Paints can be an essential part of creating art for you and your children. There are a lot of unnecessary ingredients in store bought paint that can be slightly toxic to the little ones and consume a lot of energy to produce, such as petroleum based products. What if I told you that there are ways for you to make non-toxic paints from home with natural ingredients of the earth?

Mrs. Winters Creates : Painting with pomegranate juice

An experimental artist known as “Mrs. Winters” used different ripened berry juices, pomegranate and tamarillo for a minimalist depiction of her artistic expression. Mrs. Winters came to find that not only did the juices provide a breathtaking hue but, in fact changed aesthetically as time passed. Creating a new art piece as each day passes, mirroring the overall depiction of entropy within nature. She says that it may have had to do with the oxidization of the juice. Add a little salt or vinegar to the juice to preserve the original coloring produced.


Beets are an eye-catching vegetable that is perfect for turning into an all natural paint. Harvesting the juice from the beet and adding a pinch of salt and vinegar allows for preserving and brightening of the hue. Vibrant in color, create magical landscapes and portraits with this must have color!

There are many other natural ingredients able to be used in creating all natural paints such as, turmeric, milk, your favorite flowers and egg yolks. Give it a try and create something new!

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How often are you scraping the leftover food into the the garbage? What if you had a better use for those scraps that would not only benefit the earth but, also your personal garden?

Composting is the taking of food scraps, leaves, pine needles, paper, cardboard and allowing them to decompose to create nitrogen and carbon rich soils. Composting meat or bones of any kind could attract unwanted pests. Orange peels and banana peels may contain unwanted pesticides too. This compost concoction is the perfect brew for your gardens needs.

A compostable toilet is a waterless mechanism that allows for the human excretion to be broken down into yet another nitrogen / carbon based soil. National parks are huge backers of the compostable toilets to ensure that all goes in, goes back out to the earth. There is typically a second composting station to ensure all harmful components have decomposed out of used for the fertilization of soil.

Composting is an amazing alternative to use when considering the care of the earth, our home gardens and our ability to recycle our daily waste for greater more efficient purposes!

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Sharing the planet with insects sometime can be a bit of a pain especially when we are trying to enjoy a nice warm night outside on our back porch or barbecuing with friends and family.

We have resorted to bug zappers, fly swatters, citronella candles or other less natural remedies to ward them away.

However there is a carnivorous plant that can actually take care of this pesky problem for you while also being totally natural and a part of our eco system!

This insect eating plant is known as the Nepenthes or Tropical Pitcher Plant. It is a tropical plant but it can survive it many conditions with a seasoned gardener. These hanging plants work by having low drooping pitcher-like pods that attract the insects into them. The insects are then trapped inside, digested and are used as a food source for the plant.

These plants must be kept from direct sunlight but they do enjoy high humidity. They can dry out easily if not kept hydrated and are in direct sunlight for an extended period of time.

Like any plant, these plants do require specific care but when nurtured properly, they truly do work!

Give them a try and see how they work for you. They are also a beautiful aesthetically pleasing addition to any garden or sunroom / greenhouse!

Redesigning your home? Adding a few extra furnishings to your interior design? Before purchasing any furniture for your living space, look over a few of these ways to approach furniture buying to make it a smooth and satisfying experience!

1. Have an idea in mind of what kind of style you want for your space. You can consult an interior designer or look around online for design ideas.

2. Make sure you look around for the best seller of the furnishings you want. It is beneficial to look at buyer reviews not only regarding the seller’s performance but also reviews on the product you are thinking of purchasing. Sometimes less expensive can mean lower quality, but sometimes it depends on where the furnishings are being made. If you are making a large purchase, the seller may even work with you with a percentage discount.
3. Lighting changes the appearance of many fabrics and finishes. If you aren’t sure if the color or finish you want will match, ask for swatches to be sent to you if available first.

4. If you need the furnishings by a specific time make sure the furnishing you are purchasing isn’t a custom design, these take many weeks to arrive and times differ. Additionally, if a furnishing says 1 -2 weeks delivery, give it a 4 week buffer. This doesn’t mean it will take 4 weeks to arrive, it may even take less than 1 week to arrive, but its important to know that many furnishings come from warehouses in many places and need time to get to you.

5. Ask any questions you may have about the furnishing so there aren’t any unpleasant surprises when it arrives.
6. Look around online for lifestyle images of the furnishing you want if the seller doesn’t have one on their site. “Lifestyle” images are images of the furnishing in a home setting. This will help you get an idea of how it may look with other furniture and color schemes.

7. Keep in mind that if the furnishing has any damages or missing some parts upon arrival, this is ridiculously more common that you might think. Stay calm and realize it isn’t necessarily the fault of the seller or their customer service representatives, most of the time it is issues out of their direct control.

8. Lastly but most importantly, have fun! Furniture shopping shouldn’t be a stressful experience. Use your time wisely, ask questions and create your dream space!

Rock art is a unique and beautiful interior design technique to transform your space using natural materials. You can choose an entire wall to create a rock wall art masterpiece or choose one home furnishing to transform using a combination of stones, pebbles, agates and / or geodes.

This interior / exterior design technique works in a multitude of design motifs including modern, contemporary, rustic and even industrial chic.

Additionally, these natural materials are very durable.They can withstand harsher environments where they may experience elements from exterior weather conditions or damp and wet places such as in the bathroom on a shower wall.

The natural beauty of the geodes and agates make for an exquisite and eye-catching appearance when displayed under light.

The actually display of the rocks and pebbles can be placed in unique shapes and patterns to create a mesmerizing and captivating design.

Even if you do not choose to display them in a quirky way, the naturally occurring details and formations of the individual rocks, geodes and pebbles are works of art unto themselves.

We often see beautiful rock and stone work done on the exterior of homes, but bring these gorgeous designs into your interior living space for a surprising touch of organically chic meets contemporary style.

For thousands of years musical instruments have been created and reinvented. Many Instruments around the world have changed their original ways of production for efficiency, consistency and overall demand for the instrument. There will always be some areas of the world where musical instruments are made as they always have. The African Djembe drum is one of those instruments.

In Gambia, West Africa, the djembe creation is a beautiful experience.The djembe is crafted from a tree but, not just any tree, trees are specifically chosen in the depth of wooded areas known as the BUSH and the one chosen is usually very dry to ensure that the environment is not negatively impacted. In the harvesting of one tree, a total yield of djembe drums from any one tree varies from 8 – 15 drums.

The drum is cut to size, debarked, and then internally carved to shape it. This position in the assembly is known as the Carver. Afterwards, the Djembe shell is brought to the neighboring village. Beneath the drumhead and at the top, metal rings are measured and fitted then, the djembe is brought to the welder to weld the metal to solidify the rings.

Next, the shell is brought to receive a fresh goat hide for the drum head. The skin is dried for several hours and is coated with the ash of the fireplace. Ash expedites the drying process and also wards off insects..

While the skin dries, Palm oil is gathered and is applied to the inside of the drum shell. Palm oil prevents the drum from cracking and promotes longevity. Knots are then tied equal distance apart around the top and bottom of the drum head. The skin is then stretched over the drum head and ropes are then weaved through the metal ring on top of the drum head to the bottom of the drum head to tighten the skin to the top of the drum head. The Drum head is then shaved and is completed!

The people of Gambia say that “a good drummer makes the Djembe speak.”

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Electric bills can be quite the monthly expenditure and hassle especially if you have a larger family than most. In providing yourself and your family with alternative sources of lighting during the night and adopting techniques to conserve electricity, you can truly cut the cost and put some extra cash in your pocket.

How often do you and your family leave the lights on in the house when leaving to go somewhere? Do you ever leave anything else turned on too? Did you know that even when things are plugged into your outlets, they’re still consuming a constant flow of electricity?
Take a stand for your monthly electric bill, take a stand for change within your household.
Unplug and turn off all electronic based sappers when unused!

Some alternative in-home lighting that is easily accessible and affordable are…

1.Candles – Candles are a reliable and cost efficient light source that provide a wonderfully warm ambiance to any and all rooms they reside in. Additionally, candles do not emit any strenuous light rays as the typical electric light bulbs do.

2.Oil Lamps – Blast from the past! Adopt an oil lamp into your home for another cost efficient alternative. Oil lamps run on many different sources of fuel including animal fats, cooking oils and kerosene. Typically you want to lean towards a fuel that has very minimal scent and smoke to eliminate any potential side emissions of such from being in your home.

3. Solar lights – Invest in some solar powered lighting to keep outdoors and bring it indoors at night! Again limiting the amount of negative emissions that would normally coexist with the typical unnatural light fixtures.

Alternative living for Alternative expenditures!

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I am so incredibly impressed by The Eco-Natura Fredrik 5 Piece Dining Set with Molded Plastic Side Chairs! This set is extremely economically and stylistically perfect. This is a huge time-saver and money saver if you are looking to re-design or a first time buyer of dining room furniture that you want in a modern, contemporary style that will be sturdy, durable and will last for years to come.

Firstly let’s start with the table! This table is designed by world renowned Italian designer Lino Codato. The sleek, white table top has a surface that is burn, scratch and stain resistant. This engineered wood features solid american Ash wood inlays for added strength and quality with an applied powder-coating that seals out chemicals and bacteria. The design itself combines the styling of mid-century modern and Scandinavian design as you can see by the tapered wooden legs and the contrast between the wood frame and the table top.

The chairs offered with this incredible table are highly accurate reproductions of a mid-century modern classic by designers Charles and Ray Eames. This dynamic design duo are some of the most famous designers of this period of contemporary design. The chairs featured are made of a plastic seat shell molded from recyclable polypropylene with a strong polished chrome steel base. They gain their name from of course the Eiffel tower like appearance of the wire base. The chairs are lightweight and very comfortable, not compromising aesthetic for functionality or vice versa.

The chairs can be purchased with the table in a variety of eye-catching colors such as orange, blue and red – but for a more subtle look, they also can be purchased in white and black as well.

Waking up in the morning to make that cup of joe to realize that the pot of coffee from yesterday still isn’t finished can be a little unnerving. There are multiple recycling options for leftover brewed coffee and also the used coffee grounds.

Freeze your leftover coffee to create coffee ice cubes! No more watered down iced-coffee!

Create a meat marinade with olive oil, your favorite spices and your left-over brew for a robust and delicious taste!

Some plants like the Japanese iris or magnolia require higher acidity content in their soils. Add a few tablespoons of your leftover coffee to their soil to give them that needed boost! Be sure not to over saturate with coffee, for it could be detrimental to the overall health of the plant.

Replace some of the milk in your favorite brownie recipe with coffee to make mocha brownies.

Leftover coffee grounds are an amazing exfoliant for the skin, mix with 1 parts coffee grounds, 2 parts coconut oil to create an amazing facial mask.

Low on dish soap? Use the leftover coffee grounds and hot water to clean your dishes of grime.

It is important to find every purpose for all of the things we would potentially just throw away, saving us not only resources from the earth but, resources from our pocket!

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There are some essential ingredients we reach for when cooking or creating a beauty concoction that can easily be grown indoors. There are some essential ingredients we reach for when cooking or creating a beauty concoction that can easily be grown indoors.

1. Aloe Vera is a perfect plant to be used on burns, scrapes or cuts especially when cooking or baking. You literally just break a piece off the plant and use the gel inside directly on the wound. You can also use it in a variety of homemade beauty products including lotions and salves

2. Rosemary – fresh rosemary is delicious when cooking chicken or fish. You can pluck a few pieces off your plant and lay out to dry or dry in the oven. You can also use it fresh and sprinkle a few sprigs on top of your dish for roasting and baking.

3. Basil – Basil is another wonderful herb that can be used dried or fresh. You can use basil in salads or with any dish  where basil will enhance its flavor. Just pluck a few basil leaves off your plant and place on or in your dish. I love a cutting a few slices of tomatoes with mozzarella cheese and adding one or two pieces of basil on top with balsamic vinaigrette drizzled on top. Yum!

4. Thyme – thyme grows quickly and abundantly in the home and is another wonderful herb for cooking! I typically pluck several sprigs off and place in the oven or lay out to dry to use in a variety of dishes.

5. Mint – mint is also another great herb to grow indoors. My mint plant is currently growing outdoors because it exploded in abundance! Mint can be used in a variety of dishes but also works great in mixed drinks like mojitos! I use a mortar and pestle to grind the leaves to release the oils. I sometimes even pluck a few pieces off for a quick breath refresher. You can use this herb in many beauty products by extracting the oils including lip balm and lotions.

These are just a few of the many herbs that can be grown indoors but I found them to do the best with daily water and mild sunlight. Place them on the windowsill  in your kitchen or in a sun / green room in your house. Be careful to not have too much direct sunlight throughout the day for possibly drying them out. You can grow these beauties from seed to full plant, so have fun, enjoy and happy growing!

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