Crafty "To-Do" List

Little baby bunnies with little baby bunny blankets for all the expecting mommas I know. (I know I showed you these last week, but I just can't help myself!)

Sew your own mesh produce bags. (So that lady at the grocery store will quit lecturing me about my naked lettuce!)

Pretty pillowcase dress by Mayamade. Can't wait to dress up our new little girlie girl!

Quilted doorstop from Oh, Fransson for our new French doors that I hope to have open all summer long! (If summer ever comes.)

Swiffer duster covers from Dollar Store Crafts. I admit to owning a Swiffer (actually I had it long before we starting this whole green thing) but I refuse to buy the disposable pads for it, so it just sits in the closet. I've been planning for some time to fashion a reusable / washable pad of some sort, but these folks beat me to it!

Margaret Sling Bag, also by Oh, Fransson. I seriously love this woman! (And I really need another bag, right?)

Things I dig week: Etsy & Handmade

aka: If you wanted to mail me a gift....

Remember those quilted coasters I made awhile back? Well how cute are these from Etsy seller Summersville? I was just reading a blog called Tea for Joy, which has some very pretty and inspirational photos, and ran across them. They make me smile.

Baby Binky Bunny by Mmmcrafts. I saw this on the Mmmcrafts blog and fell in love. I have a few friends whose eggos are preggo, so I was deeeeeelighted to see that Mmmcrafts has an Etsy store where she sells the pattern. I know I'd much rather receive one of these than, say, diaper genie refills or a wipes warmer.

Match Blox by Susanna Anna. (photos taken from her Etsy store) I love love love these. I want a set for my wall.


Gemmielou custom makes these little wooden dolls depending on what your family looks like. She also sells the raw wood dolls so that you can paint them yourself. Then your kids can play house with a little mini version of their own family.

Things I dig week: green blogs

Since changing the template on my blog I lost my blogroll. Bummer. I'm not very good at updating it anyway, or finding new people to follow. I guess I get stuck in a reading rut sometimes (Er, not that the blogs I read are considered a "rut"....I just mean I just haven't branched out lately to find new blogs to read.). Here are some of the blogs I like though. And one day I'll get around to putting my blogroll back on my sidebar.

So do you have a green blog I need to be reading? Leave the link in the comments!

APLS - (aka "Affluent People Living Sustainably")

Arduous Blog

Blogging Bookworm My library list could last me three lifetimes thanks to the folks here.

Chocolate Crayons & More

Compost Guy - I think I have a crush on him. He seems pretty amazing, witty, willing to try just about anything. He also has a red worm site.

Crunchy Chicken

Crunchy Domestic Goddess

Fake Plastic Fish

Gift of Green - Her 2009 clothesline challenge is coming up soon!

Green & Clean Mom

Green Baby Guide

Green Me

Green Phonebooth

Shmoopywood - They're doing what we only dreamed of by building their cabin in the mountains (aka Schmoopywood) out of all recycled and reclaimed materials.

Stop the Ride

Sustained

Fat Free Vegan Kitchen - I'm not Vegan, or fat-free for that matter, but I'm just amazed and inspired by some of the things on this blog. I actually pretend to myself that I'll make some of these things one day.

Farmer's Daughter

Things I dig week: crafty blogs

Here's what's on my craft blog list (because you always need more blogs to read when you're supposed to be working). In no particular order...


Little Munchkins http://littlemunchkins.blogspot.com/



Little Birdie Secrets http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/



Just Something I Made http://justsomethingimade.blogspot.com/



Just Something You Made http://justsomethingyoumade.blogspot.com/



Design Mom http://designmom.com/



jcaroline http://jcaroline.typepad.com/jcaroline



maya*made http://mayamade.blogspot.com/



Homemade by Jill http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/



CraftStylish http://www.craftstylish.com/



Oh fransson http://ohfransson.com/oh_fransson



The Purl Bee http://purlbee.com/the-purl-bee



How About Orange http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/



One Pretty Thing http://oneprettything.com/



Sew,Mama,Sew http://sewmamasew.com/blog2



The Small Object http://thesmallobject.com/stenopad/wordpress


Craft Gossip http://sewing.craftgossip.com/


All Sorts http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts


Artsy Crafty Babe http://artsycraftybabe.typepad.com/artsycrafty_babe


Yummy Goods http://yummygoods.com/blog


Craft Apple http://craftapple.wordpress.com/


Tiny Happy http://tinyhappy.typepad.com/tiny_happy/


Vintage Ric Rac http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/


Angry Chicken http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/


Craftzine http://blog.craftzine.com/


Design Sponge http://www.designspongeonline.com/


Made By Rae http://madebyrae.blogspot.com/


Auntie Cookie http://www.auntiecookie.com/blog

Things I dig week: Flashcard Zoo

"F" is for Fletcher!

I puffy heart these flash cards by Flashcard Zoo on Etsy. They're made by an incredibly talented (not to mention charming) mommy friend of mine, Shannah Pace. We have a set that Shannah customized for us, but you can also buy them in a "girly" or "boyish" package.

(all flash card photos courtesy of Flashcard Zoo and Shannah Pace)

They are virtually indestructible and the back of each card has a writing guide, so your little one can practice making the letter with a dry erase marker or crayon.

~*For a limited time only (okay not really, but I'm guessing she won't offer this forever), Shannah is offering Greenhab readers a F-R-E-E set of her number cards when you buy a set of letter cards.*~ (just mention Greenhab in the notes section on Etsy when you check out)



You've also got to follow Shannah's blog because she is one hilarious momma and does all her blogging in flashcard format. I promise you'll love her!

Things I dig week: Living Simple & Green

If you've never visited (or heard of) iVillage.com you should take a peek. Yes, I admit they are my employer, but they're also a pretty cool community with loads of information and some great message boards.

In addition to working there, I also volunteer as a Community Leader for their Living Simple & Green message board. It's a great forum where green beans can come together to discuss issues, ask questions, share tips and just chat with like-minded individuals.

Even though I'll be gone for the next two weeks, I hope that you'll check it out, start a conversation or share a tip. We always welcome new members to the community!

Oh, and this week is Green Week at NBC (parent company to iVillage) so visit the iGo Green section of iVillage to see what's going on.

SIGG Coupon

A friend passed this coupon on to me, so I thought I'd share...

http://www.mysigg.com

Enter code: SIGGEARTH at checkout and get an extra $5 off of your order. That's $1 extra for the planet and $5 off for you. Don't forget that we are offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $50.

Snow Day

Let's hope all three feet melt by Sunday at noon when we leave for the airport.

This fella was out for a walk in the woods this morning...

Marc says that this is the historic stagecoach building. I thought it was the original Evergreen post office. Eh, close enough. It's old.

This is where people park to carpool into the city each morning. Bet they weren't expecting this when they got back...

Our deck. I guess we shouldn't have put our patio furniture out quite yet.

We drove allllllllllllllll the way home without incident, until Marc got stuck at the top of our driveway.

Stenciled Travel Bags

As we get ready for our trip to Ethiopia, I'm finding it so very tempting to buy travel-sized this and individually packaged that. My travel weakness though is plastic baggies. I actually had to restrain myself from buying a box at the store the other day. They just make it so easy to organize all that junk you need for an international trip - first aid items, all sorts of medications, camera chargers and batteries and cords, toiletries, etc.

So, in an effort to curb my plastic baggie desires (and because I obviously have no better way to spend the next 72 hours of my life), I whipped up some of these travel bags. I used one of Fletcher's old chambray crib sheets and some fabric paint. The tutorial is on my Make it From Scratch post for Friday.

You spin me right round baby, right round

I've had that song stuck in my head all morning. Probably because it's spinning right 'round like a record baby. The last week has been a blur of appointments and shopping and packing and getting ready to go to Ethiopia. Unfortunately I have a feeling that this blog will go neglected for the next few weeks as a result, but feel free to follow along on our Adoption Blog if you have the urge. I'm going to attempt to update it from Ethiopia, but I've been told that the dial-up service there is pretty spotty.


We did manage to squeeze in some good ol' family fun this weekend. We dyed some Easter Eggs. No time to try all of the awesome natural dye recipes I saw online last week, but we did make our own with water/vinegar/food coloring instead of buying the tabs at the store.




We also got our seeds started (finally!). We planted broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, various peppers, squash, zucchini, watermelon, chives, garlic chives and more. Hopefully it will be warm enough to move them into the greenhouse when we get back from our trip.



And if that wasn't enough for one day, we also had tickets to a Colorado Rockies game through Marc's school.


Every time the crowd cheered Fletch asked "Is it over? Are we going home now?" Although, on the way home, he said it was "REALLY awesome!" I think he liked riding the bus more than anything.


Yesterday I started making gifts for the nannies at the transition house in Addis Ababa where our kids are. It's customary to bring them something small to say thank you. I didn't want to run out and buy just anything. I didn't want to bring any waste into their country either. I decided on tote bags because it's something I can make pretty well now, and I've heard other's say that would be a good gift for them. Here's the prototype, made from some Spring-ish sheets I found on clearance. (pardon the disaster in the background)


(Since someone asked, this is the bag from Tiny Happy. Tutorial HERE!)

It was a whirlwind weekend - and a busier week coming. Happy Monday!

Healthy Whole Wheat Banana Bread

My first successful Make it From Scratch bread! Whole wheat bread made with bananas, orange juice, and applesauce. No added sugar, oil or butter. What's not to love? Find the recipe here.

That's the last change!

I promise. That last background was taking for.ever to load. I like this one. I'd like a tablecloth that looks like that. Or pajamas.

I'm working on some stuff that I'll schedule to post while I'm gone. Including cool blogs, discount deals, and more.

News on the homefront...

I'm happy to say that we finally got our "travel call" on Monday. That means that we now have actual dates when we'll be heading to Ethiopia to meet our kids. Hooray! The last two days have been filled with research and emails and phone calls and plane tickets and hotel reservations and and and...excitement!!

We'll be leaving mid-month -- which is coming up soon! -- and returning at the end of the month. I am just beyond excited really. My doctor gave me some Ambien for the flights to help me sleep, but I may be taking them to help me make it through the next week and a half.

In addition to the incredibly long flights (we leave one day and get there two days later...huh?) I'm finding it hard to be eco-friendly while packing. There are so many travel sized items and plastic doo-dads.

So tell me: What have you done to green up your travel?

Homemade Granola

Visit the Make it From Scratch blog today, where I've failed miserably at making bread, but did manage to whip up a pretty mean granola recipe.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I'm feeling restless, and have been wanting to change the background on this blog, but haven't quite found the right one. Sorry to keep changing it. I know that kinda bugs. I like this one, but I wish it was green and brown instead. With leaves. And I wish I had mad graphic design skillz, so I could just whip one up.

Like a kid in a sewing store...

I made this travel wallet for myself a few weeks ago for our upcoming trip to Ethiopia (tutorial here on the MIFS blog). I have no desire or need to carry a purse while I'm there, but do end up with my camera and a few dollars that I need to stash somewhere. And Mr. Greenhab and I both detest those flesh colored travel belts - the ones that hide under your shirt, but end up hanging down too low, so you have to reach down your pants every time you want to get money out. Very classy!

I ended up making an around-the-neck wallet for the hubster out of repurposed materials: an unused shoe lace (his eco-sneaks from Simple Shoes came with an extra pair - they're made from recycled plastic bottles!) and a pair of outgrown baby cargo pants. 'Cuz I like to get all MacGuyver like that sometimes.

This was the first time I've tried piping, so it's a little wonky on one side, but I thought it turned out super fly. You know, for a man purse and all. (j/k honey!)

It looks kinda large in this photo, but you have to keep in mind that the cargo pocket came from a 12 month size pair of pants, so it's really just big enough for some spare change. The wallet itself is large enough for a passport to fit in.