Earth Friendly. Green Living.

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!

Changes and What to Expect in Earth-Friendly Green Living

2011-12-06T20:16:00.000+08:00

I haven't been able to post for quite some time now. I've been busy with a lot of personal matters that I haven't had time to blog. I've been keeping up with green news and thinking about a lot of green crafts but to be honest, my creative juices and writing mojo seem to be in all-time low lately. Every time I attempt to blog about something, or to even start crafting, my energy drops and I slump back in bed.

I guess it's because I've been sick lately and have spent the time recuperating and taking a break from a lot of things that I've been doing. I just kept work, church-work, family time and kitty (boyfriend) time as my load and took a break from everything else. I haven't fully recovered yet but I can't bare leaving my blog empty for a month.

During the time that I wasn't blogging, I kept on thinking about ways to rev up my blog. I thought about making a banner at the beginning of every post. The banner would depend on what kind of article the post is about. While thinking about the banners that I'll make, an idea struck me, why don't I follow a schedule of what to post everyday? It's like giving a theme as to what the topic the post would be. That way, I wouldn't have a hard time thinking about what to post! Yeah! It really does sound like a great idea. It gives my blog structure and predictability.

So I started tapping away on my keyboard. Thinking about what the topics would be and what I would call them. I'm pretty happy with what I've come up with but I'd like to know what you think about it

Monday Green Day

Green News
Green Innovations
Green Events
I placed this on a Monday to keep us inspired in this hard-to-start-working day

Kitchen Beauty Tuesday

Beauty products straight from your kitchen
I decided to put it on Tuesdays to prepare for Friday night-outs

Green Living Wednesday

Topics and tips on how to live a greener life

Green Office/Green Employee
Green School/ Green Student/Green Faculty/ Green Parent
Green Home

I placed this on a Wednesday as a pick-me-upper for the droning week

1-2-3 Thursdays

DIYs and simple crafts that you can do in 5-30 minutes.
Some green ideas that you can do to pass the time
I decided to put this on Thursdays to keep us sane until the weekend comes

Green Friday Shopping

Product reviews. Which products you should and shouldn't buy
This is on a Friday because usually, we go out on Fridays, either to hang out with friends and family or to shop, these product reviews will help us make decisions when buying

Craft Weekend

DIYs and crafts that need time and (sometimes) a lot of materials
I placed this on weekends because this is when we have time to go crazy with out crafts and share the fun with family and friends

I do hope this got you excited. These changes really are exciting my mojo. I've started working on the banners, and hopefully be able to finish before the weekend starts (Hello late nights! O.O ).

Please bear with me as this changes will be a little slow on progressing. I might not be able to post everyday as I used to, especially after this weekend, since kitty and I plan to add a new member to our (fragmented - cause we're not living together) family. We'll pick her up over the weekend, so be prepared to read a lot of cat care tips here as well.

So, that's all the time I have for tonight. I need to get back on those banners.

Toilet Paper Roll Flowers

2011-11-23T19:51:00.000+08:00

I have a vast number of tissue paper rolls thanks to my office mates. I have so many that I don't even know what to do with them anymore, so I scoured Google for ideas, and I just have to share these 2 with you:

These are wonderful and decorative ideas for tissue paper rolls - not to mention easy, and I can't wait to get started on these. I can see a few of these flowers sitting prettily on my office desk.

For tutorials on how to make these flowers, you can visit:

http://impressyourkids.org/earth-day-recycled-art-paper-tube-flowers/ for the daisy

and

http://designbynight.blogspot.com/2010/08/paper-towel-roll-flowerstuturial.html for the camellia

So what are you waiting for? Get those art materials out and start decorating!

Tissue Paper Roll Candy Wrapper

2011-11-17T20:04:00.000+08:00

I've been feeling a little off lately that got my ever loving boyfriend worried. He really went out of his way to make me feel better. To show him a small token of my appreciation, I decided to give him a few pieces of Hershey's Caramel Kisses. I know he'd love them even if I just hand it out to hm, but I thought a little extra effort wouldn't hurt.
I have a lot of tissue paper rolls here so I thought I'd make use of it to wrap the kisses with.

Here's the Finished Product:

Materials for Toilet Paper Roll Recycled Candy Box

Cut the TP roll to match the size that you need to contain your candies

Cut one side of the TP Pulls wrapper to elongate the wrapper

Cut 2 strips from the cut-out side of the wrapper (Ribbons)

Put the candies inside the TP Roll

Put the candy filled TP roll inside one the pocket of the wrapper and wrap like a candy

Tie the ribbons at the ends of the wrapped candy

When I gave him what I made, he looked a little surprised and smiled at me, asking me why. I'm glad he really liked how I wrapped it. It added intrigue as to what's inside since it's so obvious that it was wrapped with recycled stuff.

Staple Free Stapler at Think Geek

2011-11-17T08:09:00.001+08:00

I was scouring the net for green office products to buy for myself when I saw this stapler in ThinkGeek! The moment I saw it, my geek-meter went on overload and my green idea light bulb exploded! Oh yeah! This is wicked!!!

Why is the Staple-Free Stapler Earth-Friendly

The staple-free stapler, doesn't need staples to bind paper together, which helps us reduce our consumption of staple wires which are very dangerous pollutants. (Imagine animals ingesting this, imagine you ingesting this). Not to mention reducing the accidents relating to staple wires. Blood, gore, and a heap of papery mess.

How the Staple-Free Stapler Works

It works by cutting flaps from the paper, folding the paper flaps the opposite direction, and then inserting the flaps in a slit it created. It uses the actual paper it's supposed to bind together to bind it together. Neat-o! There are some products on the Internet that offer customization of the stapler to add a logo on the last flap. Cool-io!

Available Designs and Colors

Plastic Bottle Trash Can

2011-11-15T12:30:00.000+08:00

While Surfing on the Internet yesterday, I saw this cool idea for reusing plastic bottles.

I saw this over instructables.com with instructions on how to do it. The instructions aren't very clear, but the concept of making it isn't very difficult (or so I think).

Now the next question, would I start collecting bottles just so I can make this? I don't drink soft drinks so it would be difficult for me to consume oodles of it jut to make a trashcan. I don't buy that much bottled drinks either. Being able to make this would be a matter of how often you consume bottled beverages, which is, bad for the environment. You could however still make this, let's say, you have the bottles up for recycling, or you had a party of some sort. It's a nice way to reuse plastic bottles nonetheless.

Eco Bag Reminder from Cosmo PH

2011-11-11T20:26:00.000+08:00

I recently bought the November issue of Cosmopolitan Philippines, in the hopes of finding some neat styles I can donne on.

While skimming through the first few pages of the magazine, I saw this filler article about the use of eco bags. I absolutely loved how they put it together, it summarizes what I have in mind about eco bags!

Kudos to the Cosmo PH team for taking a stand for Mother Nature!

Olive Oil Skin Softening Scrub

2011-11-10T19:54:00.000+08:00

With all the good benefits and wonders of olive oil for the body, I wondered whether it can be used on the face as well. So I went to trusty Google and found out that a lot of homemade skin-care recipes have olive oil in it.

Use of Olive Oil on Skin
I'm not particularly sure if my skin is oily or dry. Sometimes it's oily, sometimes it's dry, but a lot of websites don't recommend olive oil if your skin is already oily. Makes perfect sense!

I have a lot of black and white heads and I thought that maybe the olive oil scrub will help me wash them away. I wasn't successful in removing the black- and whiteheads after just 1 try, and I haven't had the time to repeat it, but maybe my face will clear up with continued use?

Effect of Olive Oil on Skin
The effect of my Olive Oil Skin Softening Scrub (let's call it a potion) is that my face felt really smooth, supple, and clean. I had a lot of extra scrub potion that I was able to use it for my feet which are dry and a little cracked. My feet felt really soft. So did my hands, after applying the potion to my face and feet.

So how did I make my potion? Here's how:

How to Make Olive Oil Skin Softening Scrub

Ingredients

Materials

Small bowl for mixing the olive oil and sugar
Spoon or teaspoon for measuring and mixing
Face towel
Tabo (dipper) or small basin to soak the face towel

Step 1: Mix the Olive Oil and Sugar together to make the scrub

Step 2: Wash and clean your face with warm water to open your pores.

Step 3: Soak towel in warm-to-hot water

Step 4: Apply the scrub on your face in gentle circular motions

Step 5: Let the scrub sit for at least 5 minutes.

Step 6: Rinse the scrub with warm water

Step 7: Place the warm towel over your head for at least 5 minutes

Step 8: Wash your face with cool-to-cold water to close your pores

Recycling Facts

2011-11-09T22:40:00.000+08:00

I found this in the ladies room of NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) Terminal 2, Arrivals.

Thought I'd share.

Sorry if the image is blurry. I took it in a hurry

The fact sheet was stuck onto an automatic tissue dispenser. It would have been better if the tissue dispenser didn't work with electricity to pull the sheets out.

Greenpeace Volunteer Orientation

2011-11-08T23:33:00.001+08:00

I went to the Greenpeace Philippines HQ today for my volunteer orientation. I dragged boyfie into it and I must say that after the orientation, it seems that he's more interested than I am! WINNER!

The building's eerily cozy, with the ambiance that of a school. The office itself was rigged with biometric devices. It turns out it was a safety feature for a horrible harassment issue that happened to some volunteers and staff members.

I had a really nice time learning about Greenpeace, how it operates and it's core values. Not to mention that the staff that we met were really really warm and nice!

I'm excited to try out this new venture in my life and I hope I can dedicate much time for it!

HGTV Carter Can Eco-Friendly Home Improvements

2011-11-08T13:04:00.000+08:00

Carter Can is a show from HGTV which aims to help people in renovating their homes. Whenever people think that it's impossible to renovate an area in the house due to budget and/or design constraints, Carter Comes in and saves the day. What's even greater is that Carter uses Eco-Friendly materials for the renovation.

I'm not a fan of watching T.V. but a few months ago, I chanced upon this T.V. show when my sister fell asleep while watching it. I thought, "Hey it's another home renovation show, I love these shows". I wasn't disappointed for watching it since I found out that Carter uses green materials for renovations. There's at least one piece of furniture that is eco-friendly! I love it! At the end of the show, they gave a URL to check out for more renovation and green ideas. It's http://hgtv.com/carter.

I browsed the website found some of the Eco-Friendly furniture and materials that Carter uses in the show. You may want to see the items. Check it out for Eco-Friendly materials for your next home improvement. (http://www.hgtv.com/home-improvement/going-green-eco-friendly-home-improvement-and-building-products/pictures/index.html).

Here are some of the materials and how they were used that I really loved:

Photo	Used as	Material
	Paper Countertop	Tree Pulp
	Bamboo Plywood as Cabinet Doors, Drawers, and Sink	Bamboo laminated together with low-VOC adhesive
	Rubber Mulch	Recycled Tires
	Recycled Plastic Carpet	PET plastic turned into yarn
	Cork Flooring	Cork Oak Bark
	Bamboo Buthcer Block	Formaldehyde-free Bamboo
	Biodegradable Hemp and Wool Carpet	Hemp and Wool Fibers

All these materials and how they are beneficial for use and for the environment can be found on HGTV. (http://www.hgtv.com/home-improvement/going-green-eco-friendly-home-improvement-and-building-products/pictures/index.html)

5 Tips to be Green this All Saints and All Souls Day

2011-10-31T23:01:00.001+08:00

I've been to 2 cemeteries already and I'm glad to just rest tomorrow. There isn't, however, a rest for being green, especially now that it's a long weekend here in the Philippines. Long holidays mean vacations or spending a lot of money on food and drinks because of cemetery hopping. The All Saints Day Holiday means family reunions and get-togethers in the cemetery. So how do you continue being green?

Tip # 1:
Carpool to the cemetery.
If you have space in your car, let your other relatives ride with you, or ride with them. It doesn't make sense to bring one car each if you can squeeze into one car. If you live far from your relatives, you can leave your car at their place or vice versa, then carpool to the cemetery. Not only are you saving on parking space, you're one less car on the road, and of course, you have a smaller carbon footprint

Tip # 2:
Bring your own food
Bringing your own food means food will definitely be cheaper. It's funny how food prices inflate inside the cemetery. When you buy food in the cemetery or outside the cemetery, you'll be using plastic spoons and forks, plastic/paper/styro plates and bowls, plastic/paper/styro cups and not to mention, using a plastic or paper bag to carry everything you bought

Tip # 3:
Bring your own drink
Reduce the use of plastic bottles. It's just so wrong in many ways. Nufsed.

Tip # 4:
Use washable utensils
Don't be too lazy and buy paper plates and plastic cups. Bring the sturdy plastic ones. You can bring water for washing the plates. Just rinse the flat- and silverware with water and wash them properly at home

Tip # 5:
Mingle
Instead of using your gadgets while passing the time in the cemetery, mingle with your family or go spelunking with your cousins. We once played hide and seek in the cemetery. It was so fun :)

Think Before You Print Email Signatures

2011-10-30T09:15:00.000+08:00

UPDATE 11.8.2011 : Fixed he broken link for the Mozilla Thunderbird Tutorial, added borders for the tutorial list and fixed a few grammatical errors in the post, added a link to the Badges and Signatures page

There's no doubt that we use a lot of paper in the office. Whether it be for printing memos, documentations, notices, and even *gasp* emails.

It's one thing to be conscious about printing and saving paper, it's another to encourage others to do so too. At times though we may come on as a nag if we keep on badgering colleagues to think before they print.

So instead of verbally reminding them, we could add the nifty pictures (found below) to our email signatures to make our email recipients "think before they print". The images are in a .png format with transparent backgrounds. There are versions with white-colored backgrounds on the Badges and Signatures page.

These pictures will make them stop and think before hitting the print button.

For instructions on how to add any of the images to your email signatures click on any of the links below:

For:	Link
Mozilla Thunderbird	http://email.about.com/od/mozillathunderbirdtips/qt/et_tb_sig_image.htm
Outlook	http://email.about.com/od/outlooktips/qt/Insert_a_Graphic_Animation_in_Your_Outlook_Email_Signature.htm

Joan of Arc Armor Set Cosplay

2011-10-29T17:02:00.000+08:00

I attended a costume party which aimed to deviate from the usual Halloween Parties. Instead of coming as something scary or fantasy-like, you should come in as a saint. This was in commemoration of All Saints Day.

Being the out-of-the-ordinary person that I am, I didn't want to come to the party wearing drab that looks normal. I want to stand out, of course, without spending much.

So all I bought was garter, 2 bottles of glue and 3 pieces cardboard and 2 cans of spray paint. Boyfie and I created 2 sets of armor. One for him and one for me. We only used up 2 1/4 of the cardboard, we could have used just 2 if we planned out the cutting of the board better.

Materials:

Cardboard
Used Bond/Office paper or old newspapers (I prefer used bond paper since it's stronger) cut into strips
Garter
Silver spray paint
Thinner (optional, for cleaning the paint out of your hands or other surfaces)
Glue+Water (2:1 ratio)
Stape Wires
1.5L or 2.0L PET Bottle (We used Sprite and Coke)
Paper tape (preferred) or masking tape. You can also use glue but it needs to dry before you can proceed

Tools

A pair of scissors
Half gallon icecream tub or similar
Stapler
Measuring Tape
Rule (Metal kind preferred)
Pencil / Pen

I wasn't able to document the whole process of creating the armor. We were so busy making the armor that we forgot to take pictures.

1. To make the plate:

1.1. Measure your chest, bust (if your a girl), waist, underarm-to-waist and torso length.

1.2. Cut out strips with the same length as your measurements

1 strip for the chest
1 strip for the bust
1 strip for the waist
2 strips for the underarm-to-waist
2 strips for the torso length

1.3. Measure the length from your front shoulder to your back shoulder

1.4. Cut out 2 strips with the same length as your measurements or depending on how long you want the plate to be from your shoulders

1.5. Join the ends of the chest strip to form a ring using paper tape

1.6. Attach the torso strips to the north and south part chest ring using paper tape

These strips will serve as the guide for the front and back of your body

1.7. Attach the shoulder strips using paper tape and then remove the mold

Wear the chest strip and estimate where the shoulder strips should go

1.8. Join the ends of the bust strip to make a ring using paper tape

1.9. Attach the bust ring to the torso strips using paper tape

1.10. Join the ends of the waist strip to make a ring using paper tape

1.11. Attach the waist ring to the torso strips using paper tape

1.12. Cut out squares and rectangles to fit the holes in your plate mold

1.13. Attach the squares and triangles to patch the holes using paper tape

1.14. Fortify your mold by adding paper tapes to areas that aren't taped yet

1.15. Put the glue-water concoction into the icecream tub and dip the paper strips in the tub

1.16. Place the paper strips dipped in glue on the mold

1.17. Cover the entire mold with 2 layers of paper strips

1.18. Dry the mold

1.19. Paint

2. To make the shoulder and upper arm braces

2.1. Measure your upper length

Edge of shoulder to 1-2 inches above the middle of the arm

2.2. Grab a 1.5 or 2.0 L of PET bottle

The size of the bottle depends on your arm width and length.

2.3. Cut the bottom of the bottle

2.4. Cut the top of the bottle

Make sure that the bottom-cut part of the bottle up to the new cut that you'll make is equal to measurement you did for your upper arm

2.5. Cut the bottle lengthwise, making 2 equal pieces. Each piece will go to each arm

2.6. Staple garter

2.7. Put strips of paper with glue

2.8. Let dry

2.9. Paint

3. To make the vambraces

3.1 Measure your lower arm (1 inch from your wrist and 1 inch from your elbow

3.2 Draw a pear-shape on the cardboard with the length of your lower arm

3.3. Cut out the pear shape

3.4 Staple garters half an inch from the ends

3.5 Cover with glued down paper strips

3.6 Dry

3.7. Paint

4. To Make Hip and Pelvic Armor

4.1. Measure your hip

4.2. Cut out a strip with the length of your hip

4.3. Attach both ends of the hip strip with paper tape to form a ring

4.4. Cover with glued down paper strips

4.5. Cover with glued down paper strips

4.6. Cut out 5 squares/rectangles with each square larger than the previous. Smallest square should be able to cover atleast 3/4 of your thigh's width.

4.7. Repeat previous step

4.8. Cover all parts with glued down paper strips

4.9. Cover all parts with glued down paper strips

4.10. Assemble the squares smallest square first then put the next square on top of the edge (about 1 cm) of the smallest square. Continue until you use all 5 squares

4.11. Attach the squares together by stapling small strips of garter

4.12. Repeat previous step

4.13. Attach both guards on the left and right side of of the hip

4.14. Paint

Global Warming Confirmed by Doubters

2011-10-27T20:02:00.000+08:00

A lot of non-believers and doubters of Global Warming have been raising that the information provided by the United State's NASA and NOAA are not accurate. Several claims have been raised such as that the data might have been manipulated since the data isn't open, that several instruments for measuring temperature are either very old or are using an old technology, and that the measurements may be an effect of urban heat island effect (urban areas are hotter because of the concrete and other factors).

The doubts and arguments of the non-believers have paved way for a new research to ensue, this time assuring that a more reliable data gathering and data evaluation methods and algorithms are used, and that the data remain open. This new initiative is called BEST or Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project (http://berkeleyearth.org/) or more known as Berkeley Earth. The group's goal, as stated in their website, and I quote:

Our aim is to resolve current criticism of the former temperature analyses, and to prepare an open record that will allow rapid response to further criticism or suggestions. Our results will include not only our best estimate for the global temperature change, but estimates of the uncertainties in the record.

The result of Berkeley Earth's research didn't seem to be far away from the results that NASA and NOAA published. In fact, it even strengthened the claim of many that the world is indeed warming. The urban heat island effect didn't really have that large an effect on global warming, since all the urban areas combined only makes up a small percentage of the rural and undeveloped areas.

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15373071
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/20/global-warming-study-climate-sceptics
http://berkeleyearth.org/

How To Think Green

2011-10-26T20:32:00.000+08:00

In order to live a green life, you need to change how you think. We have grown accustomed to having new stuff and making life easier. We have learned that there are shortcuts that we can take to speed anything that we want to do, and this demand for shortcuts have endangered our plant, our lives.

The "New is Better" Mindset

I must say, the marketing campaigns of the 70s have successfully transformed our minds into thinking newer things means better things. Quantity over quality. A lot of people would rather buy 10 of the same cheap shoes than buy one quality shoe that would last year. "At least I have shoes that are 10 times new".

Imagine how much energy is spent in making just one shoe? Most shoes use virgin materials, meaning materials that are made out of the earth's resources. Imagine how many trees need to be cut and animals slaughtered to procure raw materials; imagine how much smoke was released in the atmosphere to turn the raw materials to virgin, workable materials. Imagine how much gas was used to ship raw materials, virgin materials and finished products from material warehouses to manufacturing warehouses. How much CO2 was emitted by airplanes and trucks for shipping? How much oil seeped in the oceans.

To think green we should have the:

Quality over Quantity Mindset

To live green, we need to change our mindset to quality over quantity. Buying lesser shoes would mean a lower demand for shoe manufacturing. Maybe you're thinking that you're just one person, and purchasing less wouldn't move the demand for shoes? Well, that's where you're blinded. Sure one person wouldn't make much of a difference, but if you count how much shoes you buy in a lifetime, you'll believe me in saying that it's enough to make an impact in the demand for sure. Now imagine that if 100 people all over the world changed their mindset, that would make a drastic impact in the demand.

"Good For the Planet, Bad for Me" Way of Thinking

I am surprised to find that a lot of people would rather put first their own comforts versus the sustainability of the world. Take straws for instance, people would rather use a drinking straw cause ice-cold beverages can damage teeth and their roots (or so they say), or that the drinking glasses weren't cleaned properly and they might get diseases from drinking on the rim (this excuse really had me wondering if the person who said it really understood what he's saying).

I'm still waiting for my front teeth to fall off, or something else, for not using straws. So far, I haven't had toothaches my teeth aren't that stained. And as for dirty drinking glasses, whatever's in the rim of that glass might as well be in the glass, since when the glasses are washed, they put everything in a tub of water, so the germs are pretty much all over.

To think green we should have the:

"Right for the Environment, Right for Everyone" Way of Thinking

It's the age old saying, "Good doesn't mean it's right". It's time we stop fumbling with good and bad, and start working with right and wrong. Using a straw may be good for you but, it's not right for you simply because it's wrong for the environment. Whatever the earth is suffering now, we will suffer it back, twice- or maybe thrice-fold.

DIY Cosplay Costumes for a Halloween Party Introduction

2011-10-24T20:34:00.000+08:00

Halloween is just around the corner, and you know what that means! Halloween Costume Parties!

Though it is quite easy to rent and buy (though I would suggest the former since it's more earth-friendly), there's nothing like making your own costume. More often than not, it costs less, plus you get that extra satisfaction when you win best costume! Besides, who wants to see someone else in the party dressed the same way as you are?

Though this entry won't contain step-by step instructions on how you can make cosplay costumes (that would be on another entry), it would give you ideas on the materials and tools that you'll need.

Currently, I'm making an armor set (plate, arm guards, leg vambraces, shoulder guards). I'll be using that costume for an All Saints Day Cosplay. I'll go as Joan of Arc. I'll post the how to as soon as I finish it.

I'm also planning to make knife that goes on top of my head to give an illusion that my head was butchered.

So what are the basic materials that you'll need?

Lots of paper. Strips or pulp for making paper mache
Lots and lots of glue
Cardboard to make your costume a little strong
Plastic PET bottles
Old clothes or cloths
Paint
Varnish (if using poster paint or to make it water proof)
Water
Masking or paper tape (paper tape is sturdier and sticks better)

And let's not forget the basic tools:

A pair Scissors
Pencil
Ruler
Measuring tape
Paintbrush
A helping hand (to speed things up and to make some tasks easier)
Stapler
Puncher
Glue gun

There are some basic steps that you'll do everytime you'll be making a costume

Draft how the final costume will look like
Measure the body part where the costume will go. It's always good to have at least 2-inches allowance so you can move and air can flow. Write down the measurements
Make paper strips or paper pulp for paper mache (strips is probably the best option)

Watch out for my costume how tos this week . I'll post them as soon as I finish so you can start making your own too.

Today I joined Greenpeace Philippines. You Should Too!

2011-10-18T20:09:00.000+08:00

I've been looking for an environmental group in the Philippines that will let me do more in helping the environment, it turns out, I've been using the wrong keywords in Google to look.

Anyway, I found Greenpeace Philippines which I did not hesitate to join. I've known Greenpeace to have such a strong enforcement on environment protection, the first time I read about them, I told myself that I'd join if they have a chapter here in the Philippines.

Greenpeace is a non-profit organization aimed at protecting and conserving the environment. Mostly, Greenpeace launch campaigns against environment criminals, governments and companies who forget and/or fail to protect our environment, our future.

There are different ways to get involved with Greenpeace and saving the environment. You can be a cyberactivist who are people who make a claim, make a stand, by just a click of a button. You can also be an office-volunteer or an intern where you volunteer to help in the Greenpeace office. You can opt to be a volunteer which are more hands on, physical activities on helping a campaign follow through.

Visit their site for more information: http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/

Earlier today I sent my volunteer application form to the volunteer coordinator, and he told me to give him a time for when I want my orientation. I'm excited! I have to balance my new volunteer work with my current work load and my Church work, not to mention finding time to blog, for upcycling crafts, for my family and for boyfie. Whew! I seem to have a lot in my plate lately and It'll take a lot of time management skills to be able to do everything I am passionate about!

If you want to join too, I can give you the email address of where to send the application form to. Hit the comment box below I'll get back to you as soon as I could

God bless me to fulfill this new endeavor!

Infographic on Water Conservation

2011-10-18T13:52:00.002+08:00

I came across this infographic about water conservation and I just thought that I'd share it with all of you:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/9srTAj/www.good.is/post/infographic-10-ways-to-stop-wasting-water