the kitchen roost

i can’t believe it’s friday already! have you had a good week?  i feel like ours here has kind of been all over the place, but i’ve really enjoyed it and appreciate you hanging in there with me!  now for the news i’ve been wanting to share with you…

i opened a new etsy shop! haha, yes that’s right. feel free to whop me up side the head and ask, what are you doing?! i concluded that it was time to get all of my kitchen goods in one shop separate from the other, so alas, the kitchen roost was born!

to jump off the new shop, i’m also introducing a new line that i’m calling the organic kitchen. in addition to my usual aprons and tea towels, i’m now offering new tea towels, veggie produce bags and reusable shopping bags, all made from 100% organic cotton canvas. and, the appliques are all scraps leftover from aprons, so i’m saving those from heading to the dump.  what do you think?

i’ll be busy this weekend transferring all of my aprons and tea towels to the new shop, so when you’re looking for my kitchen goods, make sure to head to the kitchen roost! xoxo!

Tags: eco friendly, etsy, organic, produce bag, roost, shop, shopping bag, tea towels

weekly green living tips

happy monday everyone!  how was your weekend?  mine was a rather low key, but very nice.  some of you know that my hubba is in law enforcement school, and he worked for the first time saturday and sunday!  it’s kinda uncharted territory for both of us, but so far so good.  i spent most of the weekend working on something new that i’ll hopefully share with you soon (hehe!).  what did you do this weekend?

you might have noticed, i’ve added a new weekly tip over there in the left column! do you see it?  i’ve been giving going home to roost quite a bit of thought lately, and really want to focus on some new things that i’ve always been passionate about.  one of those things, is living a simpler life. and, living a simpler life to me, means living more sustainably.  so, every week, you’ll find a new green living tip right over there in the column.  they are only meant to be a friendly reminder of the small things we can do that really can make a difference.  and hopefully as the weeks go on, i’ll be able to give you some new ideas you maybe haven’t thought about!  this week’s is easy- who doesn’t love to do a little thrifting?

“that which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but that our power to do is increased.” – ralph waldo emerson

Tags: eco friendly, green, living, simpler, sustainability, tip

shop eco friendly with green rainbow

happy monday!  how was your weekend?  ours was wonderful but quite rainy.  we enjoyed good company at a birthday part on saturday and yesterday ended up being very productive as well.  after church, david and i had a comical day filled of honey-do’s.  i was busy sewing on a new batch of aprons (viewable later today!) and watching hgtv while the mister installed deadbolts on the doors while listening to the decemberists.  with the hammering, music, sewing machine and tv on (and the occasional frustrated yell from the hub- who knew it would take 4 hours to add a lock to the door?) it was quite noisy around here!  we had fun having a totally stereotypical married couple day.

i’m excited to introduce a new shop to you today! my friend eva halkias has been working hard to open a brand new online shop where you can purchase with peace of mind.  green rainbow is stocked full of beautiful eco-friendly, recycled, homemade & vintage products.  she just opened last week so i though we could all spread the love by sharing her incredible shop with the people we know.  in addition to the products, she also features a section for eco tips and links so shopping there becomes a learning experience as well! you’ll even be able to see my pillows there soon!  by shopping green we’ll all be able to keep seeing the beautiful colors of the rainbow- so go check it out and spread the word!

Tags: eco friendly, environment, green, home, homemade, online, shop, store, vintage

eco friendly ideas for the home

i found these eco chic ideas over at wholeliving- not only are they all eco friendly (find all 25 here) but some of them are really cute and totally diy!

i love this mixed glass centerpiece.  seems like i’m always falling in love with vintage glassware, but can never figure out what to do with them! this is also an easy breezy way of showing off your greens- bringing little bits of your garden inside!

i’ve  been re-covering a few chairs lately, and i love the idea of using an old sweater to do so! in fact, i just found one that our dear doggie chewed a whole in.  thanks, toaster, for making me materials for this project!

i’m sure you’ve heard about the dangers plastics can lead to.  if you heat food up in plastic containers, put hot food in them for storage, or drink from plastic water bottles that have gotten hot in your car- they can leach toxic carcinogenic chemicals into your system.  so, i switched to all glass containers a while back.  ikea offers affordable storage containers, and i often thrift for glass finds.  an easy and quite affordable way to cut your exposure to toxins!

this totally diy cork trivet is so cute, isn’t it?  what a great way to put those corks to use..

a scarf quilt- i love this idea! don’t you have some old scarves or maybe one from your aunt you wouldn’t be caught dead in? combining them in this quick quilt makes for a cozy, scrappy kind of look.

combining the wax from you’re almost burnt out candles can give them a little extra life.  as long as the candles aren’t in anything metal, you can just pop them in your microwave, melt the was, remove the old wick, and pour into a new container.  you can find brand new wicks at your local craft store and it’s simple to hot glue one into the bottom of a container.  this way, you won’t have to throw away all those almost-empty candles!

Tags: chic, diy, eco friendly, green, home

sponsor thank you! :: natural kids

clockwise :: horses :: rainbow window stars :: star baby pins :: felted acorns ::

if you haven’t already- click on over to check out natural kids- a porthole for esty shops that create not only beautiful- but healthy, natural and environmentally responsible items for kids! natural kids is a group of sellers dedicated to supply natural products for children.  it’s not exactly a store- but rather a gateway to the team’s etsy shops.  you can click on the members (or become one yourself!) to find specific etsy shop’s that supply natural goodies for your little ones.  thank you, natural kids for supporting going home to roost!

Tags: children, eco friendly, green, kids, natural, sponsor, toys

consciously crafty :: the hot dish

hello! did you have a good weekend? i’m on a bit of an extended weekend getaway, but will pop in a few times between today and tomorrow to say ‘hi’!

check out this bright and lovely shop, the hot dish, for eco friendly (and pretty!) kitchen goods.  all of their products are made from recycled wool felt!

recycled wool coasters in citrus

recycled wool cast iron handle

recycled wool oven mitts

Tags: coasters, eco friendly, felt, kitchen, mits, pots, wook

consciously crafty :: eco friendly finds

i’m always looking for eco friendly ways to make my daily-do’s a little greener. i love julie meyer’s reusable snack bags, grocery bags and lunch totes.  i pack my lunch every day and am always looking to re-use containers- these are perfect!

snack bag

Tags: eco friendly, handmade, lunch bag, reusable