A {Green} Halloween!

I know that we have friends from near and far; however, I recently discovered that it really is a small world. BabyElan Daily, a fabulous go to website for the latest and greatest in everything baby, is located practically right around the corner from us (in Charlotte, North Carolina). What a fun bunch of gals! We also learned from our new friends about another Charlotte based web boutique that tickles us green. Natural Luxe is an eco-friendly boutique and the owner, Jennifer, has put together for our area a Green Halloween Costume Exchange. Little did I know that this exchange takes place all over the country! Recycling Halloween costumes...why didn't I think of that?! I don’t know about you, but each year I DREAD shopping for costumes and THEN I always wonder what to do with the costumes my boys have outgrown from last year? Well, now I have my answer! Check out this link for a location near you. Hurry though, most of the swaps are this weekend!

-Carrie

A {Green} Halloween!

{Gift-lemma} Translation: What the heck do I buy for...?

Whenever one of my two boys gets invited to a birthday party, I REALLY struggle with what to buy for a gift. My oldest is eleven and at that age, a lot of the kids want gift cards. Speaking of which...isn’t it funny where you can buy gift cards these days!? Everywhere from the supermarket to the gas station. Kind of takes the fun out of it (but I will admit to buying a card at Ye Ole Card kiosk at the Circle K gas station). Invitations (at least in my neck of the woods) tend to come with very little time left to buy a gift. PSA: Think ahead about designing your child's birthday invitation and itsy bitsy Etsy your way over to Anders Ruff Custom Designs. We do rush orders!

Anyways, I found this really cool website called uncommon goods. They offer all kinds of unique, "uncommon" items for everything from the home to the hostess. Here are some examples of fun things I found for gift giving to the younger set.

Eco Dough anyone? (for the 3-5 year old age range):

Check out these cool Hands Gone Wild! temporary tattoos for kids in the 5+ age range:

The über cool thing about uncommon goods is that they donate $1 from every gift you purchase on their site to one of three charities (you choose which one). It’s called the Better to Give Program.

uncommon goods sells a heck of a lot of good things! Check out this cool croquet lamp featured in their Recycled Home Décor section:

We like cool companies!

-Carrie

{Gift-lemma} Translation: What the heck do I buy for...?

{DIY Recycle Project} Colorful Cork Mobiles by Jen

Jen, from efootprints.com (I posted about her blog and shop awhile ago... fabulous)
has some of the most creative crafts out there. Not only for kids - for big people, too!

She recently posted about a creative way to recycle wine corks. (We could all use a little recycling crafts in our lives, right?) I just love the way she used corks to create bright, fun, modern mobiles! Oh, and these would be cute for parties, too! (and nearly free!)

For me, I'd have to get someone to drink the wine since I'm not much of a drinker, but I have plenty of people around me (clears throat) who would love to polish off a bottle of wine that I uncork.



Use a needle and thread and hang on bamboo sticks....

Go check out her blog for better instructions ;-)
Jen, you are the MOST creative!

By the way, check out her etsy shop, too! (Amazing handmade dresses and patterns!)
(her blog is here)

{DIY Recycle Project} Colorful Cork Mobiles by Jen