Great Green Goods - Shopping the Eco-friendly Way! » Green Books

Fantastic Recycled Plastic

green — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:25:56 +0000

Working entirely with post-consumer recyclable plastics, artist David Edgar started creating creatures from the sea in the form of fish with sizes ranging to small pieces of jewelry up to large wall hangings. He has since moved into making jellyfish lamps. He was having so much fun making these creatures, he got together with his wife and wrote a book. You don’t have to be an artist to enjoy Fantastic Recycled Plastic. Just reading and viewing the full-color pages will inspire you to recycle, learn more about plastic, and appreciate the art. Makes me want to start saving my detergent bottles.

Here’s one of his pins available for sale on Plastiquarium’s Etsy Shop

From the Plastiquarium:
Bluetail Reef Cruiser 23 x 36 x 5

Snub-Nosed Green Feeder 21 x 36 x 4

The Big Mouth 15 x 20 x 5

Fantastic Recycled Plastic: 30 Clever Creations to Spark Your Imagination [Paperback] by David Edgar and Robin A. Edgar is available on Amazon

Make the most of a bad habit

green — Sun, 15 May 2011 03:49:05 +0000

I find these small books made out of recycled cigarette packaging fascinating! Artist Julia Reyes from Biloxi Mississippi displays work in her Etsy store (juliareyesart) created mostly from recycled or upcycled materials. She is quite the talented book binder…her work ranges from recycled cigarette packaging to recycled produce boxes to upcycled scrap leather. Viewing her books makes me want to stop writing this post and go make something!! If you are in need of a sketchbook or notepad and don’t want to settle for the same old same old, check out her unusual books.
Books start at $5.50 at Juliareyesart’s Etsy Shop

Recycled Home Decor – Inspiration and Motivation

green — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 04:00:18 +0000

Spring is on the way! and it brings me some motivation to gussy up the house and get it looking its best. What better way to go about a home renovation project than to use green design principles and decorate using sustainable materials and repurposed items? If “recycled treasure” is your passion and clean beautiful arrangements of your rooms is your desire, then this is a great book for you. Full of inspiration! This is a “Country Living” book which rarely disappoints to deliver brilliant ideas and stellar photography. If you want a home to feel comfy while being ecofriendly, this book will help to point you the way to create your space originally, economically and with healthy materials and green principles.
$15.29 at AMAZON

Recycled Home by Mark and Sally Bailey received “so-so” reviews on Amazon. Positive reviews mentioned its clever ideas and beautiful photography. The one negative reviewer thought the cover was the books best feature. I perused this book at the book store and spent quite a bit of time getting lost in the clean interiors filled with fun found objects. I thought it had a lot of good ideas.
$19.77 at Amazon

Recycled gloves and socks

green — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 20:53:48 +0000

Nothing sadder than a lonely glove drifting around the house looking for its long lost “other”. Never fear!! …here are new ways to give a new lease on life as a squirrel, an elephant, a penguin, a donkey, or a bunny. The artist behind these transformations is Miyako Kanamori from Tokyo, Japan. Check out Miyako Kanamori’s adorable website here. Full instructions to make this squirrel can be found on the Etsy website. Miyako has two books:


Happy Gloves: Charming Softy Friends Made from Colorful Gloves	Sock and Glove: Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-Off Socks and Gloves

Recycled Bottle Caps EXTREME EDITION

green — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:27:21 +0000

Made completely from recycled materials: the caps, of course, the backings are made from scrap copper and the sterling silver bezels are made from reclaimed silver.
$35.00 at Art By Elissa’s Etsy Shop

This etsy shop is filled with inspiring words that you can choose for your recycled bottle cap necklace. Check out their website, I find it joyously hope-filled!
$10.00 each at Syncopation’s Etsy Shop

The talented John T Unger, famous for his recycled Fire Bowls, also works his artistic magic in this fine Folk Art tradition with recycled bottle caps. This fish is made from a mixed palette of blue bottle caps with a white face of Becks caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. Absolutely stunning! Dimensions: 12.5″ high by 44″ long
$450.00 at John T Unger’s Etsy Shop

Imagine what fun jewelry you can create with these recycled bottle cap beads.
About $8.00 each at Glass Garden Beads

Whistle created from vintage recycled bottle caps. No extra charge for the scratches, dents or well seasoned patinas.
$14.00 each (plenty of different caps available) at Loran Scruggs’s Etsy Shop

A recycled bicycle inner tube transformed into a belt studded with Pabst Blue Ribbon recycled bottle caps. The workmanship is visible…you’ll never wear out this baby!!
$50.00 at Kroseadams’s Etsy Shop

From Zimbabwe, a hand painted scene created on a recycled flattened bottle cap.
Each set includes 3 cards and 3 envelopes – $10.50 at World of Good

Bottle cap magnets of peace signs
$12..95 at Beaded Adornment’s Etsy Shop

Bottle Cap Activities : Recycled Crafts for All Ages
According to the reviews, this book seems to be a good mix of simple to sophisticated crafts, with lots of creative projects and a dose of environmental awareness, too.
$17.95 at Amazon

More Recycled P.E.T Plastic Recycled Beauty

green — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:45:50 +0000

Wonderful bowls and jewelry made from recycled PET bottles from architect GULNUR OZDAGLAR GUVENC. No words needed for these beautiful products.

Bowls are $75.00 at Gulguvenc’s Etsy Shop

Necklaces are $80.00 at Gulguvenc’s Etsy Shop
Check out Gulnur Ozdaglar’s blog at http://gulguvenc.blogspot.com/

Take your Pants Off for “Denim Revolution”

green — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:20:45 +0000

Am I the only girl who has 10 pairs of jeans in her closet that she never wears? Artist, Nancy Minsky, from “21st Century Dressmakers” has assembled a crazy compilation of the best ways to make your old duds look great and fashionable again. Check out her website for some fun tutorials or get the book and join the revolution! (everyone at Amazon gave this book 5 stars. many mentioned that it gave clear project directions and many mentioned that it gave great inspiration!)
$14.95 at Amazon

More books for recycled denim projects:

$15.56 – Denim Mania: 25 Stylish Ways to Transform Your Jeans	$13.57 – 99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim
$17.99 – Denim Redesign	$13.59 – Jean Therapy: Denim Deconstruction for the Conscientious Crafter (Domestic Arts for Crafty Girls)
$10.17 – Subversive Seamster: Transform Thrift Store Threads into Street Couture	$15.63 – Altered Style: Sewing & Embellishing Wearable Fashions

Eco Friendly Books For Bringing in the New Year

green — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:26:17 +0000

“Making a Living While Making a Difference: Conscious Careers in an Era of Interdependance, Revised Edition” by Melissa Everett gets lots of 5 star reviews over at Amazon for its usefulness as an informative guide to a working life built on principled choices.
$17.99 at Amazon

“Saving the Earth as a Career: Advice on Becoming a Conservation Professional” by by Malcolm L., Jr. Hunter (Author), David Lindenmayer (Author), Aram Calhoun (Author) Good advice for college students or graduate students.
$14.96 at Amazon

“Careers in Renewable Energy: Get a Green Energy Job” by Gregory McNamee (Author)
2 people over at Amazon gave great reviews to this book as helpful for environmentally conscious readers to find a new career.
$13.60 at Amazon

Placemat with Built-in Napkin Holder – Recycled Rubber

green — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:55:11 +0000

How clever! You get a placemat and napkin holder all in one compact piece!
$19.00 each at Branch

Recycled Rescued Paper Notebook

green — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:00:49 +0000

Hand-printed notebook by British brand Sukie. Made out of 100% rescued recycled paper. We all need a place to write down our deepest thought and wildest dreams.
$19.99 at Mod Cloth