Crochet Bath Poof

Hey all,

guess what, here's another pinspired crochet project :)

I thought it would be a great start to work on some of the quicker to realize projects from my Crochet Pinterest Board. And this one did not only look like it would be pretty quick to hook, it also looked cool and it's kind of an eco-friendly thingy. So decision made!

For you pinners out there, here's the pin:

Furthermore, the pattern can be found right HERE

And here's how my Bath Poofs turned out:

The yarn: Schachenmayr Cotton Bamboo Batik, 50% Cotton & 50% Viscose, recommended hook size 3-4mm (I used a 4mm hook), color codes are 90 (the greyish one) and 92 (the blueish one)

And the only tweak I made was starting with a magic ring instead of ch 5 joined with a slip stitch.

Oh and they definitely were quite quick to make. One took just a little longer than one Charmed episode to hook ;)

What kind of eco-friendly projects have you been working on lately? Maybe some makup pads? A bath poof as well?

Yours
Uta

PS: More of my eco posts can be found here => Uta's eco Posts

Cotton Make-Up Remover Pads

I got the idea for this project a couple of months ago while browsing some of my favourite blogs. On one I saw some self-hooked and self-sewn make-up remover pads. Well, I had some cotton yarn on hand and instantly began working on my own version.

First I made some samples for me and my friend Kristin - make-up remover pads, washcloths, dishcloths, scrubbies.

After a while I figured out what worked for me and what didn't. So I added some more of the bigger 100% cotton make-up remover pads to my collection.

For these I used Wolle Rödel Cotton Universal (100% cotton, 50 g / 85 m, recommended hook size 4 - 5 mm, 6632 light blue) and a 4 mm hook.

So easy to hook and also quick to make. Not to mention they are machine washable and therefore can be reused!

Yours
Uta

Eco-Find: 100ml ECOVER

I just came back from a trip to my favorite drug store DM. One thing I love about DM is that they offer a wide range of products that are cruelty-free, eco-friendly and/or vegan. I especially love that occasionally you can find those products in small sample-like sizes, especially since I love trying out new products but am not willing to buy huge amounts because you never know whether you will like them or not.

Today I came across these 100ml ECOVER bottles. I thought about giving ECOVER a try for a little while already. So I bought the ECOVER Lemon All Purpose Cleaner (on the left) and the ECOVER Pomegranate & Lime Dishwashing Liquid (on the right). 

Even though I don't consider cleaning as one of my most favourite activities (I do what needs to be done) I'm really looking forward to try out those products! 

Does anyone of you have any experience with ECOVER products? Can you maybe recommend any of them? Or would you rather say I should try out a totally different brand? Some DIY ideas? Please let me know in the comments below!

Have a nice weekend!

Yours

Uta

Tea Bag Inspired Gift Wrapping

I was looking for a creative way to wrap the handwarmer I made for Kristin. Somehow the idea of making an oversized tea bag came to my mind:

Yours

Uta

PS: Happy Friday the 13th :)

From Shopping Tote to Shoe Bag

I just recently recycled on of my many many shopping totes by turning it into a shoe bag!
A not so easy task for me, as I don't sew that often but I made it. And I think the result is a good one even though it's not perfect!

Before...

...and after:

Yesterday night was awesome by the way! The orchestra played from 8 pm until about 11 pm with a 30 min break in between. While they played the last song at 11 pm fireworks started. Definitely a wonderful experience! Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera and therefore had to use my cell to take some (bad quality) pictures:

The building behind the stage is the Orangerie, one of the most famous historical places here in Kassel.

I wish all of you a sunny Sunday! Mine is quite cloudy actually, I think the weather forcast said it is going to rain in the afternoon, let's see...


Yours
Uta

PS: Turns out, this can be counted as yet another project for my No-Buy Challenge :)

Owl Post

Of course my owl twins had to travel in style. Unfortunately I ran out of appropriately sized envelopes lately. I therefore simply crafted one:

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Yours
Uta

PS: No-Buy Challenge project #12 - mission accomplished :)

Project "Light Bulb Switch"

You probably remember that I told you I read this guide about living eco-friendly called Living Like Ed by Ed Begley (see blog post from May right here). Ever since then I've been constantly working on giving a few things in my life some kind of environmental-friendly make-over.

Just lately I concentrated on the lamps I actually use all around my apartment. When I moved in about two years ago, I took over certain things from the previous tenant - certain lamps included. Well, retrospectively not the best idea I ever had. So a couple of weeks ago I went through my whole apartment compiling an inventory list of all that lamps. The result pretty much brought me back down to earth:

• office: 4 halogen lamps, 1 broken (didn't turn that one on that often, I'm an IT person, I work with computers...)
• bedroom: 1 light bulb
• living room: 1 light bulb
• kitchen: 1 light bulb
• entrance room: 3 light bulbs

Considering my lighting habits I definitely had to change that. So the first thing I did was research on the different kinds of illuminants out there, their energy footprint and of course their pros and cons.

Energy footprint:
- stinky normal light bulb < halogen lamp < CFL < LED

Stinky normal light bulb:
- forbidden in Germany
- needs way too much energy
- bright

Halogen lamp:
- saves about 20-30 percent of energy compared to the stinky normal light bulb
- bright
- medium expensive

CFL:
- save about 80 percent of energy compared to the stinky normal light bulb
- not that bright
- medium expensive
- Should be left switched on for a longer period of time

LED:
- saves about 90 percent of energy compared to the stinky normal light bulb
- medium bright
- definitely expensive

So I finally decided for the following:

• office: I replaced the broken lamp and decided not to replace the halogens in general with CFL or LED as I'm not really using them that often, maximum once a week for a couple of minutes
• bedroom: I replaced the light bulb with a 200lm LED as this is one of those lamps I probably use the most but it doesn't need to be that bright
• living room: I replaced this one with a 200lm LED as well as I'm using this one quite often but never leave it switched on that long
• kitchen: I replaced this one with a 600lm LED as this is a place where I need really bright light. Furthermore this one is the most used lamp in my whole apartment.
• entrance room: I decided not to replace them. At least for now. I only used these a couple of times during the last two years though.

Thanks for reading!

Yours

Uta

3 Things Eco

You know, it's the little things that matter. Even when it comes to being kind to our planet. So today let me bother you guys with a few tips on eco-friendly living!

1* After washing green salad I pour the water I used into the water can.

2* I always carry a reusable shopping tote in my purse.

3* I let bread that got old dry and give it to my cousin for feeding it to her horses and camels.

So what are the little things you are doing for the environment? Please let me know, I'm really interested!

Thanks for reading :)

Yours

Uta

My Tiny Balcony Garden

Hello everyone,

the first topic I dealt with after reading Living Like Ed - A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life by Ed Begley, Jr. is the balcony gardening. My mother has been so kind to bring me over two pots of herbs, parsley and chives.

I think that's a pretty good start - and reason enough for me to buy some cute gardening tools :)

I especially love these bulbs that help you water your plants. Of course I installed them right away.

Let's see whether it will work out or not, I'll keep you posted. Nevertheless, I'm already thinking about stocking up on some tomato plants...

Yours
Uta

Been MIA again & Something Eco

Hi everyone,

sorry for not posting anything in ages. I'm currently experiencing a huge lack of inspiration. As a result I'm not crafting and/or crocheting that much lately. Instead, I worked some extra hours, did a lot of Pilates (my fav stress-killer) and tried to sleep as much as possible. With the sun finally shining again I even added some reading to my daily routine. As I'm totally on the eco-friendly wagon at the moment I chose Living Like Ed - A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life by Ed Begley, Jr. to be my first book in weeks.

Well, I definitely got inspired by that book as you can see. Every single one of these little green and orange post-it notes stands for a topic I plan to work on during the next weeks:

• Check dishwasher programs
• Check light bulbs and exchange if necessary
• Check fridge temperature
• Do some research on more eco-friendly cleaning products
• Check out www.freecycle.org
• Do some research on balcony gardening
• Get informed about the local farmer's markets
• Do some research on the local recycling and garbage programs
• Do some research on rechargeable batteries

Of course there are thousand of other things worth thinking and caring about. I'm already caring about the environment so this topic is not all new to me. I'm just looking for things I haven't considered yet.

Well, looks like I'm going to bother you guys with some eco topics in the near future :)

Have a great and sunny Sunday everyone!

Yours
Uta