Lent gifting day 33

I don't know about you but Lent is flowing FAST!!! I feel like I'm only just getting the show on the road and it's almost over. Woweee. They say time flies when you are having fun! 

I'm sticking with the soft toys for now because I have so many of them. 

 

This little guy will be small enough to fit inside a shoebox. So I'll vacuum him thoroughly and then give him to a friend who collects small toys (in very good condition) and donates them in shoe boxes to kids in 3rd world countries around Christmas time. 

He was a free promotional Teddybear for a company that has since gone bust so there is no reason for me to keep it. It might bring joy and love to the life of a young person. I had a collection of soft toys that I've loved over the years so I know what one soft toy can do for the life of a child. 

So thank you to the teddy bears and fluffy penguins who I have loved over the years (I collected penguins in my younger life). Thank you for the kindness you have bestowed on me: Being there to cuddle when I was afraid of the dark or when I was scared; reminding me I am loved and am capable of love; letting me dress you up in stupid clothes; forcing you to drink/wear "tea" which may have in fact been toilet water; being there to hold when I cried. See, to a kid these seemingly inanimate objects come alive and support our younger selves in the darkest days. 

I am reminded of Toy Story 3 where Andy is able to pass his old toys onto a new generation of toy lovers. The toys are happy and Andy is happy because his toys are being loved by someone else who loves them just as much as he once did. 

Sending big fluffy cuddly hugs to all those who need it at the moment in honour of all the stuffed toys we have loved over the years. 

Love Daena 

Lent gifting day 13

I got to talk to my best friend today who has recently moved interstate. It was so lovely spending some time catching up via Skype. 

One of the things I found in my recent dejunk Session was about 200 postcards from around the world that I've bought and never used. I think I've mentioned them before. I've started sending them to my best friend. Every couple days I've written one to send which is fun and I hope makes her feel special. 

I love the way that receiving snail mail makes me feel better. It is a pretty simple kindness to do too. Sending an encouraging letter or postcard to someone makes them know you have been thinking of them. Plus in my case, it used postcards that would other wise go to waste. In Australia it costs $1 to send a postcard anywhere inside Australia. Of course it cost more to send stuff internationally but I often like to send nice bits and pieces to my friends overseas. 

Kindness doesn't have to be expensive. A one off postcard (you can make your own) to a friend or family member and the cost of postage can mean the world to someone. Getting a card to know you care can be something that lightens a day. 

Back to the Lent challenge. 

 

I recently wore this dress out as part of a Tinkerbell costume. To a Disney themed night at a city nightclub... it was so much fun!!!! I danced for hours and hours. So good. And I'm so glad I had flat shoes not heels like my friend in the picture next to the green legs (which happened to be my green legs). 

 

My friend, who is the other set of legs in this picture, went as the fantastically Mad Hatter! We also had Megara from Hercules, Esmeralda from the Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Little Mermaid (dressed as Ariel when she was voiceless and on two feet) and her prince, Eric! So much fun to sing loudly and dance to Disney Music. We also danced to other 90s music, a fun reminder of my childhood! :) 

Anyway... the dress. A friend had given me the dress a few months ago as part of a group of things to be gone through and then donated to charity. I pulled this out to keep in our costume box. Then I decided to do the Lent giving and I knew I was going to be donating this dress because I really didn't need to dress up as Tinkerbell any time soon... or so I thought. 

Then the Disney themed night club night happened so I decided to actually get one wear out of this before I would pass it on to someone who needs it. This one isn't actually going to go in the charity bag today but be given to a friend who needs it for another fairy themed event. I'm going to give it to her to keep if she wants or donate on to someone else who needs it in the future. It's a pretty good quality dress that was once longer and had been a bridesmaids dress. It makes a fantastic Tinkerbell costume. 

It was awesome giving this dress a last hurrah, for me at least. I will also have lots of fond memories to pass along with the dress. I won't forget the memories but I don't need to worry about keeping the dress. Plus someone gets something they need FOR FREE! Winning on all fronts! :) 

Here are some words on my favourite subject kindness... "My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who you are, to astonish a mean world with your kindness!" Maya Angelou. 

I hope you think of a whole range of simple kindness ideas you can do to astonish this world with Kindness. 

Love to you all, 

Daena x

Sustainable September 2015 - Day Thirty

Its the final countdown... "dah dah dah duh di di di di de dah dah dah duh di di di di du da dooo" *Sings the final countdown song like a pro - including the instrumental!*

Well my lovelies, we have almost come to the end of Sustainable September for 2015.

 I hope you have found it really worth your while checking in regularly and seeing what small things you can adopt to change the way you think about our beautiful planet.

So today is My mums birthday.

This gorgeous lady has been supporting me to get my Sustainable September blogs written, inspiring me, letting me hash out ideas, giving me ideas when I had writers block, encouraging me to keep going, telling me to go gentler on myself when I was sick, being my champion and my companion. She is a wonderfully tough cookie who keeps me motivated when I really struggle, and lets me do the same for her when she needs it most.

So this idea is both a tribute and a thank you to the woman who has heard incessantly about the Zero Waste Home, who has been with me through sickness and health (it appears I passed my flu on to her too! Sorry mum) and to the woman who loves to be creative.

Sustainable September idea number 30! Also known as...

September 30: Upcycle something. 

Even though this one is not in English, it is pretty easy to see what the steps are to make this awesome Pencil Case/Bag. Check out link here. The image is about half way down the page.

I love this idea, because the glass often breaks in my house in picture frames. Check out the link here

I love this one so much. I know its a book that has effectively been destroyed, but sometimes the pages are ruined but the cover is fine! :) I love the idea of turning something i love (books) into something useful (a purse/handbag). Check out link here

For those who follow me on pinterest you will know that I have so many different folders for different types of up-cycling - a few of the folders just have a couple of up-cycling ideas in them... but there are a few folders none the less. . I have one just called Up-cycling, then there are Eco & Environmentally Friendly, Pallet Crafts, Glass Crafts, Bottle Cap crafts, Centrepieces, Cutlery craft, Gardening Ideas, Mosaics, Pets, Sewing, Tie crafts, Tyre ideas and even Wedding Ideas. That is not forgetting the HUGE Up-Cycling projects like Shipping Container Houses and Tiny Home Ideas.

You can tell I have saved the best Sustainable September Idea for last. I also add to these folders regularly. I love Pinterest a little TOO much! hehehe. But I love the creativity and ideas that end up on that site! :) So my passion for turning unusable stuff into usable is such a blessing. SO here are some more form the archives!

CD Mosaics are awesome and sort of holographic! So cool. Check out the link here

This is a simple and awesome way of using a couple old belts and a way to store all those magazines you may need in the future. Check out the link here

This one you can even buy pre-Up-Cycled for you. However if you have a whole heap of drawer units that the legs fell off... keep them, stack them and you have an awesome unit like this! Check out where to buy this here

So many fantastic ideas. The last note i might make about Bea Johnson and the Zero Waste Home is that she does mention that if you upcycle something it often looses its ability to be recycled. So check some of the recycling regulations are in your suburb or city.

KINDNESS IDEA: make something beautiful and give it to your friends/family/co-workers/acquaintances. 

Whether it be a bottle bag made from an old (clean) sock. Or a Pallet Chair (like my best friend did for me last Christmas), there are so many wonderful Up-cycling things you can create. However this idea also allows you to make anything beautiful, not just up-cycling things. It could be a quilt or a pot mitt, or even a spunked up pot to put a clump of bulbs from your own garden, or even a delicious and beautiful smelling pie, cookies or some delicious bready-thing (that I sometimes wish I could but I cant eat any more). It is your choice, creativity is key. And the aim is to bring a smile to that persons face.

It has been such a delight sharing Sustainable September with you all. And thank you for sticking in there with me.
Much Love,
Daena xx