Cap-tivating Whistles

People who know me well know that I have a minor obsession with, and modest hoard of, metal bottle caps. I just can't toss them into the trash, or even the recycling bin. I love the different designs and colors that can are printed on them, and their size and composition mean they can be easily repurposed into lots of things. I've used them to decorate bird houses and make magnets. I've glued them together and attached floral wire to make Christmas tree ornaments. When I make Christmas tree ornaments out of old painted light bulbs, I sometime use them for "hats" on the snowmen, penguins, Santas, etc. that I paint. I've used them as mini paint pots when my kids are making art and need just a little bit of paint from a big jug o' paint. They make great mosaic fodder. They can be made into beads and other jewelry. They can adorn belts. I've even seen them turned into cool fishing lures. And now that spring has sprung, and I'm outside listening to my glass wind chimes, I'm itching to try making some bottle cap wind chimes.

But I would never have thought of the application I just came across, and it may be just about the coolest bottle cap reuse yet. Loran Scruggs uses bottle caps and pieces from old tins to make working whistles. Check out her Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/BottleCapWhistles. The use of the caps for the whistle sides shows off the artwork on them. I'm delighted to see some of the same caps I've saved because of the unique animals or other graphics used in her whistles. My kids would recognize them as matching some of our Christmas tree ornaments. She even has a whistle with one of my favorite caps--an owl from Hitachino Nest Beer--as her profile image. I have bought that beer just to get more of those caps (it's not bad beer, but the cap is the real draw for me). Now I desperately want some of her whistles for me and the kiddos. If I ever decide to unload some of my cap hoard, I may have to see if she would accept them. Reuse, bottle caps, and kid friendly items--this makes me smile.

Loran's other items include toys and art made from caps, tins (like old Altoid tins), and cans. Very creative!

A Time for Reuse

Kudos to the Finger Lakes ReUse Inc.'s eCenter program and the Ithaca Youth Bureau's Computer All Stars program for offering a workshop in which participants can dismantle an old computer and use salvaged parts from it to make their own clock. Space is limited for this workshop scheduled for June 26, 2010 and a $5 registration fee will be charged. For more information, see the Finger Lakes ReUse web site.

Talk about making time for reuse! Turn too much e-waste on your hands into too much time on your hands. Save time in a bottle while saving time from a landfill. I could sit here coming up with groan-worthy phrases all day, but thankfully, I won't. :)

Will You Green My Valentine?

Hey all, sorry it's been so long since I've posted to this blog. I've been preoccupied with the toddlers and other writing. But, I'm back to share with you a few products and tips that could green your Valentine's Day through reuse or recycling.

Recycled Elephant Poop Roses. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...even if it's made out of recycled elephant dung. I've heard of The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company before, but I just saw this link to their special Elephant Poo Paper Roses on Great Green Goods today. Made from a unique paper handmade from elephant poo (now that's a dirty job), these lovely flowers are odor free and sustainable. Check out the poo paper making process on the company's web site.

ABC News provides some simple tips for homemade Valentine's Gift items, including things made by reusing items you already have around the house.

Check out Etsy.com for unique, handmade cards and gifts to give to your sweetie. Many of the items on Etsy are made from reused/repurposed materials--try typing "reuse" into their site search box for a few examples. Type "valentines" into their search box for items that might be used to show your love. It's also worth noting that Etsy is partnering with Citymeals-on-Wheels this year for a project called Special Delivery. Folks could get involved by making cards to include with nutritious meals to be delivered to needy elderly New Yorkers. Unfortunately, the deadline has passed for making the cards and submitting them for this project, but I'm going to keep it in mind for next year, since I love to make cards and envelopes from reused materials.

It's too late to order cards for your kids to share at classroom Valentine's Day parties (sorry), but check out Stubby Pencil Studio's neat, color-your-own cards and consider bookmarking them for next year. Their cards feature cute black-and-white drawings on 100% recycled card stock that your little one can color before handing out to friends. While checking out their Valentine's cards, notice that they have cards for other occasions as well.

Read this article by Amber S. on Associated Content on How to Recycle and Reuse Your Valentines Day Candy Boxes.

For more green Valentine tips (not necessarily related to reuse) check out my "Be My Green Valentine" and "Red Roses, Green Hearts" posts from past years over on the GLRPPR Blog.

Reusing Baby Food Jars

My two kids are past the baby food stage, but I still have a collection of glass baby food jars that I like to reuse for making container candles. Cheers to Earth's Best Baby Food for holding a contest to collect people's ideas for how to reuse glass baby food jars. Check out their web site for the winning ideas. Ideas relevant to the holidays include the jar Christmas tree, hot cocoa holiday gift kit, and place cards for dinner parties.

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

This straightforward film effectively explains the use and abuse of materials in our society, from extraction of natural resources to production to distribution, consumption and disposal, highlighting the flaws in this linear system all along the way. Leonard explains terms like "planned obsolescence" and "perceived obsolescence" is simple terms with visual assistance from stick-figure animation. Beyond the film itself, the website provides a dearth of resources for further information on consumption, resource use and waste, available by clicking "Learn More" under each of the section headings along the top navigation bar, and by clicking on the link to get 10 more recommendations for another way at the end of the film. You can even get an annotated script if you're a teacher interested in giving students copies for reference or if you want to stage your own version of the Story of Stuff in your classroom. And the Story of Stuff Blog is definitely being added to my feed reader.

Überstix--Legos for MacGyver's Kids

Today I learned about an interesting, unique construction toy called Überstix. I initially read about this on the Eco Child's Play blog in a post by Jennifer Lance. Überstix are made to be compatible with other construction toys, such as Legos, Erector sets, etc., and according to the web site are "engineered to work with recycled materials, i.e....straws...paper cups, paper clips, water bottles, etc." This is supposed to be true of all their products, not just the Scavenger series mentioned in Lance's post--that series is meant to be used with reused materials to create specific working models, like the Dragster and the Landshark (I'd love to link directly to the page illustrating those items on the Überstix site, but it's set up in an annoying Flash format and I can't; check them out on Amazon instead). Very nifty idea to encourage kids to use the materials around them to create their own toys. I've never seen an actual set of these and have no personal experience with how well they work, but Lance reports that they have been a hit with her seven-year-old daughter. This sounds like a great idea for a school science fair or class.