Tote Bag - E is for Environmentally Friendly

The last time I went to Berkeley Bowl, I swear I didn't see a plastic bag in sight. Everyone had brought their own canvas bags. It's a great thing that this is catching on. I just have to make sure to remember it as I'm leaving the apartment on a grocery run.

I went to Joann's and bought the biggest canvas bag that I could find. This thing can fit an amazing amount of groceries. I'll have to sew in a piece of vinyl or something to reinforce the bottom, though, because a lot of groceries can get heavy. I loved this yellow "E" that I found. I think my bag looks very collegiate and it's UC Berkeley colors of course.

Sweater Pillow

So I finally made my pillow which also required me to learn how to use a sewing machine. My roommate Diana graciously taught me how to thread the needle and bobbin. I decided not to use terry cloth because I saw this cute blanket made out of a thermal/sweater material at Target for $10. The great thing is, the material has lines on it which made it easy to guide my sewing. I bought a 24'x24' pillow from Joann's. Click the picture to see an enlarged image.

Materials:

Sewing Machine
Thread
Towel or other large piece of fabric
Ready-made pillow insert (24'x24')

Instructions:

Click here to be directed to Martha Stewart's website.

The Best Fruit Salad

This is, in my opinion, the best combination of fruits for a fruit salad especially since tropical fruit is my favorite kind :).

1 ripe Mango
1 Red Papaya
2 Kiwis
1 small container of Raspberries

And, because it's always fun to see why certain delicious foods are good for you, here is some nutritious info about papayas:

"The most common use for papaya is to aid digestion. Papayas are the only natural source of papain, an effective natural digestive aid, which breaks down protein and cleanses the digestive track. This means less food settles into the metabolism and becomes fat, making papayas’ natural digestive properties an advantage to people trying to lose weight — especially for people who may cheat on their diets, said Homero Levy de Barros, president and CEO, Caliman International.

But in addition to assisting the body in digestion, papayas pack a nutritional wallop. Known as a “nutritional masterpiece,” papayas are rich in vitamin C, folate, and potassium. They are also good sources of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin E, the eye-saving carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, and lycopene. A papaya has a lycopene level of about 2,000 ug per 100g (or 3,000 ug in one slice of papaya of 150g)."

Source: http://health.learninginfo.org/

Martha Stewart Crafts

Marthastewart.com had listed some crafts that I thought were adorable. My next project will be the terry-cloth pillows. But, I'll list the other ones here that I thought were particularly clever. The pictures are linked to their respective web pages.

Terry Pillows

One of the reviewers of this craft on the martha stewart website said that she lies on these when her hair is wet. That's a great idea, but I want to make them because terry cloth is easy to wash and is a very cozy fabric.

Picnic Blanket with Tarp

I thought this was such a great way to keep a blanket relatively clean when sitting on it outside.

Tote Bags

















I need another big canvas bag to bring with me when I go grocery shopping. It would be fun to decorate my own.

Jewelry Box


















Jewelry boxes are quite expensive and this just seems like a very unique, inexpensive, and organized way to store jewelry.