The Top 3 Eco-Friendly BRC Products

Happy Earth Day!

Taking care of the earth can be done in big or small ways.  While it's great to participate in beach clean-ups and tree plantings, sometimes it's the little, everyday choices that can create the biggest change.  By tweaking our daily habits some of our most ordinary daily routines can become a little more eco-friendly.  Here are a few of my most eco-savvy items that can help you leave less of a footprint on our earth, little by little:

1.  Coffee Cup Cozy

Now, of course it's better to bring your own cup to your favorite coffee shop.  But sometimes you forget, and when you are traveling it's not so easy.  Or if you are like me, it's not too hygienic -- I always forget to wash the cup in my car until it's growing like a science project!  Enter these fun little coffee cozies.

They may not seem like a big deal when you are using a paper cup already, but every little bit helps.  In 2011, Starbucks alone used (and their customers promptly discarded) almost 3 BILLION of their cardboard cup sleeves.   That's a lot of excess paper going into landfills and a lot of trees being cut down!

2.  Plastic Bag Holder

Again, not the most green sounding item, but this item encourages multiple uses for what is usually a single use item.  I typically use my reusable bags, but I still end up with a few plastic bags here and there that I like to save and reuse.  And now with many cities and counties banning plastic bags, there is even more of a reason to save and hoard the ones you do get!

3.  Ice Cream Cozy

This one may be a bit of a stretch, but it does eliminate the need for a bowl, which saves water and...um, energy to heat the dishwasher and...saves soap and .... ok, it's not the most earth-friendly item out there, but it's awfully handy!  No one likes frozen fingers!

And coming soon...

I'm working on several new products using up-cycled denim jeans.  Repurposing used items that would usually get thrown out is a great way to reduce landfill waste and also create something fun and new.  Check back soon for pics of the new items!

DIY Hair Pin Display

As promised I am back to detail how I made one fantastic display piece out of and old picture frame, ribbon, fabric and hot glue!  (I apologize for the lack of pictures, but as you will see below, it was late at night and my mind was not functioning at full capacity!)

I ran across this blog post from Hip To Piece Squares in my search for creative display pieces for my upcoming craft show.  She used thick ribbons to beautifully display fabric covered button hairpins.  I pinned the post and vowed to come back one day and do this myself.

Fast forward a few months, and it's 11pm, the night before my first craft show of the season.  I suddenly realize I have no way to display my adorable hairpins.  I remembered this blog post, but had no thick ribbons or foam board, and a trip to the craft store at that time of night was out of the question. So I improvised....

I had an old 8x10 picture frame lying around that was missing it's glass due to an unfortunate household incident.  I took out the backing board, cut a piece of fleece the size of the board and then covered the board and fleece with a piece of linen blend fabric.  I pulled it tight as I could and hot glued it in place.

I had no thick ribbon on hand (of course!), so I used two strips of thinner ribbon placed close together.  I pulled them tight and hot glued them in place.  I would suggest measuring this part, since I eyeballed it and due to sheer exhaustion that night, mine are less than equally spaced apart.

I wiggled the backing back into the frame and I had a lovely display piece made from items I happened to have on hand at 11 o'clock at night.  I then proceeded to fall into bed, exhausted but excited for the next day!  I ended up selling many more hair pins than usual, and I can't help but believe it was due to my great new display piece.

Craft Fair Display Ideas

I just had my first craft show of the holiday season and I had such a fun time trying out some new display ideas!  I've been scouring Pinterest for weeks now, looking for new ideas to display my work WITHOUT spending a fortune.  (You can see my Pins here.)  Some of my display pieces are from the dollar section of Target, random household items or garage sale finds.

The first new items I used this weekend were a pair of cream colored shutters.  I had seen a blog post on Quiltish about using shutters for display, but cheap shutters aren't always easy to come by.  But I got lucky and happened to do a drive-by past a neighborhood garage sale and there out front were these beautiful shutters.  Painted off-white, in good shape, and only $10 each!

Once I got to my show, I wasn't sure how I was going to use them.  I ended up using them as height elements in the back of my display and hanging purses and totes from the corners.  Next time I want to get a little banner to hang between them with my shop name, like one of these from Bekah Jennings on Etsy.  I've been drooling over her banners for a while now!

Here are a few other display ideas from items I had lying around the house:

Elastic hair bands displayed in an old fish bowl. (RIP Goldy)

This tiered cupcake stand from Cost Plus World Market is now a mini wallet display.

Drawers make great display containers.  This drawer is from an antique sewing machine cabinet and it fits my tissue cozies perfectly!

I'm always on the lookout for great display pieces, and I would love to hear ideas you have in the comments below.

My next post will detail how I made a hairpin display from an old picture frame, some fabric, ribbon and hot glue!  Look for it soon!