School Holidays Activities

Do you have a problem getting your children to read books that you think will be useful or meaningful for their future? Are these books collecting dust on the book shelves?

My children enjoy sitting at the computer playing games or watching television programmes. Putting two and two together, I had my son watched "Restaurant Makeover" with me and work with him to create a slideshow about what we have picked up from the show and this is the result.

Lessons From the Box

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I think that the best way for children to learn is by getting them to create their own lessons electronically. Work on such lessons with your children and you will not only save some trees but also money from buying more books. And don't forget the quality time you will be able to enjoy with them doing stuff that they enjoy doing too.

Boredom? Doodle that out!

If you are a parent trying to save some bucks, start collecting scrap papers and colouring pencils now for your children and learn to doodle their way out of boredom during the coming long school holiday.

First you will have to pick up some skills from Oistein Kristiansen either on his TV programme, "Cows and Crayons" or on his YouTube Channel, Oistein's Art.

Who is Oistein Kristiansen and what is this about? This video will give you an idea what he is into.



So, what are you waiting for? Learn how to doodle. Once you have your children interested in this creativity, you will not have to enroll them in workshops or take them out to entertainment centres or buy them toys to occupy them during school holidays.

Bad photos? Great for creativity!

On photography, if there is one thing I have picked up, it is that it's nearly impossible to take a good image of every member in the group posing for the photo.

So, what do you do with digital photos where you can see someone displaying an odd expression, strange gestures or weird postures? Maybe it has something to do with the camera or bad lighting, since no one is going to admit that they are bad photographers. Yes, there are going to be photos that will not land up in the photo album. But wait! Don't delete them on sight!

Once you have gotten over those distractions, you will notice that you can still make partial if not full of bad photos with some creativity of cutting, editing and pasting. Check out what I did with my lot.

I found him first!

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So, did you get the green ideas here? Miss them!!!?? OK, here they are:

1) By deleting your digital photos, you are wasting your batteries.
2) By creating your own greeting cards digitally you can save some $ and the environment going paperless.
3) Remember my posting on "The Pain. About Relationships" and how broken families can create wastage? So, make your relationships work by learning to express your love.
4) You will discover many little images of facial expressions that will make great photo ID for the next social media that you sign up for.

So, remember that you don't have to waste batteries taking more photos for that perfect shot. Just go through those bad photos.

Transforming my lanterns

So the mooncake festive event is over. What did I do with the lanterns I made? No, there is no museum in my home to display stuff I have made. I have not reached that status yet.

Here is the lantern for my son dismantled for storage. It can come in handy if there is a fancy dress party for my son to attend. I can turn it upside down and let him use it as a hat.


I would also consider sending my creations to the recycling bins if they are no longer in their pristine condition. But before I do that I usually keep a record of how I have them made.

Check out what I can do with the lantern I created for my daughter.


I can join the pieces together and transform them into a container for storing my electrical plugs.


Make a few more of that and I can use them to store undies for the kids. That should save me the hassle of folding them neatly in their drawers to have them all messed up after each bath. Now that's a neat transformation I will work on.

You think a square container looks better or a round one?



Maybe I should tone down on the colours...


If you are wondering what these containers are made of, you have definitely missed my earlier posting.

Green brooms sweep clean

I just got back from a trip to Beijing and I noticed that the parks and places of interest I visited are very clean. How did they managed that? Nothing high tech. Just some sweepers with brooms they improvised from bamboo stick and branches.





Here is another version of a bamboo broom.



What else can one do with a bamboo broom? Check this out.



Bamboo plants don't grow in your country? There are alternatives.

Lantern for Mooncake Festival

We are celebrating the mooncake festival this Saturday and I have created a lantern for my little girl.


How much do I have to spend for materials? Nothing! It's made up of plastic bags that I have cut into strips to crochet into...

...granny squares...


...to decorate an empty container for cooking oil, with its top cut off.

Here is a closer view of the lantern.


May you have a wonderful time eating delicious mooncakes and drinking good tea by your lanterns.

The cover, a cap? A bag too!

My girl wants a woolen cap for her trip to Beijing in Autumn and I am pondering if I should get her something that she is not likely going to wear again.

She solved the problem for me as she has discovered an alternative from my kitchen.


So, what you do think? Does it look OK? I looked at my mother-in-law for answer and she said, "Make one for me too".

Now what is there to stop me from adding a strap to make it handbag?

Shit? Great for fuel.

Check out how the women in Shaanxi created their abundance from human and animal waste collected.



In seeking for a solution to stop erosion by cutting down trees for fuel, the Shaanxi Mothers won an Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy in 2006 for their efforts.

Not keen about using your excreta to create fuel? How about using food waste? Here is how a homemade anaerobic digesters look like.



Like that? Then let LordVaader show you what components you need and how to assemble them to make your own.

Before they rot, let's make salad.

Don't leave that leftover can of tuna in the fridge. By the time you remember that you still have it there, it is probably no longer safe for consumption. What a waste.

Here is a recipe for tuna salad that you can easily prepare with leftover cabbage, cucumber and an apple.

Salad out of Leftovers

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Yummy, just writing about it.

Greening your home?

Greening your home has noting to do with growing plants all over your house. Archana shared on SlideShare how it is done.

Energy Efficient Home

View more presentations from Archana Kulshrestha. (tags: water harvesting)

If you like this energy and cost saving ideas, also watch "World's Greenest Homes" hosted by Emmanuel Belliveau on HGTV or Discovery Channel.

Reading? Let's try POD!

Give POD, that is, "Print On Demand" books a try. Why buy on POD basis? As the owner, Danny Pollard, himself an author under the pen name D.T. Pollard, said on his website at Good Green Books:

"The traditional method often leads to excess inventory of unsold books and the loss of the energy used to produce them."

So, let's save some energy and trees along the way and go "POD". And before you start reading your new book, take this next step to extend its life.

When School Books Are Free!

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: torn worn)

It's easy to be superheroes.

Yes, it's easy to be superheroes. Just follow Misterjester easy tips and tricks posted on "How To Save The Earth". I promise that you will not be asked to wear your underwear outside your pants.

How To Save The Earth

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: earth save)

Go, hero, go! Go save earth!

Food bits that should have been eaten.

Received this in my email today. It may change your mind about discarding those cut out bits and pieces of food.

==============================================================================
From My InBox:

When eating certain food, there are certain parts which seemingly are useless and should be thrown away. In reality, their nutritional value could be higher than the food itself. Check if you have unknowingly wasted these.

Fish Eyes

Fish eyes, especially markeral family, contain rich quantity of DHA and EPA which are very rare unsaturated fatty acid. The most beneficial property of these natural substances are their abilities to stimulate human brain cells, improve memory and thinking power, and also very helpful in preventing memory decline, high cholesteral and hypertemsion diseases. The common notion suggested that eating certain animal parts would strengthen similar body parts of ours, and this has also be proven correct by clinical experiment where fish eyes are concerned: They can help to reduce the deterioration of eyesight.

Fibers of orange or grapefruit peels

When eating oranges or grapefruits, after removing the peels, do not remove all the fibres that stuck on the fruits. In fact, the fibres contained certain vitamin known as 路丁 [(English term?)], which helps to maintain the elasticity and density of the artery wall, which in turn reduces the danger of bleeding especially the fine arteries. Hypertension patients usually have problem of brain haemorage while diabetic patients retina haemorage. For people with tendency to bleed, especially old people with tendency of artery hardening, eating fibres of oranges and frapefruit peels is particularly helpful.

Bones

The nutritional values of bones are higher than that of the meat. Comparing the nutritional values of Pork bones and pork, the bones contain far more protein, iron, sodium and calories than meat. Bones contain 23% more protein than milk powder, 61% more than beef, three time as much as pork and more than double that of eggs. It has abundance of essential minerals that human requires, like 磷脂質 that are needed by the brain, 磷蛋白, 蛋氨酸 for the liver, 氨基酸, vitamins A, B1 and B2, as well as 類粘朊 and 骨膠元 [bone gels?] that are useful for slowing the aging. The best part is, when boiled in soup, its nutritions become more readily absorbed by human body than plant-based food.

Chili Leaves

Chili leaves contains complete range of 蛋白氨基酸 [amino acid?]. almost 4 times compared to the chili fruits. It also contains more than double what chili fruits have of 元素硒 , which are anti-cancerous substance. On top of that, chili leaves are rich in calcium, beta carotene, various vitamins and other nutrients. Eating a suitable quantity of chili leaves enhances secreation of digestive juices, improves appetite and are good for indigestions, gastric and s tom ach discomfort. Regular intake of chili leaves also help in warming body, strengthen liver, improve eyesight, reduce weight and improve beauty. Chili leaves is tasty and can either be cooked alone, frying with meat or making soup.

Save water? Found a way.

Do you feel that your children do not value water? Note that they are when they do one of the following:

1) Take long baths.
2) Don't turn off the tap properly.
3) Don't finish the water in their school containers.
4) Play water when they should be cleaning or watering the plants.

As soon as you see one of these signs indicating that they have taken water for granted, "shock and awe" them with this video.



You never know, they may be inspired to create their own version of "Watercone".

Need tools? Borrow them!

Check out "Design for the World" and decide what kind of message you have for the inhabitants of the world.

Design for the World

view presentation (tags: mfa design manifesto social)

From these slides, my search for "Eco Design Foundation" led me to iShareStuff. This is the place you can go to if you want to save money and reduce waste by sharing stuff you have or need with friends and family.

So, before you buy infrequently used products or tools, register to take a look at what other users would be happy to lend you first. Like the idea? Then post what you are willing to lend and earn yourself more space in your home.

Find time to check out the following websites from the slides to see if any of them share your ideals. Share your designs on the world for a better tomorrow.

• Design Altruism Project

• Designers without Borders

• Design for Development

• Design for Social Impact

• Design for the World

• Eco Design Foundation

• New Economics Foundation

• The Graphic Imperative (Posters for Peace, Social Justice, and the Environment)

Pencils too short? Check this out...

I have shown you how I managed to make use of colour pencils when they become too short to hold. So, do you throw them away once they are no longer practical to hold on to?

I bet you will not if you can create work like this with them.

Pencil Art

Tags: Pencil Art

Containers that conserve.

I think these are neat containers. There are three different sizes, one bigger than the next so that you can store one inside another thus saving storage space. There is also a handle on top to hold spoons that came with each container.



I like it that the rim at the top of the container can be removed.



I do not have to pour my bag of sugar into the container. I just slip the whole bag into it...



...and then slip the rim on top of the plastic bag...



...before I put the cover back on.



That means that I do not have to wash the inside of the container when that pack of sugar is used up. I just slip a new packet in.

What a great water and time saving idea.

Too poor for tools? Check this out.

Have you ever attended courses that require you to buy tools or equipment to learn? I have when I attended a costume jewellery making course. The specialised tools required are rather expensive but I have no regrets acquiring them because I managed to pick up the craft.

However, I noticed that a number of my course mates were regretting making the investment when they realised that this was not for them after all.

So, before you take up any courses, try to find free tutorials available on the web and improvise tools that you need. Maybe you have friends who can teach you a trick a two. See how things go before you put more money or efforts into learning.

Another good example would be wood carving. Before you buy the wood or tools, try working with bars of soap.

| View | Upload your own

Soap are soft enough so you do not need specialised carving tools as yet. You can try using the tool for popping pimples or blackheads. If the creations did not turn out well, throw them into your bath or use them to wash the toilet together with the shavings.

Following are some tools used in my creations that I have improvised from...

Balloon Stick

Supplement Bottles


...and substitute materials that I have used or thought of using:

Strings for Raquets

Magazine / Junkmail

Fishing tools

Cords from Paper Bag

So, don't waste your hard earned cash. Look out for more postings on "Substitute Material" or "Improvised Tools".

Need photos? Put down that digital camera!

According to Japanese camera industry's statistics, a digital camera uses about twice as much resource and energy compared to the old fashion film camera of the same grade or price. I have a big collection of used batteries to confirm this statement by Ryuji Suzuki of Silver Grain, a company that supplies environmental friendly photographic chemicals.

But going digital is so convenient when there is a need to share lots of photos electronically. So, what can an environmentally conscious blogger like me, who post lots of photos on my blog, do about it?

I put down my digital camera and did a search to learn more about the AAA batteries I have been using. According to Cnet:

1) Rechargeable Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) based batteries are better for the environment than disposables.

2) The lithium type disposable batteries tend to last the longest and make cameras speedier compared to alkaline, oxy-alkaline.

3) Alkalines batteries do not last long and so is not good for the environment

I am on a look out for battery conservation tips and here are some I have spotted:

1) Turn off your digital camera when not in use.
2) LCD viewfinder drains battery.
3) Control using the playback mode after each shot.
4) Compact Flash cards use less power compared to the miniature MicroDrive media hard drives.

I rather like the write up by Health Care Without Harm about the recycling and disposal options of all kind of batteries used in the health care industries. Reading it will give you an idea of the kind of hazardous material each type of battery would produce.

I am also on a look out for sources of free graphics and photos for my blogs.

Make me keep yours.

I think that it is a challenge buying gifts for friends and relatives; that is, unless you do not mind the time and money spent getting them and realised later that they are not appreciated.

Money don't hang on trees! So, what can you do to reduce wastage in gifts? Me? I work on getting the "Oh! range" of gifts. "Oh! range"? What's that?

Just take a long at this orange and think, what factors would make the recipient said, "Oh! She remembers what I like".



And these are the "Oh! range" to look into getting.

1) If it is not orange in colour, what is the choice of colours seen in the car driven, bags used, walls painted, clothes worn, etc?

2) If it is not tangy, sweet or sour, what are the preferred flavours?

3) If it is not orange for fruit, what is the pet liking in fruits, pets, movie stars, games, collections, self, etc? Self? For example, a person who is born in the year of dog or who is a dog lover would appreciate this bone shaped paper clips and doggy photo holder, right?



4) If it is not small and round, what is the size and shape preferred? Example, buying your friend or family member a puzzle set of The Louvre Pyramids in Paris, France maybe boring but when you highlighted to that person that the triangular shape of The Louvre represents the fire element in his or her birth year. That would grade it an "Oh! She researched on the type of gifts to give me" range. Sound mighty cool if the gift is for a foreigner friend, right? I love doing that and I have even created a Feng Shui chart to help me out.



So, what if you received gifts that are not within your "Oh! range"? They are always ways to play around with unwanted gifts. So, before you consider giving or worse yet, throwing them away, read about "Added Value Junk" first.

I love it when my creative juices are squeezed out into a cuppa of blogs just looking at cut outs from a junk mail. While others may call that cheap thrills, I like to think that I have hit my green pleasure buttons.

Want to know what "Oh!range" I am still working on?

It's, "Oh! They could still remember my birthday!!!"