Every year near Valentine’s Day I start thinking of cool new ways to make Valentine cards for my daughter’s school exchange. So far I’ve been pretty happy with my craftiness and it seems like each year gets better and better.  Here is what we did last year and what we’re planning on doing this year.

2011: Newspaper “fortune cookies”
What you’ll need:

Candy

Comics section a newspaper

Paper puncher

Something to tie with (string, yarn, ribbon, etc)

Something to write on (construction paper, scrap paper, or a cereal box you’re going to recycle)

Directions

Use your construction paper or cereal box to cut out hearts and write a Valentine’s message on each

Punch a hole in each heart

Cut newspaper into squares that can accommodate however much candy you plan on adding

inside

Place candy in center

Collect all four corners so that you end up with a flat surface pinched between your fingers

Punch a hole where you were pinching

Thread the string through the hole of the newspaper and the hole your heart message – tie it off

2012: Heart Crayons

What you’ll need:

3 boxes of 64 qty crayons (makes approx. 25 hearts)

Pan with multiple heart shaped molds

Valentines cards

Directions:

Preheat oven 230 degrees

Eliminate the gray and brown crayons and only use a few black crayons

Break the crayons over a bowl

Place the broken crayons in the heart shaped molds

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes

Remove pan and let cool, then place in freezer if you want to cool more quickly

Attach heart shaped crayon on to your Valentine’s card with tape

When my daughter was diagnosed with asthma at the age of three, I did everything I could to prevent future attacks – air purifier, humidifier with drops of Echinacea oil, anti-allergen bedding, fragrant free and allergen-free laundry soap, ect. A few years have passed now and with that I have learned more about how to live a more natural and healthy lifestyle.

Last year I read an article on Natural Home & Garden’s website that gave diy instructions on how to make homemade laundry soap. While I had been buying natural store bought soap, I kept finding myself wondering why I couldn’t just make my own. This article sparked me to finally take action.

I went to the store and bought the three simple ingredients it called for:

Borax (6 cups)

Baking Soda (8 cups)

Grated Castile Soap (Kirk’s Original Coco Castile) (4 cups)

I had to ask an employee at the store if they carried castle soap and we ended up finding it in a bar form on a bottom shelf hidden a bit, so if you have trouble finding it on your own, just ask!

When you’re ready to prepare it, grab a container of any sort—I first put it in an extra pitcher I had with a lid, but then finally transferred it to a more permanent glass container. 

If your castile soap comes in a bar like mine did, use a kitchen grater to grind it down to soft shreds.  Mix your ingredients together and voila! Laundry soap! So, so easy.

We all know that kids are always wanting to “help” (my daughter measures out the Borax and baking soda while I rub down the castle soap) so let them in on this project and explain to them the benefits of going all natural!

Natural Home and Garden’s Homemade Laundry Detergent Instructions

 You are looking for binders for your company, but are confused as to shich direction to go in.  Should you go with a bare board binder for environmental look or move to a more polished binder?

If only you knew what other people were doing... Now you can.  We did a breakdown by industry of the most popular 3-ring binders. Whether you are planning a campaign for a client, looking for recycle proposal binders or re-arranging your home office it can be nice to know how these binders are used.

We won’t name names, but we would like to say that many of the firms across the industries are the top of their class.  When one color stand out, we will list it.  Keep in mind that this is not comprehensive but rather the top choices.  Also, the notebook binder is relatively new, so has not made it to the top 3 anywhere but is working its way up!

Top 3 Binders for Architecture and Engineering firms:

Classic Binder (Black is #1)

Naked Binder (square)

Project Binder (round)

Top 3 Binders for Design firms and Ad Agencies:

Project Binder (round),

Project Binder (square),

Naked Binder (round and square)

Top 3 Binders for Furniture companies and manufacturers:

 Eames Binder,

Naked Binder (square),

Project Binder (round)

Top 3 Binders for Law Firms:

Classic Binders (Lime and Navy),

Eames Binder

Top 2 Binders for Financial and Consulting firms:

Eames Binder,

Classic Binder (various colors)

Top 2 Binders for Resaurants and the Food Industry:

Project Binder (round, flare),

Eames Binder

Top Binders for the Fashion Industry:

Project Binder (square and round)