Earth Day 2010 – 40 Tips for 40 Years

Today marks the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in that was first held on April 22, 1970. It is now celebrated internationally. Earth Day’s purpose is to make people aware of their impact on and promote appreciation of our environment.

I’ve heard people say that they don’t bother with recycling and trying to be earth friendly because whatever they might do is too small to make a difference. It is true that if only one person made an effort, those efforts would be statistically insignificant or if only one person was wasteful, that no impact would be felt on the environment as a whole. However, what one person does usually influences others, so it is worth your while to pitch in and do what you can to leave as minimal a footprint on our environment as possible. Consider your efforts multiplied by masses of people and all of a sudden you are part of an effort that does have a positive impact. Different people will be better at different things, so listen to the myriads of great ideas out there and add in the ones to your life that are a fit for you. You can and do have an impact. Will your impact be positive or negative?

Instead of rehashing the usual tips like upgrading your light bulbs, recycling your newspapers or conserving water, I’m going to share with you 40 items picked by Etsy that recycle, repurpose or upcycle materials to make something new or in some other way are green products. I’m excited that my rustic wood vase was included in this varied collection of earth friendly products. I hope that browsing these products encourages you to purchase one of these or other environmentally friendly finds or inspires you to recycle, repurpose or upcycle something in your own world into a great “new” useful item.

Please think about what you can do for our planet the rest of the year as well. Happy Earth Day!

EDCCollective's Anniversary, Entry in the Handmade Olympics

What has been a bittersweet one year anniversary for me of the opening of EDCCollective on Etsy with my mom, due to her passing last November, has just been given a high powered, make you feel good boost. I know my mom would have been excited and proud for me.

I just found out that one of my items was selected as a finalist in the 2010 Handmade Olympics Eco-Friendly Event on RikRakStudio’s blog. I am so pumped!

There are twelve amazing finalists in this event. Judges for each category narrowed the entries down to the finalists so that you, the public, can vote for the winner in each category. While I would really love your vote in the eco-friendly category, I encourage you to check out all of the finalists and vote accordingly.

HANDMADE OLYMPICS UPDATE (2/19/10)

Unfortunately, I did not land a spot on the medals stand, however I really appreciate the opportunity to compete. I am still thrilled to have been one of the 12 finalists picked by the judge of the eco-friendly category from the 138 nominations in that category. You can see a complete list of the medal winners by clicking here.

Recycled Wood Products

Storms, disease, drought, they all take their toll on our trees. Often when a tree or a portion thereof needs to be removed, it winds up in our landfills. Some communities and tree services have realized that this is a huge waste of resources and have begun chipping this material and composting it for mulch. Unfortunately, many times the chips wind up in landfills too. Much of this wood could be turned into useful items if it could find its way to the right person.

I had a sycamore tree die from a recent drought. It was nice wood, so I’m having the main trunk planked to panel a wall. I had my tree service leave the smaller pieces as well because it seemed a shame to not do something with all of that pretty wood. I have begun to make some home décor items from this sycamore wood.

The first item I made was a wall clock. I cut a ¾ inch slab from a limb and sanded it. I then applied several coats of a clear stain and sealer to bring out the beauty of the wood. Now to add the guts of the clock. Some battery powered clockworks can be a little on the noisy side, however I used a brand that is very quiet. I have used this brand in the past to replace distracting ones. To the clockworks I added decorative hands and numbers for the clock face.

My next projects were a set of tealight candle holders, business card holders and pen blanks for wood turners. For the candle holders, I drilled a hole in one end of a length of limb of the proper diameter for a tealight to fit into. I sanded and finished each of the three candle holders of the set as I had the clock. Next, came the business card holders. Earlier this year I attended a conference and needed something to place my business cards in. Again my sycamore wood was used to created pretty, useful items instead of rotting in the landfill.

I have a few other items that I have started as well. I am working on some desk sized business card, pen and pencil holders as well as a rustic wooden vase to hold dried or silk flowers. It’s looking like I may keep the prototype of the vase, I like it so much, so I’ll have to get busy on a second one for my shop.

I have accomplished all of these recycling projects with basic shop saws, a drill and a sander. Next time you see a downed tree, maybe you can take some home to make your own creations or turn a woodworker in your area onto it, so it doesn’t just get hauled off to the landfill. To see what recycled wood home decor items that I currently have for sale, please check out my Feathers, Leather n Wood shop section.