Ah November. The season of craft shows is in full swing. It's time for holiday shopping, gift giving and the party extravaganzas. Here's some thoughts about doing it green.
Look to nature for decorations. Fallen branches can be painted with metallics and arranged in a container with some floral foam to create a stunning "tree", "bush" or festive arrangement.
Here's an idea for easy DIY "ornaments". Pull fruit sections out of citrus fruits and then cut the skin into shapes with kitchen shears - stars, half moons, suns, whatever you heart desires. Let them dry naturally and then coat with a thin layer of watered down white glue to seal them. Tie with raffia and voila instant decorations or garland to use or give. These items could also be arranged into a fantastic center piece around a log with a few drilled holes for candles - just make sure to keep the flames away and don't leave the candles unattended! Holiday fires are bad for you and bad for the environment;)
•Best bet for natural items in Philly - Fairmount Park
Holidays parties are the perfect time to go vintage. You can find really unique and show- stopping pieces. With this years trend toward shine, look for items from the 40's and 80's to get you through. Beading, sequins, metallic jacquards and stretch are must haves. Throw in a "real" boyfriend jacket and some shoots (shoe/boots) and you are on your way to being the belle of the ball. There are a variety of vintage and thrift stores in all areas of Philly. Some places to check live - Vintage Connection, Retrospect, Decades Vintage (615 Bainbridge/South Street Area), Sugarcube, Forbidden Planet (10 N. 3rd basement in Olde City), the Second Mile and online Vintage Looks and Etsy.
Gift-giving should be a treat for both giver and receiver. Look for interesting handmade or eco-friendly options to suit the receiver's interests. If you are feeling really ambitious, make things yourself. You will feel immense satisfaction giving something that you have made. It comes from your heart and hands and will be cherished by the recipient. There are so many things to make to meet any skill level.
•Some sites to check for ideas and directions - DIY Network, PioneerThinking and Make-Stuff.
Here's an idea for a quick and easy dessert stand idea I got from the Sunday London Times Magazine last year. Find 2 beautiful plates and a pair of candle sticks (preferably vintage or second hand). Get some epoxy or bonding glue that will work for ceramic and glass. You will need to read the label or go to a local hardware store where the merchant can give you the correct adhesive. I like to use E6000 which is readily available at craft stores. Glue on of the candle sticks to the center of one of the plates. Weight the stick while it drys. Bake or buy some holiday goodies. Put them on the stand with a festive doily or vintage napkin. Wrap with colored cellophane. Include a note with instructions to hand wash the stand and handle with care. This is a great holiday or hostess gift for any occasion. You can alter the includes based on the recipient - make a two tiered stand for a High Tea theme, include napkins and place mats or a runner for those with new homes, etc. Easy, fun and unique.
Now for some shameless self-promotion - check my rocklava shop for some vintage treasures and a variety of handmade items to give.
--till next week Restore, Recycle, Refresh & Renew
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15 comments:
Handmade gifts are certainly treasures. When I know someone's into that sort of thing, it's the first thing on my list to look for. At my old high school, they have a huge craft fair the first weekend in December. It takes up the entire first floor of the connected middle and high schools. It's a great place to look for anything handmade. There's always soaps, candles, hats, scarves, shirts, figurines, anything you can imagine, basically. I love shopping there for my mom when I can. Now that I'm here, though, it's tough since I can't make it home for a weekend anytime I want, so if I want something handmade for my mom, I have to make it myself. And I have no problem with that. One of the easiest things to do is knit a hat or a scarf. People always seem to appreciate the one-of-a-kind.
LOVE this entry!!! This made me so excited for the Holidays! I am going to make it a point this season to be eco-friendly with whatever I do. I really want to have an eco-friendly holiday party and these ideas are an awesome start. One of my favorite things to do is decorate during the holidays using natural things such as pine cones, acorns, dried up fruit etc.. Also, wrapping gifts is fun when I use recycled paper (inside out shopping bags, magazines, newspaper) and tying them with a bow made out of raffia strands.
Thanks for the great ideas I'm going to continue looking for more of them to make this Holiday season as green as I can!
One of my favorite DIY holiday traditions is a holiday ornament exchange. I used to do this in high school with a group of my friends. Everyone designs and makes an ornament- enough for everyone in the group. Then one of us would host a party where we would exchange our ornaments with each other. It was always great to see what creative ideas everyone came up with, and each year I would have about 10 new ornaments to add to my tree. Getting these handmade ornaments is more interesting and fun than just going to the store and buying mass produced ones. I love pulling them out year after year displaying the memories.
Wow so much information in this week's post.
The handmade ornaments resonated with me, as one year my family spent Christmas abroad. We didn't want to haul Christmas decorations - so we made all of our own. Popcorn streamers, paper chains, and sand dollars hanging from red ribbon!
And similar to what Ina said, my family is really good at re-using giftbags year after year. You could also gift in cloth, boxes or more heavy duty wrappings so that they aren't meant to be trashed after they're opened.
Handmade ornaments and decorations are always the best and they always make the home seem so, homey. It definitely got me excited and thinking about making some decorations for my mom. She is always concerned about making the house look festive but can never find the perfect decorations. These ideas are fabulous, easy and affordable. I also like the idea about the gifts. Handmade gifts always have more meaning as opposed to when they are bought. These are also good ideas for my roommate and I to do to decorate the apartment. As college kids we are all lacking in the fund department, but we do not want to leave our place bare. I am definitely going to have to test these ideas out.
This post made me realize that this is exactly the kind of thing that I would do, as a college student. I wonder if being crafty and conserving and 'being green' is almost something that is easier to do as a poor college student. I feel like there is already so much marketing towards my generation to be green, but it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps there should be a heavier emphasis on the older generations to make changes in their lives to do projects like these and to generally be more green. These ideas are completely within the realm of what I would normally do, but I wonder if they're more out-of-the-ordinary for perhaps a suburban wife with a family.
Check out Free People's Craft Swap. I participated in last year's winter swap. It's alot of fun and a great way to share your eco-friendly holiday creations!
http://blog.freepeople.com/2009/11/holiday_craft_swap.html
Handmade gifts are more personal to receive. It is a great way to show someone you care when you take the time to to make them something rather than picking up a generic gift. This holiday season is going to be different from the past. People do not have as much disposable cash to buy expensive gifts. Handmade gifts are a great way to save some money and create something unique. This is a great way to go green and used recycled materials to create something new and beautiful.
I really enjoyed this entry. There were so many options of how to go green this holiday season. I don't normally do decorations around the holidays aside from the usual twinkle lights, but these decorations seem so easy to make that I may be able to be convinced. As for the homemade gifts, many times doing this is easier than one would think. Last year I made a recipe book of my family's "classic" recipes for my new sister- in- law. It was easy to find a lightly used binder with my school supplies. After that, all I needed to buy was some recycled paper and I was set. I just typed out recipes that were already in my Mom's collected recipes book and voila, a homemade gift that really set the tone for my sister- in- law's first Christmas in the family.
I absolutely love handmade gifts. This year I am purchasing all of my girlfriends' christmas gifts from Vagabond jewelry, where they melt down copper and reshape it to make jewelry and even allow custom inscriptions. I almost always make my own wrapping paper as well, using recycled paper and decorating it festively. The holidays definitely don't have to be wasteful, and a handmade gift is truly from the heart.
Handmade gifts are my favorite. I can always count on my dad's mom for giving me something handmade and eco-friendly. Last year she quilted an awesome blanket made out of all my favorite t-shirts I have had over the years. This year I plan on making gifts for my godson and cousins out of the extra scraps of fabric I have from previous classes. I am so excited to get started, I feel like handmade gifts are always so much more meaningful. These decoration ideas are great ideas for gifts for my mom and grandmother that I would be able to make.
Tis the season to be Jolly? For me, it's tis the season to be broke! But, with these eco-friendly tips on how to decorate the house and make gifts for people using crafts, art, and things lying around the house the holiday season will be much more joyous.
http://blog.freepeople.com/2009/12/wednesdiy_6.html
Definitely will be thinking of this post when starting my holiday planning. Especially the handmade DIY ornaments and centerpieces. Those sound really cute ideas.
I wrote a blog on the dm magazine blog if anyone is seeking more diy/green ideas for the holidays: http://dsmrmagazine.blogspot.com/2009/11/holiday-tips-and-tricks.html#comments
Giving vintage is the best way to go. I know vintage is not only very chic and popular nowadays, but it is very sentimental and a very fun and unique gift to give a special friend or a loved one. Also do it yourself accessories are a fun way to add quirky flavor.
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