Create Hand-Crafted Upcycled Toys!

I have been inspired to experiment with making homemade upcycled toys for my sweet little 2 year old nephew, Bobby! I always enjoy giving him a little present every time I see him, but I hate to spend the money and support the funding of new, manufactured plastics that are ultimately littering our beautiful planet...So instead, I am now making him homemade toys from recycle materials that I have collected and found around the house. Stay tuned for more blog posts with more upcycled toy ideas that I will share! These toy books pictured ("Recycled Crafts Box" and "Creating by Recycling") have been great sources of ideas and inspiration for me and I have found them at my local library...maybe you can check them out too!

These books have inspired me to explore my "trash" and transform it into a fun, little "treasure" for my nephew to play with. Here I have transformed a package of SunSpire Almond Butter Cups (you can use any peanut butter candy cups packaging for this toy, as long as there are spaces for three candy cups).

Traffic Light:

Materials:

- 3 packages of peanut or almond butter chocolate candy cups (placed on top of one another toy make the finished product thick and durable for play...also upcylcing more plastic is great too!)

- a small piece of recycled cardboard (measured to fit the size of the nut butter candy cup package)

- clear packaging tape

- acyclic paint (in red, yellow, and green)

- coloring markers (in red, yellow, and green)

This is a great toy for keeping the little guy's attention in the backseat of the car while driving...and it's educational! Its a fun toy to play with when you drive and reach a traffic light; say "red means STOP!" and "green means GO!". My nephew pushes the lights like they are buttons...he has so much fun with this little toy!

This blog article was contributed by Etsy Recyclers Guild Team Captain Jessica of Eco-Friendly Freckles.

Eco Friendly Handmade Shoulder Bags

Eco Friendly Shoulder Bags: Avoid Buying Mass Produced

All About Felts which we talked about their eco friendly slippers , also sells Eco-friendly handmade shoulder bags !

It's no secret that places like Etsy have evolved the fact of buying handmade clothing and accessories , putting the handmade back into marketplace, and couture back into our wardrobes. The blog from the maker of Eco Friendly Handmade Shoulder Bags eludes that the trend for buying handmade may be blamed on famous maker Nike.

She says, "Ever since the Nike press release and court case in 2001, people have tried to move away from mass produced commercialism and looked for a nobler cause. Handmade goods are a more expensive, but higher quality, more ethical alternative than buying from a mass distributor like Nike. But it is hard for people to change their ways when the determining factor is a leap in price."

Her All About Felts website also shows the ways of Eco-friendly manufacturing, and help educate consumers on why buying handmade shoulder bags is a step forward for the environment.

What Do We Think? 

With small indie handmade, you can feel confident knowing you are buying a product whose designer has taken great care in it's work. Most processes are more eco friendly, greener and eco conscious on the environment versus large scale overseas corporations whose mass produce practices may be questioned. 

Sure, it's true that some indie is more expensive, but a few extra bucks for a comparable item and you can sleep at night--not worrying how many children were worked in sweatshops producing your item, or how much pollution has been put into the air from overseas factories.

I've priced a lot of indie work and you may indeed be able to wear your indie designed OOAK couture purse for much less than any famous maker, so do consider buying handmade.
 
 

Baltresto Estonia Hot Tubs Europe's Eco Friendly Alternative

Wooden hot-tubs , the brand of BALTRESTO are produced in Estonia and made of high quality pine, spruce or larch converted timber. All wooden hot tubs are thoroughly assembled manually by experienced craftsmen using traditional methods of woodworking. These are eco friendly alternatives over commercially made plastic, fiberglass, or mass produced tubs.

The barrel sauna blends in with it's eco friendly environment!

Baltresto products have the most reasonable prices, broad assortment and high quality.  Not only do they manufacture wooden hot tub, assembled baths and all necessary staff for baths but they sell and deliver our products Europewide directly to the doors of your home!

Their products are delivered assembled; therefore they are prepared for use immediately.

If you are in Europe, check them out!