Bless the Beasts and the Children - An Etsybloggers Carnival Post

ZANY BABY GIFT SET-
ZARKLE BURP CLOTH AND ZANY BABY SUIT
from TwoZanyZebras

Bless the beasts and the children,
for in this world
they have no voice...
they have no choice.
Bless the beasts and the children
for the world can never be
the world they see.
Light their way
when the darkness surrounds them,
give them love,
let it shine all around them.
Bless the beasts and the children.
Give them shelter from a storm,
keep them safe...
keep them warm...

My Etsybloggers teammate Janet, of honeyfromthebee, is hosting the upcoming edition of the team blog carnival and one of the options for a theme was to write about "Thinking Green... write about what you're doing to make this a greener planet. This could be about your art or just around the house or at work."

In my mind, what we can do today to raise awareness about issues like carbon footprints, ecology, economy, and going green is a legacy we leave to future generations - our children and our children's children, as well as all of the planet's creatures who have no say in the treatment of our Mother Earth - the beasts and other living and even non-living members of nature which we have a responsibility to as our coinhabitants on these pale blue planet-ship we call Earth.

Luckily for Al and I, we live in a city that has a wonderful recycling program. In addition to weekly pickups of the typical paper and plastic recyclables, Scottsdale, Arizona also has an electronics recycling program, hazardous waste programs (to keep the nasties out of the landfills and ground water supplies) , and local businesses even accept packing peanuts for reuse in packaging. The city makes an effort to reduce, reuse, reclaim and recycle through programs like the one that offers composters for a nominal fee to residents. We have "no-burn" days when fireplaces are off limits, and there is a valleywide ridesharing program that is pretty darn good! Many of the local government buildings utilize solar panels and cells to collect and store free energy from the sun... and the water that is used to keep those golf courses lush and green is, for the most part, reclaimed! ReUseAZ is a free new service from the Arizona Environmental Strategic Alliance designed to reduce waste in Arizona. If you have reusable/recyclable materials or need them, ReUseAZ will locate a user or supplier for you. It's pretty hard to live here and NOT catch the recycling bug!

Al and I try our best to do our part. We separate all of our recyclables from our trash (and there's usually about a 2:1 ratio, so much of what we bring in goes out through the recycling bin. We take advantage of the collection days for electronics and hazardous waste, we have low-flow shower heads and bathroom fixtures, and we try to use natural or organic cleaning goods whenever we can. Al telecommutes (meaning he works from home) and we try our best to minimize those trips to the store (unless I'm baking a birthday cake for one of the grandkids!)I am also the queen of saying "don't throw that out, I'll find something to make out of it" - and I often do - even if it's some little trinket for the grandkids or something they can use to make presents for mommy and daddy!

Citrine and Agate Earrings -
Phoenix Rising

As for MysticWynd, I love upcycling treasures found at estate sales and rummage sales - in fact I have a whole drawer full of components like lonely single earrings just waiting for me to find some time to make something old new again... and I have another drawer full of plastic can lids that will become coasters, old wooden spools, fabric scraps, and a variety of things like electronics boards and scrap glass that will find their way into my designs. I always recycle packing supplies like bubble wrap, packing peanuts, and those air filled pillows that Amazon loves to send me. When it comes to needing supplies like business cards or printer paper, recycled always wins out over new stock. I'm also proud of the fact that I have very little waste in my work - I'm constantly straightening wire and metal components and even damaged components often provide material for mosaics  or kids' projects!

Telescopium Shell
and Seed Bead Necklace
w Charms

In the meantime, here's a couple of the items from my shop that I've created that make use of upcycled components for an updated, eco-friendly, feel! I promise there'll be more to come in the near future!

Could and would I like to do more? I know I should and I do try, but I think there's always room for improvement! Maybe you could share your ideas and give me some new directions to explore so that we can bless the beasts and children with the legacy of a world where the air is clean, the water is pure, and the land is safe for playing and enjoying nature's beauty. With St Patty's Day right around the corner, maybe we should place a different emphasis on "the wearin of the green" with a look to recycling, reusing, and repurposing!


xo,