Very high on my list of things I hate are those bags that you put your produce in at the grocery store. By the way, my husband and I have an ongoing fight over whether or not to put bananas into one of those bags. Um, dude, bananas have peels. A year or so ago I went super Earth Mama and made some bags for produce out of an old pair of pants, but as many many many things in my home, they went missing. And so I returned to those icky bags.
But not for long! This week the busy bees and I did a little bit for the Earth and made ourselves some new produce bags, and made them even more awesome by using fruits and veggies to decorate them. It definitely was a fun (but slightly messy) project. I’m not gonna lie, fabric paint is not easy to get out of your favorite, perfectly worn in grey tee shirt. Boooo.
To make these bags, you will need
1. 1 – 2 yards of lightweight but sturdy fabric. I got mine at Joanns in the utility fabric section.
2. Fabric paint
3. Meat trays for the paint (yay recycling!)
4. Various fruit and veggies. We used apples, pears, oranges, broccoli, celery, cucumber and carrot.
For a little educational value, I labeled two pieces of fabric “fruit” and two “veggie” so we had a little conversation about sorting and categorizing, and even talked a little nutrition.
like the blue splatters? Heres a tip – put the lid on the paint BEFORE you shake it.
How awesome does that celery stamp look? That might have to make an appearance in a later project…
After drying overnight, I whipped up some drawstring bags (there are 400 bazillion tutorials online, so I will forgo the laborious instructions) that will be perfect for produce, and will spare me from those horrid grocery store bags! And my store gives me a $.05 discount for every bag I bring myself so cha ching! I figure these will pay for themselves in, like, a year or two. Ha ha.
What baby steps have you made to make the earth a little happier this month? It doesn’t take much! Every little bit helps.
Happy Earth, um, Month!
Category Archives: Guest Blogger
April
2013
Stamped Produce Bags – a belated Earth Day craft.
March
2013
A Resurrection Garden
Can you believe that Easter is almost here? I feel like this time of year always creeps slowly up on me, and suddenly it’s here! We here at the Beehive are loving the warm weather and are spending as much time as we can outside these days. And I love being able to serve Easter dinner outside…much easier to clean up! Since Easter is definitely close, I have started a few Easter projects with the Busy Bees, and I’m excited to share one with you.
Remembering the reason we celebrate Easter is a priority in our family and as the Little Bee grows, I think it’s important to take every opportunity to emphasize that Easter is about so much more than candy and bunnies, even though those things are fun! I saw a beautiful “Resurrection Garden” a few years ago on a blog and thought this would be a fun project for my girls and a good way to keep the empty tomb at the front of our minds.
To make a Resurrection Garden, you need:
- a shallow saucer. I used some terra cotta ones that were hanging around in the shed but you could use a baking dish too
- potting soil
- an empty container for the tomb. The original I saw used a small terra cotta pot, but I went super classy on this one and used an empty eye makeup remover containter.
- A rock for the front of the tomb
- Wheatberries or grass seed. I used wheatberries that I bought at Sprouts with great intentions of grinding my own wheat. Um, that never happened.
- Some sticks and twine to make the crosses.
The oranges are optional. And my weird kid likes them cut in circles instead of wedges. Go figure.
A quick note – the wheatberries will sprout faster if you soak them overnight.
First, spread a layer of soil in the saucer.
Next, wedge the container that you are using for the tomb into the soil and cover it, too. We made one Resurrection garden and the other two I’m going to use for another decoration.
Make the crosses by tying twine around the sticks and stick them in.
Spread the wheatberries in a single layer and cover them with a light layer of soil. Drink some coffee. Has anyone else noticed that there are always food items in my pictures?
Keep them moist and in a warm place, but not direct sunlight. And preferrably away from a curious dog. The best way to keep them moist is to mist them with a spray bottle,because the top layer is so shallow. Just let me warn you though, if you give spray bottles to both children, this is likely to happen…
instead of this…
I also submerged the bottom of the saucer in water in a glass baking dish for 20 minutes a day to keep the rest of the soil moist. In just a few days, we saw some growth! See the teeny tiny speck of green?
As of this morning, our Resurrection Garden looks like this! Check back in two weeks to see my Easter dinner table and how I use this little project as a centerpiece!
“The angel said to the women ‘Do not be afraid, for I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said…”
Matthew 28:5 – 6
February
2013
Busy Bees kids’ craft – Valentines Treasure Boxes
Among friends, I am pretty sure I am referred to (behind my back) as the crazy eco girl. Someone who shall not be named always makes fun of me because when I brought her some burritos after her third baby was born, I begged her to not throw away the tin foil they were wrapped in. So of course, when this month’s theme – turning old onto new – was decided, I was phyched. (Do people say that anymore?) I LOVE using old stuff to make awesome new stuff. It soothes my Earth Mama soul.
Since my Little Bees are total piglets when it comes to berries, I had a zillion of those little baskets they come in stashed in my kids craft box. The Little Bee has been begging for one of those pirate – y looking boxes that are perfectly positioned right by the fabric department (grrrr) at Hobby Lobby, so I hatched a plan to make our own “treasure boxes” out of all those berry baskets. And since Valentine’s Day is upon us, why not turn them into fun little gifts for the Little Bees’ little friends?
Here’s what you need:
Plastic berry baskets
Red spray paint (if you want)
Contact paper or scrapbook paper
Sparkly stuff – sequins, rhinestones, whatever strikes your fancy
Glue. Lots and lots and lots of glue.
Snacks and plastic baggies to put them in. But promise me you will wash out the baggies and re use them.
I started by giving the outside of berry baskets a coat of red spray paint. This isn’t necessary, but I wanted them to be all Valentiney. When they were dry, I cut a piece of chalkboard contact paper to the size of the top of the basket, and glued it on. I thought that the contact paper would stick but I was wrong. It took a semi ridiculous amount of glue to get it stuck. We used chalkboard paper because I wanted to be able to write names on the finished project and allow the kiddos to wipe them off after Valentines Day to make room to write things like “Pirate Gold” or “Baby sisters, do not touch!!!” Pretty scrapbook paper would work great too.
Enter the Busy Bee to work some girlie magic. Their job was pretty simple – just glue the gems around the border of the paper to make them look bee-yoo-tee-full.
To fill up these little treasure boxes, we made some Valentine’s Day puppy chow, just using the recipe on the Chex box and adding heart sprinkles and a bag of pink and red M and M’s. Or you can just pick the red M and M’s out of the Costco bag of M and M’s you keep as potty training bribery. Not that I know about that…
So there you have it! A quick and easy Valentine’s Day treat that your kids can make. You can tweak these for any occasion as well, tiny Easter baskets, May Day treats, or even a cute gift card holder.
Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
February
2013
Tips for Decorating with ~VINTAGE~
You don’t need to have all vintage items to have a vintage look in your home. This little corner has a vintage chair & tray, handmade coasters, a planter from Ikea, a table from West Elm, and a thrifted Crate & Barrel wine glass…cute kid too!
Linking up at Create & Inspire
January
2013
Dream Storage: Diapers
When strangers ask how old my two kids are, I often hear, “Girl, you crazy!” My son is 19 months old and his little sister is three months old. Yep, 16 months apart and we actually planned it that way.
It wasn’t until the newborn haze wore off and my son announced he was “Poopy!” that I did the math and realized… I will be changing diapers on two kids for at least another year. Good times.
So, diapers are a big part of my life right now. They need to be accessible and organized. Bonus points for making them a conversation piece in room decor… which is what I’ve managed to do and am excited to share with you today.
First, in my daughter’s nursery, we have a fantastic diaper storage solution that is unfortunately, no longer available.
That is the Allamala Magazine Rack from Ikea. It holds about 200 diapers – all within arm’s reach of the changing table.
Typical Ikea – they always discontinue the good stuff. So, if you’re lucky, you can find one on eBay or Craig’s List. It comes in wrought iron. I spray painted mine silver to match the nursery décor.
In our downstairs playroom, we store diapers on a Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market find…
In our downstairs playroom, we store diapers on a Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market find…
So, that’s how I am creatively storing diapers in my home, but here are some other ideas I put together for you… First, a shower caddy!
I found this caddy at Marshall’s. As you can see, it started off wrought iron. I matched the color of the bedding a friend had registered for – gave this puppy a coat of primer, two coats of spray paint – and voila! – a unique and fun baby shower gift.
Next up… a magazine rack.
Imagine this with a coat of bright blue or yellow? This is a nice piece too because as baby grows, it can be repurposed for coloring books (which is exactly what it holds now in my kid’s playroom!). I also found this piece at Marshall’s.
Next, some simple items you may already have or can find anywhere for CHEAP: a basket and a floating shelf.
Again, image these painted in a nursery accent color – perfect! These also can be repurposed when the bambino is potty trained.
So, there you have it – a few alternative and creative ideas for diaper storage. What do you think? Anything here you would use – or do you have another item you repurposed for diaper storage? Do share!
January
2013
{Packing Up Holiday Decor} … Conquer it Quickly
We have a very special guest today! Danielle Wurth is a professional Organizer and has joined us to kick start our Operation Organize Month! She is the queen of organization and has some amazing tips for us! Without further ado, here she is!
By Dinner time on New Year’s Day every piece of Christmas Décor is completing packed away. It is a full day, but feels great to kick off the year wrapping up the past one. Celebrating the Holiday Season can be so bittersweet. On one hand we enjoy the festive music, family gatherings and celebrating the the glorious historical season. On the other hand there is tremendous work involved to pack up all the things that brought such great joy. When your packing system is highly efficient, more time is spent embracing the season vs. complaining about the work involved. Hope you feel refreshed, not exhausted after reading this!
{Packing Up Holiday Decor} … Conquer it Quickly
- Remove Outdoor Lighting On a Separate Day – My hubby prefers to remove the lighting with the boys shortly after Christmas. They work together to remove the lights, check for dead fuses and pack them into our (1) huge red and green Rubbermaid décor bin.
- Gather small décor in one place – I work on gathering and clean the Christmas plates, dish towels, coffee mugs etc. and place them all on ONE large surface such as the dining table.
Round Up the Troops for Packing Day- We celebrate as a family and pack up as a family. Select a window of time to remove the holiday décor but in a specific order according the organizing mama!
Set a Kitchen Timer – We set it for about 2-3 hours so the kiddos see it as a game and I stay focused.
Label and Properly Store Everything – We have 3 Mega Christmas Rubbermaid Bins: (1) for Outdoor Lights, (1) for Indoor Décor and (1) for Tree Ornaments. You can even label the location of where the item was placed.
Pack and Purge Accordingly – ALL DECOR MUST FIT IN THE BINS (except your tree). If we acquire more the space allows then something must be passed along to another family. Period, no exceptions!
Pack Like with Like – Grab the box which stores a series of the same ornaments. Make it fun playing “I spy” for the kiddos to find and gently remove only that type of ornament to pack.
Label Your Items Packaging – From advent calendars to wreaths, every bag or bubble wrap is labeled using a Sharpie Marker and Avery label with clear packing tape placed over it for protection. It’s like a packing post-it note to keep you on track
Create a Packing Cheat Sheet – Packing things in a bin is quite a puzzle. Free hand drawing or use Avery labels to show the packing sequence.
Post the Packing Cheat Sheet – Slide the packing cheat sheet into a protective sleeve and adhere to lid of bin with packing tape for future reference. It is wurth the time and effort for everyone to reference.
Celebrate Your Success – Have a fire, eat smores, pour the hot cocoa for y’all deserve a BIG reward
Lost an antler along the way? - Didn’t make it past step one? Just give me a jingle and me and my girls can help you get it done!
P.S. This season we seriously did lose one of our new car decor antlers. It was really sad :0( My boys and I drove up and down Shea looking for it ..it now confirms we are so NOT a typical family, more like a one antler type of family…classic story!
******This giveaway is closed********
It's Giveaway time! You have until Wednesday at midnight to enter, a winner will be drawn on Thursday!
~Danielle from Wurth Organizing is giving away (2) House Tour Tickets valued at $70! You get to step into the home of a personal organizer and open EVERY drawer and cabinet in her house! I have done it, and it is seriously so inspiring!
Here is how to enter
*Like her on Facebook
*Leave a comment here telling us you did
Yep, that simple! Good luck!
If you don't win and would still like to attend the house tour, registration can be done via her website under workshops.
December
2012
Busy Little Bees Craft: Salt Dough Ornaments
Today we have another very special guest with us, isn’t this FUN to have all these new faces! We are so excited to have one of our great friends and a WONdeRFuL vendor of ours Beth of Little Bee & Me. Each month Beth will be joining us
for a kids craft and sewing project! How fun is that! We so so excited to share her with you!
When I was a kid, putting ornaments on the tree was a big deal. Each family member had our own box without our own special ornaments in it. My mom even made notebooks that had a description of each individual ornament, who it was from, when we got it, etc. Now, I am not that anal, er, meticulous about our Christmas decorations, but ornaments are still a big deal to me. I especially love the “kid fabulous” ones, the ones that remind me of kindergarten or Sunday School and how much fun I had making them, and how proud I was to give them to my family.
Check out this little cutie!
So this year I decided to introduce my little bees to the tradition of making “kid fabulous” ornaments. Since they are still pretty little (4 and 2) I wanted to keep it really simple, so I settled on making salt dough cutouts. Salt dough is really easy to make. Just combine
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup fine salt
Then gradually add between ½ and 1 cup water until the mixture resembles Playdoh. I mixed mine in the bowl until all the water was absorbed, then dumped it out on the table and kneaded it until it was smooth. Then, of course, we paused for a moment to play with the result. These busy bees love play dough, so this was a must for them!
Be sure to feed some to your pet ladybug…
When they were ready to get down to business, I rolled the dough out to about ¼ in thick, and let the busy bees cut out the shapes.
Baby bee showed that dough who’s boss!
At first, I just rolled the dough out on the table, but getting the shapes off in one piece was impossible. Then I got smart and pulled out my silicone baking sheets. (these are an awesome invention, by the way and if you don’t have one already, put it on your Christmas list! I even use these as placemats at restaurants for the Baby Bee because they don’t slide around)) Once I figured that out, the shapes came off much smoother. After they were cut, I used a high tech tool – a pen – to put a hole in the top of each one. I put them on a cookie sheet in the oven on the dehydrate setting for a few hours, but this isn’t necessary. You can just let them dry for a day or two.
Once the ornaments were dry, we used tempura paint to make them beautiful. Then I mod podged a picture of the cute little bees on the front, and used a plain old sharpie to write on the back. And I ate an apple.
As an afterthought I let the Little Bee use glitter pens to outline the photos, because, hey, everything is better with glitter (Right Coley?) I used simple brown twine to hang them. Here are our beautiful salt dough ornaments!
Granted, these are not the beautiful, perfect salt dough ornaments that you see on Pinterest. But for little ones, crafts are about the process, not the result. Being able to do crafts by themselves gives kids a sense of pride and independence, and keeping them really simple saves this Mama Bee’s sanity. And I know that in 20 years, when I unwrap this ornament to put on the tree, I’ll think back to the time spent with my sweet little Bees.
December
2012
A Fabulous DIY Holiday Packaging Class & Giveaway!
Tonight we have a really special guest joining us! Our FABULOUS graphic designer is putting together a great online holiday class and she is giving away tickets!!! You won’t want to miss it! So join with me in welcoming RENEE!
Hi all!
Renee
here — you may be wondering who I am as I’ve never officially posted here on the blog, but I’m sure if you look closely you’ll be able to find some of my work around these parts. I’m the graphic designer for the lovely Junk in the Trunk girls and, I must say, I absolutely love working with them! Today I’m here to share a special project that myself and Ali Nelson (of alimakesthings.com) have put together for the holidays — a DIY Holiday Packaging Class! I know all of you around here are fans of vintage, repurposed, and handmade — and this is Ali’s style exactly. A previous member of the Anthropologie visual team (among others), Ali’s aesthetic is all about turning everyday objects into unexpectedly beautiful pieces. Paired with my modern, shiny, glittery style, we’ve created a festive set of gift-wrapping styles that we’ll be teaching in a half hour online segment. The class airs on Monday December 10th, but if you can’t watch it then, it will be available for you to view anytime after that. The class is only $10 and you’ll walk away with more than enough tricks to go around for all your holiday gifts this year! But, since we love Junk in the Trunk… we’ve decided to give away seats to 3 of you lucky readers for FREE!!
How to enter: Post or tweet anything about the class –
For example, “Take Ren + Ali’s online DIY Pretty Holiday Packaging class to learn how to pretty up all your Christmas gifts this year! tinyurl.com/diy-holiday“
Or, you can use this image:
Then, POST A COMMENT below so we know who entered!
Three commenters will be selected at random on Saturday at 12:00pm PST. We’ll send you a message with a special code and you can use that to redeem your free class!
Enjoy the giveaway, but even if you don’t win you can sign up here for just $10! Can’t wait to craft with you guys!
Renee
October
2012
What’s Your Style?
e.sm_o4Pvp” target=”_blank”>http://www.homegoods.com/
August
2012
a going away gift
A sweet friend of mine moved this week, from phoenix all they way to Kent Washington. I’ve known for a few weeks this was going to happen, but life has been slightly crazy busy, and well I just kind of forgot to plan ou
t anything great to give them as a going away gift. So I was left with one hour and whatever I could find around my house (and my sister’s since it was her map). But have no fear even with those limitations I came up with something sweet – that may have even got a tearful response.
Fair warning Lindsey has done a very similar project on here before. I decided to go with a modified Lindsey/Pinterest map project, thinking it would be perfect for them to remember there time here in Phoenix. So I pulled out my heart shaped cookie cutter, and traced the areas of the map that contained all of the important locations. I made sure the heart included where they lived, work, and went to church.
Then I trimmed down some blue card stock to fit into the 8 x 10 frame that I found in my storage bins. Instead of just gluing the map to the card-stock I used mounting squares, creating a bit of depth.
Here you can see how the map sticks up off the back ground. In the pictures it is a bit more difficult to see, but in person it came out looking really cool…..like the map was floating in the frame.
Then stick it in the frame, and it’s a simple as that. The perfect going away gift in just a few minutes -and at no cost. Doesn’t get much better than that.
Linking up at Southern Institute.
