Category: Family

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What really upsets me is that presents became just a formality nowadays. How have we found ourselves at the situation when 30 different kids get 30 uniform New Year presents at school?

I suspect that there are really many people feeling annoyed about this ritual that became an obligation: you buy a dozen of standard things, pretend that you are happy when you get the same stuff from your friends in return, throw them away and forget.

I am an environmentally concerned mother of three kids, and I do not want to make input into the global waste problem. In our family, we give only those presents that you cannot just buy. I believe in the joy of making: you should not force yourself to make something, but you should not be afraid to try doing what inspires you, even if you are lacking some skills.

This toy is one of my favorite inventions. It is a traditional Soviet time Christmas tree decoration from the 1950s. Many families still keep them as a legacy of their grandparents and many middle-aged people keep magic memories of them. However, this one is not a vintage.

I fell in love with these ancient toys so much that I decided to make it on my own. I‘ve made many attempts (or after many attempts made) until I managed to repeat the 60-years old technology. Trying to do so I have learnt a lot about the history of New Year toys in Russia. These figurines had been made by cartels from spun cotton and crepe paper. I know exactly when that era of unique hand-made toys came to an end. In 1966 mass-market production started, and some years later the plastic revolution came, resulting in a flood and florry of cheaper toys. However, no one would keep these dull plastic balls for their grandchildren.

I do my best to revive this amazing technology. I believe it is resource-efficient as well. Such handiwork requires a few pieces of very simple material: you buy a roll of crepe paper and that’s your supply for life! At the same time, you put a lot of effort and patience into the process of making, which means the result would be much appreciated. I have prepared a workshop to share my skills.  

To make this miracle on your own you will need:

  • Thick crepe paper for the clothes
  • Pipe cleaner for a frame
  • Spun cotton for stuffing
  • Mold from silicon and starch, and acrylic paint for the face
  • Starch paste and superglue

By now, I have gathered a collection: here are clowns, kids in fancy dresses, girls in winter scarves and gloves. They look marvelous, don’t they? You can find the tutorial with pictures here – put it into translator to read the russian translation.

 

Veronika Podgornaya is a craftswoman from Karelia and Greenpeace volunteer. She is fond of many types of handmade from toy making to biscuits baking and she always invents something new. Veronika uses traditional technologies and natural materials in her art and teaches others to do so through her workshops and books. You can find the workshop here 

 

 

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Canadians make 545,000 tonnes of waste from gift wrapping and shopping bags every year. There will be an additional 300,000 tonnes of garbage created between mid November and New Years Eve and, if every Canadian wrapped 3 gifts in upcycled materials rather than buying wrapping paper new, enough paper would be saved to cover 45,000 Hockey rinks.

These are sobering facts. All these beautiful wrapping papers, ribbons and bows serve only a single use and most just get thrown away. This is an expensive and wasteful practice- both for our wallets and the planet.

This is why we added a Zero Waste Wrapping station to our Holiday Gift Swap last year, a collaboration between the Toronto Tool Library and MAKE SMTHNG week! It was a huge success and extremely popular with our swappers, so we’re running it again at the 6th annual Holiday Gift Swap on Sunday, December 16! Toronto zero waster Your Eco Friend will be running the wrapping station using some of the techniques listed below. Maps, t-shirts, upcycled fabrics and other upcycled materials will be available for you to use, but you are also welcome to bring your own!

Here are 11 zero waste wrapping techniques to help you make the Holidays a little greener:

1) Japanese Furoshiki (Japanese Art of Wrapping)

This might just be my favourite zero waste wrapping strategy. You can use a piece of fabric or material that you already have lying around the house, or check out your local thrift store to pick up some pre-loved fabric.

There are several different methods you can use depending on the size and shape of your gift. Check out this great guide for a variety of options.

2) Skip the Tape

From Trash is For Tossers 

Did you know you can wrap gifts without using tape?! Because let’s be honest – not only is tape wasteful, it’s just one more barrier between you and your present! Check out this handy guide from Trash is For Tossers on how to wrap effectively without using any of it.

If you must use tape, find an alternative to plastic tape – such as Washi, Paper Tape.

3) Use Leaves, Greenery and Other Foraged Sprigs

Skip the bows and ribbons and go foraging for leaves, pine cones, berries, cedar or pine branches, etc. These can be thrown right back outside and returned to the Earth when all the unwrapping is over.

 

Stock photo from Unsplash

 

4) Use Old Maps

Do you have a old maps lying around from a trip you took a few years back? If you don’t have anyone to pass them onto, consider using them to wrap up your Holiday gifts. Not only are you reusing to avoid buying new, it’s the trendy thing to do!

Photo from @itsahashtagelife, MAKE SMTHNG x Toronto Tool Library Holiday Gift Swap, 2017

 

5) Use Old Magazines

Old magazines, with their glossy finish and brightly coloured pictures, make for stylish and chic looking gifts.

Photo: Jane Means Blog 

 

6) Upcycle Old Magazines into Stylish DIY Bows

Not only can you wrap your gifts using old magazines, you can make bows out of them, too! Here’s how.

 

Photo from Wholeliving.com

 

7) Use Newspaper

Have some old newspapers lying around? Don’t recycle them just yet – they make pretty decorative looking gifts! And if you don’t have any yourself, head to caffee shop at the end of the day and they’ll happily pass off their old newspapers onto you. Here’s how to make those beautiful newspaper roses.

Photo from Donask.com

 

8) Use A Shirt

Check out your local thrift store for a cool shirt or use one you’ve already got. There are a few different ways to do this – check out these instructions for a button-up shirt, see Toronto zero waster Your Eco Friend demonstrate the technique here, or watch this online tutorial.

 

Photo from mydomaine.com

 

9) Incorporate Part of the Gift as the Wrapping

Are you giving someone a t-shirt, scarf, tote bag, baby blanket or some other cloth item as one component of their gift? Look no further for gift wrapping and use the above described Furoshiki wrapping method where appropriate.

Photo from Polkadotbride

10) Upcycle Old Cards to Make Your Own Holiday Cards & Gift Tags

I never buy cards new anymore – but I still receive cards from other people. I always hang onto them and pull them out at birthdays and holidays, using them to make my own cards to gift friends and family.

Rather than purchasing new Holiday cards or gift tags, why not make your own from cards you have received previously?

 

Photo from Goodhousekeeping.com

11) Literally Use Whatever You Have Lying Around!

“Consumers must recognize that the most sustainable item is the one that already exists.” – 2018 State of Reuse Report

Get creative, the sky’s the limit! I have a little basket in my home where I throw cards people send me, packaging paper or string on gifts and parcels, etc. I have recently begun adding some of my daughter’s school drawings into this bin as well (as she brings home far too many for me to keep, but I don’t want to throw them out).

I pull this basket of scrap materials out whenever I have to wrap a gift. This means I don’t have to waste money purchasing gift paper and I don’t generate any excess waste. Try it – it’s fun!

Photo from @Itsahashtaglife, a card made using old cards and paper from parcels, from my scrap materials basket

 

 

@itsahashtaglife is a social media manager, storyteller and blogger for non-profits and charities in Toronto. She uses the techniques of digital media marketing and storytelling to inspire an interest in environmental issues, motivating people to take action. She has been aspiring to live a zero waste lifestyle for the last three years, focusing on weaving the zero waste narrative into the broader, systemic issues that are at the heart of our throwaway society.

 

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MAKE SMTHNG Week is about taking action for a better world.

From Black Friday, Nov 23 till December 2nd, at the start of the holiday shopping season, we want to invite you to make something with us. In cities around the world, makers are gathering to demonstrate how we can unite to create unique alternatives to buying something new.

We are calling all DIY mavens, minimalists, vegans and vegetarians, upcyclers, swappers, sewers, crafters and zero wasters – you’re all invited to join Greenpeace in collaboration with #breakfreefromplastic, Fashion Revolution, Shareable, the Fab City Global Initiative and the Fab Lab community, Arts Thread and many others to inspire you to make the most of our resources.

Many of you have already started to rediscover the art, craft and joy of making: cooking, mending clothes, fixing electronics, upcycling used goods, growing your own food. You’re making your own cosmetics; cleaning with vinegar and baking soda, ditching plastic and sharing your clothes, bikes and homes with each other. MAKE SMTHNG Week is your showcase for creative, innovative and unique alternatives to shopping something new.

Why?

Because we are buying too much stuff. There are billions of people on this planet who all shop for food, fashion and technology. To produce many of the goods we use, companies are contributing to climate change, destroying forests and polluting our oceans.

The amount of waste we create is mind-boggling. Every piece of plastic produced in the last 60 years still exists. As things get cheaper with planned obsolescence built in, we throw them away more often. In our consumerist societies, shopping counts for more than preserving things.

 

Plastic waste collected in Germany 

We buy twice as many clothes as we did 20 years ago, and wear them for half as long. It’s now cheaper to buy new things than to repair them. Even though our technology is advanced enough to instantly connect all corners of the world, we still can’t repair our mobile phones.

We need to shift from a throw-away culture to one where we value things again. We envision a world where we make the most of our resources. Each of us can take small actions in our everyday lives that together create a monumental change.

Make it last

Clothes Swapping Party in Germany

Instead of buying fast fashion and throwing it out after wearing it a few times, we can make our clothes last by caring for them and repairing them. To turn away from mindless consumerism, we can stop supporting companies which produce phones that can’t be repaired or have replaceable elements and start fixing things again.

When we replace meat with vegan or vegetarian alternatives, we turn away from the most inefficient way of feeding the world’s population. And whenever we bring a reusable bag and say no to single-use plastic and polyester fashion, we are preventing another piece of plastic from polluting our planet’s oceans and beaches.

Help us change the story of hyperconsumption: MAKE SMTHNG and MAKE CHANGE!

 

 

Lu Yen Roloff is the comms lead for the MAKE SMTHNG campaign at Greenpeace. She firmly believes in the power of connecting makers from around the globe to help fight overconsumption. She is totally in love with all the creative ideas from the movement and pledges to spend quieter times to DIY the hell out of the dark winter days! You can follow Lu Yen on Instagram @i.do.lu, Facebook luyenroloff or Twitter @lyroloff

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When it comes to Easter I love giving homemade gifts, there are so many different things that can be made for this holiday and I find it so much fun trying to come up with something new each year.

If you have a lot of people to buy for,  jars are a brilliant and affordable way to give/contain edible gifts and can be decorated in so many ways giving you loads of creative freedom.

Here is my step by step guide on how to make papier mâché Easter bunny ear jars…

What you will need:

  • Medium sized jam jars with lids
  • Newspaper
  • Toilet paper
  • Plain flour
  • PVA Glue
  • Sandpaper
  • Scissors
  • Paint (Colour of your choice)
  • Sweets/Chocolate for filling the jar

 

Due to the drying time of papier mâché and paint, I would allow at least 4 days prior to giving the gifts.

Steps:

  1. I used preserving jars so the first thing I had to do was super glue the centre of the lid to the frame of the lid to make sure I had a solid base to work on
  2. Tear your newspaper into strips and scraps ready for the papier mâché. Then mix together 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of water until you get a glue like consistency. Try and stir out most of the lumps. If it’s a bit thick, just add a little more water
  3. Dip the newspaper into the glue mixture and begin building the ears onto the jar lids. You want them to end up as smooth as possible so gradually layer the newspaper until you hopefully end up with something that looks similar to this…
  4. Now switch the newspaper for toilet paper as at this stage, you need something that is a little easier to mould and manipulate into a shape. Dip the tissue into the glue mixture and start padding out the back of the ears. You also want to cover the actual lid with either newspaper or toilet paper so that it blends in with the ears making it easier to paint. Once you roughly have the shape you want, pinch the ears together at the base and then leave to dry for at least 24 hours.
  5. Once the papier mâché has thoroughly dried, cut off any rough edges, you can also cut the ears to shape if needed. Then, mix the PVA glue with a drop of water, and using a brush, cover the ears in the glue. Leave to dry overnight.
  6. Once the glue has dried you should have a nice solid sculpture. You can now sand down any lumps and bumps and get the edges nice and smooth ready for painting.
  7. Depending on the type and colour of paint you have chosen you may need to do a couple of coats.
  8. Once the paint has dried thoroughly, apply one more layer of PVA glue to help prevent the paint from cracking.
  9. Now onto the fun part, filling the jars…I went to my local Poundland store to pick up mini eggs, easter marshmallows and Galaxy Golden Eggs, but you can fill yours with anything you like.
  10. Finally, putting the lids back on the jars you can finish them with a nice ribbon, string or a gift tag.

 

 

Lollie Dunbar is a textile designer from Oxfordshire.
Ducks all in a row is her little space for sharing thoughts, ideas and creations which all began because of her love for diy, design and organisation.
She really hopes that by starting a blog it could inspire others to find their own creative lifestyle.

 

 

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