Hello Neighbor

I found this cute little guy on my front porch. He's at the bottom of the ivy looking for some juicy bugs. Sometimes, he leaves little presents just to let us know he was here. lol 

Okay, seriously, I'm just really happy he's taking care of bugs so we don't have to. Now, if I could just find an ant eater!

Whoo Whoo!
~OvO~

Upcycle Craft - Thomas Box

Upcycling doesn't have to be complicated. Here is a quick and easy upcycled crafting idea you can try at home or in the classroom with your students. Did I mention The duck tape was on sale for $1.78. That's all I spent on this upcycle!

Materials
1 useless cardboard box
1 roll of designer duck-tape

It was quite a hassle using this beat-up box without the upcycle. After adding the duct tape, my 3 year old can now carry the box where he wants to without my help!

Whoo Whoo!
   ~OvO~

Disposable Downer

I often think about how moms made the home life work without all of the modern day conveniences. Instead of unwrapping a plastic covered roll of paper towels for an isle 6 clean up, I imagined them using a wooden bucket and cloth rags. Then of course, putting two and two together, I wondered why  I didn't do that?

Perhaps, I felt like I'd lose some part of my fabulous self I've worked so hard to master. Or, that my friends and family would turn their noses up at me. Well, since my style is that of old jeans and a comfy t-shirt complimented with some matching flip-flops...and my family is all encompassing love...I had no excuses. It was time to start living a more environmentally responsible lifestyle.

This eco-loving mom is proud to say we don't buy paper towels anymore! Instead, We use cloth rags. I keep a bucket in my kitchen where dirty ones are thrown into. Once it's full, they get washed, folded and cycled back into the kitchen. The boys have fell in line just fine. There was a bit of moaning at first, but now, they're proud of dropping the paper towel disposables too! By eliminating the use of paper towels in our home, I save time, money and trees! 

Here are some ideas on how to eliminate using disposables...

PAPER
Paper Napkins to Cloth Napkins
Paper Towels to Cloth Towels
Paper Plates to Kitchen Plates
Tissues to Handkerchiefs

PLASTIC
Plastic Utensils to Silverware
Plastic Sandwich Bags to Reusable Bags
Plastic Straws to Reusable Metal & Reusable Sturdy Plastic Straws
Plastic Grocery Bags to Reusable & Recyclable Grocery Bags

ADDITIONAL CONVENIENCES
Drop the Swiffer for a Broom
Drop the Diapers for Cloth Diapers
Drop the Store Bought Wipes for Cloth Wipes
Drop Wrapping Paper and use Reusable Cloth Wraps
Single-use Batteries to Rechargeable Batteries

OTHER GREAT IDEAS
Bring your own container to restaurants for food you'd like to take home.
Bring your own drinking cups/containers for your morning brews and/or smoothies.

Don't let the disposable downers get you, there are a lot of different reusable products that are earth friendly on the market today. Just start doing some research...or better yet, make them yourself.

Whoo Whoo!
    ~OvO~

Ahhh, September

September is the month we can all take a breath and exhale. The kids are back in school, the mornings are yours again and the cool weather starts to subtly set in. I even enjoyed a cup of coffee today! Ahhhhhhh

The weather was awesome today. It enticed me to spend some time outside drawing on the cement with my 3 year old. We enjoyed watching the black ants crawl to and fro while getting our hands all dirty with colors of orange, purple and green chalk!

The most exciting part of my day was when I announced the release date of my new eBook, Uppity Owl Upcycles a Brooch. And, in case you didn't know...It's October 1st, 2012. Yeah!

Here is the front cover of my eBook...

Several months of hard work has paid off. Uppity Owl Upcycles a Brooch is ready to fly!

Happy September Everyone!
Whoo Whoo!
Monica T. Blas
~OvO~