Recycle your reed diffuser.

Since time slowed down a little, I tried to pay more attention to the little things that make living a little more creative :)

It came like the above but I made it mine like the bottom:

That was to replace the long-gone-smell reed diffuser that I have.  I got the 'Edgar Allan Poe' replacement from Sundays that smells absolutely sweet and lovely :) I recycled the one that I have, removing the out-dated stickies and glue-y stuff (you can get a bottle of Glue Remover from Homefix), and renewed its look with dainty lace.  Just add fragrance and a few reeds and viola!  Good as new :)

I'm on leave today.  That's why.  Ahuh ;)

Have an awesome Labour Day tomorrow! x

Inner garments.

A lot of people have been asking me of late, how to recycle this, how to recycle that and the best part is... no one knows.  Except for paper, bottles (plastic and glass) and aluminium cans.  Even these three items, we're not sure how they are recycled (or processed) but we definitely know how to get rid of them.

So how do you get rid of stuff?

Well... I'll try to find out as much as possible on how to get rid of your general stuff by first avoiding the landfill. Unless absolutely needed, we will not recommend you to bin it (which as you guess, will end up in one of the many bursting landfills in Malaysia).

So, today we will share on what's the best way to recycle your inner garments.

1) Underwear both male and female, adult and kids - because of hygiene purpose, most unfortunately you don't have a choice but to throw them away.  Unless, you have a better suggestion?  (That does not include flipping them over your head and rob the neighbour :Pp)

2) Bras for female - we've contacted a couple of notable lingerie brands and only three came back to us (Xixili, Sloggi and Triumph - we suspect the latter two are connected so the answer is pretty much the same).  They'd recommend you to call a recycle association to check instead but if it's still wearable, drop it at Xixili's boutique (however, they did not mention if it's only exclusive to Xixili brands only - still awaiting their response, so check this space for more information).  As for Sloggi and Triumph, both answers are the same - if they are still wearable, donate them to charity or Salvation Army.  If you google 'recycle bras', you'll also realize how creative some people can get, but... you know what?  Let's keep arts and craft to arts and craft :)

3) Inner thermal wear (or Long Johns) - definitely definitely definitely, people need this in cold countries.  Unfortunately, we really have no answer right now as to which is the best organisation to donate them to, other than Salvation Army.  My suggestion would be... the next time you're travelling to a cold country, bring them along and drop them for charity there instead.  The good thing is, you'll magically create extra space in your luggage for souvenirs :)

Well... hope the above helps.  Next time, we dispose something else :) responsibly

How to reduce paper towel usage for greasy stuff?

Caught this from Lifehacker :) Happy greasing! :D

Clean Grease With Newspaper (and Stop Wasting Paper Towels)

After reading this tip about saving paper towels, reader tdub97 shares another great tip for keeping your consumption down:

Another great way to stop wasting paper towels is instead of using layers of them to absorb grease after cooking fried foods, take a few pages of newspaper and top that with one paper towel. Then put the bacon, or whatever you want to degrease, on top of the paper towel. The towel absorbs the grease, which is then sucked down and absorbed by the underlying newspaper. This not only conserves paper towels (newspapers are a lot cheaper), but it's also is a great way to repurpose old newspaper…Eat bacon, Save a Tree!

What to do with used 'ang pows'?

If you're an avid traveller, then this is the perfect idea for you.  I usually keep all my notes and coins in the same pouch.  Albeit organised, but still cumbersome when I have to pick out the right currency when I'm beckoned to travel.  I keep the Japanese Yen in a separate wallet altogether to save trouble, but the rest was just... :S urgh, especially when it's difficult to differentiate between Cambodian and Thai coins :P

So, here you go.  I'm reusing the 'ang pow' packets from last Chinese New Year to categorise them into countries.  The packets are deep enough to also keep coins, so there you go :) No more picking the wrong notes and getting stranded in a foreign land!

*tada*

Redesigned jewellery travel cases.

Cosmetic brands charge you an exorbitant price for their make-up, they also provide you very stylish premium-looking casing and packaging.  But once you're done with it, and especially if you can't change the refill, it's really quite a waste.  Since the casing is so good looking, I was perplexed to throw it away but at the same time, I don't wanna keep it if it's not functional.

So I've been thinking for awhile on how else I can possibly re-use these blusher casings and last night, it was lightbulb!  I could use it as a jewellery travel case especially if the items are small and fragile.  It comes with a mirror, so it'd be pretty handy too.  Of course, there's a limit to how many pieces you could bring along since the case isn't so big and not very deep.

I tried to 'personalize' it a little bit.  So, one goes vintage and their other one goes... Keith Harring (loud and bold).  For the vintage one, I wish I had a finer-tipped pen.  But I only had one :Pp So... just wanna share with you guys the outcome.  I don't intend to sell them since, they're used.  Well, everything here is used but you know... some people may think it's a ripped off since this is really used used, you get what I mean?  But it's cleaned :) I'm not making much sense right?  But anyway, if you like it, you can have it :) In the spirit of Christmas, I'm gonna give them away if you feel that you have a need for one.  Of course, donations to the Good Samaritan piggy bank is most welcome.  Otherwise, no obligation.  Enjoy :)

The Guerlain Vintage.

The Dior Keith Harring.

Mail me if you want it!

Otherwise it'll be gone for Christmas ;)

Greeting cards to gift tags and coasters.

So this is what I did last night, I've got some greeting cards and decided to recycle them instead of throwing them away. So I made little gift tags in all sizes and two different... 'shapes' and some drink coasters for my colleagues.  Haha, feels like I'm back in school where everyone tags their name on their property :P I thought it was seriously quite cute ;)

So there, you get a free gift tag with your purchases from now on :) And if you need some, don't buy em'!  Get it from me, for free :)

I think these cards may look familiar to some of you, but don't worry... I've got your thoughts and they are close to my heart!  Isn't it more meaningful to have them recycled into second life? :)

 

Yup, all shapes and sizes for all occasions.

My personal mark to tell your recipient that this is 'recycled' :)

I really like this one.

When I folded it then I realized the 2012 was upside down.  And then I realize if you read it upside down, it looks like 7107.  And you know what 7107 stands for?  That's the number of islands that make up the Philippines.  Ha!  You didn't know that did you ;)

Not sure how absorbent the cards are but I reckon they can sustain a few rounds of cold drinks :) Cute huh.

So there, if you're stuck in the office because of the jam, here's an idea for you :) Tidy up your desk and you never know what treasure you'll find and more importantly what you can create out of it.  Happy midweek.

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Greeting card to a stationery stand.

One more card, so more gift cards and one stationery stand.  Someone broke my cow mug that I used to keep all my pens and pencils.  Since, they're forever scattered on my table.  But not anymore! :)

Mint box transform!

I have a nice little mint metal box which obviously ran out of mint.  So I decided to decorate it a little so that it doesn't look so plain (and seriously, I think I over did it and now I don't know how to 'rewind' :Pp).  Anyway, I thought it's quite functional to be used as a jewellery travel box, a pill box, a knick-knack box, whatever small stuff you want a place to keep them safe in.

I'm giving this away for free so if you would like to have it, just comment at the bottom.  Donations are welcome but most definitely not obligated :)

This is how it looked like before:

And how it looks like after.  Honestly, if you ask me... I prefer the 'before' cause I'm a simple plane Jane.  But I just couldn't help but keep drawing these cute little clouds on it :P

And all around it.

So the end product became this:

AND THEN I PAUSED.  I paused.  And I cringed.

Nope.  It's just TOO MUCH.  So I took off everything, cleaned it once again and started from scratch.  And it became this:

I left the clouds floating on their own at the bottom and all around.  And added some stickies to the inside cover to make it a little more cheerful to look at.

Ahhh, nowwww I'm okay and this is ready to go.  Sorry for the shocking design error.  I didn't know what I was doing too and thank God for washable ink ;) Hope you like this! ♥

*100% of the sales proceeds go to charity.  Read more about our cause here.  And if you're feeling kind and would like to encourage us to continue giving, help us by voting The Good Samaritan Shop as the Best CSR Blog category for Social Media Award 2012!