Make your Jack o'lantern Eco Friendly

And now that you have decided to make your Jack o' Lantern, remember to be Eco friendly so... click on each item for great ideas and recipes...

Roast those pumpkin seeds A great healthy snack!

Make a delicious pumpkin soup And don't forget to add your cinnamon and nutmeg! Yummy!!!

OK so you're not that keen on soup or pumpkin pie, how about one of these 35 desserts then? Just click on the arrow on each picture to go through the recipes.

So now you have no excuse! You can make use of all the pumpkin, inside and out!
And finally don't throw your well enjoyed Jack o' Lantern away, throw it on your compost pile and if you don't have one, donate it to your favourite farmer.

In case you go berserk about Pumpkins this fall, here is a site that tells you how to prepare and freeze fresh pumpkins.

Please feel free to add your own ideas and comments in the Comments section.

Another idea for a recycled paper bag

Would you like to decorate another paper bag, let's get everything ready...

You will need:

• Your 'free' paper bag (we now have paper bags galore instead of the usual plastic ones),

• acrylic paint (any colour),


• small paint brush,


• a few drops of water,


• mixing bowl and plastic spoon,
• piece of cardboard to try out stamp,
• scissors,
• hole-punch,
• ribbons,
• something to print with, I used the bottom of an empty water bottle...

Are you ready, let's go...

Having mixed some of your acrylic paint into your mixing bowl, add a few drops of water and mix thoroughly with a spoon (not like I did with the brush as I got it too loaded with paint...I was in a rush to make a sample to take it to the centre while also trying to take photographs single-handed ~ talk of multi-tasking!)

Now load your brush with paint and paint the (outside of the) bottom of your water bottle...use several coats of paint to cover this area well...mine was super loaded LOL!

You can try stamping your design on a piece of cardboard first before stamping on your bag.

When you are confident that your design is looking good, start stamping on your bag. Do not overlap designs unless the first ones have dried. Use your imagination and enjoy your stamping. If you have something else you could stamp with, experiment...you will find there are loads of things around the house you could stamp with.

KIDS: Please ask an adult for permission to use whatever you have chosen as your stamp.

Stamp your pattern all over the bag.

Do not overload your stamping medium so that you will get a uniform pattern...you can see I did just that except towards the right of the picture just to show the difference ;)

Let the paint dry thoroughly before stamping the other side.

Once totally dry, use a punch to make holes along each edge of the bag.

Open the fold on one side and start threading your ribbon from one hole down to the next one along the side (not from front to back flaps as that will close up your bag).

Make a bow or tie...depending on whatever you choose to make, cut equal pieces of ribbon to complete this added feature.

Do the same all along each side, front and back.

And there you have it, another pretty recycled bag

Enjoy!

Recycle your paper carrier bags

Isn't it amazing how at first we did not know what to do with all our plastic shopping bags? Besides using them as bin liners we almost always ended up having a pile of them in the kitchen. There have been many crafters showing us ways of how to recycle them ~ now we treasure them like gold!
The time has come when we are being given paper carrier bags to protect the environment from harmful plastic, besides saving on the EcoTax on plastic! However, we are still faced with a recycling problem. We need to be aware of saving these bags and reusing them, thus saving our planet's supply of trees too. Unfortunately the idea in reusing them for shopping is limited or not feasible at all since they are not sturdy enough. So naturally of course we can use canvas bags or similar fabric carriers. So what are we to do with all our paper bags now...here is one idea!

I have just finished recycling one of these bags and thought to take pictures to pass on this simple yet creative idea ~ I hope it will inspire you!

Cut two rectangles from your chosen wrapping paper a few centimetres smaller than the size of your carrier bag, that is one for each side.

Dab glue (I used a gluestick) on one side of your bag, again a few centimetres away from the sides, leaving a border of brown paper showing. Carefully place one of your sheets in place making sure the ends and corners are glued down well.

Do the same on the other side of your bag.

Find a suitable spot on your design and add a motif, for example a funfelt heart as in the picture or stars or maybe even a silk flower. You can also use glitter pens or other add-ons to decorate your bag. Do not over-clutter, remember less is more!

You can use PVA glue direct from a bottle with a nozzle or use a small paintbrush to attach your motifs. Do not use too much glue as the paper may tear or stain.

Once you have put your gift inside the bag you can secure the bag opening by wrapping a co-ordinating ribbon around the handles and fastening it into a bow to finish it off. You can also add a recycled gift tag (or one made from the same wrapper paper) to the handles if you wish.

Et Voila'! Here is your re-cycled paper Gift Bag!

TIPS:

You can use different wrapping paper for different occasions and seasons.

You can also re-use your old wrapping paper cutting out motifs or, if you have enough, cut rectangles as in the above illustration. This method is great for covering bags with shop adverts too!

This is a great idea for gift-giving especially if the gift is shaped in a way that is difficult to wrap.

Make sure that the bottom of your bag is secure, add tape to make sure the flaps on the bottom do not come undone.

Do not use for heavy gifts.

Another Recycling Project

A Cork based Trivet

Have you ever looked at something before you decide to throw it away, trying to find a use for it...I do that so many times!

Would you call me a hoarder?

Some may just call me crazy...I think it is just my creativity taking over!

I knew I could definitely do something with the middle part I cut off of the cake base to make my wreath. I looked and looked and thought a little and looked again. Yep, I knew just what to do with it...a cork trivet. At least I could also use all the corks I had been saving for so long. So here is what I did...

The most difficult part was cutting the corks up into circles and trying to make them all equal in thickness as much as possible. It is very important to have a sturdy cutting board and a good craft knife (for the younger crafters: please make sure this part is done by an adult). Since you have to cut so close to the edge of the cork, it is imperative that you concentrate so please do this part of the project without interruptions or distractions and work slowly cutting in a sawing motion, gently working your way down the cork circumference.

I cut more circles than I needed so that I could place them in the best possible way to go around the base. After cutting them, I grouped them according to the thicknesses since some varied although by only a fraction of a cm.

The best way to start is by placing one cork circle in the centre and work your way around in circles. When I was happy with the way the trivet looked, I glued down each piece separately.

Et voila!

My cork trivet!

A Valentine/Celebration Wreath

I may be posting this a little late for Valentine but I decided to do so anyway since this wreath can be used decorated in different ways for various holidays and occasions during the year. I still have mine up in the main hallway and looks very decorative. Just like changing the decorations on my year round tree, I could add seasonal or occasional decorative items to give this wreath a meaningful theme throughout the year.

Using a cardboard cake base for the main circle, I also cut some fun foam hearts in white and red and decorated them with designs using gold outliners. Here are some pictures to show the steps I used to make this wreath.

I would like to give credit to Diana Trupiano whose wreath inspired me to recyle one of my cake bases.

Here is the link to her lovely craft... http://www.craftybug.com/freeprojects/valentinewreath.htm

Now what shall we do with the centre part I cut off from the cake base? That is another story and another re-cycling project!