Special offers and Discounts

In the tab bar of my blog, please have a look at the Eco Wedding Amazon Store. These are products that I have chosen from Amazon that you would need for your wedding.  Unfortunately not all the products are green but can be reused at a later stage.  There are some fabulous books in the store too.  Green wedding planning books as well as how to go green in your home and life. 


If you don't find what you are looking for in the Eco Wedding Amazon Store, you might find it at Kalahari.net.(see left of post, click on image and browse.)


To the right of this post you will see my chosen two affiliates for the week. They have the best specials and reviews.  Make use of the coupon for Exclusively Weddings.com.  Light in the Box is providing readers with photos and real weddings, as well as reviews.


Take care and I hope that you like the products that I have chosen.


Faye

Plantable Seed Invitations

This recipe for making plantable seed wedding invitation cards does not make use of chemicals or any other inks or dyes.  Making your own paper from recyclable scraps is easy and good for the environment.  In America, plantable wedding invitations are very popular.  Choose local and indigenous flower seeds like the African daisy or Gerbera; these grow beautifully in a pot or in the garden.

Papers

• Computer paper ( Use Sappi green paper, this has been recycled)
• Magazines
• Toilet paper, tissues and serviettes
• Newspaper
• Craft Paper
• Egg Cartons
• Phone Books
• Yellow Pages

Ingredients:

• Blender or food processor
• Old picture frame
• Sponge
• Kitchen cooking baster
• Stockings or screens
• Staples
• Small Plastic wash bin
• White felt, old dishcloths
• Baking paper or old newspaper

Directions

1. Using the old wooden frame, pull the fabric tightly over the frame, stapling the fabric down at the same time
2. Tear off small pieces of paper and place in the blender until it appears half full.
3. Add warm water, filling the blender.  Blend the paper and water for about a minute or until you cannot see any pieces of paper and a smooth pulp is visible.
4. Fill the wash bin about half full of water and pour in pulp from blender. Add in at least 3 blender loads of paper-more if desired (the more pulp, the thicker the paper). Add in flower or vegetable seeds. Stir the mixture.
5. Slip the frame into the washtub, gently moving it from side to side to get the pulp around to the top of the frame level and to the desired thickness. Let the layer of pulp settle and slowly lift the frame up so it is above water level. Let it drain for a moment and check to see if it is level. Fill the turkey-baster with pulp from the washtub and use it to fill in any uneven spots or gaps in the pulp.
6. After removing the frame from the water, let it drain. When it stops dripping, carefully lay the frame (pulp side down) onto a fabric square or an old dishcloth. Use the sponge to press out as much water as possible (wring excess water back into tub).
7. This step may take some practice to master so be patient. Holding the fabric square flat, slowly lift up and remove the frame. The wet paper should remain on the fabric. If the paper sticks to the screen, you may have pulled too fast or not pressed enough water out of the paper. Once you successfully remove the frame, gently smooth out any noticeable air bubbles or rough edges.
8. Keep repeating steps 4-6 and stack the fabric squares (or dish towels) on a cookie sheet. When finished, place a piece of cardboard on top of the last piece and use bricks or another cookie sheet to press out the remaining water in the stack.
9. Gently separate sheets and dry them on a clothesline or out in the sun for 12-24 hours. When they are dry, gently separate the paper from the fabric squares (or dish towels).
10. For great gifts, use cookie cutters or stencils to trace holiday shapes. Cut them out and attach a ribbon for thoughtful gifts that last beyond the holiday season. Other uses for home made paper include scrapbooks, stationary and note cards, journal or photo album covers, lampshades, etc.

Don't Forget the Instructions for Planting

Tear off bits of paper containing seed and plant directly in the ground-the paper will compost naturally. To pre-sprout the seeds, place dampened paper into a plastic bag and check periodically that paper remains moist. Keep the plastic bag at the appropriate temperature until seeds sprout and transplant them into pots or directly into the garden.

Reference: http://www.sustainable-media.com

Jam Wedding Favours

I have been researching some ideas for a rustic wedding and I just have to share a gorgeous favour with you. Jam jar favours really bring home the theme of a rustic wedding.  Here are some images and a quick how to.

How to make Jam

Serve in recycled jars or purchase glass jars (125ml).  Add some gingham or hessian to the lid and tie together with a ribbon of your choice.  Attach a label thanking people for coming to your wedding, or have some fun and add sentences like “spread the love.” Remember to add your names and the date of your wedding.  You can use any fruit to make the jam below.  The recipe below will only make 10 cups, so if you have 100 guests, you can either enlist some family members or do it in stages.  The jam will be preserved in the jars.

Ingredients

• 1.4 kg peaches or indigenous fruit
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice
• 5 cups sugar

Directions

1.  Wash, peel, pit and chop peaches-you want 10 cups.
2.  Place all ingredients in a large glass bowl and let stand for 1 hour.
3.  Transfer to a large stainless or enamel pot.
4.  Bring to a full boil.
5.  Boil for 25 minutes to reach the jelly point-stir often and then constantly as the mixture nears the jell point.
6.  Remove and skim off foam.
7. Place jars in the oven, until they are hot.
8.  Ladle the jam into clean hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head space.
9.  Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
10. Decorate the lid and add the labels when the jar has cooled.
11. Your jam is ready to be presented on the tables at your wedding.

Glass jars: R3.00

Jam ingredients: R400

Sticky paper for labels: R50

Fabric: R50

Your time: free

Total cost for each jam favour @ 100 guests: R8.00

Hope you enjoy making these favours.  Come back soon for more D.I.Y. wedding favour ideas.

Lots of Love

Faye

Crafts

I had a great day yesterday.  I put my laptop aside and decided to haul out my now deceased granny's sewing machine.  I have to admit that I have a modern sewing machine, but I love using her 1800's Singer.  I am self taught, so my advice is probably not brilliant and there are going to be some seamstresses out there that will shudder at my advice.  At the end of the day, though, it all came together in the easiest possible way and I have to share my sewing adventure with you.

I am a self professed "jeans girl" and I have many pairs that have either dated or dont fit me anymore. With this in mind and the idea that once you have worn your wedding dress and do not want to donate it to charity or a second hand store, try the next most traumatic thing, cut it up.  Wow, that must sound terrible, but with upcycling (turning something old into something new) you can create a gorgeous patchwork quilt for your baby, which lets face it, is your next journey.

One pair of jeans were then cut, by myself, into 5 inch squares.  The pockets were put to the side, just in case, I found a use for them later on.  Placing two squares, right side facing each other, I sewed as close to the edge as possible. I then opened them up and proceeded to sew another square to the open square as before.  I did 4 squares in a row, twice and then hemmed the two sets of four together in the same way as I had done before with two individual squares.  Turning them right side up, they made a gorgeous denim patchwork.  Once I had completed enough rows of 4 squares, always connecting them to the previous squares, I turned the patchwork inside out and simply hemmed the outer edges together, leaving the top section open, to insert the cushion.  I then took a pair of old white pants and cut out a heart and hemmed the edges inward.

Turning the patchwork inside out again, so that the right side was showing, I then hand stitched the heart to the denim patchwork cushion.  I could not stop there and pulled some lime green wool from the cupboard and tacked it all the way around the heart.  Button holes were cut into the one open side and stitched.  Lime Green buttons were then stitched to the opposite side and the cushion was placed into the patchwork cover.  I closed the buttons and a gorgeous cushion is now on my daughters bed.

As soon as I have taken some photographs, I will post them.

Try it with your old wedding dress and cut squares from the fabric. Sew them together in groups of two and then four and so on until you have the width you require for the quilt.  Continue to make rows and then stitch them together.  If you are making a quilt, use an old sheet and stitch the patchwork to the sheet.  If you have various fabrics on your dress or fabrics from your decor, cut shapes out of them and either place shapes into the individual squares or onto the quilt as a whole.  This will make a gorgeous baby blanket made with love and very special fabric, your wedding dress.

Hope you try it and I know that you will love it.

Faye

How to carry on in a warming world

How to carry on in a warming world