A few weeks ago, we were at the premier of Mission Sustainable in downtown Seattle. As you can imagine, many (but not all) of the guests were beautifully and artfully attired. One who caught our eye was Deanna Dukes, known to her fans as the Crunchy Chicken Goddess, and one of the stars of the Mission Sustainable TV pilot.

Deanna was wearing this dress made from neckties!

Here are just a few of the tie crafting ideas we've come across:

A chair by Peter Raphael Russo

A necktie schoolbag

A tie clock by Canadian Design Resource

Easter eggs dyed using silk ties--idea from our friend Martha

All this has gotten us excited about the possibilities. Shhhh, we're heading off to see what treasures we can find hiding deep in the recesses of our husband's closets!

Have you made anything fun from ties? Let us know.

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are a mother-daughter team and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net.

Like every other holiday, Americans have gotten into the habit of equating Valentine's Day with buying. It started with cards but has esclated to the point where we feel the only way to "prove" our love is to buy--flowers, lingerie, candy, jewelry--something that will stand in for the words we feel incapable (or unwilling) of saying or the actions we don't think of taking.

If you want to buy your love something as a token of affection, that's fine. But isn't it time we stop listening to marketers and start thinking for ourselves?

It doesn't take money, or even a lot of creativity. All it takes is asking ourselves, "What can I do for the person I love that will make him/her happy?"

We placed a quote on one of our Celebrate Green e-cards that sums up this point. It was written by an 8-year-old girl who was asked to explain what love is:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails any more. So my grandfather does it for her even though he has arthritis in his hands."

Expressions of love can be anything from taking on a job your partner finds onerous to recognizing she sometimes needs time alone to letting him have the last of your favorite chocolate bar. It's about willingly giving something of yourself and choosing to act in a way that fulfills another's need.

This Valentine's Day, before you head to the store to buy a card, think about the person you love and consider what you might do to bring her joy and/or make her life easier. Believe us, your actions will speak volumes more than any item you could ever purchase. (But if you insist on a card, how about making an eco-friendly one?)

What have you done or will you do for your Valentine? Let us know.

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are a mother-daughter team and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net.

We realize it's only the middle of January, but if time zooms by as quickly for you as it does for us, Valentine's Day is not too far off. And if you want to avoid buying cards this year, why not take a day soon to sit down and make those cards.

Whether you want to give only one special masterpiece to your love or craft enough for a room full of preschoolers, making them can be as simple as cutting heart shapes out of paper you'd otherwise toss, and writing messages related to being green--Will you be my eco-Valentine?, I love you from the bottom of my organic heart, You're as sweet as local honey (assuming you and the recipient have a sense of humor!)

One of the most fun approaches for kids is simply to put out lots of papers, pens, paints, stamps, used postage stamps, scissors, glue etc. and let 'em go. They'll come up with all sorts of fun, creative cards. 

Don't think that handmade cards have to look like traditional greeting cards. Here's one Lynn made for her husband out of a hangar and some other stuff she had lying around. Don't be afraid to take found objects, clothing, etc. and re-purpose into meaningful greetings. (Can you tell Lynn likes wordplay?)

If you want to get a little fancier, replicate this Valentine Lynn made. It's simple, unique, fun to make and uses up junk mail, old magazine pages or slick newspaper ads. Kids will really get into making these. Create an assembly line if you're doing lots.

What you need:

Page(s) from newspaper, magazine, catalogue, newsprint is best
Colorful junk mail, magazines, newspaper ads
Glue stick
Scissors

Directions:

1. Cut 3 heart shapes from a piece of newspaper, book page etc. Easiest way is to fold the pages in half and cut one half a heart, unfold and voila!

2. Cut long strips from your magazine, junk mail or newspaper ads. Thickness doesn't matter. Strips don't even need to be even. 

3. Cut strips into shorter lengths.

4. Begin gluing strips around what will be the back of the card. Leave spaces between. Glue all the way around the heart.

5. Cut strips that are a little longer than the first layer and glue behind the first layer in the spaces inbetween. They'll overlap and that's fine.

6. Repeat with a third layer if you like. 

7. Once you have as many layers of the strips as you like, flip card over to front. Take a second heart and fold it in half, then staple it on the fold line in two places, to the front.

8. Flip the card over again and glue one heart over the back of the card covering staples and the messy part where the strips are glued.

9. Stamp, write or glue words to the heart that stands up.

Lynn made a giant version of this card and stuffed it with paper. Shhh, she's planning to give to her grandkids just for fun.

Lynn's grandkids and Corey's kids quickly fell in love with one of their group gifts, a small set of blocks from www.tegu.com. Check out these videos to see why!

We're all about putting the meaning in the greening. But most often, present opening and eating are the centerpieces of Christmas. This year, when the gifts and edibles might be a little on the slim side due to the economy, why not focus the family on fun activities that everyone can enjoy and that cost the Earth nothing? 

Yesterday, we had a gathering filled with giggles and gaffaws that was simple to put together and required nothing more on the food side than cider, popcorn, fruit and organic candy canes to keep our strength up!

We played a bunch of games that involved everyone from five to ??? starting with "Searching Spoons." The premise is simple. You cover the eyes of the person who is "it." Then she tries to figure out who she is touching using only two serving spoons. (Make sure people know each other well before trying this game.) "It" can spin around a few times or the other players can move around until "it" says "Stop!" At that point, she beings using the spoons to identify the first person she runs into. Caution youngsters to be gentle with the spoons. Try to keep the little ones from giving themselves away by laughing, but we promise, you won't succeed. With adults, it's actually a lot more difficult than you might imagine, to identify the person being spooned.

Another game everyone enjoyed was trying to discover objects that had been stuffed into two socks and tied closed with a ribbon. We divided into teams and had five minutes to figure out by feeling each object, what was inside each sock and write everything down. Furrowed brows, funny guesses, added up to fun!

Laugh yourself silly when you try to pick up cotton balls on the end of your nose and deposit it in a bowl. Use a dab of Un-petroleum Jelly choose teams and race to see whose bowl fills up fastest!

If these are not your style, just check the internet for "family Christmas games," and no doubt you'll find something that will get your giggle meter rising!

Know any fun, family games? Tell us about them.

 

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are a mother-daughter team and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net.