Recycling Balloons

Recently I snagged some balloons from an office party my company held. I liked the bright colors, they kind of cheer up my day! As a week or so passed and the balloons started to deflate and were no longer serving their decorative purpose I wondered what I could do with them other than throw them in the trash. And then I came to me....Gift Wrap of course!

Which is perfect since I just about refuse to buy wrapping paper...and thus is a nice change from the usual newpaper wrapping I do.

  

I poked a small hole in the already mostly deflatted balloons and was left with this flat balloons.

I wasn't able to use the front of the balloons as they had the company logo on them, but the backs were still good. I cut the back away from the front and that was it used it as wrapping paper.

I still have a bunch of leftover pieces of balloons so I cut them into strips and plan to use them as embellishements on other gifts as well. I really liked the shiney effect of the balloon foil. It will really jazz up some of our presents!

ECHOage Birthday Parties

Not to long ago I found myself at a 2 year olds birthday party. The party was full of adults and each one came bearing a present (or two or three) for this little youngster. As I watched each present get unwrapped and discarded, only to join a mountain of other toys already living in the toy chest I couldn't help but think to myself that not only was this way too many toys for one little person but also how wasteful it seemed to use up all that wrapping paper and spend on that money on things that may never get used. I knew there had to be a solution and shortly after I began my search I came across ECHOage.com.

ECHOage is a charity-driven, eco-friendly, online party service. No matter what your party theme or venue is this service will work! Everything is paperless and completed via email and online. Guests can RSVP online and make a monitary donation to the site. Half of all of the donations will go to you to contribute to the cost of your child's dream gift and the other half goes to the charity of your choice!

GO HERE TO READ MORE!

Not only is this an environmentally friendly party planning idea, it is easy on guest and allows your child to learn about how meaningful it is to give back to deserving charities!

Repurposing Newspaper

As kids my brother and I used old newspaper as mats to keep craft projects contained. My parents used it to help get the fireplace going in the winter time before they switched to gas. I have used it as packing material on multiple moves and furthermore, I have been saving the comics section of the Sunday newspaper to use as gift wrap for as long as I can remember. I love how colorful the comics section is and it works for any occasion if you have the right color ribbon.

We always recycle our weekly newspapers (minus the comics section which I save) so it's not like its going into the trash exactly, but I was recently feeling that there must be a better use for it. I did some searching and soon became very inspired to use my old newspapers (and cereal boxes, which you'll soon see) as more than just wrapping paper. Instead I made gift bags!

Here's how I did it:

First, pick some newspaper with print that you like. I used some with flowers, produce and comics (which are still my favorite).

Next cut a large rectangle. Mine started out as approximately 25 x 17 inches. Also, I doubled mine making it two-ply for more stability.

Next fold down about 2inches from the top and 1 1/2inches in on the side.

After that measure the length of your paper minus the 1 1/2inch side fold. Mine was 23inches. Then divide into four sides. I wanted my bag to be more rectangular than square so I divided my sides into two 4 1/2inch sides and two 7 inch sides. I marked this on my paper in order to know where to make my next folds.

Fold on each of the measured points and then connect the two ends by gluing them together. Also fold the inside edge underneath the top fold (see pictures below).



At this point I folded my bag flat creating creases that will make it easier to fold and store later.



Next I decided how deep I wanted to bag to be and folded there. I then measured down 2 inches (this will be folded to create the bottom in a moment) and trimmed off the excess.

Then fold the bottom in like you would a present and glue into place.

One of the last steps was to reinforce the bag slightly. I grabbed an empty cereal box and cut two 1 1/2 x 7 inch pieces. I slid these under the top fold on the long sides of the bag. I also cut another rectangle to reinforce the bottom of the bag.



Finally punch holes and add cord, ribbon or even shoelaces as handles. TA-DA! You've got a homemade, recycled, no cost gift bag!

Even the Prince thinks we should wear Vintage

I have spoken before about how important I think it is to reduce and reuse as much as possible. This is part of the reason I LOVE shopping thrift stores and flee markets and taking the old, making some alterations and giving it new life. "Vintage" is everywhere today - it's lining the pages of magazine, filling store front windows and walking the runway!

It turns out even the Prince of Wales agrees that we should be recycling more - and what better place to start than with our fashion trends! Check out what the Prince had to say to Vogue readers HERE.

FREE Reusable Bag from Nursery Water!

Nursery Water is giving away 100 FREE bags HERE at 12 noon EST daily.

I love these totes! I truly believe that everyone should be using reusable bags - but I understand that sometimes they can be a hassle to shelp around with you. This FREEBIE from Nursery Water has a fantastic design to fold up into itself. I got a similar bag for Christmas two years ago (thanks Mom!) and it is wonderful. They are super light weight and durable and it folds up into itself small enough to fit in my purse so I always have it with me, no more forgetting my bag at home or in the car. Sign up for yours today!

(Thanks, LivingRichWithCoupons!)

Recycle Bank Codes

NEW CODES = FREE ONE YEAR MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION

There are new codes available on Recycle Bank. If you haven't sign up yet, you should! To find out more and grab two codes worth 15 points each go here to Amanda's post at SimpleSavingSavvy. Using these codes alone you can grab a free one year subscription to multiple magazine and still have some points left over - I think I'm going to sign up for MarieClaire and maybe order Esquire for the boyfriend!

Clothing Inspiration!

 

New Dress A Day. 365 Days. 365 Outfits. 365 Dollars.

Click the link above to check out one of my new favorite blogs. My mom actually found this blog and shared it with me! I'm obsessed! I find this so inspiring. I am an avid thrift store shopper and rarely pay more than $5 for any given item - but these are the ultimate in finds! Its been months since my sewing machine seized and stopping working and I have yet to get it fixed, but I think I finally found my motivation in this blog!

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

Recycling:

My boyfriend is CRAZY about recycling EVERYTHING! I'm all in favor of recycling and saving the earth, in fact I took it upon myself to develop a recycling center at work. However, sometimes he makes my head spin....for example recently I was reprimanded for not putting the empty toilet tissue roll in the paper recycling...really who is thinking of that when their scrambling for tissue because someone left only one square on the roll?! anyway...

We are lucky to live in a neighborhood that collects plastics #1-#7, all glass, tin/metal and all cardboard and paper products, so we are able to put everything in one bin, unsorted, easy-peasy! Unfortunately not all towns make recycling so easy, and recently I discovered that despite the fact that the water bottle your recycling says its a #1 plastic, the cap is not. So what do you do with all those items that your pick up service wont collect?

Here are some ideas and places to recycle that I'd love to share:

Whole Foods - last year Whole Foods started a recycling program with Preserve called Gimme 5 where they will collect your #5 plastics. #5 is commonly used in yogurt containers, syrup bottles, ketchup bottles, caps, straws, medicine bottles, bottle caps, etc. The Gimme5 program also collects/recycles Brita water filters. The store will send all the plastic to Preserve, who uses it to make household products including toothbrushes, razors, tableware, and kitchen products. Pretty cool right?!

Staples - Staples with collect and recycle your old ink and toner cartridges for free and even give you $3 Staples cash in return which you can use on anything in the store. Go here to read more. Additionally, Staples partners with Collective Good to offer free recycling of personal electronics such as mobile phones, PDAs, pagers, digital cameras, and chargers. They also offer free rechargeable battery recycling in partnership with the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation. Furthermore, for a small $10 free (which covers shipping and handling costs) Staples will recycling your old computers and monitors as well. WOW - Go Staples!

Plastic bags - Although I am a HUGE supporter of using reusable shopping bags, we are all bound to end up with a plastic bag now and again. If you haven't yet noticed, take a look around the entrances to your local grocery stores. Many are now collecting plastic bags to be recycled. Just drop them in the bin and you're on your way. Another idea is to donate the bags to local thrift stores and food banks who will use them to distribute goods to their customers. My local thrift store is always short on bags and thrilled to see people bring them in!


More ideas and tips to come.....


If you have any recycling ideas to share, please feel free to comment below!