Recycled Planet Earth notebook by Recycled Fibers

Happy Earth Day!  Ok, so what does that really mean?

Earth Day by definition is a noun meaning, a day’s observance of the need to protect the Earth’s environment, in many countries on April 22.
The first Earth Day was organized in 1970 to promote the ideas of ecology, encourage respect for life on earth, and highlight growing concern over pollution of the soil, air, and water. ~dictionary.com

I’m sure there are many ideas about how to celebrate Earth Day. I am seeing adorable Earth Day party favors and all sorts of green ideas on Pinterest. I know a few of my friends that donate their time every year to different community clean-ups and other environmentally friendly efforts.  I think there is an endless array of ideas and ways we can celebrate and give back to our planet.

Maybe you’ve been wanting to start a small kitchen compost, have been meaning to install a low flow shower head, or need to properly recycle all the empty paint and stain cans in the garage (<– on my to-do list).  Whatever the task, if it’s healthy for the planet maybe Earth Day is the perfect excuse to get it done?!

I wanted to share some of the things our family does this week to celebrate.  We use this day of observance to refresh our children (and ourselves) on why it is important to living sustainably.  I use the holiday to get everyone excited about our recycling, upcycling, and repurposing efforts again.   I won’t bore you with everything we do or want to do, but here are the highlights of our young family’s Earth Day discussions:

What can be recycled in our house?

Plastic Resin Codes 1-7, and all paper goods in our city’s curbside recycling program. Styrofoam at the local zoo, ink cartridges at office supply store

What can be upcycled in our house?

Permanently stained or torn t-shirts are turned into stain and paint rags for our shop.

All yogurt containers are cleaned and saved for paint cups.

All magazines are kept for upcycled art and craft projects.

What have we changed since last Earth Day?

We started using cloth napkins.

Started making some of our own natural household cleaners.

Bought everyone in the family bicycles.

What more can we do before Earth Day 2013?

Add a tankless water heater to our home.

Expand the backyard garden plot and compost system.

Install a rain barrel.

Family Activities Planned for this Week

For a little after school craft, we’re painting world maps made of rice.

While doing this week’s gardening chores, we are also going to discuss different types of soils, its importance, and what is grows well in each type.  I collected soil from various places last week and we are going to examine soil types and then create “soil painting” with them.

We will end on Sunday with an Earth Day Family Movie Party.  Fresh popcorn from our new stove top popper, and all the sea creature stuffed animals are invited to watch Disney’s Oceans with us!

We’re keeping it simple but using the holiday to remind us why we do what we do every day!

The Wooden Bee Activities for this week

AND like last year the shop is having a giveaway! In fact, we are having THREE GIVEAWAYS!

April 19th – Wine Cork Magnet Set

April 20th – Beaded Chalkboard Gift Tag

April 21st – Wine Cork Gift Certificate

Three eco-friendly giveaways… three winners selected on Earth Day!

Through our first two years we have recycled and upcycled thousands of feet of wood molding, hundreds of wood doors, and countless wine corks and hardware pieces. All that waste was saved from taking up landfill space, while beautiful pieces of cherry, maple, mahogany and pine passed through our hands and transformed into ecofriendly home decor and other unique items.  We couldn’t have done it without our customers, and we feel blessed for this amazing opportunity.

So, Happy Earth Day. And whatever you do, I hope you enjoy our Earth even more on this day.

Check back soon to enter our giveaways here on our blog!

August seemed to be the month for custom orders. I still have three to finish up but wanted to blog about this awesome order!

Two cherry brown cabinet doors with chalkboard centers and upcycled oak wine corks on two custom made easels. Of course, all the wood is reclaimed.

They were shipped (all 24 pounds) to Denver, CO and will be displayed in someone’s wedding! I thought it was so special.

My husband and I really enjoyed making this order.  We will definitely be making the art easels again. I love how natural they turned out!

One year later, I love my job! I love taking pictures of the completed merchandise. I love getting unique shipments of reclaimed wood and trying to figure out what to do with it. I love discussing custom orders.  I love working with my husband. And, I love that I’m still home with my children.

I thought I’d share some of our annual stats:

• ~Our handmade marketplace is Etsy, and since first listing a reclaimed trivet kit on Sept. 1st, 2010 we have sold 96 items.
• ~We have shipped our reclaimed wood to 29 US states.
• ~We have shipped Internationally to Canada and Austrailia.
• ~We have handcrafted over 50 custom orders here locally in Florida, especially on the east coast.

our first logo

our new logo

Online we have spread our wings. Last year we were featured on many websites! Here are some of the highlights:

• ~featured on a Wine Enthusiast Blog for our wine cork thumb tack tutorial
• ~featured on Upcyclers for the same thumb tack tutorial & then asked to write our own articles on sustainable living
• ~featured on a Handmade Top Ten Eco Etsy List
• ~featured in an online interview with Glue & Glitter
• ~featured in an online interview with Beyond Junk
• ~featured in a business logos article on EcoEtsy
• ~our reclaimed hardware was featured on ReMaryd Originals
• ~winner of a few EcoEtsy design contests for free adverstising

I was well received by the online handmade community. Thank you!!!

So, who wants free stuff?

I can easily say we had an amazing year, so we would like to celebrate with our customers the entire month of August!

To our blog subcribers, those that get every post via email, you can reply to thewoodenbee@gmail.com to request your private 20% coupon code!!! Thank you for listening to me all year!

To celebrate we are also hosting a blog giveaway!

Win this DIY reclaimed wood coaster set!!! Wine cork supplies and shipping are included for a $20 value!  To enter just comment on this post! Yes, that’s it! Leave me a comment and email address and you could win the pictured coaster set! Winner will be selected by random.org on August 16th. (Extra entries for those who subscribe to our blog).

On August 17th, we will kick off our Facebook Giveaway!

You could win this one of a kind completed trivet! Follow us on Facebook and look for details! (Extra entries for those that subscribe to our blog).

To everyone, all month long… shop & save with our coupon code ANNIVERSARY for 10% off your order! Get a jump start on your Holiday shopping with our special anniversary savings! All offers expire on August 31st, 2011.

Good luck and many recycled thanks for making this experience a blessing!
~Bee