Decorating Pumpkins Without The Knife

Am I the only one whose kids have already been clamouring, "Can we carve the pumpkin today?" And, of course, my explanation that if we cut into it now (nearly 30 days before Hallowe'en) it will only go bad, gave little credence to my answer of "no."

Thankfully, Gail Gibbons' The Pumpkin Book rescued me. In reading this, my guys nabbed the idea to decorate our pumpkin without subjecting it to surgical re-invention.

Oh, no! My hair gel is out of control!

What we used:

• bottle caps for eyes
• frozen juice can lid for mouth
• play-dough for nose, hair (or whatever that stuff is supposed to be) and ears
• a discarded pacifier and a trinket we found on the street for earrings

Then we had the brilliant idea to make it look like he's climbing out of our front planter! So we cut the legs off a pair of old pants that were headed for the rag bin, wound an elastic around each on one end, stuffed them with plastic bags and finished them off with a pair of old mittens.

Why is this kid smiling? Can't he see I'm trying to get out?!?

Other items that would make great pumpkin features:

• buttons
• pins, brooches
• costume items like glasses and false noses
• Mr. Potato Head bits
• foam shapes or bits that you have lying around

What else?

5 Realistic Ways to Go "Greener": #2 Gift Wrap Alternatives

Turns out, gift wrap is not so environmentally-friendly. The paper kind, though recyclable, is usually virgin paper (i.e. no recycled content). The same for gift bags; plus, these also typically have a laminated surface, which often render them non-recyclable.

Hmmm. So what's a Realistic Mummy trying to be "greener" to do?

Here are my favourite gift wrap alternatives:

1. Fabric
I'll use this when I'm giving to relatives ('cuz then I can ask for it back!). As versatile as wrapping paper, and very long-lived. I have bought new fabric for wrapping purposes, but more "eco" would be to repurpose an old sheet or whatnot.

2. Newspapers and Plain Recycled Newsprint/Kraft Paper
A time-tested favourite! Give your newspaper a second job before heading to the recycling bin. Or, pick up a bulk roll of already recycled paper. (The recycled content is key here, with "post-consumer recycled" content more important than "pre-consumer recycled"). And who says they have to stay plain? Paint, markers, crayon all pretty-up these recycled paper options.

3. Kids' Artwork
Most parents seem to have more artwork than any household can keep. Why not use some of it to wrap gifts? It's like giving two presents at once!

4. Scarves
I mean the "silk" type ones, though I imagine a wool one would work too, in the right circumstance. Again, this idea did not originate with me. A millennia ago, we were given a wedding gift wrapped in a scarf. Lovely! And polyester scarves are easy to find and inexpensive at thrift shops.

The additional challenge is then to wrap the gift in question without tape! (Tape is just strips of sticky plastic, after all.) Reusable fabric ribbon and raffia are my preferences. For a mature gift recipient, safety pins --maybe diaper pins?-- could also work.

Tying fabric/scarves around objects in the Japanese style of furoshiki is a great option. Check out Japan's Ministry of the Environment pdf on tying techniques!

How about you? What gift wrap alternatives have you tried?

(And in case anyone is keeping track, the numbering for the "green" tips is indeed now ascending. I realized that doing it the other way was dumb...)

Crafting With Kids: Recycled Greeting Card Cones

Now that I've recovered from the big crazy cake adventure, I wanted to share something else my oldest and I did for the birthday party: cones to hold candy made out of recycled greeting cards.

A story that my boy and I really enjoy reading together is A Birthday For Frances by Russell Hoban. In it, there's a description of the table set for the birthday party guests, where each place features a little basket of candy. He'd been asking me for months already if we could do the same thing for his birthday.

I wanted to do something easier (and cheaper) than baskets, and was inspired by the little cones in Gifts From the Kitchen from the Company's Coming series and by this tutorial from Martha Stewart. (I don't usually follow Ms. Stewart, as I don't have the patience --or perhaps, talent-- for her projects, but I could simplify this one.)

marthastewart.com

Our own quick-and-easy version:

1. Use a bowl or saucer of an appropriate size to trace a semi-circle on a recycled greeting card (Christmas cards, birthday cards, etc.).

2. Cut out the semi-circle and overlap the corners of the straight (i.e. not curved) side to make a cone.

3. Fasten with one or two staples.

4. Cut out a short strip from the same card to make the handle, and attach it to the cone with a staple at each end. And voila! A lovely paper cone!

Now, just add the candy. (We put the cones in a muffin tray to keep them more upright.)

A little bit of taste-testing going on here...

5 Realistic Ways To Go "Greener": #1 - Clothes

We all know. We know that many items common in most of our houses are bad. Toxic, carcinogenic, brain-frying, bad for us, bad for you, bad for polar bears...

They're everywhere! Phthalates in our toys, food containers and personal care items. Bisphenol-A in baby bottles and canned-food liners. Parabens in our lotions and soaps. The list goes on...

The problem is, for my part, I often find I'm a bit overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the task of identifying and removing these nasties. Plus, I've already confessed to my sometimes-paralyzing "all or nothing" mentality.

So what's a Realistic Mummy to do? For starters, I've had to accept that doing something is okay, and far better than nothing. So here's #1 on my list of not-too-difficult, "green" choices:

#1. Give clothes with experience a second chance
By and large, the garment industry is hard on the environment. The production and transportation of clothes involve a lot of chemicals and petroleum products. And then there's all the off-gassing and what-not once the clothes reach your home. So, go for second-hand, and help cut down on the demand for new clothes and get ones that are already rid of their chemical emissions.

My "to-grow-into" stash...

Second-hand is generally not a problem for younger kids. A friend's daughter is outfitted entirely by thrift stores and she's a real five-year old fashionista!

Our family has a wonderful --and no charge!-- pipeline for clothing for our boys that supplies copious quantities. I sort items that come our way by size/age and store them in labelled totes. (Currently my stash is stored at my in-laws, the long-suffering dears...)

Older children will have a great time seeing how far a clothing allowance will go in second-hand land. (And, hey, a few carefully-chosen brand-new items will ensure a "new to you" wardrobe is right on trend.)

Check out neighbours' yard sales. Spread the word among your friends that you're open to pre-loved togs, and ask them to canvass their friends and relatives. Get to know your local thrift store. Join a Freecycle group in your area.

Yep, clothes with experience --good for your health and for your pocket-book!

Do You Freecycle?

I'm usually the last to clue in to new things, so you all may already know about "freecycling." Freecycling is an excellent way to pick up items you need/want for free, or to give items that you no longer need/want to someone who actually wants them!


Most of us probably engage in "small-f" freecycling in an ad hoc manner: passing on things our kids have outgrown to friends and relatives; sharing perennials with neighbours; participating in community swap events...


But there's also "big-F" freecycling. There are groups of people around the world who are members of local Freecycle networks. You find your local group, become a member (joining is free) and receive notifications via email of offers (you can choose how often you get notifications). Check out freecycle.org to find a group in your area.


Freecycling is different from donating items to a charity or for-profit outfits like Value Village. It directly unites useable things with individuals who appreciate them, and keeps stuff out of the landfill.


Even weird items, like old doors, antique computers and well-loved dog beds can find new homes with Freecycle. (All things I have really Freecycled.) It's also nice for items that are too fragile for those big donation bins, or that have lots of little, but essential, pieces that may get lost.


Donating to charities and Freecycling each have their place. But Freecycling has the added bonus of giving you the opportunity to score some great stuff... for free! (Like art history books, storage cabinets and the coolest bouncing ride-on frog toy --all stuff I have really received from Freecycle.)


Happy freecycling (or Freecycling)!

Craft: Old Calendar Sticker Collage

I know calendars seem like a good corporate gift. But then everybody jumps on the bandwagon and the result is madness! Every year, we get a least half a dozen calendars from various businesses (our pharmacy, a few realtors, not-for-profits), as well as friends and family (who are trying to off-load some of their own bounty). And, ironically, I have become that mother that intentionally purchases(!) an additional calendar --the kind that's so big it consumes the entire upper section of your fridge door and that comes with the little stickers for every conceivable event (change furnace filters? really?).


I can't bring myself to coldly toss the excess into the recycling. Such nice pictures! And any that feature animals will only be rescued from the bin by my fauna-loving boys anyways, so I don't bother.

But what to do with all these calendars? It only took me a couple of years of pondering to reach a moment of enlightenment. Involved crafts simply do not happen in our house ... or at least they don't happen well. (In fact, our son's JK report card suggested that we "encourage him to use scissors and glue." Just four-and-a-half and already behind in Glue and Scissor Skills 101!)


But, my three older boys love to make pictures with stickers. So we created story collages using stickers and calendar pages.


Yes, it's as straightforward as it sounds: we stuck stickers on the calendar pictures. And then we made up stories to go with the pictures.

The finished products were added to our "gallery wall" in the dining room.


This one (at left) involved dogs searching for bones hidden in the trees. I don't remember how the cats came into it...


The story for the picture below was that a mummy dog swam to the island while carrying her (many) puppies, one-by-one, in her mouth. Then they all searched for food and played.










Successful crafting session: one point!

Making a Mudroom

A couple of years ago now, we had stairs and an entrance made from our yard into the basement. Like many of you who live in urban centres, we have little front hall to speak of (i.e. if there are more than three coats on the coat hooks, you can't open the door) and our back door opens directly into the kitchen. And although we only had three children at the time, we could see that a plethora of outerwear would soon swamp either area.


I had always envisioned the wall just inside our new basement entrance as a "mudroom" --a place for all the coats and jackets, boots and shoes, hats, scarves and mitts to come to rest. Organized. Out of sight. And not spilling out into the middle of the kitchen floor!


Between conception to execution there was a lot of long-suffering on the part of my in-laws and partner (as is often the case with my "visions"). I'm a scavenger. If something out at the curb catches my eye, I grab it and figure out later if I can use it. And later can be years down the road, during which time the scavenged item is stored at my in-laws. And when I say that "I grab it," what I mean is that I call my partner, give him the location and have him pick it up. Yes, long-suffering indeed.

The bench, painted and ready for action.

Regarding the "mudroom," my scavenging resulted in... well, something that looks like a bench. Hey, it was solid wood (heavy as sin) and just needed a little work. No problem. 


Two years later, a thorough sanding and a couple of coats of Benjamin Moore's Aura paint have given somebody's trash a glorious new life as our bench. (Sorry there are no "before" photos; I wasn't that organized. And I know it looks like I'm plugging a product, but I'll explain my reasons for choosing such a paint in another post...)

They hold everything!

But my new "favourite item" in our house are the hooks. As soon as I laid eyes on them in the Lee Valley hardware catalogue, I knew they were the ones. And they are super. Super-super-duper. Three prongs (for all that stuff) and strong enough to eventually hold backpacks full of books and whatnot. Best yet, they look cool. Love 'em.


I got six of them, one for each member of the family. Now everyone has his own spot to hang his stuff (notice the masculine pronouns there --my things seem to have no trouble staying organized). Even the dog will have her own hook (as soon as I get around to that). 

Ta-da!

A future project (hopefully not two years in the making) is to build some boxes and mount them above the hooks for storage... I'll keep you posted.