A reader emailed me to ask for suggestions for green holiday decorations, hopefully ones that she could make by recycling stacks of catalogs and magazines piling up. My mailbox has also been fuller than normal. Here are a few options for decorations you can make with those stacks of shiny colored papers.

Magazine Bead Garland

I first marveled at this paper craft at age five, when I would pour though my big 1970s craft book. It’s a great alternative to popcorn and cranberries--you won’t eat the craft materials, and the garland will last for years to come. I've also seen crafters use paper beads to make bowls and toys, so you could make paper-bead gifts for everyone on your list, if you're inspired.

Materials: Magazine pages; scissors; glue; toothpicks; fine string, thread, or fishing line; extra craft beads for decoration

Instructions:

• Cut strips from magazine. You cam measure them into perfect rectangles, which will make tubular beads, or cut them into long triangles, the length of the page, which I think make for more interesting beads.
  
• Starting with one end (the wider if you’re cutting triangles) of the picture, put a dab of glue on the outside (side to be rolled over).


• Roll the strip around the toothpick. The glue will hold the center together and the toothpick will allow room to string the beads together later.


• At the last 1/4 inch of the roll, put a dab of glue on the underside of the paper. This will keep the roll from coming apart.


• Remove toothpick and allow to dry.


• Repeat with other strips.


• String the beads, alternating between round craft beads and long magazine beads, onto a piece of string, thread, or fishing line.

Origami Garlands and Ornaments

I love the tradition of folding and stringing origami cranes for good luck. And there’s not need to buy special paper to make them. Use your junk mail, and string them as a holiday garlands, or using them individually as ornaments. See this site for great illustrations on many folds.

Wrapping Paper and Envelopes

This may seem too obvious, but magazines make attractive free wrapping paper for small boxes. (My sister and I try to one-up each other with clever links between wrapping and gift.) Use the paper shredder to turn magazines into pretty stuffing for boxes. You can also fold pages up to make one-of-a-kind (almost) envelopes. Use a glue stick to easily stick the envelope together.

Collage and Cards

If you like to collage or make cards, you may find it helpful to think of the catalogs or magazines not as images, but as fields of color that you can cut up and use as you would any sort of pretty paper. If you have one, set a bored child down with stack of catalogs, some scissors, and have them cut out and sort snippets of each color, making stacks of red, orange, yellow, etc. Collages made from these rips look especially interesting.

Do you have any other favorite paper-recycling holiday crafts?

These days almost everyone is feeling the pinch in their wallets. Why not use this as an incentive to become more green? Not only will you be doing well for the earth, but you’ll also be keeping more green in your wallet. Here are some ideas to help you get started. We’ll start with things most of you have already heard, but sometimes I think it helps to be reminded of them.

Go green at home and save on your bills.
• Take shorter showers.
• Unplug unused electronics such as cell phone or laptop chargers. These 'vampires' still use energy even if they are not plugged into what they charge.
• Remember to turn off the light when leaving the room.
• Dry your clothes on a clothesline.

Save on gas.
• Walk, bike or take public transportation.
• Run multiple errands on one trip.
• Keep your tires inflated properly.

Instead of buying new movies or going out to the theatre, why not exchange one of the movies you have sitting around that you never watch? Swaptree is a great website where you can trade not only movies, but books and CDs as well. List what you have, list what you want and Swaptree alerts you when a trade is available. You can also see all the items you can get with the things you are offering to trade.

Eating out can add up. If you eat out on a regular basis, try cooking at home more often. Browse recipes sites like All Recipes or Epicurious for great recipes. If you need some inspiration (or just want to see some gorgeous photos of food) visit Tastespotting. If you aren’t used to cooking or don’t enjoy it, start simple with recipes that have a small ingredient list. And websites like All Recipes and Epicurious allow you to browse recipes by a “quick & easy” category.

Consider getting things fixed before throwing them out and buying a new replacement. The other day I broke off part of the heel of my shoe. Originally I was upset because I thought I would have to get rid of the shoe and buy a new pair. But I quickly remembered a shoe repair business close by and took my shoes there. After spending less than ten dollars, my heel was as good as new. Unfortunately, these days many items are not meant to be fixed and their intended lifespan is very short. Buy with lifespan in mind. Sometimes buying something that is cheap ends up costing you more money when you have to replace it when it breaks. Spending a bit more for quality-made items that will last a long time will save you in the long run.

The holiday season is creeping up. It’s not too early to start thinking about your holiday shopping list now. With some friends or family, you may be able to convince them not to buy you and your family gifts and instead exchange babysitting duties so that each couple can have a date night. You kill two birds with one stone by not having to purchase a gift and getting a free babysitter!

Please share any green ideas you have that have saved you money!

Economy got you down? Get back up with a new attitude and focus on the positive.

The current financial climate has many parents feeling concerned about the economic well-being of their families. The fear of job instability, a troubled housing market and lost savings in a souring economy can make a parent feel much less tranquil.

You might have noticed that the more attention and focus you give your fears, the bigger they seem and your options appear to shrink. While I don’t recommend being in denial or ignoring the facts of your life, I do know that keeping your attention on what is going well and maintaining a positive attitude can go a long way towards discovering a solution when you feel challenged.

Be creative: Often, the most difficult times awaken your inner resourcefulness. Think back on a time in your life when you successfully navigated a challenging situation. Likely, you applied your creative energy to reach a better outcome. By connecting to your inner resources instead of fear, you are more likely to take actions that will have more beneficial results. Here are some questions to ask yourself to inspire creative thinking:

• What is going well for me right now and why?


• Who do I know that is doing things differently and succeeding?


• What do I want to experience right now? What is the first thing I can do to move in that direction?

Reach out to your community and share resources. Instead of feeling competitive for assumed limited resources, think about how you might pool resources with your community members. Sharing childcare, working together on money-earning projects, sharing housing with another like-minded family, putting on clothing swaps and growing a neighborhood garden are all connected ways to work together.

Live your values. Now, more than ever, it is vital to live from your personal values. Maybe you have always believed in driving less and saving gas but have never taken the effort to make it a reality. Perhaps shopping locally makes good sense to you, but the big retailer is just down the street. Now is the time to put your money where your values are.

Learn more about simplicity and sustainability. One great way to save money is to practice simplicity. So much of the current crisis in our economy is due to living beyond our means in a very unsustainable way. If simplicity is a new concept to you or you want to deepen your understanding of the value of consciously choosing simplicity, Janet Luhr’s The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living is a great resource. Living simply does not mean you have to move out of your house and live in a tent or confine your budget to ten dollars per day! Living simply means making conscious choices to use less, eliminating waste and delighting in having less to worry about. Keep in mind the old saying: the more you have, the more you have to worry about.

Redefine abundance! Consider that living an abundant life can mean being healthy, fulfilled and having loving relationships. By connecting with gratitude for the gifts you have right now in your life, you will be more in touch with what is truly important to you. What does abundance mean to you?

We all want to provide for our families and live in a thriving world, with opportunities and personal freedom. Collectively, the more often we choose sustainable lifestyles and live from our personal values, the more likely we are to create an economy which supports those practices and creates a healthier financial climate for families.