New Category in Shoppe! Crocheted Cozies!

I've set up a new area in my shoppe for my cute little crocheted cozies :)

These things are going to be wonderful accessories for the upcoming cold weather and that much needed hot coffee every morning. I know I have to have my caffeine in the mornings and I like it to stay as warm as long as possible and I don't want to scald my hands either. I also like ANYTHING that will accessorize with my outfit. Super cute.

Here's the first two new additions.
                               Happier side of Blue

Pink Camo Cozy

 Hope you like them!

Orders?
 If you want some custom made ? Certain color pallette? Preferred size?? All you have to do is ask and I'll get right on it.

Aquarium Tips

I've had aquariums for years, and trust me I've made all the mistakes. I've been a student of the hobby and I've tried my best to help others learn from my mistakes. I've studied as much as I could to keep from making more mistakes but things happen.

The one thing I've learned most is that SO OFTEN people refuse to listen to advice. "Oh well I've been keeping a tank with no water changes and it does fine." Then when the tank crashes they refuse to believe it's because they wouldn't clean it. Or the people who clean the ENTIRE tank out EVERYTIME and then don't understand why they can't keep fish alive for more than a few weeks.

Here's what I've learned and you can take it or leave it.

FRESHWATER TANKS ONLY

*Aquariums need to CYCLE.( see cycle info here http://www.whichfishtank.com/FishAquariumCycle.html) It takes anywhere from 6-10 weeks for a tank to cycle depending. You can't add all your fish as soon as you set the aquarium up. You have to CYCLE the tank FIRST. Also, CHLORINE must be removed from water every time water is added. 

* If you take all the water out of your tank and refill it you RESTART the cycle. 25-30% at a time is recommended unless there are serious problems. My rule of thumb: I change 1/3 of my tanks. 10g tanks I change once a week, 20g tanks every two weeks, 30 tanks every three weeks  so forth.  I add AQUARIUM salt to my tanks with each change.

* There is usually a BIO FILTER in your filter. Some have a sponge like part in front of the replaceable filters or a wheel. The bacterial colony lives in that and you should NEVER clean that with chlorine water. IF it needs to be cleared up a bit use water from the tank to clean it.

* Take care in adding things to your tank. When adding new fish quarantine them in a separate tank first. Do NOT add water from other tanks to your tank. Pour the bagged fish out over a net into a bowl so that the fish is in the net and the fish store water is in the bowl NOT your tank.

Quarantine any new live plants as well. 

Adding too many fish to your aquarium at once will cause a spike in ammonia/waste. It is recommended to add fish in small amounts over time. Rule of thumb they say is 1 inch of fish per gallon but some fish create more waste than others. Goldfish should have a MINIMUM of 5 g per fish. Preferably 10g per goldfish. Also take into consideration the ADULT size of the fish. Many fish you see in the store are juveniles and have yet to reach their full size. So that cute little one inch fish could grow to be over a foot long! Research a fish before adding it to your tank. I had one small fish ( less than two inches) that could kill fish 3 times its size. 

I'm sure there's plenty more I could add but at this time I seem to have run dry on ideas :) More later!

Treasure Boxes from Trash

I LOVE when I can find a way to recycle something. So when I got a chance to snag a bag FULL of cat treats I was all over it. Cat treats you say?

 Well I'm not recycling the cat treats, but the nifty little tins the treats came in are lovely. I had to wash them out extremely well. You can imagine they smelled a bit...fishy.

But the tins are great! I love little boxes and tins. I don't know why, but I do. I also love working with polymer clay so these two were bound to come together. I thought these would make great treasure boxes or stash boxes, a cool place to keep a small sewing kit or small medicine kit for purse. I started laying out designs to cover the tins with and realized there was so much more I could do.

This is where they are at this point. I still need to sand them and put a layer of gloss on them. I still have a bag full of these though. I'm thinking on the next round I will add in some beads to the design or possibly make some small sculptures to go on the tops of the boxes. A tiny dragon perhaps or butterflies would look nice as a decoration to lids?

Hope you enjoyed this peak at my recycling adventure :) When I get some more made I will be sure to post those as well !! 

Til next time.... GO MAKE SOMETHING  and HAVE FUN!!

Hemp Fashion

When I lived in New Orleans, I used to sit in Jackson Square with a couple of boxes of cool beads and lots of embroidery thread and braid peoples hair. I charged $1 per inch plus whatever bangles, beads or bells you added you had to buy from my box. Making simple macrame knots around a braid in a persons hair using whatever color combos they wanted seemed a fun way to pass the day and make easy money. That was when I first learned how to make hemp jewelry using those simple knots and a a few more.

 Suddenly I was selling my jewelry along with braiding peoples hair with cool colors.

Then bags came along. I found that you could get thick weaves of hemp and using large knots you could make cool bags for groceries and knocking about.

Washed hemp, I discovered with its softer texture was great for crocheting little bags of all sorts

and hats...

and thick shirts for the winter

..and holy crap even bikinis for the hemp fanatic! (  I REALLY like these :) )

In any case its always been one of my favorite fibers to work with. Super versatile and you open your imagination ( no you don't have to smoke it to do that :P)

Cleaning around here is a full time job with my small zoo. I don't like to use weird chemicals if I can keep from it because I: 1.) don't want to use chemicals and 2.) have a lot of animals to keep safe. SO getting "green" cleaning techniques has been a collectors hobby of mine recently. Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

  Baking Soda as Tub Scrubber Rub tub stains away. 
Create a paste mad up of equal parts baking soda and cream of tartar and a little lemon juice. Let sit for 30 minutes, then rinse.

Salt as Homemade Drain Cleaner

 Get a slow-moving drain flowing again and pour a solution of ½ cup of salt for every quart of hot water down the pipe.

Clean silver without a store bought solution 

 1) 1 cup of boiling water

 2) 1 tablespoon baking soda

 3) 1 tablespoon white salt 

4) 1/2 cup white vinegar

 5) 1 sheet of tinfoil, shiny side up 

6) bowl 

 7) Polishing cloth

 Boil the water. While it’s simmering up, line the bottom of the bowl with the tinfoil, shiny side up. Then, add the salt and baking soda to the bottom of the bowl. Add the vinegar slowly (it will fizz) and mix everything together to dissolve the salt and baking soda. You want all the granules to dissolve. Add the boiling water to your bowl and then gently drop each piece of silver in the bowl. Just let it sit, the chemical reaction does all the work for you. If you wish, you can flip them over , just to ensure that both sides get exposure to the tinfoil. Take each piece out carefully and buff it gently with your polishing cloth. You should start to see all the tarnish come off.

Baby Oil as Paint Remover

 Dab some baby oil on splatters to remove latex paint from skin.

 Baby Oil as Chrome Polish

 Baby oil also polishes chrome. Apply a dab to a cotton cloth and use it to shine everything from faucets to hubcaps.

Safe weed killer

 2 c vinegar, 1T liquid soap, 1Tsalt....will kill any plant.

 Keep neighboring plants safe using a cut off two liter or milk jug around the plant.

Tub Cleaner Vinegar And Dish Soap, No Scrubbing.

 Heat 1/2 Cups White Vinegar In Microwave For 90 Seconds, Pour Into Spray Bottle. Add 1/2 Cups Blue Dawn Dish Soap. Shake Gently To Mix. Spray On Surface, Let It Sit 1-2 Hours. Just Wipe It Away, Then Rinse With Water. Should Also Take Soap Scum Off Shower Doors.

I love Green!

Two of my newest additions to my shop show how much I love green :D

Green six strand bracelet
7 inches long
$15 GET IT NOW :D



Green Crackle glass bracelet
7 inches long
$18 Don't miss out!





Stop by my etsy store now and see what else you may like. Great gift items
available.

www.tethyis.etsy.com

Island of Trash

There is an island of trash being built by us every day.
No lie.

1,600 kilometres west of the coast of California is polluted area being called "the garbage patch".
Ocean currents are pushing plastic bottles, plastic bags, and other "disposable" trash of all sorts into this area forming a sort of floating islandS of trash.

Thats islandS. Plural.

Bad enough to think this is happening to the ocean in just the scenic sense but also the animals are suffering in so many ways. Many of the shiny pieces are just so tempting to the birds and fish. Seagulls have been found with lighters in their stomachs. The plastics break down into toxic sand like parts eaten by filter feeders and going up the food chain from there. Building up toxins in the food chain. Many animals like turtles and such may starve to death while having a stomach full of waste they've filled up on but cant digest.

Do you part to clean up this mess. Don't leave trash on the beach. Don't dump things overboard. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

One more "r" Research.
Find ways to help save the environment each day in your life.

Green muse

Had a moment of creativity hit me today :)
Green oh my favorite color!






Soon to be listed for sale in m shop at www.tethyis.etsy.com

Green Phone Sense

You know you grew to hate your old phone and now you have a new one with all the bells and whistles...

WAIT!! Don't just throw your old phone out!

Cell phones contain enough lead to qualify as hazardous waste and even lead-free phones are hazardous because of the high amounts of copper, nickel, antimony and zinc that can leach into landfills.Besides there are so many people who need a cell phone. Many battered womens shelters would be so happy to have your old phone.

Check these out for recycling your phone:

http://www.epa.gov/waste

www.haveurebooted.com

www.cellphonerecycling

www.charitablerecycling.com

cellphonesforsoldiers.com

Recycle My Cell Phone

For more green tips check out my fave place www.thedailygreen.com

BOGO! SALE!!

Hey!

Here is a sale just for my blogger folks! :)

Buy one pair of earrings get a second pair of equal or lesser value free!!

50% off bracelets!!

Just put BLOGGER in your notes to seller and wait for a revised invoice before paying :D

Check out the shop

www.tethyis.etsy.com

Grey water for a green earth

Ever heard of "greywater"?
I had not until about a year ago. Greywater is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing, laundry and bathing. Greywater comprises 50-80% of residential wastewater. NOTE this is NOT water from toilet waste. Toilet waste water is called blackwater.




I like the idea of it I simply don't have the means at hand to build a system myself.
But its a good green topic to have a look at. Reusing greywater serves two purposes: it reduces the amount of freshwater needed to supply a household, and reduces the amount of waste water entering sewer or septic systems. In some states it is necessary to obtain permits before installing a greywater system.

Grey water can be used to water lawns and gardens. There are even some ways to reuse greywater to flush the toilet rather than using perfectly good fresh drinking water to do so but that takes some serious setup to be sure the greywater doesnt backsiphon into the freshwater lines.
Below are some links to more info on greywater and the ways to setup treatment and irrigation systems using it.

http://www.greywateralliance.org/
http://www.greywater.com/
http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/
http://greywaterfacts.com/index.html

Plastic Bags. What a waste.

Plastic shopping bags are one of the largest wastes we have today.
Those plastic bags that seem to pile up and pile up. My Mom has a cute bag that hangs in her kitchen that is specifically made to hold these bags so she can reuse them for sending home food with relatives or packing my Dad's lunch in when he goes fishing. Still they inevitably wind up in the trash. There is NO need for this when these bags can be recycled.

Reduce reuse recycle.
My parents still aren't getting it. I keep trying though.

At our local store there is a recycle bin just for these bags. Most stores that use these bags now have these recycle bins. You would be amazed at what can be done with these recycled bags. Most plastic bags are recycled into composite lumber but can also be reprocessed into small pellets, or post consumer resin, which can become feed stock for a variety of products such as new bags, pallets, containers, crates, and pipe. Each ton of recycled plastic bags saves the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil. Want to find a recycle bin near you? Check here :D http://www.plasticbagrecycling.org/01.0/


What else can you do to help reduce this waste? Use the reusable bags! Many stores now offer Reusable bags for sale pretty cheap near their registers! There are also many places online that you can buy these. Check GreenFeet for a great selection. These are a wonderful alternative. Be sure to keep them in the car or one in your purse so you don't get caught without one at the store and have to but a new one every time LOL. These can ALSO be recycled. Like anything it will at some point wear out and throwing it away sort of defeats the purpose of the reuse reduce recycle mantra. ChicoBags will recycle reusable bags. Read HERE about the great program they have that not only helps the environment but helps people by working with their partner Greatful Thread supporting victims of domestic violence.




Now this wouldn't be my blog if it didn't take an artistic view on recycle reuse reduce :D

Check out what some great Etsy artists have made with those wasteful plastic bags!

DaniellesDesigns

Lovely earrings

carataylor's shop

Cute purse




PlaSchtick

Yoga mat


kimquilts's shop

Lunch bag




Also REUSABLE BAGS!!
Reusable bags!!!

zJayne
olivebrown's shop

GreenBaggingIt