neonfoxtongue

Planet Craft: Kootsac - reusable bulk food bags

Since we didn't move from our old 'home' directly to our new 'home', but rather spent a transition period travelling and living in temporary dwelling, we are pretty much starting from scratch in the sustenance department.  Filling a fridge and pantry can get expensive, so we're starting slowly.  My parents were kind enough to let me raid their pantry on the weekend.  So we're good for pasta, olive oil and, uh...instant pudding for a while.  But I predict a visit to a bulk food store fairly soon, which makes me wish I had ordered from kootsac sooner.  Behold, the reusable bulk food bag:

Made from ripstop nylon or natural silk, these bags weigh the same as plastic so they won't impact the price you pay for bulk food.  They can hold spices, beans, nuts, flour...pretty much any dry food item. They are an easy way to cut down on the use of plastic packaging and, in my opinion, are another fantastic way that handmade ingenuity can help the planet.

I'm going to order mine today.

Planet Craft: Fabric Snack Bags

I thought it was about time for another planet craft post, especially since it was easy to come up with a topic: finding crafty and planet-friendly ways to make and bring my lunch to work.  My goal is to bring a lunch at least 4 days out of 5 because it's healthier and helps me save a lot of money.  It also provides me with an opportunity to be eco-conscious about how I prepare and pack my food.  I already use non-disposable cutlery and use plastic containers whenever possible.  And I try to re-use plastic resealable bags for dry foods whenever possible.  But I know that some crafters and makers have also found ways to make more planet-friendly food storage options.  So after a bit of searching on Etsy, I found and bought some great reusable fabric snack bags from Rosy und Posy.

 

Love this green peapod fabric from How About Orange, who also happens to be one of my fave bloggers.

 

And how cute is this cherry fabric?  They look very well made too, don't they?

I can't wait for the bags to arrive so I can start using them.  They'll perfect for dry snack like nuts, dried fruit and cookies.  And I will definitely see if they work for slightly messier food like grapes.  If they work out, I might try and make some myself as they'd probably be good for sewing practice.  In any case, they're definitely going to help me cut down on my lunch litter, which is great.

I've got a couple of other ideas for ways to have more planet-friendlier lunches and I'll be sure to post about them as I put them into action. 

Hope to have a crafty and planet-friendly day!

Planet Craft: Reusable Swiffer Cover

For today's planet craft feature, I want to showcase the awesome new item I just received to help 'green' my household cleaning methods.

This afternoon, I headed downtown to the workroom to meet Anglelune for the first time.  We "met" virtually a few weeks ago when she commented on my post about reusable make-up removal pads.  We exchanged a few messages and decided to have a craft swap - she'd crochet me something that I wanted and I'd make cards for some of her upcoming celebrations (a wedding and a few birthdays).  We arranged to meet today to execute the swap and look at what I got:

A reusable Swiffer cover! I think Swiffers are great; they're easy to use and effective, but throwing out the cloths always bothered me, especially since a broom only requires you to throw out the dirt and dust you've accumulated.  I'd been wanting a reusable cover since I saw the idea here, but because I can't crochet (yet - I'd like to learn), I knew I'd have to find someone to make one for me. 

Isn't it great?  I'm afraid I couldn't take any action shots because my Swiffer is still in storage, but once we move to our own apartment, I know it'll get a lot of use. I'm so happy that I won't have to buy and throw out the cloths anymore - I can just wash and reuse my cover. I love the colour too! 

Angelune also makes and sells adorable crochet starfish and lovely cotton scarves (among other things) so you should check out her etsy shop.  Merci Angelune!

New Feature: Planet Craft!

I was speaking with a good friend about blogging recently, and I realized that I haven't been very clear about what I'm trying to achieve with this blog of mine.  And that's probably because I'm not exactly sure myself. I definitely have some ideas (quite a few actually), but I haven't been able to synthesize those ideas into an easy explanation or description of where I'm going with this 'crafty' blog.  Is this blog about my creative goals or about the handmade things I love?  Can it be both?  And more?  I think it can, but I do think I need to work on my elevator pitch for neonfoxtongue.  I've been giving it some thought as part of the blog design I've been doing and one idea/theme that keeps coming up over and over again for me is the idea of crafting as an eco-friendly activity.

I know that a lot of crafts and DIY activities can be pretty unfriendly (if not downright harmful) to the planet, but I've also found that almost all of them can be the exact opposite.  Many crafters, makers and artisans re-use materials that would have otherwise been tossed out and upcycling has become de rigeur in the craft community.  In addition, makers seem to love finding ways to make things that will help them (and others) be a little nicer to the environment.  I truly believe that in many ways, my efforts to be more creative and to make more things myself is also making me a better eco-citizen and I wanted to find a way to highlight that in this blog.

So I'm introducing a new feature - Planet Craft.  This feature will be all about the great craft/handmade/DIY products, projects and activities that take the health of the planet into consideration. I will aim to feature items and projects re-use materials and/or help minimize the purchasing of new and/or disposable items. And if you have products, projects or tips of your own or that you've found, feel free to let me know about them.  I'd love to get your input and feedback!

I had a couple of ideas of what I'd feature on the first Planet Craft post, but yesterday I saw each penny pretty's post about food jar glasses and I knew they were the perfect thing to kick-off this feature.

These cool glasses were made by Melissa, creator of the equally cool blog IS-LY.  They're pretty easy to make (though you'll need a drill) and are a simple way to ensure you have enough glasses for your backyard bbq without resorting to disposable plastic!  You could also decorate the lids or keep a dry-erase marker handy so people can write their names on the lids to keep track of their glasses.  And might I suggest some reusable or biodegradable straws?  Perfect! Now, where's my mojito? :)

(Planet Craft font is green piloww by Billy Argel)

Friday I'm in Love: Reusable Make-up Remover Pads

Apologies for a slightly later than usual post today.  A good friend has been visiting from Vancouver this week and I couldn't pass up the chance to meet with her (and her adorable 8 week old!) for lunch one more time.  But now I'm back and I'm ready to tell you all about a great crafty (and green) project for this week's Friday I'm in Love feature.

Lately, I've really been interested in finding crafty ways to reduce waste, even just a little bit.  So I really love this easy idea by The Sproutz Store - reusable make-up remover pads! (discovered via Craft)

I'm trying to generate less garbage with my beauty regimen and this would allow me to remove eye make-up without having to use throw-away cotton pads.  It looks pretty easy to make these and a quick search revealed that the minky fabric (the 'cotton' part of the pad) is pretty easy to find.  I also like it because the project would be good sewing machine practise, which I really want.  So once I have my Mom's old sewing machine (thanks Mom!), making 7 or 8 of these will be at the top of my to-make list!

And that's your short and sweet FIIL for this week! Have a great weekend!