To match or not to match

I just listed some great items in the shop.  A shoulder bag which is good for all your shopping needs, or great for a purse.  Also in the same fabric I have a reusable coffee sleeve.  They would be the perfect gift for that special someone.  If you don't like the match, you can always go for one of the other items in the shop.
There are so many reasons to buy during August.  Get your holiday shopping done early, but lets not forget the fun days in August.
August 12- Sewing Machine Day
August 12 - Vinyl Record Day
August 15 - Best Friends Day
August 17 - National Thrift Shop Day

Just to name a few.
Make your shopping more green all year long, check out Threadbeaur for all your gift giving needs.

Taxes! They aren't all bad.

Check out this tax on plastic bags in our nations capital!  In the article on www.earth911.com, they give us the low down on the tax.  It has brought in almost a million dollars.  Also it has reduced the number of plastic bags by 19 million!!!!  Can you even believe that?  WOW!  Why can't we implement this all over the nation.  It is one of the taxes that I can really get behind.  Why not bring your own bag.  Let's get out of the one time use mindset!  Let's be reusers, let's be recyclers, let's all be more green.  Of course, you can get a great unique cloth shopping bag at Threadbeaur's Shop.  You don't have to wait until you are taxed for every plastic bag you use, you can start today making a difference.  Keep track of the number of bags that you have not used.  Let's count them together and see how much of a difference we can make.

One man's Trash...

Is another man's treasure.   As the saying goes, it applies to Threadbeaur, and recycling in general.  The best recycling program may in fact be the antique business.  Treasures are purchased that someone else was getting rid of.  We, as a society need to get away from the one time use mind set and move forward to the reusable mindset, or adopt the everything old is new again slogan.  When I am out shopping for fabric for my reusable shopping bags I find all sorts of fabric that has been discarded, and with a few snips makes wonderful bags.  Giving this fabric a second life is my way of keeping it out of the landfills, and making something useful.  Don't wait another year to go by before you make the switch to cloth reusable bags.  Get a bag that is as unique as you are.  When you get a bag from Threadbeaur you won't want to leave home with out it.  The best way to lead is by example, if you are carrying a great cloth bag, others will follow they will want their own cloth bags, and soon we can stop the plastic bag from littering our land.

Nickel Back

On our most recent trip to Target I had a great surprise. We wandered the store picking up the essentials and once our basket was full we went to check out. I, of course, had my reusable cloth shopping bags with me. The girl at the register was very friendly, and chatty. Which is nice, it was like she was enjoying her job. As the transaction was finishing she said "OH yeah, you get a nickel back for using your own bags" I thought this was great. Target has started giving you five cents back when you use your cloth bags. It is nice to see more and more stores doing this to discourage the use of plastic. I guess it is positive reinforcement. I use my back and get a nickel off my bill. I will have my bags handy every time I go shopping for sure! Go to Threadbeaur's Etsy shop and see what sort of bag fits your style. Save the planet in style with a fashionable cloth bag by Threadbeaur.

Get on the Bandwagon

Great news in Buenos Aires, they are in the process of getting rid of plastic bags! Check out this great article on the ban from Seashells and Sunflowers. The blog writer is an American living in Argentina, with a great perspective on life abroad!
Way to go Buenos Aires, now lets all follow suit and reduce the number of plastic bags we use. We can all make a difference, start with one bag, then your stash will grow as you get intouch with the fashionable side of bagging groceries!

At the market

I went to the local farmers market, and I have visited before. It is not big, but they had some tomatoes, peaches, and other fruits. I just went to pick up some tomatoes, since I have been a slacker and have not planted any. I stood inline with my cloth bag ready for the girl to plop my tomatoes down into. Imagine the horror when the lady in front of me requests separate bags for each item is buying and a second bag for her small bounty of tomatoes. I don't think a few tomatoes is going to break through the plastic, and if it is going to she should really be using cloth bags. Why oh why do these people continue with the habit that is so horrific. Take a bag with you to the market, how hard can it possibly be? Why be burden with the hot, flimsy plastic bag, when you can use a bag that is so much easier on your hands. Cloth bags don't cut the circulation off in your fingers, and certainly are not going to break at any moment, leaving your veggies tumbling to the ground.
If you have not switched, now is the time! No more excuses, get your bag, be fashionable, be earth friendly.

Time To List

This week I will be posting new items. I have a few coffee sleeves that are ready to go. I am in the middle of a custom order for 10 bags. Between shopping the local thrift stores for great vintage fabric, I have spend some quality time with my sewing machine. For this order there were a few specific requests, so I am working hard to get it done. Keep any eye out on Threadbeaur's eco-friendly shop so that you can see the new coffee sleeves that are coming this week. I have cut out several bags too and I hope to get them listed in the shop sometime soon.

We have been very busy on the house too. It is up for sale, and over the weekend we did some cosmetic improvements, to help make the house great for showing. We will be having an open house on Saturday. Anyone in the South Chicagoland area, if you know someone looking for a house send them our way! We are hoping for a good turn out, as the weather is improving with every day!

My weekly Menu planner

Today I planned my meals for the week. We are doing a themed week of Risotto, Orzo, and Couscous. With a deviation on Sunday so that I can make my own chicken stock for the meals for the week! Now that is good planning, and a great way to save some money.

Menu
Sunday Roasted Chicken with Carrot Soup
Monday Cauliflower Risotto with Brie With left over chicken
Tuesday Orzo Carbonara with Shrimp
Wednesday Couscous with apricot served with Pork Chops
Thursday Pea and Bacon Risotto with new york strip

The List
carrots
garlic
onion
brie
parmesean cheese
couscous
dried apricots
arborio rice
orzo
milk
butter
whipping cream
bacon
pork chop
steak
roaster chicken
beer

Again, I brought my two cloth reusable grocery bags, and filled them to the brim. This time everything fit in except the beer. Even the milk was comfortable in the bag. I am amazed with how much fit in the cloth bags. No fear of them breaking or hurting my hands when carrying them out to the car. So my two bag challenge continues, each week I will try to fit my groceries for the week in my handmade grocery bags.

A chance to Win

I was over at Misosouper today and saw that she was running a fantastic giveaway. I am always partial to giveaways that are considered "green" in nature. This time she has up for grabs a fun tote bag. The rules for this giveaway are easy, and there are ways to get extra entries!
Check it out, who couldn't use an extra reusable bag!

What's In Your Bag

I went to the grocery store today with a menu for the week in mind. With my list in hand I gathered all the ingredients for a weeks worth of dinners for two.
The Challenge use only TWO bags.

The Menu
Monday: Potato wrapped halibut with spinach. Straight from this months issue of Bon Appetite
Tuesday: Roasted Potato soup (husbands favorite)
Wednesday: Roasted Turkey Breast with potatoes and salad
Thursday: Turkey tetrazzini (onion and sour cream with peas) served over pasta.
Friday: Turkey Sandwiches

The List:
broccoli
milk
peas
turkey
pasta
halibut
sour cream
potatoes
extras: milk, fruit, cereal
on hand: spinach, onion, bread



The grocery bagger today was great. He took the bags and stuffed everything in without squeezing or smashing anything.
I had two bags and everything fit except for the potatoes, but who would need a bag for that, they are already in a bag.

So what is in your bag? If you are using plastic I can guarantee it is a lot less than a cloth bag can hold.
A plastic bag would have ripped under the pressure of all that food. Not my reusable bags, they never let me down!

Post Holiday Sale

Now that things are back to the regular routine, I want to clear the Holiday bags from the shop.
That calls for a sale. This sale is for the Holiday Section in my Etsy shop. The deep discounts apply to those fantastic reusable bags with the holiday themes. The Sale price for the bags are $10 that is a savings of $5 dollars a bag! It is a good time to stock up on reusable gift bags for next year. These handmade shopping bags are perfect for the grocery store. Check out the discounted bags in the Holiday Section. Get them while they last! Once you finish the transaction wait for the updated invoice to pay.
Happy Shopping!

Mid Week Sale

It is Wednesday and it still feels like Monday! How about a mid week sale to get things going!

For Wednesday October 28, 2008 any shoppers at my shop can take 10% off their order.
Not only that if you buy 4 bags you will get a FREE coffee sleeve!

You can do some holiday shopping and get a little something for yourself, can't beat that!
Browse around and enjoy Threadbeaur's Mid Week Sale

Rain Rain Go Away

It rained and it rained last night. It is still raining this morning. I usually love the rain, but the creek in the back yard is full and the water is only about a foot from the back deck! It is getting close. Our lovely picnic table is nearly floating away, as the water creeps up past the seats toward the tabletop. If you look closely at the photo you can see the picnic table in the water. We usually get one good rain a year when the creek comes up to the deck, so I am not alarmed by that so much, as the fact that the forecast is calling for more rain for the next two days! I will take advantage of this rainy day to get some bags made for my Etsy shop and the large custom order that I have. I need to really get busy and bolster my inventory with the holidays approaching. I hope to have a busy holiday season selling my eco-friendly bags. I have some great new fabric combos that I will be working on in the coming days. Off to the sewing room!

After the Market

The market was great, there were some wonderful vendors there. The weather was nice, except for the wind which was really whipping. It was difficult to keep the bags on the table. I learned a few things that will help for next time at the farmers market.
1. Make another banner, something with the "go green" or "Say no to plastic" idea on it.
2. Bring weights, for both the tent and for the bags.
3. Fill the bags, so people can see them better.
4. Eat sooner. (got a little cranky)
All in all it was a good experience.

There was only one thing that was disappointing. There were so many plastic bags given out at this market alone. Each booth had plastic bags hanging from the tent. There were people walking around with 4 and 5 plastic bags, only half full. I thought for sure more people going to a local farmers market would be using cloth bags. Don't get me wrong there were some reusable bags around and every-time I saw one it made me smile. It is such a small, easy thing to do, and it will help, if everyone does it! So get out there with your cloth bags and promote the use of reusable bags, and lets get all use a little less plastic!!!

PLASTIC

I don't even know where to start, I was reading some other blogs on the subject, and just started thinking. Every time I go to the grocery store and forget my old paper bags, I put my hat scarf and gloves back on and trudge back out to the car and bring them back in. I don't want anymore bags, plastic or paper. I intend to use the paper bags that I already have until they start falling apart. There are so many sites telling you the problem with plastic. Everything is plastic these days, from kids toys to water bottles to the bags we put them in. I am trying to convert to cloth reusable bags (I make my own), and so are many other people from what I can tell. However, until plastic bags have an actual price tag on them (other than destruction of the earth) people in general will keep using them. We use lots of them in the billions per year, or more, and they will take hundreds of years to decompose, if ever. So what do we do? The first action should be the consumers, stop using plastic bags, period. Then if consumers insist on using plastic bags the retailers should charge a fee for each bag. By doing that I think people would think twice about taking home yet another plastic bag. Lets all try to use a little less, we are living in a society where more is better. If everyone does a little it can make a big difference.

There are many options for reusable cloth bags. On Etsy.com there are handcrafted options, and many retailers will sell you their bag for a few bucks. I would love to have a great cloth bag for a few bucks, than any amount of plastic bags.
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On a side note, I was in Florida last weekend and the Lake County Chain of Lakes was doing their annual lake clean up, the amount of trash they collected in one day was 20 thousand pounds. That is an incredible number for the size of the project. Now just think if everyone would make everyday clean up day. Just pick up one piece of trash, it will make you feel good.