Navigation

Author Archive | Jennie Lyon

Earth Friendly Etsy: Wood Elements Giveaway

November 14, 2009 98

Can you believe it is already the middle of September? Can you believe that the winter holidays are right around the corner? I myself, can not. Usually, I have finished all of my holiday shopping by now, but somehow I have simply been too busy to even start my list. I like to get the holiday shopping done early so that I don’t have to deal with the mad crowds or run into the problem of not being able to find what I need. There are some fabulous gift ideas available on Etsy and I thought that I would start to share some with you.

This week’s Earth Friendly Etsy Shop is Wood Elements. Wood Elements is a lovely shop owned and operated by Jackie and Sally Johnson in Nashville, TN. Jackie is an artist and designer who has always enjoyed “making things”. Creation has been an integral part of his being as far back as he can remember. Wood Elements is full of lovely hand-turned wooden gifts that would be perfect for the upcoming holidays. My favorites are the pepper mills, bowls and rolling pins. The designs are simple but absolutely lovely. I can think of several people on my holiday list who would love an item from Wood Elements. The best part is all of the items are heirloom quality, so they could be handed down generation after generation. Wood Elements has items that would be fab for any occassion; engagements, weddings, birthdays, baby showers and holidays.
To help you get your holiday shopping started, Wood Elements has been so sweet to offer ONE of my lovely readers a small french rolling pin. These french rolling pins are Heirloom-quality and will be in your family for years and years to come. You will have so much fun rolling out dough for your favorite biscuits or rolls with this lovely find.

How to Enter
 
1. Subscribe to Sweet Greens (if you haven’t already) and confirm the subscription in the email from FeedBurner.
2. Visit Wood Elements and leave me a comment telling me which item you would love to receive as a gift?
Additional Entries
please leave a separate comment for each that you do.
* Share Wood Elements on Twitter and follow @SweetGreens.
* Share Wood Elements on Facebook and join Sweet Greens Facebook Fan Page.
* Digg, Kirtsy or Stumble Wood Elements.
* Share Sweet Greens: Earth Friendly Etsy:: Wood Elements Giveaway! with a friend or two.
* Add Sweet Greens to your blogroll.
* Add Sweet Greens to your Technorati favorites.
Rules for Entry
* Please leave a way for me to contact you if you win. You do not need to leave your email address if don’t wish to share it. Just make sure to check back at the bottom of this post after the contest ends to see if you won.
* Contest ends September 30th@ 12am EST. Winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator and will be announced the following day. (I will announce the winner, if I do not hear from you within 72 business hours, I will pick another winner.)
* You must leave a comment telling me which item you love in order to qualify.
Good Luck and Enjoy!
*UPDATE:: WINNER:: #10 Cathy H. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who entered.

Have a Lovely Green Weekend.

November 13, 2009 3

I hope you enjoy your weekend and have many fun things planned. This weekend is going to be very quiet and fun for us. Tonight we are going to Eben’s school Fall Family Dance, complete with games, refreshments and a hula hoop contest. Tomorrow, Eben will be having his best friend spend the night and they will be making their own natural bubble gum. I will share all of the details next week, this is a super fun activity for the kids. Then, Saturday night, Mr. Sweet Greens and I are having a date night complete with our favorite organic cheeses and lovely organic and biodynamic wines. We are taste testing wines for our upcoming holiday feast and will let you know what we think on next Tuesday. Sunday, will be left to relax, starting with lovely fair trade coffee and conversation in our living and ending…well, I am not sure yet.

What are your lovely green weekend plans?
XO.

An Eco-Friendly Mini Advent Calendar

November 13, 2009 2

When I was a little girl, my grandma would always buy us little chocolate advent calendars. Do you remember these? They had a little door for each day of December that you could open to find a chocolate inside. I was horrible, I would always eat the candy in advance.

I saw this lovely and tiny advent calendar from Pinkerton Design. Isn’t it lovely? This is the perfect advent calendar for an adult, especially one like me that can’t be trusted around chocolate. Hurry and order so you can enjoy yours starting December 1st.

Did you have an advent calendar as a child?
Would you use one as an adult?

Are You Going Organic? Where Do You Start?

November 13, 2009 4


The first article that I wrote for Cascadian Farm was about going organic and where to start. Are you thinking of going organic but wonder what is the best way to begin. Visit my blog at Cascadian Farm for tips on how to begin and let me know what you think?

Do you eat organic?
Are you going to go organic?

Photo via Cascadian Farm.

Book: The Green Bride Guide: Engagement and Rings + Giveaway

November 13, 2009 4

I love going to the bookstore or library – it is one of my favorite pass times! As I am browsing, I am always impressed with the number of green books on the shelves. One that was recently sent to me is The Green Bride Guide (How to Create an Earth Friendly Wedding on Any Budget) by Kate L. Harrison. It is a fun book to read and easy to navigate. Each chapter focuses on a category that you will encounter planning your wedding. Kate is an environmentalist and green wedding expert making her book an excellent resource for any couple who wants to plan their special day with fabulous style and without harming the environment.

Each week I am going to share some tips from The Green Bride Guide. When I am finished, I will be giving copies away. Let’s get started with tip number one.

Let’s talk about the engagement + wedding rings
You have been proposed to and you accepted. Yay! for you. You are so happy and excited that you want the world to know about it. You want to shout it from the rooftops. There are many creative, affordable and sustainable ways for you to make your pre-wedding correspondence memorable and beautiful. Here are some earth friendly correspondence ideas:

1. Start a Wedding Blog
Blogs are a great way to organize pre-wedding parties, get feedback on your wedding ideas and keep your family and friends updated on your planning. Blogs can hold a ton of information and pictures and are the perfect eco-friendly way to share your wedding.

2. Ring in the Good News
Nothing beats the intimacy of good conversation. Phone your friends and family to tell them the good new, not only will you save time and money compared to sending annoucements, but it offers a nice chance to catch up with everyone who will be at your wedding.

3. Send a Fun Email
Email is a great way to tell everyone about your engagement at the same time. You can include a picture of the two of you as well as your engagement story.

4.  Use a Wedding Website
Wedding websites are all the rage right now because they are easy to set up and are extremely convenient. You can make last minute changes that would be impossible to do with paper. Wedding Websites are reasonably priced and have elegant, easy to use templates.

5. Choose an Eco-Friendly Ring

  • Choose a clear-conscience diamond (meaning that the diamond isn’t a “blood diamond” or from a diamond mine that is harmful to the environment.)
  • Use an heirloom diamond, if you are so lucky to have a family ring given to you.
  • Choose an antique diamond ring, where the diamonds were harvested priority to 1880 and before environmentally destructive mining occurred.
  • Choose a synthetic diamond. These are all the rage right now with earth friendly celebrities like Angelina Jolie.
  • Choose just one ring as both your engagement and wedding ring. One ring has a much smaller carbon footprint than two.
  • Choose a wedding ring made of an alternative gemstone or even wood.

When the mister asked me to marry him 12 years ago, his mother gave him an heirloom ring that had been in her family for years. My husband had it reset in a beautiful setting and since I knew I only wanted one ring as both my wedding and engagement ring that made the ring even more eco-friendly.

To enter to win your own copy of The Green Bride Guide leave a comment below telling me how you did you or will green your wedding?

Older posts Newer posts