Make Your Own Bath Bombs

How can we justify relaxing in the bath when it uses so much water?

• Fit a 'Water To Greywater Diverter Valve' which allows your non-toxic bath water to be collected and used for growing green things. Available for £29.95 from www.green-shopping.co.uk
• Eat a vegetarian or vegan diet. The amount of water that goes into meat production is so huge it equates to 1,500 bath fulls of water to feed a meat eater in a week and 300 to feed a vegetarian compared with just 20 bath fulls of water to feed a vegan for a week. (Obviously these people do not feed on baths of water, I'm talking about the water that goes into food production including each aspect of the food chain).
  
• When washing dishes save energy by rinsing suds off with cold water.

... and now for the bath bomb recipe

Ingredients:

bicarbonate of soda
citric acid
flower water in a spray bottle
essential oil(s) of your choice (10 drops per bomb)
coconut oil / cocoa butter / shea butter (for moisture rich bath bombs)
decoration such as flower petals or glitter
either a silicon ice cube tray (be creative with shapes)-
or grease proof paper and fabric squares cut roughly to 15cm squared

Instructions: Please note that if you plan to use lots of the moisturising ingredients then it is best to use the fabric option (which makes more of a slightly fizzy bath melt) rather than trying to make solid bath bombs in a mould.

• Put 3-1 bicarbonate of soda to citric acid in a mixing bowl. Mix
  
• Add moisturising ingredients. Mix
• If going for the fabric option add all other ingredients (except flower water which is not needed in this option). Mix. Package about 1tbls into the centre of a square of grease proof paper lining the fabric square. Tie with ribbon.
• If you'd rather make a more solid and fizzy shape. Add the flower water & essential oil to spray bottle. Shake. Spray a little onto mixture stirring quickly to reduce premature fizzing.
• Add petals / glitter to the bottom of the mould. Add a little of the mixture to the mould, shake spray bottle, spritz lightly, press down firmly, add more mixture and repeat... and repeat (this can take some time) It is important that each bath bomb is tightly packed and well pressed down.
  
• Leave the mould in a dry place such as an airing cupboard for a few hours or overnight. Carefully press the bottom of the mould taking each bath bomb out individually. If the shapes do not turn out as desired you could crumble them into fizzy bath dust and store it in an attractive jar which you have been waiting to re-use.
• Have a bath or give to someone else to enjoy!
  

Tea Bags by SwapDerby

swapderby@gmail.com

Tote bags made from unwanted T-shirts, a genious idea by Sophie Powell from Swap Derby. Swap Derby is Derby's very own clothes swapping co-ordinator who can be found at many events such as the recent Eco Fest, a festival of all things eco held in Derby last weekend (mid Sept each year).
Most of these bags feature inside pockets made from the T-shirt sleeve, they can be made to order from swapderby@gmail.com or if your feeling creative and have an old T-shirt to recycle have a go yourself.
Simple ideas make such a difference...this is a photo of four less plastic bags floating in the sea that could potentially cause the death of a turtle by suffocation...or four less 'eco' bags made using unsustainable resources.

Vintage shop of the week, vintage is elegant recycling

A truly wonderful vintage shop which is like walking into a huge wardrobe from the past.

I bought an amazing vintage 70's kimono (I'll post a photo when I have one) which makes me feel as elegant as a geisha when I hold my arms out to reveal the beautiful rectangle sleeves of dark blue silk with striking red lining. Some good accessories to be had & a gentlemans department with a good variety for the vitage chap.

DollyMix Vintage
17a + b Cank Street
Leicester tel: 0116 253 83 48

Tips for Eco Chic Conscious Fashion

The idea of Eco Chic is to get the best results in the most ethical manner.

Arrange clothes swapping parties with your friends. This is also a great social opportunity, everyone brings with them 1-5 outfits that they no longer wear, and everyone has fun trying on outfits perhaps over a glass of fair-trade wine or fruit juice? It’s always handy to have a sewing machine to hand (and a friend who knows how to use it!) so items can be altered and customized. The left over clothes are normally donated to charity.
Variations: This can be done as a fund raiser by charging for tickets (£5 for a new outfit sounds very reasonable). Swapping children’s clothes is a great idea and could be suggested to your child’s school’s PTA as a fundraising idea which will also benefit parents financially.

Freecycle. Get yourself onto the freecycle network, a grassroots movement of people giving and getting stuff for free from their local area. Particularly great if you’re in the process of moving house or want to change your interior design with little or no cost! Go to http://www.freecycle.org for more info.

Vintage. Choosing vintage or second hand isn’t just quirky and elegant (depending on time era) it’s also a great way of reusing which is still supporting the economy often via independent shops and charity shops. Please see my website for a directory of recommended local vintage shops.

Cook enough food for the next day to save gas/electric or packaging of prepackaged lunches! You could get yourself a stylish re usable bag to carry this around in (I prefer cotton bags as they can be washed). Go to morsbags.com to find out about sociable guerilla bagging.

Natural cosmetics make such a difference! For a start they can be much more nurturing to your skin and feel more luxurious. If we consider natural products in more depth, it becomes apparent that the benefits extend beyond ourselves, what goes down the plughole and into our water system doesn’t contain the potentially harmful/ toxic chemicals belonging to synthetic products and organic products in particular tend to be produced in a way that is far more respectful to the environment. These products are often more friendly to our personal environments, children in particular can be very sensitive to synthetic chemical smells which are thought to be damaging to the immune system, many offices in the US have banned synthetic perfumes.

Natural products often use aromatherapy by containing essential oils so there are often huge benefits to be had.

Grow your own herbs & veg to reduce food miles, I grow mine in an old pair of Wellingtons which is a cute addition to my garden. Visit the green back yard in Peterborough for tips, workshops and a community growing space. http://www.thegreenbackyard.com