would expect most chain store to have silly policies that reject recycling...
3) Bring them to a thrift store. I visit our local one almost weekly. Of course they would like these, since they have many breakable items people need to get home in one piece.
Thanks, BG, for the suggestions.

Additionally, by serendipity, I came across a new favorite blog recently, called Craft a Green World. Kelly Rand just posted on "Crafty Reuse of Packing Peanuts". It contains this link to Instructables' "How to Fill an Office with Packing Peanuts" which is totally hilarious! I wish I had an office to do this to! Her other suggestions include using them to repack your ornaments and holiday breakables, for stuffing pet beds and decorative pillows, in the bottom of plant pots, or call the shipper to see if they will take them back...

...that last suggestion helped me remember that I had once seen that B&H Photo Video, who I frequently ordered from when I lived in the states, has a program for recycling packing peanuts. I dug out the brochure, since I could not seem to find anything on their website, and right on the front page in bold letters is says, "To recycle Stryofoam "peanuts" or packaging, call the Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214". After some more web research I found out that the Peanut Hotline, under the Plastic Loose-Fill Council, is a nationwide (US) consumer reuse program. If you call that number it will give you the closest location that will accept your peanuts. I think it would be safe to say there are probably others services like this out there that can found with a little digging.

As for actual crafts... I was thinking you could make packing peanut garlands or "beaded" curtain strands. I did a search on "crafts using packing peanuts" and almost everything that popped up was a kid site or kid related craft, which does interest me since I teach the local recycled arts and crafts program for the after school program. The Paper Bag Octopus uses the packing peanuts to represent suction cups but seems like you could also stuff the paper bag with peanuts, instead of the wadded up newspaper that is suggested. The Toothy Puppet uses packing peanuts for teeth. In keeping with the holiday theme, here are directions for making a recycled Christmas wreath. If you really want to reuse your peanuts by crafting, there are tons of ideas on the web.

The same goes for bubble wrap. Here you can make a Bubble Wrap Footstool. I am intrigued by this project on DIY Network, which uses bubble wrap and bleach to bleach a pattern onto paper. I am not much of a scrapbooker but could use it in my mixed media work. Once again, no end to the possibilities on the web.

If you have an idea fora reuse or a craft using bubble wrap or packing peanuts, please comment here! Cheers!

30 Things in 30 days - #24 - Stop Storing Data on CDs

I am a photographer by profession. I got to a point where I was up to my eyeballs in CDs. Before external hard drives were affordable and easy to find at the local electronics store, I would burn images to CDs for storage and for bringing orders to my pro lab for printing. Now, don't even get me started as to why CDs are a stupid way to store important information. Have you ever lost important information because a disc was scratched to the point of no return? And they take up so much room. Maybe not to your average bear, but to me, volumes. I may be a professional but people these days are camera crazy and digital has made it even more so. So, really, everyone should have the same problem.

For data storage at home, I have an external hard drive. It is a My Book which has a 1 TB (One gigabyte (GB) = one billion bytes, One terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes). It will hold up to 285,000 photos! Yes! Awesome! So easy to set up and use. And I have no idea the cost comparison to buying CDs but I know that it is a lot smaller and more useful than scads of CDs.

But what really got me thinking about this post was taking an order to the photo lab the other day. I used to burn an order, no matter how small, to its own CD, so I could transport it to the lab (unless I was using a lab with FTP capabilities, then I just uploaded to the lab). This was before flash drives. As I was uploading something to my flash drive the other day, I realized I should post about this. If you are not planning to bring your actual memory card to your photo lab, don't keep burning discs. Invest in a compact flash drive or a travel hard drive. The flash drive is great for taking images to the lab. The travel hard drive is great for uploading photos from your camera or memory card while traveling, so you can clear your card for more images. There are many kinds of flash drives and travel hard drives out there. I have the travel drive that is in the link.

Shelve the CDs. Equip yourself and reduce the waste.

30 Things in 30 Days - #23 - Green Weddings Part Two

Here we go again. More Eco Friendly wedding tips:

- If you are serving wine at your wedding, make it organic. You can find out about organic wines made around the world at Organic Vitners.

- Serve Fair Trade, organic coffee and teas at your reception. You will find helpful information here.

You know, I think this is getting a bit complicated, and I was looking for simple tips. Sooooo, I will continue these posts at another time, maybe a series on green weddings. But will move on to 7 more simple tips to close out this series.

30 Things in 30 Day - #21 - Harvest Rainwater

This is a new idea to me. I mean, I do know that people collect rain water. And it makes sense. I just never really thought much about it. I am always excited to learn new things and if you search the internet for "Harvesting Rainwater" you will find quite a bit if information. Harvested rainwater can be used to water your plants, both indoors and in your outdoor containers, as well as for lawns and gardens. Rain barrels are simple receptacles that collect water during rainy times, that can be used during dry times. It is best to place your barrel where there is some run off, such as under your home's gutter. You can store your harvested water in a large rain barrel. Rain water is soft, which plants like best, and it doesn't contain chemicals like chlorine or fluoride. This water can also be used for cooking, cleaning, or drinking, if properly treated.


Some people take great pride in decorating their rain barrels so they are true works of art. Here are some tips on how to. Have fun!

30 Things in 30 Days - #7 - Reusable Produce Bags

I need to get out my sewing machine. I am not very good at sewing but I think a perfect project to get me practicing would be to make reusable produce bags. I am always surprised when I go looking for these in stores and don't find them. I just had a lightning bolt tonight that you could use the mesh lingerie bags that people use for laundering their unmentionables in the washing machine. However, these bags are quite fancy with their zippers, and possibly a bit heavy on a produce scale. Check out these options on Etsy from The June Bride (simple, lovely bags), Fickle Faerie (who has color choices), and AMK Designs (who supplies a super cute and useful storage bag with hers). Sales must be exploding because a couple of months ago there was only one shop making that I knew of making these on Etsy. She could not keep up with the demand. I better get out my machine...

30 Things in 30 Days - #6 - Reusable Lunch Bag Options

Remember when we had lunch boxes as kids? That was soooo great! I always loved picking mine out when my old one had become worn out, cracked, or otherwise unusable. Kids are so hard on their stuff! I actually recently purchased a Snoopy lunch box that was probably from when I was a kid. It was $2 at a thrift store and I could not resist. It will probably hold letters or other odds and ends in my studio, but it got me thinking about lunch options...

I wrote about the ultra cool reusable lunch options by Laptop Lunches, here. And I mentioned Binski Studios in the post below that relates to reusable shopping bags. It was while I was researching for that post that I found this awesome Design Your Own lunch tote, which uses gorgeous Amy Butler fabric. Check it out! Your lunch tote won't be like anyone else's.



And if you really want to be unique, how about this $75 vintage French yellow and black enamel lunch box from Eurolux Antiques.



I LOVE this see through lunch box, from Five Petals Red, and what a great price! If it is sold it is because I bought it!



And if it is a vintage cartoon lunch box you are after just go to Etsy and search lunch box under the vintage category. Pee Wee Herman, Rainbow Brite, The Partridge Family, they are all here! Come on, ditch your plastic shopping bag or paper lunch bag, find something reusable that you really love so you will look forward to bringing your lunch from home AND you will help our environment.

30 Things in 30 Days - #5 - Reusable Shopping Bags

What simpler way to help our environment then to start using reusable shopping bags? There are soooooo many options from the utilitarian, walking advertisement bags from your local grocery store to absolutely lovely and fashionable bags such as the ones made by my friend's sister-in-laws at Skeeda to this insulated beauty from Binski Studio. Oh, and my friend, Sheasy, recommended Chico bags which you can fold up and stick in your purse when not using. This will certainly be a plus for those people who forget their bags at home or in their trunk. Don't worry, it happens to all of us!

I have blogged on at length about reusable shopping bags. For more info and statistics please see my other posts here and here.