Change is Coming!!

What's happening tomorrow is a historic inauguration and I'm hopeful that the changes Pres. elect Obama speaks of will be for the betterment of our country! Call me an optimist but I have to believe that things will improve for us.

That got me to thinking...I know the creativity of fellow Etsians as well as others throughout the e-commerce handmade circa probably kicked in gear with this new era of presidency coming. So, I went sifting through Etsy, looking for clever "Obama Gear" and look what I found! This shop on Etsy has created quite a buzz in the Obama Gear Getter community and I was equally stoked to see such creativity with this purse!



You can find this purse and other quality, handmade purses and accessories at Armando Javier Design based out of Columbus, Ohio. Her Etsy shop is: www.ArmandoJavierDesign.etsy.com

The shop is being featured in the March issue of Ebony Magazine, and has been featured in Essenceonline.com, Washington Post and other notable blogs and publications.



Here's another cute idea, albeit, to late for your inauguration party, but cute nevertheless...



This is from the shop, ImagePilots on Etsy. They're a new shop, opening before Christmas 2008 and have more Obama items listed too! Check em out at: www.imagepilots.etsy.com and grab a piece of history for a fashion accessory!




Or how about this:



Etsy shop, Veza Ve, based out of Michigan, appliqued this sweater out of another sweater - great upcycling!! She's got other vintage and handcrafted finds. Check her out at http://www.VezaVe.etsy.com


Well, I'm off to the "shop" to create...when we see each other again, a new president will be representing the United States. Stay hopeful and cognizant!

Peace!

Put A Recycled CORK In It!!!

Creativity and recycling are an awesome combination. Looking at the various recycled cork items below should make you view every piece of material with the "what can I use this for" mindset. The items are from various Etsy "upcycle" artisans and crafters.

Take a looksie!

Etsy Buy Handmade OhNoUDidntDesigns

2009 - It's About Time for ME Time!

I know, I know...it's been a while since I've pecked the keypad to create a new entry. Lots been happening on the home-front so I'm finally getting a moment to get thoughts together to say something half-way interesting! :)

So, I had to write a check out today and wrote "2008" as the year. 2009 is still so new for my mind to remember '09. I'll get the hang of it in a little bit. Actually, I'm feeling quite relieved '08 has passed on. It was a rough one for many, including me and my family, however, we've been able to get a fresh start with a new view on life. Here's to '09 and making more ME time.

Take the time in 2009 to carve out "me" time, everyone. Since many of those who may read this blog are crafters/designers, give yourself permission to create a piece just for you and not for sale! There are a few bohemian styled skirts I've been wanting to whip up but have been so busy making things for others I've not made the time. But I'm gonna do it as soon I find some funky fabric. Pics coming soon - I swear! :)

Here's a new idea I came up the end of December. I thought the idea would be cute for EMO, punk, kawaii lovers. It's a recycled wrapper cuff bracelet made from Hot Cheetos Flamin's wrapper and felt for a comfy fit. One of my favorite buyers purchased it from me on Etsy:

You creative peeps out there know what I mean when I say I have so many ideas for stuff that I sometimes get overwhelmed with thought! So, I started writing down my ideas which has put some order to my random thoughts of crafting. It's helped tremendously get me moving towards completion of all these ideas.

As a matter of fact, I'm off to the sewing room to finish a custom order...peace!

Green Up My Life, I Promise!

Yaaa, we're still here! Those smart guys are pretty smart. One scientist said while being interviewed today, "No black holes yet..." Well hallelujah! More time to blog and really enjoy life...

Which reminds me of what I was thinking while waiting at the Dr's office today...shoot blogs are supposed to be short and to the point. I think I'm too long-winded to blog about recycling minds. Heck, it'll end up being a two pager and that ain't cool.

Anywhoo, I was thinking about how fast life passes. I'm approaching 40 within the next couple of weeks and see how fast time flew by. I don't understand how it went so fast but it did. I decided to really get into the recycling thang. I had just thrown away an empty plastic bottle in haste after finding it outside on the grass instead of putting it in the plastic bag I kept in the garage for recyclable plastics. Unacceptable, I proclaimed to myself.

After I left the doctor's I went to buy a big 'ole green garbage pail since the co. who picks up our trash doesn't supply them anymore. :( Way to encourage recycling. Hmph. So I found one for 13 bucks at True Value but they had a small actual recycling bin for, like, 19.00?! Why? Well the sales guy said b/c the recycling emblem was on there.

Sooo...I'll be painting that on the front myself with some white outdoor paint. Pictures of my recycle arrow circle design coming soon. I know ya'll don't know me but drawing is so not my talent...we'll see how it turns out. I think I'll try to trace it or something first.

Okay, so back to life going so fast...If I have a day or a decade or fifty more years left to live, no matter how fast it goes, I am gonna make a conscious effort to make one "green" habit a week. If I live to be 90 then that's...oh gosh, where's the calculator? That's about 600 months to become the greenest granny (or great granny) in the universe, ya heard? That'll be something the earth will thank me for as it spins feverishly into my 50's and beyond. Sloooooow down Mama Earth!

Seriously though, life is short but you don't have to leave the living without adding some "green meaning" Besides laughing a heck of alot, living for the good passion(s) in your life...don't forget to thank the earth that sustains ya.


picture courtesy of "A Day in The Life of our Homeschool Journey" blog.

Soapbox is officially put away for the day.

TTYL (type to ya later)

Hadron Collider?? WTF??

OK, so, I'm ready to see some changes to our planet but not THIS! My 15 y.o. told me last week about some experiment that could possible destroy the earth?! WTF??? I meant to Google that night but forgot about it...until this morning while watching the morning news.

The news anchor said, "Opponents fear the $9.3 billion machine, which will generate temperatures of more than a trillion degrees centigrade, could create a black hole that could swallow the planet...." It's called the Hadron Collider and it's in the Swiss Alps. Hey, scientist guys in the Alps, please don't kill us in attempt to recreate the "big bang"!

Now, I'm all for experiments to find out how this big old globe operates but sometimes these scientists take it too far. This could be my 2nd and final post because of this experiment.

The experts say, "The LHC team hopes to find the theoretical Higgs-Boson Particle" Ay, Dios! What's next, recreating the terrifying dinosaurs through recovered DNA? A reinactment of the beginning of the Ice Age? Sheesh!

Well, if this earth is going "bye-bye" then I'm off to do some fun stuff today. After I leave the Dr's office, I'm going to take off to my local park, put my toes in the grass barefoot and lookup at the big blue yonder.

Hope to be here tomorrow though :(

Free Yo' Mind....The Rest Will Follow

Mind freedom. Ah, words that sound breathy when spoken. When I was a little girl (like 8 or 9) my mom used to belong to this group that focused on freedom of the mind and breaking down boundaries that our minds created in order to be successful in life. Although some of the stuff seemed spooky to me back then, like, transcendental meditation and telepathy, it was also a spiritual walk of sorts. The teachings were fundamental to the open mind I have today.

New concepts, ideas, new ways of doing and using old things, shaped my business of wrapperfashion.com and helped me take a strong look at my green "footprint" index #. I found that if you free your mind from your old way of doing and thinking - throwing recyclables away without regard, keeping the water running while brushing your teeth, or casting an old garment into the trash instead of upcycling, ect, ect, ect - the rest will definitely follow. The rewards will follow, and you can have the feeling of flowing and rolling with mother nature and essentially yourself since we all extensions of this big ole' globe!

With this being my very first EVER blog (I know, I'm laaaate!), I thought long and hard what matters to me. Justice, growth, witty inventions...hmm, what else? I finally rested upon "Free Yo' Mind" and couldn't get EnVouge's 1990's hit, "Free Your Mind" out of my mind since! And in freeing your mind, you can recycle and change your mind to live, move and have your being in synergy with your world. I'm putting my soapbox away for now...

In the meantime, I want to keep my mind free and continually renewed; keep my hands busy and most assuredly, the rest will follow! Until my next ramble, green-love ya'll!