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A. Rey of Hope
Blog
My "Coffee Cuffs"
| Posted on 9 February, 2012 at 21:56 |
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I am always doing things I can't do, that's how I get to do them. - Pablo Picasso Early
in 2010 I researched a craft that caught my interest. In March I
blogged about coffee sleeves made from recycled fabrics. I am happy
(and excited!) to report that in September I took out the sewing machine
my husband bought me last year, read the instructions and got
started....  "Threading My First Bobbin"Me, my sister Loretta, (and 2 Cosmos) I
figured out the machine. I bought some cotton batting. Then I took
the old shirts, jeans, fabrics, etc that I had collected and washed and
used a cardboard coffee sleeve to use as a template. Once I made my
first, I figured out how many I needed to make per week in order to have
them ready to give as Christmas gifts and voila! January 15, 2011 |
What Do You Do with Your Techno-Junk?
| Posted on 9 February, 2012 at 21:45 |
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Electronic waste accounts for 70 percent of the overall toxic waste currently found in landfills. - Global Futures Foundation I received some pretty cool gifts for my birthday this month and one of them was this: It's
a bowl made from an old vinyl record album ("Saturday Night Fever"
actually!). My son picked this up for me in Philly. I really love
this. It's an album from my era and looks great as a decorative bowl on
my piano. This makes me think about how we sometimes have
a hard time parting with the things that were connected with our youth -
even though we may never even pull them out of their storage boxes again. And, especially when it comes to technology, even if we do venture a trip down memory lane the things we find may be unusable or toxic to just throw in the garbage. If
you're hanging on to records, cds or computer discs that you no longer
have the technology with which to run them on, you have some choices. Try a craft. For vinyl records, you can actually make your own bowl like the one my son gave me. Old cds can be turned into all sorts of other items: coasters, sun-catchers, even clocks! If
you don't feel up to crafting but are still motivated to clear out some
old stuff, make sure you dispose of your techno-junk responsibly.
Participate in local electronics recycling events in your area or check Earth911 to find out how and where to dispose of it. April 1, 2011 |
Creative Containers
| Posted on 9 February, 2012 at 21:41 |
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Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. -New England proverb  Dare
I say, Spring is finally here? Yes, I am going to take the bold step
forward and declare it! And, with the promise of warmer days ahead, we
can turn our sights to venturing outside and preparing our gardens.
Whether you have a large yard, just a small patch of earth, or even if
your springtime greenery is indoors, there are ways you can enjoy the
cathartic act of planting without spending more than the price of the
seeds or plants. Sprucing
up your garden with a new theme or creating a new planting space,
inside or out, can be done simply through the use of some of the things
you have lying around your house. An old pair of worn out work boots make a great containers for outdoor
flowers. A brightly colored chipped piece of pottery adds it's own
color to greenery. An old mug that you like or a small bowl are also
great options. Just
last week my daughter mentioned a planting idea she had seen that she'd
like to try in her apartment. It is to use hanging shoe pockets. I
love this idea and think it would also be great for growing an
assortment of herbs in or near the kitchen. What fun! Take a look. April 15, 2011 |
Giving, Receiving and Giving Again
| Posted on 9 February, 2012 at 21:06 |
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"And the tree was happy" — Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree The average American uses approximately one 100-foot-tall Douglas fir tree in paper and wood products per year. -EPA Website statistic  Electronic correspondence is truly a wonder. We can keep in touch more than ever with our families, friends, associates, clients and acquaintences. We
are able to set up holiday, birthday, anniversary and special event
reminders and then to follow up by sending an "e"-card to acknowledge
them - amazing! Yet, there are still many of us who enjoy checking the snail-mail box and and finding an actual piece of correspondence. For
instance, the Hallmark company estimates that Americans send out
approximately 57 million cards. We will send about two and a half times
that for Mother's Day. Acknowledging important people in our lives in this time-honored and meaningful way can be a treasure more than any other "thing" we might give. But
giving doesn't have to stop there. Our life cycles continue and it is
important for us to continue to thank, honor and return the favor to the
givers.  Here's how: Keep one manila envelope in a file. Shred the envelopes and toss in the greeting cards you have received and are done with. When the envelope is full, send it to St. Judes Ranch for Children to be made into new cards. They accept all types of cards (Thank You, Get Well, Birthday, Mother's Day, etc). The path to conservation starts on your doorstep. May 2, 2011 |
Put a Cork In It!
| Posted on 9 February, 2012 at 21:00 |
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 What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch? ~ W. C. Fields So, is yours one of those families who like to save corks? Well, mine
is. It's a habit that seems to go on throughout the generations of my
family. At one point in time, I remember a scare about the worlds
supply of natural cork running out and the eventuality of having only
synthetic corks to use. This, I must admit, is not something that I can
verify nor have witnessed at all. There seems to be no shortage of
wine, and no shortage of natural cork.  Still,
I still continue my obsession with saving corks! Several years back,
my brother gifted us all with hotplates made from some of the corks he
had collected. This was especially appreciated since my brother's good
taste afforded a nice display of a wide variety. Kits for projects like
this are available in many common house-ware stores. It's always a good idea
to have an end purpose in mind (like my brother's cork hotplates) for
anything that you like to collect. Collecting can be a fun pastime, but
finding a way to enjoy and share your collections is a way to enrich
your life. May 15, 2011 |
Re-Using Made Easier
| Posted on 9 February, 2012 at 20:48 |
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"Only
when I saw the Earth from space, in all its ineffable beauty and
fragility, did I realize that humankind's most urgent task is to cherish and preserve it for future generations." — Sigmund Jahn, German Cosmonaut Do
you buy bottled water? I do. Not quite so much anymore though. I
bought it by the case for several years until my oldest son decided to
be a conscientious objector and asked me to stop. He was right. There
are so many re-usable bottles
being made (and sometimes even handed out) now that there is often no
excuse but laziness in using the plastic pre-bottled water. There
has also been some discrepancy in the recent past over whether or not
it is (chemically) safe to keep freezing, re-heating and re-using all
forms of plastics. Although, it seems to be agreed that the
freezing/thawing process does not release any harmful chemicals from the
containers. Whether or not the plastic bottles we
use release harmful chemicals, they undisputably are creating an
incredible waste issue. A waste issue that can be remedied by a just a
little forethought.  Earth 911 reports:
Here's one item I just purchased
to help encourage our family (and myself!) to choose the re-usable
drinking containers that we own over individual disposable drink
containers.  I needed some ice trays and I came across these. The
great thing is that you can use the ice in a glass at home or grab some
long cubes, throw them in a bottle and go! It makes using the
re-usable bottles fun - and no more having to freeze water bottles. I'm
happy. Try them! June 15, 2011 |
Keep It Clean
| Posted on 9 February, 2012 at 20:35 |
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 "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore." - Jack Brooks According to the EPA, " paper and
paperboard products make up the largest portion of the municipal solid
waste stream in the United States and as a result, offer the greatest
opportunity to recycle".
We have taken great strides in this decade to cut down on unnecessary paper usage. Finding ways to re-use and recycle paper is becoming increasing popular in our country and makes up approximately a third of all paper products, clearly a benefit toward conserving our natural resources.
Yet, as paper recycling becomes more commonplace, we must also remember
to keep aware of the guidelines for proper recycling in order that our
efforts are not in vain.
boxes, for instance, while recyclable, are good ONLY when they are
clean. Any food residue or even grease renders the cardboard merely
waste. The food or grease is a contaminant that can (and does) ruin
entire batches of paper. What does this mean to us? It means that
MILLIONS of dollars are lost each year due to contaminated recycling.
The moral of this story? Take the time to look at your recycling guidelines - keep the grease on the wheel, not in the recycle bin. Aug. 1, 2011 |