My blog is carbon neutral!

As I was scrolling down my reading list on Blogger, a post jumped up from a blog: "My blog is carbon neutral, is yours?". Well, no, I thought. Can it be? I clicked through to read the entire post and found out that, with just a few clicks, yes, yes it can.

How it works:

Just write a short blog post about our programme “My blog is carbon neutral” and include one of the buttons below on your site (ideally in the sidebar). Send the link to your blog to CO2-neutral@kaufda.de and we plant a tree for you, neutralising the carbon dioxide emissions of your blog. The trees will be planted in the spring of 2010 by the Arbor Day Foundation.

So, this spring, somewhere in Germany, a tree will be planted for B*lota, making the world a little greener!

To find out more about this initiative and how to participate, click here.

First listing all set to go up!

 

I am getting ready to launch my Etsy store! I finished making the first two items yesterday, and will be sewing like mad in the coming days so I am ready to start listing before the end of the month!

It has been a busy week for us. I have registered my company, opened a bank account, upgraded my PayPal account andam almost done with the shop policies. Once I have my bio ready to go, I am all set. At least for the first stage. 

On a later stage, I want to go live with my website, Facebook fan page and post more consistently on the blog. So, I have a lot of work ahead of my! If my daughter cooperates and sleeps solid 3h naps each day and my husband picks up the slack in the weekends, I might be able to get it all set by May. Wouldn't that be something! 

Of course, with all the excitement of opening up the shop comes a lot of insecurity. There are so many talented people out there, selling wonderfully crafted things that it is hard to not get discouraged and give up! What if no one buys anything? What if they come back and demand their money back? What if, what if? So, I make everything as perfect as possible and hope for the best. Worst case scenario, I won't have to get stressed about Christmas shopping. And if it works out, well, that will just make each successful sale that much sweeter!

Celebrate Earth Day!

Earth Day is coming up! And what better time to make your personal commitment to sustainability and climate action? From small steps to a greener lifestyle to a call for action from your local community and government, this is the time for change! 

For tips and guides on how to go green, head on over to Planet Green and check out their list of resources.

Guerilla bagging!

The 4th International Morsbagging day is this Sunday and I am very keen in participating! The idea is that you "sew like mad to make as many lovely morsbags to hand out as possible - perhaps organise a local group for courage, support and joy, and handout free morsbags to locals wherever you are in the world......"

I have set aside some funky and sturdy fabrics and I am hoping I will have time this weekend to make some pretty cool Morsbags which I will give away to assorted friends and family members. 

If you are interested in joining, head on over to www.morsbags.com and read more about this initiative. You can also just download the pattern and start sewing!!

(image via: www.morsbags.com)

NYC

image via Time Out Brasil

I am taking a break from sewing and escaping to New York for a long weekend with my husband. The weather is fantastic and I am hoping we are going to do a great deal of sightseeing and shopping. In between we will try to see some friends and, as soon as I can get my hands on some tylenol PM, catch up on our sleep!

I will report back next week! 

Modge Podge rocks!

About two years ago, when I was getting the nursery ready for the arrival of my daughter, I bought wooden letters to write up her name on the wall. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them but I figured I would think of something once they arrived. Well, I didn't. And I just forgot all about them until last week, when I found them in the back of the closet. It's been long enough, I thought. But how should I decorate them? I decided I wanted to cover them with fabric, but how?! I went online and that's when I stumbled upon Mod Podge. It's a sort of glue that clears and hardens as a varnish, once it dries. I wasn't sure if it was going to work with fabric and I couldn't find any info online on how to do it but I decided to go for it anyway.

My first step was to white wash the letters, as I didn't like the color of the raw wood. I used fusible interfacing on the fabric to stabilize it, atraced the letters directly onto the fabric and cut. Using a brush, I applied the Mod Podge on each letter and put the fabric on top of it. I waited for it to dry a little before I applied a coating over the fabric. Again, I waited about 20 minutes before I put in the second and then third coatings. When it was all dry, I used an Xacto knife to cut any excess fabric around the letters, being careful not to cut too much or unglue the fabric.

Finally, I used double-sided tape to hang the letters up and took a step back to admire my work!

Last sewing projects of the week!

These have been two incredibly productive weeks and I have managed to produce quite a few things that have been on my to-sew list for a while! 

The last two projects to be ticked of my list were a camera cozy for my new camera and a eco-friendly make up case.

The Camera Cozy: 

My brother gave me, a few weeks ago, a camera as I had been complaining that ours was too bulky to carry around with me all the time. As with most cameras, this did not come with a case!  Have you noticed how the cameras are always so cheap but then you have to get the memory card, and the case and in the end you spend double the amount you thought you would!o?
Well, this time, instead of buying an ugly generic one, I decided to make my own.

I went online and found this tutorial from Sew Mad and was all set!

The instructions are very detailed and easy to follow. I skipped the quilted look and replaced the velcro closure with a snap and I have to say, I really like the result. It didn't turn out perfect but it makes up for its faults by being super cute!

The Make-Up Case:

I know I keep tooting my own horn, but this make up case turned out adorable! And environment friendly, no less!

It's a basic zippered pouch, with boxed bottom and hot pink Michael Miller fabric. The lining is made from an Oeko-Tex certified waterproof fabric that will allow me to wipe it clean with a damp cloth when it gets make up smudges all over it.

As a final touch, I added one of my brand new labels, fresh off the printer. But more on that later...

This closes my sewing week. Now I need to start planning as there are presents to be made and not much time to do it, before we head out to New York and Lisbon!