A Greener Apple

Okay - so electronics probably aren't the first thing you think of when you think "green," but that does not stop us from buying them. Therefore, I thought you might be interested to know about some of the things one of the greener electronic companies are doing. Click here to read about how Apple is leading the way.

If you are looking for a new phone, Blackberry or iPod, consider getting an all-in-one iPhone and reduce the number of devices you need...



Or be even greener and buy refurbished (aka recycled) products...



Remember, when your old electronics break don't throw them away! Google your state's name and the words "e-waste recycling" or "cell phone recycling" etc. to find local drop off points for everything form microwaves to old televisions.

Arnold Grummer's Complete Guide to Paper Casting

Interested in making your own table decor or favor? Consider paper casting.

"This new book offers readers clear, step-by-step instructions, tips, and techniques for the craft of paper casting. Covers the basics of casting, drying, tinting, and surface finishing, as well as project ideas for making paper casts with readily available molds and rubber stamps. Readers will also learn how to make their own molds with everyday objects, such as brass plates, bowls, shells, leaves, and paw prints. Paper-casted bowls, plaques, and other items can be decorated and embellished to suit any home décor." - Amazon

Arnold Grummer's Complete Guide to Easy Papermaking

Interested in making your own invitations or save-the-dates? Check out this book from the definitive expert!

"Master papermaker Grummer (Tin Can Papermaking) presents a detailed and well-illustrated guide to recycling all sorts of wastepaper into one-of-a-kind handmade paper. Home papermaking can be done with easily obtained equipment such as a blender. The techniques are all well laid out with good illustrations and explanations of the properties of paper. Practice projects are included. This complete guide is highly recommended for crafts collections." - Amazon

Arnold Grummer also offers a complete line of paper making supplies - see the DIY page for two of their most popular kits.

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

I loved this book. Well researched and compellingly written, Schlosser does a very good job of explaining why our food system is the way it is - and why Americans are so overweight as a result. I would not say it is a beach read, but it is probably as close as a non-fiction book about food can get and still be powerful.

A few quick reviews:

Atlanta Journal Constitution
"'Fast Food Nation' should be another wake-up call, a super-size serving of common sense...."

The New York Times
"...Schlosser is a serious and diligent reporter..." "[Fast Food Nation] is a fine piece of muckraking, alarming without beling alarmist." - Rob Walker, NYTBR 1/21/01

Publishers Weekly, Starred
"Schlosser establishes a seminal argument for the true wrongs at the core of modern America."



If you prefer movies, or just want to add some visuals to the mix and have not seen Supersize Me - it is must see TV.

Paper Flower Books

After seeing the entry on How to Make Flowers with Dennison Crepe Paper, one reader suggested a few other paper flower books which I am happy to share:

Fanciful Paper Flowers: Creative Techniques for Crafting an Enchanted Garden

From amazon:
Eleven different paper flower-making techniques, three projects for each, all developed by a proven author with an enchanting, whimsical, flea-market-meets-fantasy sensibility: that’s what makes this volume so irresistible. Sandra Evertson follows up her Fanciful Paper Projects with a fabulously feminine collection of paper flower jewelry, garlands, barrettes, hatpins, ornaments, and decorative objects ... Each chapter features a page from her very own sketchbook, plus she’s provided several pages of vintage ephemera, templates, and her original papers for readers to copy and use... this collection truly offers a garden of artistic possibilities!



Paper Bouquet: Using Paper Punches to Create Beautiful Flowers

From Amazon:
Cherry blossoms, forsythia, marigolds, and petunias: Who would have imagined you could recreate such gorgeous blooms with just paper and craft punches? ... Using her own original, unique techniques, Susan Tierney Cockburn offers 40 beloved flowers to make for decorating gifts and home décor. She teaches the simple basics, including paper manipulation, gluing, and coloring, and presents her flowers as colorfully as they’re found in nature. From A (Amaryllis) to Z (Zinnia), there’s a bountiful bouquet of blooms to choose from! Photographs document every step, and a visual template of the punches accompanies each flower. A dozen sample projects range from picture frames to wreaths.



I also recently came across Origami Flowers: Popular Blossoms and Creative Bouquets which looks fantastic!



You can do these projects with leftover and recycled paper from your house or use colorful origami paper made from rice (link available on the DIY page of the look book).

Happy crafting!

How to Have a Freegan Wedding - Meghan Meyers

One of the things I talk about in my book is the myth that green weddings cost more than conventional weddings - they can actually cost less. In fact - according to Meghan Meyers, of Portovert, you can now have a wedding that costs almost nothing. She just posted two articles on how to have a freegan wedding (without going into the dumpster per se). Check them out!

How to Have a Freegan Wedding - at Portovert.
How to Have a Freegan Wedding - at Wikihow.

Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry by Stacy Malkan

Stacy Malkan is speaking at Yale tonight to read from her new book "Not Just a Pretty Face." It looks like an informative and timely read:

From Amazon:
Product Description
Lead in lipstick? 1,4 dioxane in baby soap? Coal tar in shampoo? How is this possible? Simple. The $35 billion cosmetics industry is so powerful they’ve kept themselves unregulated for decades. Not Just a Pretty Face chronicles the quest that led a group of health and environmental activists to the world’s largest cosmetics companies to ask some tough questions:

Why do companies market themselves as pink ribbon leaders in the fight against breast cancer, yet use hormone-disrupting and carcinogenic chemicals that may contribute to that very disease?
Why do products used by men and women of childbearing age contain chemicals linked to birth defects and infertility?
As doors slammed in their faces and the beauty myth peeled away, the industry’s toxic secrets began to emerge. This scathing investigation peels away less-than-lovely layers to expose an industry in dire need of an extreme makeover. The good news is that while the major multinational companies fight for their right to use hazardous chemicals, entrepreneurs are developing safer non-toxic technologies and building businesses on the values of health, justice and personal empowerment.


About the Author
Stacy Malkan is Communications Director of Health Care Without Harm and media strategist for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition working to eliminate hazardous chemicals from personal care products. Stacy is a former journalist and newspaper publisher who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Making a Vow to Wed "Green"

(Click Here to link to the page above)

Joshua Houdek and Kristi Papenfus, who were featured in the New York Time's article How Green Was My Wedding with us, just sent me a link to a news segment about green weddings they were in on Kare 11. They were recently in a piece on MSNBC as well.

They have done an amazing job getting the word out about how easy it is to be green!

Kristi + Joshua - you guys rock! Thank you for sharing.

P.s. Did I mention that Joshua works for the Sierra Club?...

(do it for Joshua)

The Tofu Tollbooth - by Elizabeth Zipern + Dar Williams

The Tofu Tollbooth is considered a bible for vegetarian and vegan travel. It lists restaurants, health food stores and other naturally inclined venues by state:

"The guide contains more than 1,000 health-food options, and for each site, the concise write-ups contain address and phone number, directions from the highways (a wonderful addition), hours of operation, and the parade of cute icons that let you know what to expect to find there (once you memorize that the face with beret stands for café, the carrot in a glass denotes juice bar, and the hot pepper means an especially hot tip)." - Amazon.com

This book is not only good for road trips - it can also help you find sources of natural food for your wedding!


If you like folk music and do not own any of Dar Williams albums I also highly recommend checking out some of her CDs:



You can also download her music directly from iTunes

How to Make Flowers with Dennison Crepe Paper - Manufacturing Dennison Manufacturing Co.

This is the book the remarkable artist Jude Miller (see image on right) claims to have taught herself with. As far as I am concerned there is no higher recommendation for aspiring paper flower artists. You can use recycled paper to create beautiful designs you and your guests will enjoy long after your wedding! (For another example of Jude's work and other faux flower embellishments see the Accessories page of the Interactive Look Book)

An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming - Al Gore

If you have not read this book or seen the movie yet it is really worth taking a look. The statistics are so compelling and Al Gore does a greta job of explaining the science and projected consequences of global warming.



I also recommend Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth website which offers useful information about global waring and climate change along with a carbon calculator to help you assess the impact of your daily life on the planet.

Offbeat Bride: Taffeta-Free Alternatives for Independent Brides - Ariel Meadow Stallings

Ariel's book is somewhat of a rant but a good read for anyone feeling like an odd ball in the wedding world seeking validation that they are not alone. She does a good job of explaining the process of being strangely drawn to and repulsed by convention at the same time and leads the reader down the path of her experience in finding a wedding that worked for her. Here is Amazon.com's take:

"Unenthused by a white wedding gown and bored by the hoopla of the Hollywood-style reception, Ariel Meadow Stallings found herself absolutely exhausted with the nuances of traditional nuptials. So, she chose to take a walk off the beaten aisle and embrace the non-traditional bride within. Through trial and error, Ariel and her fiancée managed to crank out a budget wedding with all-night dancing, guests toasting champagne in mismatched mugs, gorgeous gardens, no monogrammed napkins, no garter, no bridesmaids, and lots of lesbians...Offbeat Bride serves as an inspiration for those who are interested in a vegan buffet, avoiding bouquet tossing, doing away with the elitist guest list and being a control freak without becoming a Bridezilla. Filled with sidebars, tips, tricks and planner encouragement (all taffeta-free) to help you figure out your special day, this book sees couples through the wedding process from ideas on how to announce their engagement to answering the question, “So, how’s married life?” and everything in between."

Forcing, Etc.: The Indoor Gardener's Guide to Bringing Bulbs, Branches & Houseplants into Bloom - Katherine Whiteside

If you are planning a late fall or winter wedding forcing is a clever way to create colorful blooms with minimal environmental impact.

"It's not difficult, but it does take some planning and foresight. If you want to force bulbs to flower in February, for instance, you have to order them in late summer so that you can pot them up in the fall. Twigs, on the other hand, are much easier to force: just cut them after six weeks of cold weather, put them in some water, and watch the virtual spring of your warm rooms transform them into leggy, flowering spirea, corylopsis, forsythia, or catkins, for instance. Author Katherine Whiteside explores associated topics such as choosing the best container and presentation within the home, as well as topics only an expert could love ("the narcissus question")." - Amazon.com

Forcing, Etc.: The Indoor Gardener's Guide to Bringing Bulbs, Branches & Houseplants into Bloom is a good book for anyone interested in giving forcing a go.