Treehouse Design : Become One With Nature

I would live here if I could.

Just the other day, a 26 year old I know indicated he was moving out of his house and getting his own place. The worst part about leaving his home, I thought, had to be leaving behind his childhood treehouse.  What had started as plywood and scrap wood had evolved to an apartment in a tree over time.

Cheeky Monkey Treehouses can make your kids a fortress of fun.

Over time treehouse design has moved from a few pieces of plywood into something that is so grand, you would be amazed.   Treehouses give children the ultimate play kingdom. A break from day to day life, or perhaps just to go and think.  Camp out with the friends, or be silly.  Read a book, or do their homework in their top secret lair.

A company in the UK called CheekyMonkeyTreehouses is doing wondrous design work with their treehouses. They blend the house into the tree to make natural look undisturbed, so that your imaginary kingdom can thrive around the existing glory of nature. Taking a unique approach to making these go-green houses all over Europe, for children and adults alike.  My only complaint? I don't have one.

Reusable Sandwich Bags are the Rage

Used with permissionf rom Reusable Bag Store

Green Tip:

Want to go greener in day to day life? How about when packing your kid's lunch, or taking your own to work? Well, maybe you'll fall in love with the products over at  ReusableBagStore.com like we have, specifically the  reusable sandwich bags! Not only are they priced at great prices you can afford, but help you go green in your daily life. 

The service from the store is exceptional, and the bags are quite fashionable.  Currently, orders over $50 ship free, or there's a $3.99 flat rate shipping. Get 'em while they last, and they make perfect holiday gifts!

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.