DIY Wall Art

Hello Lu n' Am,

It's been a long time since I've visited you for a new post. I'm not even going to start with the excuses, lets just get to the post.

Martha Stewart of France has done it again.
Latest Project: Paint Samples on String inspired by boutique in downtown Knoxville:

-Cut little squares of colors (paint samples are perfect for this)
-Sew them onto a string,
-Hang them on from your ceiling or make a whole row of them.

Am and I have one of these fabulous decoration pieces hanging in our homes. I have zero sewing skills, but mom said this takes very little skills just patience, and the results are lovely!

and now I have a headboard for my bed. :)
Thanks mom!

Detail:
-Lu

An Etsy Green Guide

We're feeling a little Etsy crazy around here lately. Therefore, we present to you a green gift guide, courtesy of Etsy:

Olivia Newton John Coasters

Gardening Apron

Envelopes

Coffee Cup Sleeve

~Am~

Making soy candles

(Source.)

I really, really love candles. And something I've tried to use more of, because of the health effects for one and all, are soy candles.

Some facts about soy candles vs. paraffin candles (via this site):
-Paraffin wax is made of petro (foreign oil dependence!).
-But soy wax is American made and made of soy!
-Paraffin wax has many carcinogenic (cancer causing) compounds.

In this vane, I've been reading up, mainly on this site, on how to make soy candles. It seems fairly easy. I plan on getting the supplies this week and trying it out. I don't need much: soy wax flakes, containers/candle molds, essential oil, wicks and....? That's all folks.

If you're interested in buying soy candles yourself, there are plenty of places that sale them these days. But my favorite place to drool over candles is Etsy.

~Am~

Did I ever tell you about...?

...the fabulous purse and cards I received for my birthday from Lu and La Martha Stewart de France?

Miss Lu made me a quirky card & it came with a chai tea wrapped in sparkly packaging.


Mrs. Martha made a gorgeous purse. Not a tote bag this time, a real, fancy, purtty purse. And a card, of course.

The three of us have been sending cards to one another lately. And I have to admit, my cards are the least creative of them all. Here's a valentine's card from Lu and her beau to me and my beau:


Cute, right? And they were handmade!
~Am~

Eco-Art of the Week

I was reading the wonderful blog of peas & carrots, and I viewed this video there concerning environmental issues that plague our planet. I think this is brilliant.


Circular Painting from Fly on the Wall on Vimeo.

The Circular Painting made by Fly on the Wall
(Bryan Devlin,Luis Tolosana,Warren Lewis,Ree Treweek,Daniel Ting Chong,Mike Morocco,Toyah Moon Humphreys,Paul Ressel, and Josh Ginsburg)

The Making Of...

Circular Painting Making Of from Fly on the Wall on Vimeo.

-Lu

crafster, whoa!

Are you ever in need of some eco-friendly crafting inspiration? I just found this jaw-dropping, super-useful crafting website. It's called Craftster. And yes, my friends, you will become an addict, just like all of the members who currently visit its site.

(Handmade bows.)

They have a whole slew of projects and tutorials. They also have contests going on all the time. In addition, pictures accompany all the posts and ideas, which make the readings superb! Some of my favorite ideas I've seen are:

-Gift Bows
-Bookmarks
-Cards

Check it out! There are loads and loads of ideas waiting to be discovered!
~Am~

Skateboard. Stool?

These are a wee bit pricey, but I just thought the idea was super creative. Recycled skateboards made into stools. genius
http://www.deckstool.com/

Hope everyone had a good weekend!
-Lu

lu's art show!

Today is the day! And what a day it is. Today is our little Lu's first art show! And we are all so proud of her. That's why we insisted on taking out this time today to write about our lovely Lu and all of her green accomplishments!

(A sampling of Lu's art work from her first show at Gallery 1010 in Knoxville.)

Since we've started the blog, the lovely Lu has:
-Thrown out of her toxic beauty products & replaced them with healthy, safe, green beauty products.
-Made, with the help of La Martha Stewart de France, many handmade journals & notebooks.
-Purchased thrift items and turned them into beautiful pieces of furniture.
-Discovered new ways to turn old things into pretty storage items.
-Left a vacation spot cleaner, greener and healthier than it was before she arrived.
-Created handmade shopping bags to replace the use of nasty plastic bags.
-Found new & exciting ways to use cardboard in our daily lives.

So three big cheers for Lu! Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray!
Love you much, Lu!
~Am~

Figs & Ginger

I'm sitting in a dark valley and listening to the sound of rain on the roof of my cave. And while this visual is...comforting, disturbing, relaxing...I wanted to talk about a neat little local jewelry shop. I've mentioned it earlier, but I thought I'd elaborate further.

The cute little jewelry shop I speak of is called Figs & Ginger. And if the name wasn't cute enough for you, get a load of their irresistibly charming and whimsical jewelry:

(Super cute, right?)

Figs & Ginger is an "eco-friendly metal-smithing inspired by forests." It's located just a few minutes outside of Asheville and is serious about living and working a green and sustainable life. They use recycled and reclaimed silver and gold in their pieces, are building a passive solar studio, using earth friendly jewelry tools and products, use all eco-friendly paper products, recycle everything, drive mopeds and use green packaging.

I think I'm in love with them. Or at least in love with what they do. And love that they are doing right in my own neighborhood - er - area.
~Am~

peas and carrots

Found this super-super cute website,called peas and carrots. It's a cute recycled-craft blog. The blogger seems like a particularly young lady, and which leads me to saying that for her age she is such an awesome and amazing crafter. Especially since she's one who uses reused and recycled products in/as her craft pieces.

Some of my favorite pieces of her's are cute earrings and necklaces made from old beer and bottle caps and "fused" plastic pins made from old plastic bags.

(Flower pins made by peas and carrots.)

It's all pure sweetness. She's an inspiration. I, actually, have a butt-ton of bottle caps waiting around for me to turn them into something cute and useful. And peas and carrots has shown me the way!

(Bottle cap necklaces at the Bel Air Festival for the Arts.)

~Am~

On a side note: My good friend and great blogger Sensiblekitty has recently gotten an internship at the raddest local jewelry-making joint, ever - figs and ginger. I want to wish her congrats and good luck in her new venture - she always finds the sweetest places to work for!

Welcome to the Museum of Nature.

Welcome to the Museum of Nature.
Your entry fee will be...
Why not get a season pass! Enjoy the true beauty of nature...it will take your breath away.
Fun for the whole family.


Introducing Finnish artist, IIkka Halso...

His work does indeed take your breath away doesn't it? Could this be our future.

-Lu

Enviro-Art: Introducing...Chris Jordan

Cell phones #2 (Intolerable Beauty), Atlanta 2005 44 x 90"

I discovered this artist while reading The Eco-Art blog. (wonderful blog) do check it out. I was immediately intrigued with his lecture and blown away by his work and again reminded of an issue we often forget. We are mass consumers...it's hard to realize how much we waste as a nation in just one day... and statistics get lost among pools of other numbers and facts. But Digital Photographer, Chris Jordan, effectively captures these statistics within multiple series of photographs including "Running the Numbers- An American Self-Portrait", " Intolerable Beauty- Portraits of American Mass Consumption" and another series titled "In Katrina's Wake- A Portrait of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster". I encourage all readers to check out his work and artist statement on these series/exhibits at http://www.chrisjordan.com/.

And view this artist lecture...You might even say..."oh..my gosh" out loud after viewing this lecture. I did. -Lu-


and yes...he does kind of look like Charlie Sheen.

Enviro-Art: Introducing Gyöngy Laky

Gyöngy Laky uses materials from nature as well as recycled elements to create sculptural constructions known as "Textile Architecture". These constructions are often free-standing or hang on the wall. Her work references multiple social issues and a variaty of subjects that usually form into words, symbols, or letters.
Just another example of a creative mind using nature's sustainable materials as a way of relaying a message to its viewers. lovely work. Be sure to view the video bellow on her appearance in New York Times Magazine's Green Issue...as well as her website linked above. -Lu-