Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Busyness

Everyone needs a happy place. A place to unwind from the day, the rat race, the daily pressures of life. We need rest. Why do we glorify busyness? Even God, the creator of heaven and earth needed rest. If He sees it as important, as blessed and holy, why don't we?  I don't need to do anything to be who I am in Christ. "Not by works, so that no man can boast." Ephesians 2:9 

So I rest. 

I unplug from social media and tune into to nature. I refuse to sign my children, and our family, up for 5 different sports so that each night of the week we are divided in order to conquer. I keep our calendar pretty open so that I can say, "yes" to unknown things God might bring my way and last minute opportunities with friends.  I say, "no" to good things so that I can say, "yes" to God's best for me. And most importantly for me, I rest my soul by spending time with God. This doesn't always look the same - for fear of me gettin' all legalistic on myself. His grace abounds and He is with me during my quiet time in His word, prayers throughout the day, a fire pit with twinkle lights at home and a morning walk through the neighborhood. Can you hear Him? Or is your life drowning out His subtle call? xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Cookie Jar

Up until about two days ago I was a huge fan of the Target animal crackers and alphabet crackers stored in these little plastic bear containers. (Read the ingredients - high fructose corn syrup. Come on Target. Really?) Not only are the "crackers" (let's be real - they are cookies) delicious, but the containers can be used for a ton of things. Recently I used the big bear as a package for a birthday gift. My SIL is a sophomore at Baylor - Baylor Bears - so I thought they bear was quite appropriate. I filled it with some Fall favorites like candies, tea, a yummy candle, etc.

This is a great gift container, free, can be stuffed with a lot and all you have to do is wash it out and remove the stickers.

Using an old Fall inspired tissue box, I cut out new labels and hot glued them to the bear. Once the lid was screwed on tight, I placed the bear, balloons and confetti into a box and shipped the gift on down to Waco for my favorite 20 year old. 

What interesting items have you used as packages or gift "boxes?" xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Kitchen Clean-up

Which came first... the chicken or the egg? I'm pretty sure it was the chicken, but when it comes to the smartest, most eco-friendly way to clean the kitchen - I'm stumped. Dishwasher vs. hand washing. Dish scrubby vs. dish rag (never sponge. never.). Dishcloth vs. paper towels. I mean, which is the lesser of the environmental evils - water consumption or waste?

handwash or machine (source unknown)

wood scrubby, crochet dish cloths, plastic scrubby

cloth towels or paper towels

Seriously, it's mind boggling isn't it? And I didn't even get into detergents, soaps, chemicals, etc. My head just might explode. Not really, but it is a lot to think about isn't it? Especially when we want to leave a better world to our kiddos. Which side of the fence do you sit on? xo

navy blue kitchen via apartment therapy

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Gold is "In"

It's a fact. Gold and Brass are "In" and silver is "Out". Personally, I prefer to mix my metals. If your not a fan of mixing, don't toss your "out-colored" items just yet. Grab some gold spray paint and get busy... I mean, a little dose of gold spray paint makes even yard flamingos look fresh and new.

thrifted paintings (source unknown)

ikea bookcase, ikea office chair, diy tape upcycle table

cane table upcycle via recently

ball jars, ikea handles, ikea table legs

pony boy poster

"Is everything better in gold?", you ask. Yes. Yes, it is. xo

golden flamingos via smitten studio

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: LOUD

Stop the LOUD. Take time today to sit in the silence and know that you were made perfect in His image. Truth is always harder to hear. xo

image via kushandwizdom

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: White T-Shirt

Has this ever happened to you? You've found the perfect white shirt and you get a stain on it that just won't come out. Uggh! For some reason (maybe it's her 20 year old brain) my SIL decided to paint her pouf in her brand new white tee from Banana Republic. Wouldn't you know, she was using black fabric paint with no apron anywhere in sight. Rookie mistake. Poor thing. I just couldn't bear her losing a perfect white tee that had been worn only twice. I devised a little DIY plan to salvage the tee.

Before you begin splattering the paint, make sure you have a piece of paper between the front and back of your garment. I also taped the edges of the shoulders and sleeves so that the paint wouldn't get on them either.

So my technique is a bit crazy, but it's one that worked for me, creating the biggest globs and splatters. Do a test of your own and find a technique works best for your design.

Once the paint is dry, remove the tape, triangle and paper - then rock that bad boy! (Oh, I should also mention that it would be wise to heat set the paint with an iron.) I am so thrilled with how this recycled tee was transformed. So much better than turning it into scraps for cleaning don't you think? xo

Reduce, Recuse, Recycle: Cinder Blocks

It's no secret that my favorite color is gray or that I love a good lump of bulk trash. Add the two together and it's pure goodness.  Last week one of my dear friends texted me, "need any cinder blocks?" She proceeded to tell me that there was a pretty good size score right down the street. How does it get better? She picked them up for me and delivered them to my doorstep. (I've said it before and I'll say it again - I have the best friends ever.) I opted for a cinder block garden piece on my back porch, but there are so many options for cinder blocks, my freebies may morph into something else.

 wedding centerpiece via yes, please

1, 2, 3, 4 (source unknown)

 construction party centerpiece via eye candy

 painted garden goodness via hello shawna

1, 2, 3

neon painted garden via buzzfeed

Holy block party, Batman! I'm crushin' hard. Have you made anything out of cinder blocks? xo

*bookcase image above via madame curie was my mother

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Cardboard Stamping

My oldest has become very picky when it comes to his wardrobe. T-shirts in particular. So when he recently ripped through a toy box and left the cardboard all over the playroom, I got inspired. The lines inside the cardboard create such a cool texture I knew we could make some really great t-shirt prints. Here's how I/we did it...

Materials:

cardboard

exacto blade

metal ruler

pen

scissors

hot glue gun

t-shirt(s)

fabric paint(s)

brayer (if you have one)

glass (or other flat surface)

1. I cut the cardboard into strips and then proceeded to make shaped onto the board with my pen and ruler(s).

2. Using scissors, I cut out the marked shapes.

3. Using the exacto blade, I removed the outer layer of the cardboard to reveal the stripes.

4. I then cut out little handles for my stamps and hot glued them to the backs of each stamp. (I had to reinforce my circle because it was extremely flimsy due to my little's ripping open of aforementioned toy box.)

 5. Prepare your paints for stamping. (I used a stamping brayer and glass from an old picture frame.)

6. Lay your t-shirt out flat and place a cardboard piece in between the front and back of t-shirt. (I used an old cereal box because the box from the toy wasn't big enough.)

7. Squeeze paint out onto glass surface and smooth it out.
8. Place cardboard shape into paint and make sure the lines are covered.

 9. Press stamp onto t-shirt making desired pattern(s).

10. Once paint is dry, iron to set the ink before washing. Bam! You're done.

My goofballs actually liked them so much that they wore them once completed. Success! Wahoo. For my first go-round I used some old white tees we had on hand, because I wasn't sure they'd actually like them or wear them. I can't wait to get some grey t-shirts and do some other fun prints. (Yes, my youngest is wearing one winter glove in 100+ heat. He's quirky and I love him for it.) My oldest is into neons in a big way, so we used some slick neon fabric paint that I already had on hand. I really hope you give this project a try. It's so simple and fun. 

Are you into the neon trend? xo