Does your cutie patootie give a hoot about Ma Earth? Then enter him or her in the Eco-Cutey Photo Contest by Inhabitots—my latest writing gig—and stand to win a $50 gift certificate to the Inhabitat Shop, where you can go goo-goo-ga-ga over more green gear for your kidlet.
Photo by allthosetrees
I love these rings made from precious metal clay (i.e. reclaimed silver) and embossed with running stitches. ($29, Etsy.com)
Photo by allthosetrees
Photo by Living Creatively
Ain’t serendipity grand? I stumbled across Living Creatively recently and I’m ALL OVER its projects page. Above, a series of painted animal silhouettes, and below, a linen mobile that uses rub-on motifs to dazzling effect.
Photo by Living Creatively
Photo by TimeOut New York
Here’s a great tutorial on TimeOut New York on how to weave a swanky bracelet out of those pesky magazine-subscription cards. Unless you’re a complete mag hag, however, it might take you a while to get the 81 cards you’ll need for this project. I wonder if this will work for candy wrappers, too.
Photo by SaraBartsch
The best use for old, worn-at-the-knee jeans? Turn them into teddy bears, of course! These precious patooties are made by a stay-at-home mother of three, who obviously knows a thing or two about cute. ($10, Etsy.com)
Photo by Kunklebaby
How darling are these? Made from 100 percent domestic organic cotton by Kunklebaby over at Etsy.com. The hand-stamped seahorses absolutely SLAY ME. And I covet that pleasant blouse, and not for my kidlet. ($16-$50, Etsy.com)
Photo by Kunklebaby
Photo by Kunklebaby
Photo by Camden Rose
Tip: Find out if your child’s toys contain lead and other toxins at HealthyToys.org
Photo by Forest Bound
I’m completely enamored with Forest Bound, artist Alice Saunders’ absolutely breathtaking—for there is no other word for it—collection of accessories that recall a time long-past, complete with sepia-toned photographs, ink- and tear-stained love letters tied with ribbon, and the plaintive strains of Glen Miller and his orchestra crackling from a Victrola.
Photo by Forest Bound
Photo by Forest Bound
Photo by Forest Bound
Photo by Forest Bound
Witchbaby is gearing up for Earth Hour tonight. Are you?
Is this an excuse to post more pictures of the Most Adorable Kid on the Planet? (Don’t you just want to NOM those cheeks?) Yeah, okay, you got me.
Photo by Willywaw at Etsy.com
These gorgeous bags, handmade by Ashley Van Etten of Willywaw, make me think of boardwalk jaunts and sand squishing between your toes. Crafted from 100 percent organic cotton canvas grown and milled in the United States, then printed with water-based inks, the totes are finished off with straps made from hemp webbing. ($28-$50, Etsy.com)
Photo by Willywaw at Etsy.com
Photo by Willywaw at Etsy.com
Photo by Willywaw at Etsy.com
Photo by K&Company
It’s been a long time coming, but American scrapbooking companies are finally catching up to the green party bus. Just two years ago, the realm of eco-friendly scrapbooking was a wasteland in terms of commercially available supplies—which is ironic because the earliest scrapbookers were coaxed by the spirit of thrift and preservation. (And the lack of a Joanne’s within buggy-driving distance.)
Today, options made from post-consumer recycled paper—and printed with soy inks—abound. Here are some of the companies heeding the call for virgin-tree-free products:
DCWV: Green Stack Collection
K&Company: Amy Butler Lotus | Remake
Piggy Tales: Cinderella | The Steadfast Tin Soldier | The Ballad of Mulan | Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Paper Trunk: 1974 | Batik | Gigi | Jellybean | Wrangler | Maybe Baby | Socialite
Jilibean Soup: White Collection | Kraft Collection
» Things that make me so angry I want to spit #28123—from Reuters: FDA defends safety of U.S. infant formula (0) #
» Free download from the Center for Health, Environment and Justice: Pass Up the Poison Plastic: the PVC-Free Guide for Your Family & Home (0) #
» Seen on Bath & Bodyworks’ 3-in-1 Bubble Bath, Body Wash and Shampoo in Cool Kiwi Berry: “CAUTION: Use only as directed. Excessive use or prolonged exposure may cause irritation to skin and urinary tract… Keep out of reach of children except under adult supervision.” Seriously, people. What. The. Hell? (2) #
» Obama: “Few challenges facing America—and the world—are more urgent than combating climate change.” (0) #
Photo by kaytethinks, under a Creative Commons license
Happy Halloween, the most frightful night of the year! (Of course, with the state the world is in, who needs extra chills and thrills? I’m already petrified with fear.) Coincidentally, it’s also the third anniversary of the day I first registered The Worsted Witch; I didn’t pick Halloween intentionally but perhaps my subconscious latched onto the significance before I did.
Fall days just cry out for pumpkin pie or soup, and I have two organic sugar pumpkins ready to sacrifice themselves for the cause. The challenge now is finding a good-size pot, since we donated the last of our Teflon-coated nastiness to Goodwill last week—I couldn’t cope with nightmares about PFOA and “Teflon toxicosis” anymore—and we haven’t had time to stock up on stainless steel just yet, so I’m down to one cast-iron pan and a ceramic-coated skillet.
» From Slate: Sarah Palin’s War on Science: The GOP ticket’s appalling contempt for knowledge and learning.” Writes Christopher Hitchens: “This is what the Republican Party has done to us this year: It has placed within reach of the Oval Office a woman who is a religious fanatic and a proud, boastful ignoramus. Those who despise science and learning are not anti-elitist. They are morally and intellectually slothful people who are secretly envious of the educated and the cultured. And those who prate of spiritual warfare and demons are not just ‘people of faith’ but theocratic bullies. On Nov. 4, anyone who cares for the Constitution has a clear duty to repudiate this wickedness and stupidity.” Can I get an amen? (2) #
» From The Washington Post: “BPA Ruling Flawed, Panel Says; FDA Ignored Scientific Evidence of Harm, Report Finds.” (0) #
» From The New York Times: Are you a carborexic? Extreme carbon-footprint-reducing zealots—extreme even for me, which is saying a lot. (0) #
» Every year, I get that ambivalent feeling in the pit of my stomach over Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I won’t rehash the reasons why (although seeing pink goodies packaged in PVC drives me up the wall): You can read a 2007 TreeHugger post I wrote about why you should think before you fall for cause-related marketing. Want more? Here’s another “think before you pink” screed from 2006. I’m nothing if not consistent. (0) #
» 
No matter what the Corn Refiners Association would have you believe, high-fructose corn syrup is NOT all-natural (0) #
Illustration by Greg Bonnell
I’m loving the art and the subject matter of Mama Voted for Obama! by Jeremy Zilber and Greg Bonnell—and the knitting llama and the Chekhov cat (really the Clintons’ cat Socks, if you know your presidential kitties), of course!
Illustration by Greg Bonnell
Illustration by Greg Bonnell
Photo by the hub
I take a certain perverse glee in the fact that I’m seven-and-a-half months into my pregnancy, but I’ve yet to buy a stitch of maternity clothing—although I have to admit that the Liz Lange for Target maternity coats my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas four years ago, thinking they were regular women’s jackets, are sure coming in handy these days.
My secret? A pair of Baby Be Mine’s belly bands, made from sustainably grown bamboo, which I alternate every few days, or sometimes every other week, since they’re naturally antibacterial, antifungal, and don’t get terribly dirty anyway. Because those stretchy pieces of fabric smoosh down unbuttoned flies so that no one’s the wiser, I’ve been able to extend the life of my “skinny” wardrobe, including pants and skirts.
My shirts and blouses have been riding up my belly due to its increasing girth, however, and, although I was able to pass off my look as the very-de-rigeur-for-fall “layered” style, it’s gotten to a point where I might have to break down and purchase a few maternity tops. In sticking with my cheapskate low-impact ethos, though, I’m going to check out a couple of consignment stores this weekend, including Jane’s Exchange in the East Village.
More economical, eco-friendly maternity-wear tips from the lovely Jill Fehrenbacher at Inhabitots.
I’m really, really, really tired, by the way, even though I haven’t done much all day besides read The Huffington Post and thinking what a douche John McCain is. Who knew growing an entire human being from scratch could be this exhausting?
The Essential Bordertown (Borderlands) by Terri Windling, Delia Sherman
