Earth Friendly. Green Living.

How Bad Can I Be?

2013-02-27T13:03:00.000+08:00

Have you watched the movie "Dr Seuss' The Lorax"? It's such an amazing movie that discusses what's happening now in our world.

I know I posted something about here before, so if you want to go ahead and see my movie review, head here.

Anyway, I was supposed to have a speaking engagement about keeping the earth all green and tidy, but it didn't push through. For the talk, I added subtitles for the video for the "How Bad Can I Be" OST of the Lorax movie.

I really love this song, so I'm sharing what I made.

Disclaimer: I do not own this video. All rights reserved to the producer of the movie (Universal Studios, I think)

Japanese Flower Kusudama Ball

2012-12-06T11:04:00.000+08:00

So today, we will be making a Japanese Flower Kusudama Ball. It's not actually that fitting for our 1-2-3 Thursdays since it takes a lot of time to make these, but then, we can squeeze it in from time to time.

The good (and bad) thing about maintaining servers is that I've got lots of free time when nothing is happening, so I decided to kill time by making these awesome flowers and made them into a ball! It's also a good way to curb hunger, sugar crash and sleepiness during work hours. ;)

These balls have so much potential! I even think they'll look great in weddings, a bouquet that my bridesmaids will carry, perhaps?

Materials for Japanese Flower Kusudama Ball

Tools for making Japanese Flower Kusudama Ball

How to make Japanese Flower Kusudama Ball

A huge factor in the outcome of this the color of paper you will use. I made my flowers from the pages of my Garfield Calendar which I received last Christmas. All I did was to cut them into squares to make the traditional square Origami paper. Since the paper is thin glossy paper, it's really easy to fold.

Ideally, you would want to use a larger paper so that the flowers look prettier. I suggest using magazines or old note and sticky note papers to make these.

I'm working on making a flower out of my used note papers here in the office, It will probably take a long time to complete, but at least I was able to upcycle my paper.

Over all, it took me about 5 hours to do this, of course that's with work going on in between making these. It also depends on how fast you fold and how quick your glue dries.

Check out these easy to follow tutorials on how to make the flowers and the Kusudama

Part 1: Making the Flowers
Part 2: Making the Kusudama Ball

Part 1: Making the Flowers
Part 2: Making the Kusudama Ball

Baguio Country Club Christmas Village - Eco Friendly Christmas Decorations

2012-12-04T11:30:00.000+08:00

Last weekend was a long one, with Bonifacio Day falling on a Friday, my family and I decided to go up to Baguio and have a vacation.

On of our itineraries was to visit the Baguio Country Club where we can buy the famous raisin bread that people keep raving about. We can buy this inside the Christmas Village that the Baguio Country Club created.

I was surprised with what I saw, a real delight! Most of their decorations were recycled! AWESOME! They were also very pretty! Something that you wouldn't mind displaying in your home, and you can proudly say it was recycled!

Most of the materials used were from plastic bottles and aluminum cans. It's either the top half, the bottom half of the can, the bottle caps, the bottoms of the bottle.

The way the decorations were used were really lovely. I heard my mom exclaim that she'll start collecting bottles so that we could have cheap decorations for Christmas!

Lovely bells made from half bottle tops with caps on, painted white and gold, with a sprinkle of silver and golf glitters to make them sparkle

A huge tree made from plastic bottles with red caps that have dyed (green) water inside. Leaves and flowers were made from huge, painted plastic bottles (1.5L-2L)

A wonderful string of flowers made from plastic bottle (300mL-500mL) bottoms, painted and glittered. Angels were made from small lotion/soap squeeze bottles. Heads are made from bottle caps and the halo from the bottle cap rings. Painted white and glittered

I'm not really sure what kind of decoration this is, but they sure are lovely. They are made from aluminum soda cans, i think you can make a top and a bottom from one can!

Golf ball tree is made from halved golf balls which were bedazzled with glitters. Poinsettias made from plastic bottle tops and bottoms with plastic bottle caps. The glass bottle tree was made from glass (wine) bottles painted and bedazzled with glitters

A very pretty star that is made from 2 large plastic bottle bottoms (1.5L-2L)

Another neat idea for stars. 5-6 500mL Gatorade bottles, painted and bedazzled with glitters

Dining in or Getting it "To Go", Where-ever it is, Refuse the STRAW

2012-08-29T09:19:00.000+08:00

There are days when you just want to eat out. It's either you want to celebrate something, or you're just too lazy too cook your own meal. Whatever the reason is, eating out is no reason to forget to save the earth.

Usually, when we order food, we order a drink to go with it, and more often than not, a drinking straw is given with our drink. We have to learn and remember to refuse the straw. It's not helping the environment at all.

Why we shouldn't use straw

Straw is made from plastic, which we all know, doesn't decompose. What's more, straw is just a one-time-use kind of plastic. You don't reuse straw. It's downright unhygienic. Poses a lot of health issues. So what happens after you use it? Yep! it's for the dump fellas!

Straw is more trouble than it's worth

Straws in the dump is the least of all evils though. We're lucky if the straw ends up in the dump. Most of the straws end up in water ways clogging it up, or worse - gasp!, at the open sea or flowing rivers, where the poor sea creatures think it's food and swallow it! Imagine eating fish who ate plastic! wow!

But wait, straws protect me from bad stuff

Okay, hold on, protect you from what exactly? The germs and bacteria in the rim of your glass? What makes you think that it's only on the rim? Whatever's on the rim is also inside the glass, it was "washed" on the same tub of foamy hot water.
There's no point in denying that straws protect the enamel of our teeth. Yes it really does a good job at that. It's okay to use the straw for that reason, as long as your teeth is more important than saving the world :)

Recyle it

There will be times that we will forget to refuse the straw, or we cant drink our drinks without it (like shakes and frappes). What do we do now? Well we can keep the straws and reserve it for craft making like these:

With that said, let's all learn how to refuse the straw.

Waste Plants and Green Coal

2012-08-13T08:36:00.004+08:00

Zehira USA, through its local subsidiary, Integrated Green Technology Visayas Inc. will start building a state-of-the-art garbage disposal system in Mactan, Cebu. This garbage disposal system will break-down garbage and convert these to green coal, which can be used by coal-fired plants. Similar systems are also being considered to be built in the municipalities of Molave in Zamboanga del Sur, Midsayap in North Cotabato, and Galan in Sarangani, and Panabo City in Davao del Norte

Stabilat Technology, which is the technology that will be used for the garbage disposal system is from a German company called Herhof GmbH which specializes in the design, construction and operation of Stabilat plants.

For more information on this project: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/242311/mactan-waste-plant-to-produce-green-coal

Plastic Bottle Boat

2012-08-08T20:52:00.000+08:00

Here's a pretty good use for plastic bottles:

Very useful in floods, especially the one now ravaging the Philippines.

Biggest Earth Hour Yet. Philippines, A Hero Country

2012-04-04T09:09:00.000+08:00

It's been a few days since we celebrated Earth Hour. The tallies are in, and an estimated 1671 RP Cities, Towns, Provinces and Municipalities of the Philippines joined Earth Hour, making the Philippines the country with the most number of cities (et.al) who joined. RECORD BREAKING! We've been awared "Hero Country" as we have been number 1 for four consecutive years; since we joined in Earth Hour. IMBA talaga ang Pinoy. (Filipinos are really good/one-of-a-kind)

Learn More Here: http://www.wwf.org.ph/earthhour/

What did you do during the Earth Hour?

2012-04-01T22:41:00.000+08:00

So, what did you do? Some people (like me for instance), don't go out to earth-hour celebrations. I just stay at home and try to do something productive under the moon- and candle-lit night.

This Earth Hour, I decided that I wanted to have a candle-lit dinner date. Haven't experienced it at all, and I thought it would be fun. So, as soon as SDEHBF (super duper extra hot bf) arrived at my place (around 1830), I asked him to help me out with preparing our date food. We didn't want to go for rice since we were trying to trim down our waistlines. Turned out, rice might have been a more low-calorie choice! Haha!

Our menu last night:
Deviled Eggs
Herbed Tomato Gratin
Garlic Bread
Banana-Mango Dessert-y (No idea what to call it)
Grape-Lemonade + Soda + Gin Punch

We had so much fun making the food before earth hour. It was all spur of the moment, and what was tough was we didn't have the same taste in food (well, the ones we were preparing anyway). I wanted the deviled eggs spicy and tangy. He didn't want it to be spicy. I want the tomatoes to be infused with a strong herb flavor. He didn't want a strong herb flavor. Everything turned out great afterwards anyway. Yummy! We made too much food it was good for 4, but we ate most of it! So much for our waistlines!

Deviled Eggs:

Herbed Tomato Gratin:

Garlic Bread

Banana-Mango Dessert-y (No idea what to call it)

Grape-Lemonade + Soda + Gin Punch

So this was how I spent my Earth Hour. How did you?

Earth Hour Philippines

2012-03-31T17:54:00.001+08:00

In just a few hours, it\s already Earth Hour.

Just reminding everyone to switch-off your lights at 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM Tonight!

I forgot to post my IWIYW pledge, so I'm posting it here now:

Test post

2012-03-31T16:38:00.003+08:00

Test Post

Green-tionary

2012-03-30T17:48:00.001+08:00

I'm launching a Green-Tionary here in my blog. It's a dictionary of terms that are commonly used when we're talking green stuff. Some of the words, we can easily understand, some have a different meaning when use in green-speak than the original meaning of the word.

It's still incomplete, as I haven't had the time to put the meaning of all the words in lay-man's terms. Help me expand this dictionary. If you have words to add, alternative meanings to the word, or maybe even a correction on some of the words or their meanings, just hit the comment box here, or at the Green-tionary page.

Emjoy!

http://earth-friendly.blogspot.com/p/green-tionary.html

How To: Origami Box

2012-03-29T10:00:00.000+08:00

Did you ever have a small trinket to give but found yourself wondering how to wrap it? Or did you just want a box to declutter your desk without buying expensive boxes and desk organizers? Well then, you're in luck cause today, I will teach you how to make your own paper box without the mess of glue!

I found this tutorial a few months back about how to make paper boxes out of any sheet of paper. I haven't really had a practical use for it because so far, my desk organizer is working (throw everything in my drawer!) and I used to have an abundant supply of tissue paper rolls (and turn them into pillow boxes) for my small trinket/candy giving, but I ran out; so I had to think of a way to give out prizes for my org's monthly friday youth fellowship. Lo and behold! I had a use for the boxes!

Making them's easy-peasy! Let's get started!

Tools

Materials

Steps

1. Make a square out of your paper.

If it's already square to begin with, fold one corner towards it's opposite corner

2. Fold the other corner towards its opposite corner

You should have an X-shape on your paper because of the fold. I labeled the fold with an orange pen to guide you.

3. Get one corner of the paper and fold it to the center. Repeat for the other corners

4. Fold one side of the square towards the center.

This will create a wide rectangle Repeat for the other side to make a slim rectangle

5. Flip the paper over. Fold one of the short sides of the rectangle towards the center. Repeat for the other side

6. Open your paper.

Your paper should have a lot of small squares because of the folding. These squares will be your guide lines for making the box.

7. Snip on the 2 corners of your paper as shown below.

Make sure not to cut along the squares marked with an X (center squares). After cutting, you should be able to identify 2 triangle parts and 2 tower parts on your paper.

8. On one of the triangle parts, fold the corner tip, down towards the center squares.

When folding down, you will fold the small triangle (corner, tip) and 1 set horizontal set of squares. This will create one side of your box.

9. Take the 2 flaps on either side of the folded down side, and fold 90 degrees.

This will help in sealing and connecting the sides of your box.

10. Repeat step 8 -9 for the 2nd triangle part

11. Take one of the tower parts on fold the corner tip towards the center of the box.

Make sure that the extra flaps made in steps 8-10 are inside the folded tower. Repeat for the other tower.

12. To make a lid

Repeat steps 1-11 with a slightly bigger paper (around 1mm bigger along the sides)
It would be nice to use a different colored paper/magazines to create contrast in colors

Dr. Seuss The Lorax Motion Picture

2012-03-28T13:49:00.000+08:00

Last week, SDEHBF (Super Duper Extra Hot BF) and I finally went out on a date, after more than a month! We were both excited, and we just wanted each others' company without spending too much or eating out. So we settled for a movie. I'm no movie-goer unless it's cartoons or a local flick. Since he doesn't want to watch a local one, we opted to watch Lorax. I had my reservations at first (Dr. Seuss movies tend to be boring), but hey, it's a cartoon and it's about trees, so why not.

It's a nice movie, with the usual Dr. Seuss environment and an exaggeration blown up to proportions; or so I thought. The story starts in Thneedville (see the song lyrics for how the movie described Thneedville), a place where everything is artificial, and fresh air is being sold, I was like, "Yeah typical Dr. Seuss storybook, NEXT!". The story progressed and I was shocked at how real the story was turning in to. Sure, there still are trees now, and there still is fresh air, but before we know it, the world will turn into Theedville. The story told exactly how it happened there, and what happened there is slowly happening here, and it's as real as it gets, and it's all through song coupled some scary, kick-ass cartoon animation.

Check out these lyrics from MetroLyrics.com and STLyrics.com:

Biggering
http://www.metrolyrics.com/biggering-lyrics-gabriel-mann-randy-crenshaw-the-88-the-lorax-singers.html

How Bad Can I Be
http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/drseussthelorax/howbadcanibe.htm

These songs pretty much describe what's happening right now. Commercialism and capitalism. Selfishness and pride. All these contribute to the destruction of our environment, of our world.

I was on teary-eyed when the Once-ler chopped the first tree then Lorax and the forest animals built a ring of stone around the stump! It was so heartbreaking. I really broke into tears when the Once-ler sang Biggering and How Bad Can I Be. The lyrics was so real. It scared me, really scared me.

Everyone should watch this movie, and have their eyes opened. Thneedville isn't too far ahead in our future. I hope the movie (and the book) will turn more people for the environment.

How To: Homemade Pore Strip

2012-03-27T12:31:00.001+08:00

So I've finally done it! I've done my own homemade pore strip (from Petite Elefant) I must say, it did leave my face feeling oh so smooth! SDEHBF (Super Duper Extra Hot BF) wanted to try it out as well (I was trying to convince him to put some on even before I actually whipped up the concoction and he wouldn't budge!), he didn't though. He was about to have dinner and was worrying about not being able to eat...

Anyway, I got good results. It didn't completely remove my whiteheads. Might have removed some of my blackheads. Not really as effective as I thought it would be. Pore strips aren't that effective anyway. I think the reason why it didn't remove as much as I expected is because I slathered it too thinly. I was afraid it would take a long time to set, like my last attempt (using agar agar or gulaman, failed attempt). This attempt, however, set properly and I was really happy with the results!

Tools

Ingredients

Steps

1. Measure out 1 1/2 Tbsp of milk.

I heated mine in the microwave to put it to room temp. I don't know of temperature is a factor. My milk came from the ref.

Note: You may need lesser, like just a teaspoon if you won't put it on your whole face, or someone (like 5 people) to share it with

2. Measure 1 Tbsp of of Gelatin.

The one I used - Knox, is in pouches. 1Tbsp = 1 Pouch

Note: You may need lesser, like just a teaspoon if you won't put it on your whole face, or someone (like 5 people) to share it with

3. Mix the ingredients together

It becomes thick and sticky in an instant so mix well!

4. Pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds or less.

Maybe around 5 seconds if you're using just a teaspoon. The goal is to warm it up and make it spreadable.

5. Cool down the mixture

Maybe 20 seconds was too long, I dunno. All I know is after popping it in the microwave, it's too hot for my skin, so I cooled it down for a few minutes.

To test if the mixture is tolerable, dab a small amount on your wirst or the back of your hand (which are heat sensitive parts). If it's too hot, then it's definitely not ready for your face. Take note that your face is more sensitive

6. Apply on your face.

Don't apply too thickly (takes a long time to set), nor thinly (doesn't get much gunk out of your face). Make sure problem areas are covered.

7. Wait for it to set.

I applied mine too thinly so it took just 5 minutes to set. It should be around 10-15 minutes (could be longer if applied thickly)

8. Peel

CAUTION: It will hurt

9. Feel your newly peeled, soft skin!

How to: Homemade Pore Strips [Failed Attempt]

2012-03-21T09:10:00.000+08:00

Sorry it's a bit late. Didn't have the time to upload the photos yesterday...

I saw this tutorial on Petite Elefant about how to make your own pore strips! After I read it, I really wanted to go the supermarket and buy the ingredients. It's cheap-o! Majorly cheap, with just 2 ingredients!

I forgot to go by the store to buy gulaman so I asked SDEHBF to buy a pack for me. We had milk at home so I knew I was all set. So I tried to make it, but, yeah, I failed! BUMMER! SDEHBF hinted that gulaman is different from gelatin. DARN IT! The reason why I failed is probably because I used gulaman when the recipe specifically indicated GELATIN. Goodness! I didn't know that those 2 things were different. I always thought that gulaman was the local name of gelatin. Boo me, right? There I was, thinking that maybe it's the temperature here in the Philippines' that's the culprit, or maybe because I used cold milk! Sheesh! (Though these may still be major contributors)

So this morning, as soon as I got my hands on a computer with an Internet connection, I searched for the difference between gulaman and gelatin, and guess what, they ARE different! It turns out, gulaman is the vegan version of gelatin (a.k.a agar agar). Gulaman is made out of seaweeds and gelatin is made out of animal bones. Hmmm...

From my research I also found out that I need boiling water to dissolve gulaman, but only warm water to dissolve gelatin. gelatin sets when cold while gulaman sets in room temp. Double hmmm...

So here's what I decided to do. I'd buy a gelatin and attempt to make the pore strip, then find a way to make it work with gulaman or agar agar. Seems that people on the Internet just say that it MIGHT work with agar agar but I found no one who actually tried it.

While attempting to make this, SDEHBF helped me out. He was curious on how it would turn out (but wouldn't let me out any on his face). I didn't get the consistency mentioned in the article, but I put it on my face anyway. Waited almost an hour and it still wasn't dry, so I just washed it off.

So here's what I did/ what happened to me last night

Tools:

Ingredients:

Steps:

1. Measure 1 Tablespoon of gulaman (original recipe calls for gelatin) powder. Put it in the bowl.

2. Measure 1 1/3 Tablespoon of milk (mine was cold, probably not a good idea) Add to the bowl with gulaman powder

3. Mix throughly (Should be chunky immediately, but mine was runny)

4. Add 1/3 Tablespoon more of gulaman powder (because it was runny, so I thought I need more gulaman)

5. Mix thoroughly (Still runny)

6. Heat the mixture in the microwave for 10 seconds, then stir. (still runny so I popped it in the microwave for 5 more seconds)

7. I realized that heat makes the mixture runnier, so I took out a chunk of ice and placed the bowl on top of the ice, then mixed until I got tired of it

8. Applied the mixture on my face

The sad part here is that it's almost an hour and the mask haven't hardened yet. It was already late so I didn't have the time to wait for it to dry. I didn't want to sleep with it on cause I don't want to attract insects while I'm sleeping. I'll try this again once I have the the time to do it, and extra money to buy gelatin (yeah, I'm THAT broke) Try it out for yourself and find out how it is done, and if it really works (I have no doubt that it would).

How To: Produce Tote Bag From T Shirt

2012-03-15T10:23:00.000+08:00

I saw this cute produce bag from http://www.ecouterre.com/. It's a DIY tutorial, teaches you how to make a produce bag out of an old t-shirt.

Looks pretty easy so I decided to make one for our 1-2-3 Thursdays. Although this may be more difficult than our usual short crafts, it's still very easy to make, won't take you more than half a day. I wouldn't know how much time exactly I spent making this since I did it on and off, at home, while at the office, while at Starbucks waiting for SDEHBF. (Yes, I had the guts to finish this up at Starbucks. I had 2 hours to kill!).

So anyway, you can head on over to Ecouterre for the original tutorial or stay here and see how I did it. I have to warn you though, I was never good at sewing and if the pictures in Ecouterre weren't cute and the instructions weren't easy enough to follow, I wouldn't have done this. Sewing and I don't go together. It's been this way ever since I can remember; So please don't let me hear you laughing at how uneven my stitches are. Not even a smirk!

Tools Needed:

Materials Needed:

Steps:

1. Lay the t-shirt flat

2. Draw the shape of your tote bag. This shape would be the lines that will cut along later

3. Cut the shirt according the shape of your bag

4. Sew all the 2 pieces of cloth together, Do not sew the bag opening (Shirt Opening)

Sorry, I don't have a camera with macro, so you have to squint and stare to see my awful stitching

5. Draw dashes across the cloth starting at the 4inch line from the bag opening. Draw a dash 2 inches from the bag opening. This will serve as your handle

The 4 inch and 2 inch measurements would differ depending the size of your bag. Since mine was large, my handle was 2 inches from the opening and the lines started 6 inches from the opening. Make sure that your dashes are small. Depends on how large your bag is though. My dashes were so long (which meant that the cuts were long) that you risk your items falling out of the bag. An ideal measurement would probably be 1 inch dashes, and 1/2 inch space between the dashes. It's also good to note that you don't dash until the end/bottom of your bag. Leave at least a 4 inch allowance.

6. Cut along the dashes that you drew

So my mistake in this bag was my dashes were too long and were too near the bottom of my bag

7. Stretch your bag

My bag will spew out the items inside when you try to move it around. Also, since my cloth is weak (thin) cotton, chances of ripping is big too. So remember. SMALL DASHES.

I'd probably try again once I find a few old shirts that I can turn into tote bags. I'm planning on selling those stuff. What do you think?

Optional: Add straps to your produce tote bag. (Will try to do this if I have the time)
1. Using the left over cloth, measure your desired strap length. Width should be about 4 inches + 1/4 inch seam allowance.
2. Cut along the the lines. Make sure to make 2 pieces of this.
3. Fold the cloth wrong side out. Stitch the open long side and one of the open short sides
4. Turn the sewn strip inside out to reveal the right side of the cloth.
5. Repeat step 3 and 4 for the second strap
6. Sew the straps on the bag

Earth Hour 2012

2012-03-14T00:00:00.000+08:00

We're just a few weeks away from Earth Hour 2012. Are you ready?

March 31, 2012 20:30 marks the 4th year that Philippines have joined in the world-wide campaign to protect the Earth. The Philippines have been ranked #1 in terms of cities and municipalities that have joined Earth Hour. I hope beat our rank this year and aim get more people to join.

This year, Earth Hour dares everyone to do more than just turning off their lights for an hour. It's time that we do more. In fact, Earth Hour greatly tapped into social media to promote Earth Hour. It launched "I will if you will" campaign (IWIYW) which dares everyone to do something, even if it's just a small change, and commit to doing it, in order to save the planet.

Here is the official video for this year. My hairs were standing on end and my spine was shivering while watching this. This video have overwhelmed me, to the point that I wanted to cry. I was touched that much! I hope that we do better this year, and that we do MORE than just switching off lights.

For more information on Earth Hour
Visit:
WWF Philippines http://www.wwf.org.ph/earthhour/
Earth Hour http://www.earthhour.org

I will. I definitely will. Now, I dare you.

How to: Easy Sugar Scrub - Clean and Smooth

2012-03-13T10:44:00.000+08:00

I've been using this sugar scrub on and off for a couple of weeks now, and I must say that it really leaves my face feeling smooth and clean. Since I've tried and tested it, I know it works and I want to share to everyone how easy it is to make this sugar scrub. Perfect for lazy and cheapskate people like me who doesn't want to labor to much for a scrub, but wouldn't buy one.

Benefits

Cleans your face/skin
Removes excess oil that washing with soap doesn't remove
Removes dead skin
Leaves your skin smooth
Can be used for your whole body
C-H-E-A-P

This recipe is really very easy to make, not to mention cheap. It's so cheap you can use it for your whole body everyday. No kidding!

Materials

Ingredients:

How to make a Sugar Scrub:

Put sugar in your container

How to use a Sugar Scrub

Wet your face, preferably with warm water to open up your pores

Optional. Wash your face with soap and water

Get a handful of sugar

Slather the sugar all over your face

Scrub your face in light circular motions. Don't rub too hard or it might break your skin

Continue scrubbing until you get tired of it

Rinse with cool water to close your pores

That's it! Didn't I tell you how easy it is to make one?
You have to take not of a few things though:

Make sure you rinse it thoroughly. Unwashed sugar might give you yeast infections, especially in areas of your body that are usually moist
The sugar doesn't moisturize, so it's still best to put on moisturizer after
Since it's only plain sugar, it doesn't have any long term effect.It only cleanses and leaves your skin smooth for the day, or until you have accumulated a lot of dirt on your face.

With that said, pick up those tushes and scrub away!

Bike Clinic in Marikina

2012-01-26T08:52:00.000+08:00

I was supposed to post this Monday morning but with the fast pace of my life right now, I didn't have the time to check up on my online life.

Anyway, I saw this poster about a bike clinic last sunday, but not having a decent camera at that time, I wasn't able to take a picture of it. Good thing I found this blog: http://crankandpedal.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/marikina-bike-clinic-at-the-riverbanks-center/ which has the photo of the advertisement.

The bike clinic is perfect for those who just took on biking or those considering biking as their means of commute. You don't have to be a biking enthusiast to attend. In fact, I think those hard-core bikers already know what's t be discussed so we won't find a lot of them here. Probably more people like me who like to bike but not that savvy about it. I might attend the event on Saturday to check it out. I know my mum won't allow me to bike to work, but what I'll learn will really help me in the future when I move out. A bike will save me more money than commuting or owning a car, not to mention the exercise I'll get. I'll finally be able to shed that extra pounds I load every few months!

The bike clinic will discuss about bike maintenance, to keep your ride in tip-top shape, how to use your bike on the road (commuting) and how to fix your bike if ever it breaks down (i.e. flat tire), and the best part of it is it's free! All you have to do is to register at the Customer Service Counter of the Riverbanks mall or at the Bikeways office of Marikina City.

Hope to see y'all there!

MUST HAVE: Earth-Friendly Jeans or WattWash Jeans by M+F Girbaud

2012-01-13T17:42:00.003+08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htav61XNnCg

It's a payday Friday! YAY! For those of you who are out on a shopping spree, or maybe just out there to buy a new pair of jeans, make sure you grab the wattwashed jeans at Girbaud.

How is it Earth-Friendly?

Before Girbaud started WattWashing their jeans, they're using the stonewash method (which they introduced in the market 40) to give jeans that rustic appearance and design. Stone washing uses *gasp* 175 liters of water per pair of jeans *double gasp!*. So now, M+F Girbaud is pioneering a new method of designing that "used" look using lasers. They called this methodology WattWash. WattWash uses only 5 liters of water per pair of jeans. That's a really big, but great leap. And, aside from saving lots of water, they can now also make precise and very identical designs.

Check their website out for a cool infographic about their WattWash method

So How Does WattWashing Works?

WattWash is just a laser beamed over the jeans to create the designs. Check out the videos below for a deeper understanding:

Check out these sites for more information:

http://www.wearona.com/posts/wattwash-girbaud-jeans-revolution

http://www.vogue.it/en/magazine/daily-news/2010/04/marithe

http://oneco.biofach.de/en/news/?focus=811b7864-b7b1-4283-b712-7071d2e653c4

Tissue Paper Roll Craft: Treats Pillow Box

2012-01-12T19:15:00.000+08:00

It's Thursday, so I thought I'd start my 1-2-3 Thursdays which are basically some craft or green action that you can do in a few minutes with the least number of materials.

This week's 1-2-3 Thursday is really fun and can be easily changed to fit any occasion. In my case, I made one for a little sweet nothing for my boyfriend. He absolutely loved it! He even joked that one of his drawers is already filled with notes and other stuff from me. He'll keep the box cause it's cute. WINNER!

Anyway, I saw the tutorial at Clean & Scentsible's Blog. It's so easy to make, not to mention ingenious. Makes me wonder why I didn't think of it before! Clean & Scentisble's blog have awesome pictures for the tutorial, mine has a low res pixelated one, so if you're particular about pictures head on over to her blog for a nice tutorial :)

This is my Treats Pillow Box

Anyway, here's my take on it:

Tool:

Materials:

Step 1:

Fold one side of the end of the tube, inwards to create a flap

Step 2:

Fold the other side of the end of the tube inwards to create another flap.

The flaps are used to close off one end of tube. Repeat on the other end

Step 3:

Open one end and put your treats inside. Close the end again

Step 4:

Cut a thin strip of paper from a brown bag.

This will be used to create a twine

Step 5:

Twist the strip of paper to form a twine

Step 6:

Seal the flaps by winding the twine around the pillow box.

Make a ribbon or a knot to secure the flaps and the twine. You can opt to finish the box here by making a horizontal wrap or decorate the box more (proceed with step 7)

Step 7:

Cut a strip of paper that can be used to wrap the mid-section of your pillow box.

Tape or glue the paper for a snug fit

Step 8:

Position your Note paper in the middle of the fastened strip of paper. Put some glue or tape and stick it to the strip of paper

Free Gift Wrapper: How to Spend Nothing on Gift Wrapping

2011-12-21T19:33:00.000+08:00

Well, almost nothing. Wrapping gifts would depend on your ingenuity and creativity. All you need are materials that you already have on hand. If ever, the material that you'll only need to buy would be sticky transparent tape (more commonly known here in the Philippines as "Scotch Tape") and some glue (which I doubt you don't have already.

After buying your gift, you still need to wrap it and it can be so frustrating to think about how much you'll spend for gift wrappers and ribbons, all the while thinking about how much of the environment is being destroyed by our merry making. Wrapping paper isn't that recyclable since some of it contain non recyclable materials like glitter, and tape.

Now we have to think of ways to reduce our trash without dampening that Christmas Spirit. Sure recycling wrapping paper is good but it looks frayed when reused, plus it's more fun to tear out the wrapping paper when opening gifts!

So what do you need to do to be able to wrap those gifts without spending anything (or almost)? Just look around you. and be imaginative.

Sources of Free Gift Wrapping Materials:

Home
School
Office

Free Gift Wrappers that can be Found at Home

Old wrapping paper
Papers, especially those reject prints and double sided print outs
Old books (gasp) that are to be recyled, especially cookbooks that have pictures
Old magazines and newspapers
Old greeting cards
Fabrics from old clothes, curtains, blankets, etc
Craft leftovers
Old and/or broken decorations
Old small toys, pendants and other knicnacks that can be used as danglers and tags
Boxes that came in with new stuff
Bubble wrap

Free Gift Wrappers that can be Found in School

Old test papers. Teachers usually just require this quarter's tests and seatworks. To be safe, you can use last year's test papers
School memos and bulletins. All you have to do with those is to return the reply slip. Instead of throwing the paper away, use it to wrap gifts
Fabric from old school uniforms that cant be handed down. repaired, or is too small to fit.
Old art supplies that are being kept for future (but no apparent) use. Like art and construction paper which we keep on buying a new pack when the color we want to use was already used up in a previous project

Free Gift Wrappers that can be Found in the Office

Papers that are no longer needed and can't be reused (i.e. papers that are printed on both sides)
Boxes that will just be thrown out. Comapanies keep the bigger boxes for storage, but some boxes that are too small or too weak are thrown out. (Think pen boxes, permanent and whiteboard marker boxes, etc)
Used up rolls of tape that can be used as a dangler (you still need to decorate it)
Shredded paper in the paper shredder bin
Old CDs that contain obsolete software or old files that won't be needed any more (or the data in the CD can also be found in a different CD with more updated data, etc)

Just make sure that the items that you take aren't going to be used anymore and doesn't contain any trade secrets nor confidential data.

Now that you know you can spend nothing on wrapping, skip the yuletide wrapping paper and tags and opt for a more earth-friendly wrapper.

DIY Gift Ribbon Using Paper

2011-12-20T20:33:00.000+08:00

When I saw this tutorial on how to make your own gift ribbon using paper on how about orange, I was dying to try it out immediately, which I did. Twice to be exact, but I wasn't able to take pictures as I did it. I made another ribbon this morning and I think I'm really getting the hang of it. I took pictures this time and the ribbon was really adorable!

I used regular office paper with one side printed on. Below is my take on how about orange's paper gift bow.

Materials and Tools Needed:

Step 1: Cut 9 Paper strips

Three (3) strips measuring the full 11 inches, 3/4 inches thick *
Three (3) strips measuring 10 inches, 3/4 inches thick *
Two (2) strips measuring 9 inches, 3/4 inches thick *
One (1) strip measuring 3 1/2 inches., 3/4 inches thick *

*This is assuming you're using a short bond paper (8 1/2 x 11 inches)

Step 2: Twist and loop one end of the strip

Bring the end of the strip to the center to form one end of the ribbon. Hold it in place with your hand

Step 3: Twist and loop the other end of the strip

Bring the end of the strip to the center to form the other end of the ribbon. Hold it with your other (free) hand

Step 4: Adjust the ends of the strip to make the loops thinner.

The thinner it is, the better. Having wide or big ribbon loops will make it difficult to assemble the ribbon, not to mention that the ribbon will look cluttered with very wide loops.

Step 5: Mark the places where the loops or ends of the strip meet.

Make sure you also mark the corners where the loops are. This is to ensure that you will be able to put back the loops later.

Step 6: Glue the ends of the strip together

Apply the glue inside the marked areas in step 5 and stick the ends together. The lines you placed in Step 5 will help you form the shape of your strip without a hitch! Repeat this step with all the strips of paper except for the smallest (3 1/2 inch) strip. Form a ring with this strip instead. Group the riblets (the form the strips take after gluing together the ends) together according to length.

Step 7: Form the base of the ribbon

Using the 3 longest riblets, form the base by creating a cross or plus-sign (+) with 2 riblets then place the last riblet at an angle that forms an X with the riblet on top. Make sure that you put glue at the center of each riblet or stack of riblets

Step 8: Form the second layer of the ribbon

Using the 3 mid-length riblets, form the 2nd layer by placing the riblets in areas where the loops don't overlap with the other riblet loops. Again, make sure that you put glue at the center of the ribbon we're forming

Step 9: Form the 3rd layer of the ribbon

Using the 2 small riblets, form the 3rd layer by placing the riblets in areas where the loops don't overlap with the other riblet loops. At this point it's hard to find an angle to put in the 3rd layer riblets, but you'll manage. Again, make sure that you put glue at the center of the ribbon we're forming.

Step 10: Finish the ribbon

Put the loop at the middle of the ribbon to finish it. My loops looks small because I flattened my riblets a lot during stacking, which left a big gap at the middle. I can opt to add more smaller sized riblets or just place a bigger paper ring inside

So what are you waiting for? Go forth and make these neat-o and pretty ribbons for your gift wrapping and decorating needs. This is exactly what I needed to wrap my revelation day present for the Kris Kringle that my friends and I started way back in November.

Eco Friendly Wrapping Paper, Gift Tags, Ribbons and Other Gift Toppers

2011-12-20T13:37:00.000+08:00

Christmas is just 4 days away, by now we should all be done shopping and start wrapping those presents we bought.

There is no doubt that Christmas is one of the most (if not the most) expensive holiday, not to mention, wasteful. Can you imagine how much wrapping paper, ribbons and boxes are thrown out each year? According to www.recyclenow.com wrapping paper not always recyclable. Quoting from their website:

wrapping paper is often dyed, laminated and/or contains non-paper additives such as gold and silver coloured shapes, glitter, plastics etc which cannot be recycled;
some wrapping paper is very thin and contains few good quality fibres for recycling; and
a lot of wrapping paper has sticky tape attached to it which makes it very difficult to recycle.

Which is why we ought to use wrapping paper that can be easily recycled or even better, re-used! Below is a list of gift wrapping ideas/gift wrapper and gift topper alternatives

Gift Wrapping Ideas

Use recycled wrapping paper
Use boxes (Opt for boxes that our sturdy and pretty enough to be reused)
Use fabrics (Such as towels, scarves, doilies, etc)
Use gift baskets
Use magazine pages, newspaper pages (comics and colored pages are best), maps, this year's calendar (especially the art/designed part of the calendar)

Gift Topper Ideas

Use small old toys as danglers
Make your own gift tags
Create a classy paper-ribbon (just like what howaboutorange did!)

Great and Eco-Friendly Christmas Deals and Bargains at Handyman

2011-12-19T19:24:00.000+08:00

Christmas is just a few days away and I'm sure a lot of us aren't done with our Christmas shopping yet.With the 13th month pay and company bonuses that we have, we'll probably replace some of our old stuff and get some new and shiny ones.

Yesterday, while out Christmas shopping with SDEHBF (super-duper extra hot boyfriend), we went to Handyman to check out their pet supplies, we didn't find what we were looking for, but I did find something that made me smile. It's Handyman's Trade-In Promo. Trade in your old and/or broken stuff, and then you'll get a discount for your new purchase! I'm guessing that the the old stuff will be up for recycling! What a great idea!