Eco-Tip Wednesday ~ Free Cycle

I don't know if your town is like mine, but they only take 1's and 2's. I'm talking about recyclable plastic containers. For some reason, they only accept the ones that have the numbers 1 and 2 on the bottoms. I'm sure there's a good reason, but I don't know what it is. They also don't accept any cardboard with a foil coating. So whenever I come across an item that I use a lot and it's not recyclable, I think of ways I can reuse them instead of throwing them away. Two such items in my household these days are the small lidded containers that my son's baby food comes in and the foil coated cardboard cans that my son's baby formula comes in. I've been setting these aside for a few weeks now and needed to find a use for them.

So what I did was joined my local chapter of The Freecycle Network. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free.

I use some of the baby food containers to store & freeze baby food that I make myself, but I don't have a use for the other containers and cans. So I listed my items, waited for someone to reply with interest and then arranged for them to come to my house to pick them up! I just placed them on my porch and off they went to a good home. An art teacher, and a couple of local charity groups got dibs on the formula cans and I hope that someone into beading or other craft snags the lidded containers! They are clear and are the perfect size to store beads, buttons, and other findings.

Another way to avoid using items that aren't recycled by your township is to reduce the amount of non-recyclable products that you buy. At the grocery store, simply look on the bottom of the container and if your town doesn't take it, choose another brand that packages the item in something recyclable!

Back From Vacation

Hi everyone! My family and I were on vacation for a week down in Florida. We got back yesterday afternoon and I've been unpacking and crawling out from under the huge pile of laundry since. I tell ya...travelling with a baby is a lot different than travelling with just my husband and I! However, Cooper was an absolute angel all week long and was such a good little guy on both plane rides. He had a blast in the pool and even came home with two more teeth than he left with! Now he's got two on the bottom and two on the top. Makes for an adorable sight whenever he smiles. He slept for 12 and a half hours last night and just woke up from a three hour nap....we know who's glad to be back in his own cozy crib! Well, I know I'm behind in the Eco-Tip of the week so I'll have to post that next! It's nice to be "connected" again and be able to blog, email, and update my websites again. Stay tuned for more!

Eco Tip Wednesday ~ Re-Bag It!

Did you ever stop to think just how many non-biodegradable plastic bags your local grocery store goes through in a week? Okay, on a big trip, you use maybe 8 to 10. Multiply that by all the people that were in line with you...then all the people who shopped there that day, then think about all the stores across the country and all the customers. Man, that's a lot of bags! And do you know where they come from? Oil. Yes, those thin, flimsy bags are made from oil that we import from other countries. I don't need to go into the reasons why we shouldn't be depending on said countries for oil...but what I will say is this:

Most stores these days are offering 99 cent reusable bags AND they're paying YOU to use them! That's right...Shop Rite, for example, pays you 2 cents per bag that you bring back to the store. Even if you bring 10 and fill up only 2, they still give you 2 cents per bag that you brought. I've seen these bags several stores so far and they are usually green (Wegmans has froo-froo black ones) and have the stores' names on them. Sometimes the cashiers don't even know where they keep them but they're usually on and end cap or right near the registers. Costco even sells a set of three large ones for about $3.50 for your bulk items.

After using my canvas and green reusable bags for quite a while, I kept getting angry at myself for using the plastic produce bags. So I ordered some of these great mesh ones made by remarket of Etsy. They have a nice draw string on them and they are see-through so the cashier can read the produce stickers. I love them and plan on never using plastic bags at the grocery store again. Oh, and don't stop at the grocery store...I take my reusable bags everywhere I shop...Target, the fabric store, Kohl's, etc.!

Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

Apparently, I don't see it either way. What about you? According to this quiz, I see what's exactly in the glass. I never try to make a bad situation seem better than it is...But I also never sabotage any good things I have going on. I am brutally honest in my assessments of situations - and this always seems to help me cope. Here, I was thinking I was an optimist, but turns out I'm a realist.

Speaking of optimism...I was a sucker and bought a book that was discussed on the Oprah show the other day. The book is called Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't by Michael J. Losier. Basically, the more positive vibes you give out to the universe, the more positive things the universe will give back to you. It sounds hokey, but since I've been reading the book and practicing a bit of what it has to say, I have sold two handbags and two custom banner an avatar sets from my Etsy shop. Those two handbags have been sitting unsold for quite some time now. I determined my desire (to have more sales), focused on it and gave it attention (took several new photos of them) and while I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep I imagined opening up my email the next day and getting sales. Turns out that it has worked for me two days in a row. I know, I know, it's a coincidence...it's the new pictures that got me the sales. But coincidence is another term we often use to explain the almost inexplicable phenomenon that is the Law of Attraction. "Believe it or not!"

Swimmy

There once was a little fish named Swimmy who stuck out like a sore thumb. You see, he was all black and his friends were all red. One day a big tuna came and ate up all of Swimmy's friends...only he remained. From then on, all the other red fish in the sea spent their lives hidden away for fear of the big fish. Swimmy was not afraid! He convinced the other fish to come out into the world again by banding together and swimming as one big fish. Swimmy was the eye and he and his friends spent their day swimming around as one, chasing the tuna away.

This is how Etsy developers described what it's all about. "So our vision is to be the eye — to be a kind of organizing principle. We do not want Etsy itself to be a big tuna fish. Those tuna are the big companies that all us small businesses are teaming up against." Read the full article here.

So, get out your wallets and shop Etsy.com...your place to buy all things handmade. Take the handmade pledge and give your money to someone who has taken the time and love to make something by hand just for you!

The EcoEtsy Street Team is banding together and making many Swimmys out of all recycled items to send to Etsy so they can create a large display of the little black Swimmy with all his red friends. I'll post a pic of mine once I have him finished.

Swimmy Photo by Etsy user Rokali.

Eco Tip of the Week

At the suggestion of my sister, here is my eco-tip of the week! Instead of using paper towels to clean up around the house, why not buy some microfiber cloths that you can throw into the washer when you're done? I recently started doing this and not only does it save us money on paper products, it's great for the environment. Microfiber is super absorbent and picks up dust and dirt incredibly well due to the microscopic "hooks" created in the fibers during manufacturing. I got a large pack at one of the wholesale clubs. Coupled with an eco-friendly all purpose cleaner like Simple Green, you'll be on your way to a cleaner, greener, simpler life.

Pocket Full of Mosey

Jes Mosey of mosey.etsy.com has been tagged! Check out her blog to read five random things about her. While you're at it, browse her etsy shop for things like hats and wristlet made from repurposed wool sweaters. She adornes them with the most adorable little appliques inspired by nature...acorns, trees, little birds.

I Was Tagged!

I was tagged by my lovely sister Tracy from The Vintage Sister Studio...so here are 5 random, and unknown facts about me:

1. Similarly to my sister, I sleep with a stuffed Pound Puppy named Lucky (since I was 8 years old). Along those same lines, I'll tell you another embarassing secret. For some reason, I've always felt like stuffed animals have feelings. Like, I get upset when I see a dirty ratty old stuffed animal strapped to the front grill of a tractor trailer. I imagine what it would be like to be that poor thing! And if I'm picking out a stuffed animal or doll for someone at a store, I absolutely HAVE to buy the first one I pick up because I would feel so terrible putting it back down again.

2. After college, I drove across the country with three other girls. The most memorable part of the trip was when we camped at this dinky little camground in Cody, Wyoming surrounded by mountains and cowboys (yummy). My friend Rebecca and I slept under the starry sky and made these rediculous plans to live out there one day. Looking back at that night I crack up at how rediculous I was but I will always remember how I felt. Good times.

3. I have had more than one steamy sex dream about Adam Sandler. I know, why Adam Sandler? I don't know. I just think he's so funny and I have always fallen for guys that make me laugh.

4. I cloth diaper my son Cooper. I even use cloth wipes. Apparently, I'm a member of a rare breed. My pediatrician, who is a member of a large, multi-office practice, says that I'm the only one he's seen who cloth diapers. Not one of my friends, not even my environmental co-workers use them. I don't understand it! My mom thinks I should hold a seminar through my pediatrician's office. Haha!

5. I am constantly doing stupid things and making dumb mistakes. Luckily I just laugh it off instead of getting mad. Like, "I'll just paint this thing in my good jeans...I won't get paint on them because I'll be really careful." Ruined jeans. "I'll put this piece of fabric aside so I don't cut it because it's my last bit." Picked it up 2 minutes later thinking "ooo, I have more of this fabric", and cut it up. Or, "I'll put this soda right here next to my sewing machine. I won't spill it because I'll be extra careful." Spilled soda, ruined project.

Now I have to tag someone else! Look out, it might just be you!

Garden State Treasuries

As an Etsy seller, to be included in someone's Treasury is a high honor! So, thanks to a couple of fellow Etsy gals, some of my things have been featured! Monica at dribsndrabs.etsy.com, used this Valentine's Day inspired handbag in hers and trashedclothing, a fellow Jersey girl, featured my overnight bag in her Treasury titled Keepin' It Dirty. The more comments and views they get on their Treasuries, the better the chances they will be featured on Etsy's front page! Thanks girls!

Little Birdies....

I recently loaded up my birdfeeder. From my second story studio window I can see the birds perched on the tree branches right above the feeder. They keep going up and down, up and down all morning long. I'm tempted to nerd it up and break out my bird field guide. Sometimes I wonder if any of my neighbors think I'm spying on them when I break out my binoculars! I sure hope not...and I also hope I never accidentally see something I'm not supposed to. Now that Spring is getting a little bit closer, my sister is starting to paint things with birds in them. Here is one of her most recent works of art. I love it, don't you?

My mom is it town from Florida so she can visit with my grandmother, who is not well. I've been helping her set up her own Etsy shop. It's called Green Baby Goods. She wants to get back into sewing and crafting and so she's been making some cloth baby wipes and burp cloths and selling them as gift sets. This is her most recent set, which has cute little owls on it. Check her out if you need a great baby shower gift. I made some of these for myself and I use them every single day.

Today is a gray kind of day and I'm still in my PJs. I think I might just stay in them all day long! I'm sure my baby Cooper won't mind one bit. :)

Valentine's Day SALE

Just to let everyone know, I'm having a Valentine's Day sale in my Etsy shop. Click on the Valentine's Day category (right hand side) and each item there has FREE SHIPPING and you'll recieve a Secret Valentine gift! Just click here!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I created this blog so that I could share a little bit more about myself and my ongoing projects with my customers on Etsy.com and my online shop at http://www.mandybbags.com/. For starters, I'm 31 years old, a mother of a baby boy (6 mo.), and wife of 6 1/2 years. I live in a NJ town not too far away from the city of Philadelphia, PA. I'm a stay-at-home mom until my little man turns one so I am able to do a lot of fun projects while he naps (I've been blessed with a good sleeper...don't hate me).

I've been sewing most of my life but in 2000, I started making funky handbags out of thrift store finds like housecoats and bedspreads. Ever since I got pregnant with my son though, I have been making baby products like diaper bags, slings, cloth wipes (I use cloth diapers too), burp cloths, embroidered onesies, loopy balls, baby blankets, etc. I really enjoy having a creative side and I sometimes wonder what I would do with my time if I didn't have a hobby. I am really lucky to have an entire room dedicated to my crafts and I like to call it my "studio" even though it's just a glorified bedroom. I literally used to have just a small corner to do my crafts when my husband and I lived in an apartment, so this is a really nice upgrade. My hubby has his basement, I have my craft room. I think separate space is good for a marriage! :)

More on me and my crafts later. If you stumble upon this blog and don't know where to find me, you can find me here:

mandybbags.etsy.com

mandybbaby.etsy.com

My talented sister can be found at thevintagesister.etsy.com