my green issues

So, I love domino magazine and all, but seriously, if you want people to go green, you have to show the affordable options!  Their newest issue is their annual green issue, and they boast "150 easy ways to go green at home."  They have some really good ideas and very nice products, so check it out.  The thing is, no one I know is going to/ can afford to pay $700 for a blanket for their bed.  So, you know what this means.  I'm on the hunt...stay tuned for a list.

10 under $10

We start with some quirky art.  I love shopping on etsy because I love the idea that I am helping out an actual person.  Also, some day, when I have time, I am going to open my own little etsy store to sell my handiwork.  This is an 8.5x11 print from the store MATTY8080 and retails for $6 plus $2.50 s&h.  There were a ton of others, including one with a squid that I liked.  But I want to buy thissaone.  He even does requests...

This is a nice basic white wood frame from Target.  I like a white frame with a white mat for color snapshots of the kiddos.  This one is a good price, $6.99 for an 8x10.  Get yerself a mat for $1.50 or so and you are set!

New from West Elm, this branch entertaining ware comes in a variety of prices with a dipping bowl for $5 and a small bowl for $9.

These orange amac boxes from The Container Store appeal to that part of me that likes to organize everything in little compartments and stack them neatly in ascending order.  They range in price from $.39 to $3.19.  The come in a range of wild colors, too.  I am ordering a few of the purple for Ceci's hair things.

These Fran hooks, at right, are a steal, as with many things at ikea.  $3.99 for a 2 pack.  (They also come in black.)  The drawback is that they are only available in the store.

Magnetic, flat-bottomed measuring spoons (above) in my favorite shade of green.  These are on my "to get" list.  They have a narrow end for spice jars and a wider end for, I guess everything else.  Ingenious!  You'll find them at Macy's for a whopping $7.98.

MoMAstore has a bunch of matted prints for $8.50.  This is my favorite, a reproduction of "The Jungle," by Wifredo Lam.

With this genealogy chart, you can display up to 9 generations, allowing for hours of fun for you and your guests.  (So now you'll believe me when I say I really did have a Great Aunt Alfia)  Art meets history for only $8.99.

Sweet little rosettes perfect for a powder room window or baby girl nursery.  $10 for 7 and sold in black or silver at Urban Outfitters.

This one is kinda cheating because it is on sale. Bricks rug, $9.95 at cb2

make it!

Here is a great gift that I think would be easy to make (even for those with large, unwieldy hands).  All you need is a pants hanger, a piece of board you could probably get in the scrap section at home depot, or maybe at a craft store, some chalkboard paint (you could probably borrow this from one of your friends, say me, for instance).  I think I would bypass the elastic around the bottom, but if you wanted to, I am sure you could use one of those elastic headbands or something.  Or, if you don't want to do all this, you could just buy it at MoMAstore.  It is called the Cap'n Hook Chalkboard for (yikes) $55.00.  (I am pretty sure you could make it for cheaper.)

tweet tweet

I saw these scissors at Target today for $14.99. They had a whole line of animal kitchen utensils, including a shark bottle opener.

Lucky for me, my husband has studied the ancient Japanese art of paper folding.

Or he remembers it from middle school, anyway.  Here is the idea I ripped off from Oh Happy Day.  Only she used hangers.  I used a quilt loop I picked up at a garage sale a few months back.  I had made a different mobile with card stock polka dots, but it didn't turn out so well.  So I scrapped it until I came up with something better.  I had Hubs make the birds with pages I tore out of the newest Land of Nod catalog that came in the mail yesterday.  

a good idea?

I don't really know what I am planning on doing here, but it will be something.