Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone!!!! In honor of this day, my monthly give-away will be one of my favorite green products from my shop - a large wet bag made with this gorgeous new 40% bamboo/60% cotton fabric from Robert Kaufman. I love it! And if you're curious as what you can use the wet bag for, click here :) To participate, just leave a message to this posting by April 30th and let me know your favorite green tips (what you do to try to be more "environmental" and to decrease your carbon footprint) . I'll use the random number generator to pick the winner :)


RK has some fantastic environmentally friendly fabrics in their greenSTYLE collection - check it out!

And for anyone who receives the magazine PREGNANCY and NEWBORN, you'll find mention of my small wet bags on Page 42. Pretty neat!


Steph tagged me a little bit ago to share 7 things about myself... it's kind of sad that I was able to come up with even more random oddities without much thought!

1) Hubby's nickname for me is "Signs"... ever see the movie? There's a little girl in it that has a really annoying habit of leaving half-filled glasses of water all over the house (which eventually ends up saving the family from aliens that low-and-behold get hurt when water touches them). I have this annoying habit as well and every night I have to go around and gather up the glasses.

2) I had my 15 minutes of fame a few years back when my dentist recommended me to a Boston news station to do a feature on teeth grinding. It was actually a pretty neat experience - they came to our apartment and filmed there. I had to pretend that I was sleeping in my bed - too funny!

3) I am REALLY, REALLY, REALLY clutzy for some reason. Hubby's family were up this weekend and kept commenting on how many bruises I have on my legs. You can only blame so many on the infant car seat....

4) I am *so* not a morning person.

5) Whenever I've taken a hiatus from running and return, the first couple of times my upper thighs itch so badly!!! It seems like wherever the most fat is, that's where it itches. It's really weird, and annoying.

6) I mess up regular phrases all the time. My latest offense was: "waiting for the other foot to fall". WHAT?! I know that's it's supposed to be "waiting for the other shoe to drop", but there is a disconnect in my brain somewhere...

7) I also make up words all of the time. The latest? "SNOOGIE" as in "Honey, can you SNOOGIE the SQUIRT (aka windshield wiper fluid) between the boxes in the trunk so that it doesn't roll around?" (I can't take credit for squirt - that one is from my Dad)

I'm opening this tag to everyone! Have fun!

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Earth Day to you, too. I love your wet bags. I had never heard of that fabric - I bought some PUL to line some lunch bags I am making - do you think the ProCare would be better?

Getting ready to start my Sophia Bag. I hope I can finish in time!

Maggie said...

Hi, Kris!
The burp pad and bib were a hit!

Our biggest thing is that my husband and I work at the same place, so we ride together as much as possible.

Anonymous said...

Woops. I forgot to add my green tips. I like to use more natural cleaning supplies such as borax and tea tree oil for the toilet, baking soda or bon ami for scouring, and vinegar and lavender oil for cleaning the floors.

Another thing we have done this year is be more adamant about recycling, going paperless for our bills, and we recently purchased a rain barrel.

Anonymous said...

Sign me up! I love your wet bags and own three (one of each size!) :) I use them for so much, including dirty cloth diapers....which is my "green tip"! Using cloth diapers helps save those landfills! :) Blessings!!

Anonymous said...

Sign me up! I love your wet bags....I own three (one of each size!) and use them for every thing! After all, you have to have something fun to put those dirty diapers in! Which brings me to my "green tip"....cloth diapers! Saves those landfills!

Alissa said...

My husband and I have both switched to driving old Mercedes diesels that we run on recycled waste veggie oil. Next I need to start a compost! Thanks for the give away!

kmdegroot said...

happy earth day to, you too!

i'm proud of the cloth diapers we use, and i am switching over to cloth menstrual pads (in beautiful prints of course)!

love love love that leaf print!

Unknown said...

Your 7 random things are hilarious. I'm going to start calling my bf signs too! My new years resolution (and green tip) is to stop using plastic bags at grocery stores. I've been bringing in my own, and it's pretty easy!

Ashley said...

I was so excited to see RK new line of fabrics and I'd love one of your wet bags made with that fabric! I'm really trying hard to make the switch to green and much of what I do is so simple! I've switched my lightbulbs, started using eco-friendly cleaners, recycle as much as I can, and my favorite...I'm planting a garden this year.

sharerie said...

my green thing is to want less =) the consumerist tendency causes so many extra things to be consumed, that even if they're green, still require something to make them. so wanting less comes out in buying fewer clothes and mending them instead of donating them (since oftentimes donations end up in the landfill), upgrading to new electronics slower, and making myself use up current crafts supplies before buying more =)

Heather said...

My green tips are bringing cloth bags to the grocery store and of course, using cloth diapers. I also use a non-toxic all-purpose cleaner for all my household cleaning. And walk instead of drive whenever I can!

Adrienne said...

Too funny! I've started taking my own bags to the grocery store to cut down on plastic. I try to buy as much organic as I can. We are a part of a local veggie co-op which is wonderful!!! hmmm ... I finally convinced DH (a few mths back) that it was worth recycling even if we have to drive out of town to take the glass (all of 20 minutes - ha!). I'm also experimenting with cleaners (making my own and using earth friendly products). Happy green day to you!

Joy said...

Happy Earth Day to you as well! Awhile back we switched all our light bulbs to Compact Florescent Bulbs. They do take a bit to get use to but it helps save energy! ;)

Congrats on the magazine feature!!!

Anonymous said...

We recycle everything we can. Not too exciting, but I think it will make a difference if we all take this simple step. I also want to compost eventually, and I'm always trying to "want less" as another commenter said.

Anonymous said...

Happy Earth Day to you! I'm trying to do my part by bringing cloth bags to the grocery store, pet store, etc.

Congratulations on the magazine story!!!

dressmaker in training said...

I try to do my part by recycling as much as possible. I no longer use chemical cleaners and will use environmentally friendly paint when I repaint some of the rooms in my house later this year.

Rebekah B. said...

I try to recycle everything I can... and I'm trying out a new non-chemical cleaner that's supposed to work on practically every surface in the house/garage. We garden and are planting more trees in our backyard.

Anonymous said...

I've been turned onto your blog from Stacysews (which I only have lurked on to this point ;) ) and I have to say, I love your work! As for Earth Day- we're planting a garden- lots of veggies, we've switched to the new funky lightbulbs and I follow my husband around the house turning lights off behind him.

Anonymous said...

That fabric is something...love brown.
Well, the first thing I did when I move to my house was change all lights reg bulbs to green ones...( It is saving me money too). I recycle my garbage ( I was so happy when the city started a program to collect the recycling - one day reg garbage the other recycling - How cool is that?).
I am about to start a compost box..If you guys know any tips that would be good...
Oh I have to add....make patchwork with those old clothig and scraps!! Reuse, Recycle!

Kari V. said...

I walk or bike or take public transport much more than I used to. It saves emissions, gas $$, burns calories and reduces stress.

I love some of the comments on using non-chemical cleaners. I'm going to look into that!

Blakely said...

I love to carry reusable grocery bags. I need to make my own, but for right now I use the ones I purchased from Publix.

Anonymous said...

I live pretty green anyway, but my favourite eco thing is soapnuts! They're these little shells that contain soapacin and you just toss a couple in a little cloth bag (I just sewed up a bunch with my scraps) with your washing and away you go! They're completely biodegradable and you can reuse them for about 3-4 washes before tossing them on your compost pile. They eve make quick work of my sweaty, stinky gym clothes! And speaking of gym clothes, those wet bags sound perfect for "biohazarding" them off from the rest of my gym bag!

Anonymous said...

We use stainless steel water bottles instead of plastic.

Lori said...

We've completely eliminated frozen veggies and eat only fresh to avoid waste. I never get plastic bags at the grocery. I made a goal to walk anywhere that is within a mile. And a personal goal that could be green is stopping to drink soda - good for the waistline and landfills.

Anonymous said...

My main going green effort has been to always bring fabric bags with us to the store so we don't have to pack our groceries in the pastic ones. I have even recycled old sheets to make a few bags that will fit into my pocket book. I also hang our clothes in the clothes line, weather permiting, instead of running the dryer.

Kim M - NY

Anonymous said...

I've become a bit of a wetbag fanatic, and using these has helped us eliminate many of the plastic bags holding messy clothes and diapers in our lives!

Next up will be to go a bit greener with the cleaners we use. I'm impressed by what vinegar and baking soda can do, but I'll most likely change over to a few busy-mommy friendly and greener products designed for that purpose.

Steph said...

I wish we were more "green" -- but we are getting there. We recycle just abou teverything that can be now and we take our old plastic bags to the grocery store with us.

Happy Saturday!

Mamamanya said...

Happy Earth Day!!! Let's see...I LOVE to recycle, I also just started using cloth diapers on my two little ones (LOVE them!!), I also use reusable grocery bags...so great! BTW, Kris, your blog is so cute. I just love checking out the cool things you are always making...keep up the great work!

Kate said...

That fabric is beautiful. To be more green, we recycle what we can, buy in bulk to cut down on packaging waste, and bike if it is not super rainy...sometimes hard to do in Southeast Alaska!

Tammy "SweetT" said...

Happy Earth Day! I love your blog.
And jsut wanted to let you know that I also mess up regular phrases all the time. I am glad that I am not the only one.

Sarah said...

Happy Earth Day! Going Green, here's what we do in our house. We use energy saving light bulbs in every little light socket we have. Instead of using plastic or paper at the grocery store, we have reusable grocery bags which are slowly being added to more and more grocery stores. Did you know that paper is no better then plastic? Plastic takes thousands of years to break down and leave the earth but millions of tree's are cut down to make paper grocery bags. We also stopped buying bottled water and now we have a water purifier. If you don't have a water purifier you can do what I use to do and just buy one bottle of water at the corner store and then buy the 2 gallon jug of water and use that to refill your bottle. My son LOVES to recycle so he monitors our trash can. :-) I think that's about it for now but we are slowly trying to find ways to save the earth and incorporate them into our life.

Thanks for the chance to win one of your wet bags. I could've really used one this past weekend. :-)

Unknown said...

Oh, I would love one of your bags! I am 5 months pregnant and am going to be using washable diapers. We just got a high efficiency washer/dryer in preparation for all of those diapers! I have also eliminated paper towels from the house by serging the ends of scrap fabric squares, we keep stacks to use and then wash.

Unknown said...

Hi,
I'm a newbie to your site. A former sew-aholic but work/kids schedules and school/life have taken over. I am considering doing your May sew along just as therapy for myself.

I confess we are new to the green thing. We started recycling a couple months ago and are way over the top with it now. It's amazing how little actually goes into the garbage cans anymore.

Katarina said...

Happy earth day!!!We had many great exhibitions due to that day!!!And, OMG, I just love this fabric!!!!
We are also trying to respect the beautiful nature and live greeny!!!

xo
Katarina