Monthly Archives: September 2012

Hulbert Street Sustainability Fiesta 2012

Posted in Life of Olive, Media, Perth by

The annual Hulbert Street Sustainability Fiesta is clearly becoming a beautiful tradition for many West Aussie families! Held every September it is a massive celebration of those that have chosen to tread lighter on the planet. Whether you are looking for ideas on how to make your home a bit greener, tools that can make ‘eco choices’ a bit more accessible or you just want to get down and celebrate with good company, food and music – Hulbert Street has you covered. Here are some of my highlights from the day.

For a gold coin donation you are permitted entry into the festival and we were met with a sustainable red carpet! Anyone who chose to ride to the festival received the star treatment… a valeted bike parking service, complete with people cheering them down the red runway. I spoke to Rebecca from Freo Cycle Chic (she is also a professional Earthcarer!) and on their first day they parked a massive 150 bikes and judging by the growing queue they would be surpassing that record for the Sunday. 

There was loads of music and entertainment throughout the day including belly-dancing, singing, ukulele players as well as… well, I don’t know what you call this particular type of music so I will just call it ‘Plinky Plonky’ Music! Awesome atmosphere.

We then stumbled upon the Sustainabilitree (my favorite bit of the day). On recycled card love hearts people were asked to write down their green hopes and dreams and then tie them onto the branches of the tree. Not only did the tree look absolutely fabulous but it gave your heart that nice fuzzy feeling just reading all the comments. I get to meet my daughter in 9 weeks and I have always wanted to make a tradition where every morning she writes down something that she is grateful for! After seeing the Sustainabilitree I have decided that this will be how we do it and we will have our own magic tree in the home which we can use to cheer us up and remind us of how lucky we are.

Mine and my dear friend Kat’s ‘heart leaves’

There were also loads of yummy places and things to eat. There was a small fruit juice stand manned completely by under 12′s and they were making an absolute packet. For 50cents you good get a freshly squeezed, homegrown juice (Limeade was amazing) in a reusable plastic cup. After you finished your drink the little greenies washed up the cups and the cycle continued on. A traditional lemonade stand without those nasty single-use plastic cups.

Gorgeous hubby supping away on his Blood Orange and Tangello Juice in a reusable cup!

There were all sorts of amazing cuisines from El Salvadorian food (Tamales and Pupusa’s) to Spanish Quesadilla’s full of spinach and kidney beans and covered in herbs AKA yummy flat things with yummy things on top. But my fave of the day was the all natural icy poles. They had the most amazing flavours from Raspberry and Hibiscus, Salted Caramel and (the absolute winner in my books!) Cucumber, Lime and Chilli. Flavour explosion!

Orange and Rose vs. Cucumber Lime and Chilli… I WIN!

All along the street were educational stalls which not only had the adults looking but seemed to have so many kids interested as well! I feel like I am officially getting old when I start commenting on how great it is to see young kids getting so interested in living sustainably. But hell – get me my walking cane and tea cosy…. if that makes me old I am cool with it. Taking of awesome older folk, I also spied the cutest Sunday Best hats ever…

A young chap pondering the importance of renewable energy!

And of course there were also the Hulbert Street House Tours. Homes literally opened up their doors allowing anyone and everyone inside to inspect how they live and provide inspiration for people to draw upon for their own homes. From edible landscapes to underground water tanks (for particularly squishy urban blocks) these homes really demonstrate that you don’t need to live on a massive plot of land to become largely self-sustaining!

An idea that I ABSOLUTELY LOVED and hope to be able to implement on my own street one day was the book exchange. What a great way to bring a community together and instill a feeling of trust amongst it! Just a simple tin shed, full of books that anyone can borrow at any time. Functioning off a self monitored Honesty Policy I think it may just be the cutest library I have ever visited.

And on top of all that it was just a lovely place to be with family and friends. We were lucky enough to spend with day with a super gorgeous family comprised of my very dear friend Kat (from Eco Empire), her fusband and her mischievous little 4-month Fox. We were able to roam the streets and I even managed to get a roadside tutorial from her about Cloth Nappies – yep, I had never seen (let alone changed) a real life nappy before! I am about to get a baptism of fire. All in all it was a fabulous day. If you haven’t gotten down there before I sincerely recommend you block out some time for next year. It is a wonderful event that really renews your passion and hope in community togetherness.

Me and Kat

A very cute fam!

Oh… neck tickles are just the best!

With my lovebug.

Oh and word to the wise… do not leave anything unattended or you run the risk of … YARN BOMBING.

Goodwill Wines – Plonk That Makes You Feel Good!

Posted in Animals, Environment, Food, Issues, People by

I have always said that if it was more socially acceptable, I would have wine on my muesli for breakfast. Well… looks like my dreams came true! I would like to shine the spotlight on one of my absolute favourite Australian companies – Goodwill Wine. Wine with a conscience? Fill me up, Buttercup!

The Bittersweet Background Story

Human kindness rises from the ashes.

I am sure the Black Saturday bushfires will replay in the nightmares of many Australians. I think of it as one of the “I remember where I was when” moments. The founders of Goodwill, David Laity and Ali Rees, were two of the many that lost all their worldly goods (home and job) in the fire but – most importantly – escaped with their lives. They credit the unwavering kindness and support they received in these tough times as the reason they were able to make it through and rebuild. Moving forward they vowed to use kindness as way of rebuilding their own future! Using funds donated from the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal (read the touching thank-you section here), Goodwill Wine is paying it forward and sending some seriously good karma out into the world. I love nothing more than those that refuse to become victims and instead choose to make any situation (no matter how Black) bright again!

The Concept

An example of a Goodwill Wine Label (this one supporting CFA)

Goodwill Wine is an online wine store with a massive difference. Firstly they are dedicated to sourcing the best quality boutique wine from independent wineries across Australia. In their own words “We are not about making money from bulk, cheap wine. Our commitment is to quality.” But the major draw is that they are a licensed fundraiser which pledges 50% of the profit (a minimum of $20 per case) to a charity of your choice! You even get a pretty customised label dedicated to your charity.

The Charities They Support

Any registered charity or NFP in Australia!!! Goodwill have a massive list of profiled charities which come with their own customised label (see the list here) or you can choose the generic ‘Goodwill Label’ and select any registered organisation in Australia to receive the profit of your purchase! Most of the charities have a green focus on conservation and animal rights/welfare and if you can think of a charity that would benefit Goodwill implore you to contact them and they will try their darndest to get them involved. Another benefit is you can click on any charity profile and see how much Goodwill has donated to them so far – here is the Animals Australia page to show what I mean or see the image below.

An example of the Edgars Mission charity profile

The Wine

There is a seriously large range of wine to choose from – see them all here. You can buy a minimum of 6 bottles and then the amounts range from 12, 24 (case) and some allow up to 60 bottles of the same wine at a time. For all you vegans out there they even have Vegan Mixed cases without any of those nasty fining agents!

The Environmental Cred

Goodwill Wine not only uses 100% recycled cartons but they also offset all their freighting around the country with Greenfleet (another super company!) planting a variety of native trees in permanent forests that help to reduce soil erosion and provide essential habitat for native wildlife! Are you as in love with this company as I am?

All in all…

I can’t think of more reasons to love and support this company and along with it some truly deserving charities. Coming up to Christmas I am already putting my orders in and can’t wait to tell the receivers of each bottle about the company and spread the good word. If you work in a company that gifts wine bottles to Clients why not suggest using them? This company is checking all the boxes and I am sure now that you know about them you will choose to support them too!

It’s simple: Good Wine, Good Price, Goodwill.

Upcycled Tin Cans

Posted in DIY, Eco Home, Plastic-Free, Upcycling by

Since cutting plastic out of my life I don’t really have to deal with too much wasted food packaging. However, I am English which means there is some packaging that will never be truly banished from my world: the humble aluminium casing that temporarily houses my baked beans! Due to my jacket-tatty-with-beans addiction I have accumulated quite a few of these cans and while they are recyclable I much prefer to reuse where I can. Then while I was cruising the interwebs I spied the below picture and got all inspired…

What a sweet and clever idea! So I decided to expand on that and instead cover my cans with pretty paper – because my cans would not look as gorgeously rustic as those pictured… it would literally just be a big collection of Heinz beans cans! Either way I think the results are gorgeous and this would make a gorgeous eco solution for a wedding centerpieces which would hardly break the budget (the whole project cost me $12). Best thing about this project – it was unbelievably quick and simple.

What You’ll Need

  • Washed tin cans
  • Pretty paper (a standard can will get use half a sheet)
  • Ruler (Steel ruler would be best for accuracy)
  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • Glue gun

Method

Wash all your tin cans thoroughly and remove labels. Having little remnants of paper is fine – they may even help with the adhesion of the paper.

Without glue, wrap a sheet of paper around the width of the can (to see the amount you will need). I always allow for a 2cm overlap.

Fold the excess amount back over itself. You can then cut along the crease line.

Then measure the length of the can as accurately as possible. If you want to have a little leeway make sure you cut the paper a little thinner rather than leaving it a little too wide – you don’t want the paper taller than the can as it will fray and get messy.

Now you are ready to roll (literally). Apply a stripe of glue along one end of the paper (the shorter end that will go across the height of the can).

Carefully place and stick the paper onto the can keeping it as straight as possible.

Once the paper is stuck to the can, flip it over so that you can see the underside of the paper and apply 4 lines of glue – along the top, middle, bottom and side of the paper. Carefully (and as quickly as possible so the glue doesn’t dry) roll the paper around the can.

If the edge of the paper is not completely stuck down apply small blobs of glue to the corners. You don’t want the blobs to be too big as they may squish out and look untidy.

And Voila!!! Repeat this for each of your cans until you have a beautiful assortment of colours and patterns.

Once you have your assortment of cans fill them with flowers and/or tea lights and use them as a centre-piece for a table or a beautiful feature on a side table or shelf.

If filling them with flowers here are two things to consider;

  1. You will have to be very careful with water as the new coating is paper and will ruin if it is wet
  2. Try to avoid cut flowers from stores! As I explained in this post they are often imported and wrapped in plastic. The ones I have used in this picture are a mixture of weeds from the verge-side in my suburb or a few flowers from my own garden. I can’t wait until my lavender bushes really kick off for this very purpose!

Anyway… here are a few more pictures. Happy crafting!

Add some tea-lights for some extra pretty mood lighting!

Since completing this project I have seen that loads of people have done similar with their old tin cans. You can follow me on Pinterest here but for the moment here are some special mentions of some other gorgeous tin can upcycling projects…

Such a stunning arrangement for a baby shower from Bump Smitten.com

Pretty pen pots from Craft Gawker.com

More storage tins… this time with ribbons! From The Ornament Girl.com/blog/

Classic White Votive Tins from One Womens Haven.blogspot.com.au

I’ve Been A Busy-Bee!

Posted in Eco Home, Life of Olive, Upcycling, Wellness by

Aloha! I am back in my blogging chair after my husband and I decided we were well in need of a Babymoon: basically our final romantic, responsibility-free break before the two of us become a three-piece set! It has been really lovely though unfortunately this little Bowerbird has officially caught the ‘nesting bug’ and so relaxing turned more into renovating, decorating and gardening. Here is what we got up to.

Stormy Skies

We launched the trip with a family getaway to Yallingup. Unfortunately we probably couldn’t have picked worse timing weatherwise and we were pretty much confined indoors due to some fairly hairy storm activity. This being said, is there anything more humbling and gob-smackingly beautiful than a really stormy beach? Walking along it reminded me of one of my all time favourite songs ‘I Like Giants’ by Kimya Dawson (honestly… treat yourself to this chirpy little tune here).:

I’m smaller than a poppy seed inside a great big bowl.

And the ocean is a giant that can swallow me whole!

So I swim for all salvation and I swim to save my soul.

But my soul is just a whisper trapped inside a tornado.

So I flip to my back and I float and I sing

“I am grounded, I am humble, I am one with everything!”

We did get a few rain free moments though;

And we also managed to fit in a few of my favourite pastimes of pregnant life. Namely… pancakes.

Lots of dECOrating

I never thought the ‘nesting’ phenomenon was a real thing but I can now categorically vouch for it. The greatest part is that you don’t need to sacrifice style or comfort when creating that dream eco sanctuary of yours. Over this holiday I have managed to score the most amazing treasures that are all low impact on the environment – in fact considering I have saved a lot from landfill they actually have done the environment a favour! I will be blogging more thoroughly about Eco Interiors later, but in the meantime here are some of my latest steals;

Finds, Frames and Family - Apart from the 7 black photo frames, everything on this wall has been found kerbside, in a secondhand store or one Gumtree. This was just a boring wall of nothingness and now it is full of treasures – each one with its own story. From my op-shop photo frames ($1 each) to the little brown suitcase that I found in the rain ($0) … this whole wall cost about $80.

The 60′s Buffet – We spotted this beauty on Gumtree for $80 and it was love at first sight. My husband and I are still in two minds whether to upcycle it to be more colourful (there is a certain charm in its original form) and we have already lost hours sitting together in front of it – cups of tea in hand – just pondering the possibilities. We will keep you posted.

Instagram @oliveonblonde

The Only Plastic Allowed In My House! I love colour and I am especially fond of blue! So this rug caught my eye for a number of reasons. Other than the gorgeous paisley pattern I was especially excited to discover it is made from 100% recycled straws. On our morning beach walks my husband and I pick up whatever rubbish we see (Take 3!!!) and I am always upset with the huuuge amount of straws I find. So turning trash into treasure married a lot of my favorite notions together into one bright, happy dream rug. You can see the whole selection of Fab Rugs here or read about them here. They are also reversible and because they are plastic can be used outside and hosed off if need be. Win, Win, WIN!

Instagram @oliveonblonde

The Trunk! – Without my glasses I am blind as a bat which makes me think that this little trunk belongs with me. I spotted it on a kerb, like a tiny snippet between two cars as we drove by at a fairly high speed. I mentioned that I thought I saw something great but the let it go as we were in a frustrating area to turn around. But the more I thought about it the more I knew there was a real diamond that was going to be scrapped so we turned around and I am so glad. This baby needs some love but I cannot wait to add some bright florals, clean up the metal and put it all back together. You literally pay hundreds for these in vintage stores!!!

Instagram @oliveonblonde

Oxfam 3things

I have also been spending a lot of time chatting to a lovely lady named Catherine from Oxfam. We have been chatting because I will now be their official blogger from the West posting about all things social justice, environment and general pop culture. 3Things is a fantastic initiative that asks everyone to consider this simple question;

What are 3things that you can do to help change the world?

It encourages everyday people to take matters into their own hands – ‘do stuff‘ and ‘learn stuff’.  Read all about here or maybe check out some of the 3things that everyday Aussies have committed to already (here). I am so excited to be part of the Oxfam team and after my training finishes will be blogging full steam ahead as of next week. What are your 3things?

Image courtesy of Oxfam

Creating An Edible Sanctuary

Just a light bit of reading.

What was once a fleeting aspiration has now developed into a full blown obsession – I dream of turning my despairing patch of grass into a plentiful, self-sustaining, wildlife sanctuary. This urge to grow all my own fruit and veg is a culmination of a lot of lifestyle choices – a desire to consume only organic produce, live plastic-free, have my daughter grow up foraging in our garden as well as saving our soon to be single-income. Besides these motivations though, there are also covenants attached to my grand plan. I want my garden to attract birds and bees with lots of native plants. I want it to be extremely water wise – this means goodbye to a fair share of the lawn! I want it to be a place that my family loves to be and spends most of our time together. And I want… for my darling husband… a pond that he can lose hours staring at!

Dreams in lead scratchings

I can’t wait to show you the progress over the next few months and prove to myself that you don’t have to be a green-thumb to be self-sustaining. I have already been out there with my beloved Dad turning my hundreds or sketches and measurements into realities. Unfortunately I may have pushed myself a little hard for a 6 month pregnant lass and that led to the final chapter of my holiday…

…Sick

As a constant reminder to listen to your body I am now very, very unwell. After such a busy busy holiday I am now bed ridden with a nasty cold, the return of the dreaded morning sickness and the onset of Braxton Hicks (which can come on from over-exertion – Whoops!). So (like the Wellness Warrior described in this post) I will for once listen to my body and remain cuddled in bed with my Pug and my Allen and take a bit of a Savasana. But I must say it has been great getting back to blogging (I genuinely miss it when I don’t!) and I can’t wait to share all my upcoming eco-adventures with you!