Category Archives: Naturally Creative

Naturally Crafty: Upcycled Cards and Gift Tags

Ever go to the card store and find yourself thinking,”Man, cards are really expensive!?” Ever go to the craft store and find yourself thinking, “Man, paper is really expensive!?” Yes? Excellent! I think you are going to like this upcycled solution.

I started noticing some really nice designs on tissue boxes after watching a few of Jennibellie’s videos on YouTube. Definitely, check her channel out for inspiration. She creates truly beautiful projects and often incorporates pre-used materials into her designs.

I picked up a few punches from Michael’s and began making some creations of my own (which I would have photographed more of if I had known I was going to write this post. ) Punches are a good investment. They save you time, as well as wear and tear on your scissors… and your hands!

It’s a lot of fun making your own cards because they can be as simple or complex as you want or have time to make. You can add hinges made from ribbon or brads. You can also personalize them to suit your gift recipient by adding their name, embellishments and using their favorite colors. You’re only limited by your imagination!

Use what you already have whenever you can!

Once you start doing these types of upcycled projects, you develop an eagle for materials that can be made over like these old name tags from work. Why not? The card stock is good quality. They would only end up in the trash. Why not flip them over and give them a second life?

Before you know it, you’ve created a pretty little, thoughtful gift decoration and it cost you practically nothing! You didn’t have to go to a store. You got away from electronics for a little while. You have exercised your creative muscles. You have made choices that are kinder to Mama Earth.

Do you make your own cards and gift tags? Leave me a reply in the comments section and let me know. I would love to hear from you.

Many blessings to all,

Cynthia

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Natural Lady: DIY Make-up Remover and Reusable Rounds

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It took me a very long time to find an eye make-up remover that I liked. A lot of them would sting my eyes or leave my skin chafed. I found I really like the make-up remover wipes from Trader Joe’s but they were quite pricey. There were only 20 in a pack, requiring me to buy 2 a month. All that plastic packaging and disposable material made me feel a little guilty. So, I decided to try to make my own.

I culled through dozens of Do-it-yourself recipes on the internet. They were wildly disparate and contradictory at times but three ingredients kept coming up over and over: witch hazel, water and some kind of oil. Of course, I could find little consensus on how much to pour of each in order to make a bottle. So, I decided not to use a bottle at all.

I use a reusable round (mine are made out of bamboo and are really more oblong) and I put a drop of jojoba oil on it, followed by a drop of witch hazel and then I spritz it with rose water. And voila! It works great and doesn’t sting.

Effectiveness is only one benefit. There are others. I like keeping all these ingredients separate because I use them all separately as well. By combining them as needed, on the spot, I am less likely to run out of anything and not have it available to use for another purpose. Oh my goodness, the money you save! I used to spend between around $10 a month on those wipes. I have had that bottle of witch hazel for years. Jojoba lasts a really long time too because you need to use so little of it. The rose water I go through fairly quickly but that’s only because I like to spray all over my body from head to toe.

Do you think you will give it a try? Do you have your own formula? Leave me a reply in the comments section.

Many blessings,

Cynthia

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Naturally Eco-conscious: Upcycle that box!

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May I ask you a personal question? When you empty a box like this:

What do you do with it? Do you throw it away? Do you recycle it? Would you like to know what I’m going to do with this one? I am going to upcyle it into a mailer. It’s so easy!

1. I open the bottom up:

2. Then I gently open this inside seam:

3. Then I am left with:

4. Now, I flip it around and re-join the seam:

5. Tape the seam closed with packing tape. (Make sure you press it into the tape really thoroughly.)

6. Tuck in the bottom flaps and tape those with packing tape as well.

Voila! A cute little, free mailer box is born. I wasn’t ready to put the item in yet. So, I just used the orginal tab closure on the box. Of course, when It is ready to go, I will tape the top down as well. You can write your adress right on the box with a permanent marker or use a label. I saved money and re-used something that may have just gotten tossed.

Do you upcycle the packages that your household items come in? Do you think you might try it? Please leave me a reply in the comments section. I would love to hear from you.

Many blessings to all,

Cynthia

Please follow me on Twitter. Also, please LIKE my Facebook Page.

Naturally Resourceful: Getting Scrappy with Vegetables!

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Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while knows I’m a vegetarian. When you eat a lot of fresh vegetables, you end up with a lot of vegetable scraps. What do you do with them? Throwing them out seems so wasteful! I have put together a few suggestions to see if maybe I can help you see those scraps in a new light.

Eat them

Stems and stalks may not be the sexiest parts of the plants but they are still loaded with all the good nutrition and fiber you find in the prettier areas. Stems can be tough but if you dice them up and toss them in a soup, stew or stir-fry, they will become tender and delish.

Feed them to your pooch

Chauncy and Lucy regularly eat vegetables as I mentioned in my post, Natural Pets: Eat Your Veggies Fido! They love broccoli stalks, cut up to roughly the same size as their store-bought treats. Lucy goes wild over crunchy lettuce ends. They are also both huge fans of kale stems, raw or cooked. I will dice up kale or Swiss chard stems, steam them and mix them in with their dog food. They gobble it right down.

Please be careful when feeding your dog fruit or veggies. Always make sure you give them safe veggies in small, manageable portions. Less is more is definitely more in this case! Never give your dog onions, corn cobs, grapes, nuts, avocados or stone fruits.

Make stock or broth

I have to admit…I rarely do this. A lot of people do though. They will reserve their veggie scraps and freeze them until they have enough to cook down into stock. The problem I have with this, besides giving up the freezer space, is not all veggies taste good together. While I love and appreciate kale mightily, it has too strong a flavor to use in stock. Maybe one day when I have my dream garden, (and don’t have a three hour commute) I can devote my time to separating scrap for stock.

Compost it

Composting is a wonderful way to improve your soil. Vegetables are a beautiful, safe addition to your heap or bin. Again, this is not something that I currently do but would like to. If you are a gardener and have been contemplating whether or not to make your own compost, let this be the push to get you started! Find great information (and laughs) in Jeff Yeager’s wonderful article, Rotten Luv: My Love Affair with Compost.

Final Thought:

If you have to toss them in the trash, go ahead. There are far worse things stuffing up landfills than veg scraps. At least you know that they will fully decompose and not wreak havoc on the environment for centuries to come.

How do you use your veggie scraps? Do you throw them out? Have you tried any of the suggestions mentioned above? Would you? Leave me a reply and let me know.

Many blessings to all,

Cynthia

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