Reusable "Unpaper" Towels; Eco-Friendly; Keep Paper Towels Out of Your Home; Keep 3000 Tons of Trash Out of the Landfills

A full 90% of American households use paper towels for cleaning every day. And after every paper towel is used to clean up a spill, dry someone's hands, or get that spot off the stove, it heads into the trash. And then into the landfill.

Thus, the saga of the paper towel is complete, explaining why a massive 3,000 tons of waste get thrown in the landfill every day because of them. It's a pretty daunting figure; 3,000 tons of anything heading to the landfill is pretty shocking. But when it's something as light—and seemingly frivolous as paper towels—it's especially striking.

We can help you solve this problem in your household:
Don't use them. Just don't. Keep them out of your home.
Preposterous, you say? Think of all the times you use paper towels throughout the day? They are so easy to grab while sitting on your counter on your paper towel rack. Now, which of those times couldn't you instead employ a reusable cloth or towel instead of a disposable one? To wipe off the stove? Nope. To clean up a spill on the floor? Still no.

Your first response will probably be the fact that you will increase your wash load but it is definitely worth it. There's just no good reason to contribute to the tons of landfill waste we've already got on our hands. It's so much better to clean with zero waste.

Now, I'm sure you don't want to keep some ugly towels or rags sitting on your counter so this is where we come in. Wouldn't you feel much better if you had this beautiful roll of towels sitting on your counter?

I absolutely fell in love with this owl print and it matches the Lime Green with White Butterflies so perfectly! And when you thought it couldn't get any cuter, we added a beautiful decorative stitching.

 When my husband cooks, he loves to have a towel hanging on the stove that he can just grab to wipe his hands on. That sparked the idea for the added hanger that we include with out sets.

Now you ask, where can I get a set of these? You are in luck! We have added 4 sets to our Etsy shop in 4 different print combinations and are working to add more. So if you don't see a set you like, check back often as the store will continually grow.

https://www.etsy.com/your/listings?ref=si_your_shop

Puppy Love

It's the last Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge of 2010 and am just now getting into doing sketch challenges. They have the most wonderful sketch this week by Arlana Patten and I know you'll want to try it out as I did!

The sponsor this week is Jodie at Bugaboo Stamps. The Grand Prize winner this week will receive 7 digi stamps from Bugaboo.

For my card, I've chosen "Puppy Love - Envelope" from Bugaboo. I'm getting ready to start working on my Valentine's Day Cards and this is a perfect start.

.

I used Kraft Paper and Designer Paper from DCWV The Stack 6. The paper matched beautifully with the Kraft Color.

I used Copic Markers to color in the Puppy and Hearts. I used E37, E42,

N4, N7, N10, R12, R14, R29, R32, R43, R46, and YR14. I cut out the puppy with my Oval Nesties.

I used Pink cardstock to a make the scallop runner and then added Brown and Pink Polka Dotted Ribbon to run above it.  I added a Pink striped button and added the Brown and White stripped Ribbon to make a bow.

The inside has been completed with "Happy Valentine's Day" and the card comes with a stamped matching envelope.

This card can be purchased at my Etsy Shop here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bring on the Cake

This birthday card was made using paper from the DCWV Animal Crackers Stack. 

The hippo is so cute and we didn't want it hidden under embellishments, so we place the Prima Flowers and ribbon on the side.

The ribbon was placed in a position to make it look like it was wrapped around the card and then brought up through the flowers to finish it off.

The inside of the card has been stamped with Happy Birthday. This card would be perfect for any upcoming child birthday.

Ultimate Card Organizer (Including 8 Cards)

Throughout the years we have made several cards that have been stored away waiting for the perfect moment to mail. These cards ended up being placed in different areas and sometimes not found until years later. We have created a helpful organizer to easily store all of your cards for future mailing! We have tested this organizer over the past couple of months in our own households and found no flaws. It has made sending any occasion cards easier than ever. All your cards are in one place.


We have created this organizer to sell on our Etsy.com Shop (Click Here) and will add more organizers as soon as possible.




This organizer is a purple "Really Useful Box" with locking handles, which perfectly fits a standard size handmade card. This box is made out of hard plastic and can fit over 80 cards.
Size: Approximately 6"H x 7"W x 9.75"L





Within we have included 6 tabs to help you organize your cards. The categories are as follows:
"Birthday"
"Congratulations"
"Holidays"
"Thank You"
"Thinking Of You"
"Other"




When buying The Ultimate Card Organizer, you will receive 8 CraftASmile handmade cards.
(2) Birthday Cards
(1) Congratulations Card
(2) Holiday Cards
(1) Thank You Card
(1) Thinking of You Card
(1) Other - Blank for personalization

Below I have provided specific details and photos of each card within this organizer.





#1 Birthday Card - 3 Growing Flowers


This birthday card is approximately 5.5" x 4.25" on craft paper. The background is designer paper in which I cut diagonally to expose the craft paper underneath.



I matched 3 Prima flowers with 3 buttons of like color. Tied natural colored twine around each button and glued them together with glue dots. Each flower has added Stickles for a glittery shine on each petal. I attached them to the card with the same glue dots and created a stem with green Stickles drawn in a wave from each flower to the bottom of the card.



Using black ink, I hand stamped "Happy Birthday" in the top right-hand side of the card to complete the front.

The inside of the card is the same designer paper pattern used on the front, and has an added white sheet for personalization. The card comes with a matching stamped envelope.




#2 Birthday Card - Long Living Turtle




This birthday card is approximately 5.5" x 4.25" on Olive Green cardstock. I used a turtle stamp Versamark to add a watermark-like image creating a background pattern. I cut a strip of patterned designer paper to lay across the card, and sponged around it with black ink to give a shadow. I used the "Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live." stamp. I pasted this in the top left hand side of the card using the same sponging technique.




The accented turtle was stamped on white paper with black ink. I used "Green" and "Diamond" Stickles to color him with a glittery look. After sponging around the cut out turtle, I used pop dots to give him a 3D look.

The inside of this card has the same Versamark pattern hand stamped on the inside of the card. I stamped "Happy Birthday" on a white piece of paper and layered it on top of the same patterned paper found on the front, before centering it in the middle of the card. The card comes with a matching stamped envelope.


#3 Congratulations - Baby Stroller & Feet Charm

This New Baby card is perfect for congratulating anyone on a new arrival! This card is approximately 5.5" x 4.25".



I hand stamped the carriage on white paper and colored it using various Copic markers. I accented parts of the carriage with purple Stickles, creating a glimmer effect. After using my Big Shot Express to cut out the carriage, I then sponged the border with a purple ink.



Loving the layered look, I used a patterned light green paper underneath the carriage, and a strip of dark purple under that. Using a tab punch, I created a tab which says "Baby" attaching it to the top of the dark purple strip. Accents include a white and green polka dot ribbon creating a bow down the right hand side. The green Prima flower has a button center with a charm of baby's feet clipped on with a lobster claw. All colors of the embellishments and accents tie into the background designer paper.



 The inside of the card has a dark purple background with a white area to personalize around a small stamped saying of, "Happy New Baby." This card comes with a matching hand stamped envelope.


#4 Holiday - Happy Thanksgiving Fall Leaves & Pumpkin


This Thanksgiving card sends warm wishes of the new season in a simple way.
The card is approximately 5.5" x 4.25". The craft card base adds a natural touch to the obvious message it provides. "Happy Thanksgiving" was hand stamped onto the off-white card stock along with randomly placed maple leaves stamped around the words.




These are given an aged look by adding colored dust to smear the image providing a shadow. This is then layered onto a dark brown card stock and mounted to the card base.



Final touches are a felt pumpkin and a brown twine that created a nice bow on the top left corner which ties in the whole card.



The inside is blank on an off white color allowing you the chance to personalize a thankful message. This card comes with a white envelope.


#5 Holiday - Seasons Greetings Curious Snowman


This fun snowman card adds a smile to any recipient.

The card is approximately 5.5" x 4.25". The snowman was stamped on white card stock and colored with Copic markers. The "Snow" is inside a plastic dome creating a snowglobe-like effect.



 Using white ink I hand stamped a full page of snowballs to create a patterned background onto light blue card stock. I stamped 4 trees at the bottom, added some glue and attached more "Snow".



A white ribbon added a extra bit of winter to the whole card and tied in the snow. "Season's Greetings" was stamped with black ink above the snowman.



 Inside the card had a light blue pattern, and a white sheet for you to personalize your greeting. This card comes with a matching hand stamped envelope.


#6 Thank You - Vintage Butterfly


This thank you card has a vintage touch and invites you to say thanks!

This card is approximately 5.5" x 4.25". The designer paper background sets the tone for the card. I colored the butterflies in a way to keep the vintage colors.




The bottom left butterfly was accented with gold glitter dust and pop dotted to add a 3D effect.



I used natural twine to add a bow to give it more of a sophisticated look.



 The inside of the card is an off white color card stock with "Thank You" stamped in the middle. This card comes with a white envelope.


#7 Thinking Of You - Polka Dot Notebook



This card is approximately 5.5" x 4.25", on white card stock. I was going for a card which looked like a latching notebook. I picked a simple designer paper pattern for the background, and found 2 Prima flowers to match. I attached a "Smile" charm with a brad and added a piece of craft paper to give the illusion of a strap to the card.



 The inside of the card is simple enough to allow for personalization. I added the same pattern as the front of the card and layered craft paper on top with a stamped "Thinking Of You". This card comes with a matching hand stamped white envelope.


#8 Other - 3 Flower "Be Happy"



 The flower background came from the DCWV "The Blossoms & Butterflies Stack." I used pink "Magic Mesh" as a textured background behind my accent flowers.



The bottom layer of the flowers are simply colored cardstock cut out with a hand punch, outlined in "Star Dust", "Turquoise", and "Orange Peel" Stickles. The second layer is Prima flowers.





The flowers and "Be Happy" charm are held together with colored brads. Lastly, to add a 3D effect, I pop dotted the flowers to the Magic Mesh.

The inside of the card has the same pattern from the front of the card as the bottom background. I left it blank as this card is perfect for any message you would like. Just simply stamp or hand write your message to finalize the card! This card comes with a matching hand stamped envelope.

All cards are made from a smoke free- home.
To purchase this card organizer, visit my Etsy.com shop, Located Here.