Congratulations!

Please email me your mailing address and I will send your fat quarters :)

Thank you everyone SO much for the lovely comments and for playing along. I will be doing another giveaway soon. So stay tuned. :)

Giveaway :: Fabric Fat Quarters :: Last Chance

Today is the last day to enter the fabric fat quarter giveaway. Go here to leave a comment and be entered to win :) Winner will be announced tomorrow.

Happy Earth Day: Going Green

Happy Earth Day! I posted this post last year for Earth Day and wanted to revisit the links, ideas and info for today :) Some of the info and links have been updated - Enjoy!

"...To me, being intentionally eco-friendly has more to do with celebrating God’s creativity, being wise with what He’s given us, and passing on those values to the next generation than it does with pressing some government agenda.

The thing I love most about practicing green alternatives in my home is that nine times out of ten, they are the more frugal option. And I love being frugal. Being environmentally-friendly is just good economics – in our home and budget, and with the earth God gave us." - Tsh Oxenreider of Simple Mom

Reusable Grocery (or anything) Bags

Some staggering statistics about plastic bags:

+ Introduced just over 25 years ago, the ugly truth about our plastic bag addiction is that society's consumption rate is now estimated at well over 500,000,000,000 (that's 500 billion) plastic bags annually, or almost 1 million per minute.

+ Single-use bags made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) are the main culprit. Once brought into existence to tote your purchases, they'll accumulate and persist on our planet for up to 1,000 years.

+ The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store.

+ Each high quality reusable bag you use has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime. The bag will pay for itself if your grocery store offers a $.05 or $.10 credit per bag for bringing your own bags. (Source)
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At our house, we have become very consistent with always taking reusable grocery bags. Most stores we grocery shop at (Target, Lowes Foods) offer a $.05 credit per bag used when you bring your own. Check with your local grocer and see if they do the same!

+ A fabulous idea/tutorial about making your own reusable produce bags. Check it out!

+ 50 Reusable Grocery Bags You Can Make: Free Patterns. Go here to check it out.

+ Another fabulous tutorial on youtube about how to make your own reusable bags! I have made a few of these. Click below to watch.



Household Cleaning
Brands such as Seventh Generation, Method, Biokleen, Mrs. Meyers, and more have developed tons of excellent cleaning products for a healthier environment. I use Method's Hardwood Floor cleaner and was thoroughly impressed with the results (and it smelled good too, like almonds :)). I also purchased Seventh Generation's Natural all-purpose cleaner with no toxic chemicals and it smelled not good, but did a fabulous job cleaning my counters and cutting through grease on my stovetop.

Now, if you would rather make your own cleaning materials, I often refer to these websites - they have great "recipes" as well as tips on how to get things around your home sparkling clean. You'd be surprised at just how much vinegar and baking soda can do. WOW!
Vinegar and Baking Soda Recipes
Tips for using Vinegar to clean
Natural Home Cleaning Recipes including all-purpose cleaner, dishwashing liquids, laundry cleaning, bathroom cleaning, kitchen cleaning and much more


Around the House

Amazon's Tips on Making Your Kitchen Green
Amazon's Tips for a Greener Bathroom
Amazon's Toys Bestsellers in Eco-Friendly and Green Toys

For You and Your Family:
40 Tips to Go Green at Home from SimpleMom. This is a FABULOUS list - check it out. :)

What about you? Any tips or ideas on being more "green"? What ways have you changed your day-to-day living to be more eco-friendly, or what would you like to start doing to be more eco-friendly?

Giveaway :: Fabric Fat Quarters

Happy Thursday! I haven't done a giveaway in awhile and decided it was time do one :) So I went to one of my fave fabric shops (conveniently located right across the street from my neighborhood ;)) and found these beautiful coordinating fat quarters -- including Amy Butler fabric, beautiful stripes, and fabulous "Make Life Creative" fabric. Love it. I might have to go get more and make a bag or notepad holder :)

So the giveaway: 3 fat quarters of coordinating fabric. Leave a comment to enter. International entries welcome. Additional ways to enter (leave a comment for each):

+ Become a follower of The Creative Place (you may enter an additional comment if you are already a follower or subscribe via email, rss, etc)

+ Blog, Tweet or Facebook about the giveaway with a link to the giveaway.

Giveaway will run through Tuesday, April 26. I will post a winner on Wednesday, April 27.

Spring and Summer Art Journal :: 2011 Goals

One of my 2011 Business and Blog Goals is to release 15 new items in my shop. Today I listed item #1 - an Art Journal.

A super cute mixed paper art journal ready for spring and summer. A great place to document the spring and summer season, a vacation or holiday, this little book is full of beautiful papers, new and found. Papers include decorative wax papers, found papers (including vintage sewing pattern paper!) and envelopes, a doily and tags, a Hambly overlay and gorgeous Martha Stewart paper- this little book is fabulous. Size is 4"x6" with a distressed cardboard cover including a ruffled moda fabric tag. The back is a super thick chipboard. 21 interior pages and 2 binder rings, so pages can be moved around or flipped.

Announcements :: Ashlee Proffitt Design

My sweet and very dear friend Ashlee offered to do baby Joshua's birth announcements as a gift- I was SO super excited to have her do them :) I received them the other day - they are gorgeous, from the fabulous design to the linen paper they are printed on, to the beautiful packaging. I am excited to send them out soon :)

A huge thank you to my sweet friend! She is a super talented designer - designing everything from announcements, invitations to personal notecards and party items - check out her etsy shop here and her beautiful and inspiring blog here. Thanks, Ashlee! Love you, friend :)

Food: Sweet Cherry Pie

My new fave blog to find amazing recipes (and photography) is Annie's Eats. I found this recipe the other day and just had to make it. Recipe originally from Cook's Illustrated.

Sweet Cherry Pie

Ingredients:
Two crusts pie dough (found in the refrigerated section of your grocery, or make your own)
2 red plums, halved and pitted
6 cups pitted, halved sweet cherries (or 6 cups pitted frozen cherries), divided
½ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp. instant tapioca, ground
Pinch of ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces

1 large egg lightly beaten with 1 tsp. water

Directions:
To make the filling, process the plums and 1 cup of the cherries in a food processor or blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain the the puree through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids. Add the remaining cherries, sugar, salt, lemon juice, tapioca and cinnamon to the bowl. Mix well to combine; let stand for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F and place a baking sheet on an oven rack. Line a 9-inch pie plate with a round of pie dough. Transfer the cherry mixture to the dough-lined pie plate. Scatter the butter pieces evenly over the fruit. Top with the second round of pie dough. Pinch the edges of the dough together in a fluted pattern. Brush the top evenly with the egg wash. Using a sharp paring knife, cut 8 evenly spaced slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Place the pie in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350˚ F and continue baking about 30-40 minutes more, until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature so the filling has time to set up and thicken, 2-3 hours. Slice and serve.