the green gal

DIY at Daisy Green

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I'm guest posting over at Daisy Green Magazine today, this time it's how to make your own natural skincare products. You can read the recipes here.

Swishing and skincare

Today I am off to UK Aware at Olympia in London, will I see you there? I'm going wearing several hats (metaphorically, actually wearing multiple hats would not only look silly but also make it difficult to fit through Tube doors).

I'm going as press with my First News head on, as just me because I find all things environmental v interesting, plus I will also be joining the Daisy Green gals at their swishing spot! For some reason they think I might be of use with the clothes sorting but I think there's a good chance I'll just ooh and aah over the lovely stuff people bring. I'm taking a few items of my own with the hope that I might be able to update my own wardrobe with others' cast-offs. I will report back!

In the meantime, you can pootle over to Almost Frugal from midday where I've written a guest post on how to make your own skincare…

Have a lovely Friday, folks!

Sharing the love

My guest blogger cherry has been popped.

On Friday the lovely Mrs Green at myzerowaste.com is letting me loose on her fab site and giving me five minutes of fame to post about whatever I like. Log on to her site to read my ideas on how to prevent any of your clothing going to landfill.

And in Mrs G’s spirit of sharing I thought I’d take a moment to tell you about a few of my fave blogs and sites out there in interweb land. As you can see by the list to the right of this there are quite a few peeps I recommend but I’m just going to highlight a handful.

My Zero Waste – Mrs Green and family are striving to send little or even no waste to landfill, some weeks the most she puts in her bin is a crisp packet! It’s an inspirational and informative read if you’re trying to reduce your waste.
http://myzerowaste.com/

The Frugal Life – Piper Terrett is a woman who likes a challenge! I’m amazed by her willingness to push herself to think more creatively about life and in the process spend less. If you’re looking after your pennies as well as the planet you must take a look at this blog.
http://frugal-life.spaces.live.com/

Daisy Green Magazine – if you want to know how to be green and glamorous, this is the website for you. There’s tonnes packed in here from make-its to news to interviews to eco travel tips to ethical fashion ideas – they even let me write for them sometimes, bless their hearts! Green doesn’t mean sackcloth and ashes, this site is the proof.
http://www.daisygreenmagazine.co.uk/

Make It and Mend It – want to know how to make jam? Need to makeover a tired piece of furniture? Have some useful knowledge you want to share with others? All that and more is at Make It and Mend It’s website. It’s run by smart, inspirational women who seem to have expert knowledge in any area you can think of, but always want to learn more.
http://www.makeitandmendit.com/

Ginger and George – Kirsty Neale is a dear old friend of mine but that doesn’t take away from the undeniable fact that she is the most creative person I know! The tutorials she generously posts on her blog are so inspirational they’ll have you rushing to find old buttons, scraps of fabric, stamps and spare card. Plus, Kirsty explains each make step by step so even clueless me has a fighting chance, and she tells you where to find all the bits you need! Marvellous.
http://kirstyneale.typepad.com/gingerandgeorge/

Right, that is a handful, literally, of my fave interweb folks. However, I could ramble on for reams about all the blogs and sites I love. So, instead of reading my waffle, check out the ‘Blogs and websites I like’ list (yes, very imaginatively labelled) at your leisure.

Let me know your fave websites and bloggers, I’d love to add more to my collection!

Hemp – don ’ t smoke it, wear it

Hemp, you may be pleased or not to hear, belongs to the cannabis family but doesn't share its better-known cousin's uses. It can be grown in the European union (France is the biggest producer) but the United States Government won't differentiate between industrial hemp and marijuana and so refuses to allow the plant to be grown in US soil. However, the USA imports more hemp than any other country. 

Industrial hemp is an environmentally-friendly plant – it grows fast and, according to Defra, less energy is used to grow and process hemp than cotton, and it needs fewer pesticide sprays. Plus it has a wide range of uses:

• Its fibres can be used to make fabric, paper and rope, or strengthen concrete
• As a culinary tool – its seeds are rammed with essential fatty acids, its leaves can be eaten in salad and its oil tastes nutty
• Hemp seed oil can also be used to make beauty products

So, if they should choose to, a person could put hemp on their skin, wear it, write on it, eat it and be in a building made with it!

Hemp products are becoming more common although they're easier to find on the internet than the high street. I have a fab pair of green hemp trainers (they look a bit like Converse) from www.naturalcollection.com, my husband has a multi-tasking bag from www.sativabags.com and his flip-flops (shame the weather isn't co-operating) are from www.ethicalwares.com. I've yet to find hemp clothing which fits my taste and wallet but when I find them I'll let you know!