Wednesday, July 13, 2011

I judge you and your plastic bags.

I admit it.  I'm a plastic bag judger.  A couple years ago we went on a sailboat ride with the Monterey Aquarium where they showed us all sorts of nasty plastic bits that momma birds feed their baby birds thinking that it is food and then the baby birds aren't hungry because their tummies are filled with plastic, and, well, you can see where this going, can't you?  So I use my reusable bags all the time and yes I judge those with a cart full of bird- and otter-killing plastic bags.  Anyway, every time I pick up these four out of the back of the car, I always think to myself, "this would make a great color combo!"
So when I sat down to make a set of notecards for my great-aunt's birthday (she's also getting yesterday's birthday card), I decided to finally use that color scheme, with an added touch of orange.
 This is a Stampabilities stamp, one of the first that I bought when I started stamping.  It always bothered me that it wasn't full-card size, but it turned out to be perfect for this.  I embossed it on PTI Ripe Avocado, Hibiscus Burst, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, and Summer Sunrise.  Then I cut each panel into thirds.  They're not actually equal thirds because the middle portion is a wee bit bigger, since there happened to be two little dots at the bottom that made it easy to cut each panel so they would all match up, plus it kept the center flourish mostly intact.  Then I wrote out a random pattern on a scratch sheet:
BOG
PBO
GPB
OGP
because otherwise I would have sat there for days trying each of the 24 different color schemes.  It turned out that the blue/green bordered a pink/orange and vice versa, which I think ended up looking really good for not being planned that way.  Matted with black, then added the sentiments from PTI's Vintage Picnic and Vintage Picnic Sentiments (special thanks to the Picnik photo editor for ruining my spelling of "picnic" forever).  Now I just need to (postage) stamp the envelopes, wrap a cute belly band around them, and send them off to my great-aunt!

Would you like to know who else I judge?  Water-bottle drinkers.  Oh, I know, I used to be one of you, too (and still am when there's no other choice, like behind airport security), until the aforementioned "Here baby bird, Momma caught you a nice colorful piece of fish, swallow it down!  I'll take care of you! Wait, why are you not hungry...?" heart-string tugging.  Now, instead of taking a plastic bottle to school every day, I fill up one of these:
Click the pic for the amazon link.
That price is the cheapest I've seen it--I paid about $20 for mine.  But it is AWESOME.  Let me give you my spiel about it:
1) No condensation!  I can stick it straight in my bag with all my papers with no worries.
2) Screw-off top makes it easy to fill with ice cubes.  
3) But don't fill it too much because this baby stays cold!  We use them when we drive to Houston (12 hours) and there is usually still ice in it, even if we only filled it halfway.  (note: this is not recommended for hot drinks, just cold ones)
4) You don't have to screw off the top to drink.  Instead you just unlock it and press the button and you have the perfect sized drink spout.  This is my favorite thing about it, since most bottles have either the sports-cap or a huge top that gets water everywhere.
5) You save baby birds and otters!  Hooray!

Before I go, one last shameless plug for a Gallery Idol vote!  Voting ends Thursday at noon with the reveal of the top 15 on Friday.  Thanks again for all the well-wishes and votes!  So many warm fuzzies! :)

13 comments:

Emily (stampingout on SCS) said...

You have me chuckling, Meg! I am a big Aldi's shopper so I do use recycle bags, but I am one of those peeps you look upon with scorn-I go through LOTS of water bottles a day (sorry). I will have to work on it!
That is definitely one amazing color combination. Your aunt is one lucky lady to get those beautiful cards.
Have a great day!

karen h said...

Oooh, I hate plastic too! Thanks for the link to the to-go cup. Another place to get rid of bags are those produce bags (sometimes you can go without them, but sometimes you need them). I bought some nice, light-weight mesh bags at reuseit.com and love them.

Your cards are so cool - you are right, those bags do make a great color combo.

Lindsey said...

Meg, you may have the most fun collection of reusable bags I've seen! Although I do have two Vancouver Olympics ones. :D
And to think those bags inspired this super-elegant set of notecards! They are totally gorgeous. And look at all that stamping! ;)

Emily Leiphart said...

Yes, I'm a plastic bag judger, too! Here, you have to pay five cents for one but I've been using fabric bags for years, long before they started charging for them. Five cents isn't enough. It should be a dollar or two! THEN more people will think twice.

That is a really sad story about the birds and otters. I know about the dangers of garbage in the oceans, etc. but having plastic clogged stomachs is really icky. :( Not only that, plastic bags are made with oil so... you get the story! It's ALL BAD.

I use SIGG bottles for all my family's drinks, especially Damian's 'cause you know all those studies about plastic residue altering DNA and stuff. Even ickier.

Gorgeous card set, BTW! I love that stamp. It looks so much like the Hero Arts fabric background that I want! LOVE how you did the panels in different colours. Your great-aunt is sure to love them!

Ok, that was the longest comment ever. :)

Emily Keaton said...

Love, love, love that note card set, Meg!! The damask is gorgeous. What a creative and elegant gift set!

yyam said...

Really beautiful cards! Love the colors!:)

I use my own bags and I bring a bottle out too! :)

Jocelyn Olson said...

Good reminder about the animals and bags (sad to think about). Your notecards are so beautiful! Love the colors! I really like how you divided the panels. I love your bags (much cuter than my ugly ones)....great inspiration.

Maria@Crafty Cre8tions said...

First off - I love how you came up with the color combo!! I find myself looking at advertisements or even colorful shirts saying "hmm, that would make a nice card" lol
What a great card set :)

I agree with what you are saying about the plastic bags...........but I'm guilty. I have two-three recycle bags in my car, but NEVER remember to bring them in the store! DOH!

But.........I have to say..........I DO REUSE my plastic bags.......and that's to scoop doggy poop 4 days/week at the Humane Society.......so, although I'm not the most 'optimal' green person..........these bags aren't just going in the trash (well, they are...but w/ stinky stuff in it!)


Maria

Angela said...

Ah, my sister in judgment...I started using cloth bags over a decade ago when I got my first apartment and furnished it almost entirely with garage-sale finds -- folks were selling their early-90s-era cloth bags for a nickel a piece! Grocery-store clerks gave me weird looks for years. Then Oprah said it was cool, and now they're everywhere ;)
Thanks for the tip on the bottle -- we've been using Brita bottles w/built-in filters, but I don't really like sucky tops, so I might need to check the Thermos out!

Cards: fabulous. Of course! Love the blocks.

Lisa Lara said...

I love your post Meg. You crack me up. Love your bags and color combo...those cards are soooooooooooooooo beautiful and professional. Wow.

scrapstampcrazy said...

I am a new follower and a fellow corgi lover. When I saw "Corgi Creations" on the Silhouttes blog I had to come check you out.

Jessi Fogan said...

I'm trying to convince hubby that I NEED that water bottle. We use stainless steel, but the condensation is a big problem. And they just don't stay cool for very long - but at least they don't have sucky tops. One of my guys chews the heck out of those, every time.
Recently the local grocery stores switched to charging for plastic bags, but most people still don't bother. I have a few Sesame Street ones that I got for Mother's Day - they're by Envirosax - and they roll up teeny to fit in my purse. Awesomeness.
Love how you drew your inspiration from something so ever-present. And I love how you had to map out the combos ;) Made me laugh!

Jessi Fogan said...

And dang, even with all that babble I'm pretty sure Emily's comment is still longer. Well, darn. Better luck next time ;)