Biodegradeable Balloon Bowls by Gitta Gschwendtner

 Aren't these bowls amazing?! At first glance they make me think of a geode...rough and neutral on the outside, yet brilliant on the inside.  Can you believe they are made simply of a latex balloon, with an outer shell of latex and sawdust?!

 The bowls and instructions to create your own were created by Gitta Gschwendtner as a part of TEN Plan.  "TEN" is a collective of 10 designers who have exhibited various environmentally sustainable projects, along with plans for you to try it yourself.  Visit the website to check out these bowls, among other projects, and download instructions to make your own!


(via Cobbled Together by Brenna...by the way, Brenna, I think yours are even more amazing!!!)

Junk Mail Gems in the Press: Midwest Living Magazine

I was pretty excited to find the latest copy of Midwest Living in my mailbox last week, and especially excited to see some of my letter magnets on page 103.  Writer Hannah Agran found a very cool selection of green gifts and I am honored to be among them!  Hannah ordered some of my letter magnets a while back to spell the word "Green" for the article heading, which I thought was very creative.  Another fun addition to my press page!

Many thanks to Hannah Agran and photographer Jay Wilde for their great work and for including me in this article!  Be sure to check out Midwest Living magazine's website as well.  I really enjoyed paging through this issue and all of it's springtime ideas and imagery...some day very soon this snow will melt and we'll see the "spring joys" again that they showcase on the cover of the issue!!

Magazine Page Valentine Pockets

Hello everyone! I know, it's been forever since I've blogged...we recently moved our home, our family, our dogs, and coincidentally, my business.  So, things have been a little crazy, but we are getting settled again and it's time to blog some more!

I realize this is totally belated, being that Valentine's day is over, but I wanted to share this fun tutorial from Unplug Your Kids.  It just seems so fitting for the Junk Mail Gems blog because it uses recycled magazine pages!  Just a little something to tuck away until next year...although who says you can only send love notes on Valentine's day?  Make one today!  :-)

My Recycled Play Doh Necklace!

Happy New Year everyone!!  It's been a little while since I've posted, as I've been sucked into the whirling vortex that is the holidays around my house.  Luckily we took our home off the market just in time for Thanksgiving (after 7 months of trying to sell).  However, things were pretty busy between Thanksgiving travel, hosting family for Christmas, and then my son's 3rd birthday!  (Check out this post on my ID Mommy blog if you're looking for ideas for your own DIY choo-choo train birthday party!)

Anyway, now that I'm "back," I wanted to share one of the homemade Christmas gifts I gave this year that was done in the spirit of recycling.   

This really was an experiment with something that I'm sure nobody would think to recycle, but it came out pretty sweet. If you have little kids who love Play-Doh like I do, you may recognize the little colored bits in this pendant as being those tiny pieces of dried up Play-Doh that get stuck in the perforated plastic heads of those barber shop guys.

Yup, I was just nutty enough to see an art project in these little dried up Play-Doh scraps.  I filled a silicone mini muffin pan with a little resin, poured in the Play-Doh bits, poured in some more resin, and out popped this cool, shiny disc.  I bent a loop with some jewelry wire, glued it to the back, attached a cord, and gave one to my sister.  Oh, and I have one in my jewelry box now too.  It's definitely a conversation piece!

 Here's a shot of the back.  I made a little loop with copper wire, and then made a pretty swirl out of one end, giving me a surface to glue it to the back with some strong epoxy.

 I like to make little tags for my homemade gifts, to give them that "brand new" feeling you get when you buy something from a store.  This one wasn't fancy as I just did hand lettering, but you can easily make a little hang tag by folding a piece of paper, cutting the bottom two corners at an angle, running a strip of glue across the top and punching a hole.  You know, in case you wanted to hang it on a store rack or something.  ;-)

 I really just put this tag on so I could note what the heck this thing was made out of!  But, I also really like making more "professional" looking tags on the computer too.  I think next year I'll make little price tags that say "$1,000.00" or "priceless" or something like that.  ;-)

Bet 'ya didn't think you could turn crumbs of dried up Play-Doh into beautiful jewelry now, did you?!

Pretty Pencil Box Pendant

I just looked through my latest Uncommon Goods catalog and just had to share this awesome pendant, made with slices of real colored pencils.  I just LOVE how they combined the round cross-sections on bottom with the angled cuts on the top.

I have the resin and molds to make something like this, but am not sure I'd want to attempt the precise cuts it takes to get these all sliced just right.  These are hand made in Massachusetts by someone who knows what they are doing!  What a great way to use up some of those little pencil stubs that are too short to draw with!

Pick one up for $65 at Uncommon Goods...they also have matching pins in a circle or heart shape ($38), as well as a teardrop necklace ($60).

(Here's a previous post with more colored pencil jewelry, too)

DIY Recycled Ornaments from "Michele Made Me"

Check out these pretty plastic bottle ornaments from Michele Made Me, along with instructions to make them yourself!

She also has another tutorial to make these adorable little greenhouse ornaments from recycled plastic.  Love them!  Plus, who doesn't want to gaze into a tropical little greenhouse when there are inches of snow on the ground? Her ornament tutorials appear to be an ongoing series...can't wait to see what she comes up with next!  Thanks, Michele!!

"Fantastic Recycled Plastic: 30 Clever Creations to Spark Your Imagination"

I just came across this fun book over at Craftgossip, where you can read a review and even post a comment for a chance to win your own copy!  I have these bins in my studio that are full of recycled materials, waiting to be repurposed...wine corks, bottle caps, and of course junk mail.  I also have a bin full of miscellaneous colorful plastic parts...lids from bottles, bread bag tabs, and even the tops of spice jars with the little holes in them.  I've been waiting for something to inspire me to turn them into something cool, and this seems like a great place to start! 

I haven't seen the book in person myself, but thought I'd share the review over at CraftGossip, and get you all in on a chance to win a copy too!  Good luck!  :-)