Cheers to a sustainable season! With shopping options like Etsy Earth.com we can keep the spirit of the holidays green. Etsy Earth is an online boutique–a collection of Etsy shops with a serious commitment to handmade, environmentally-friendly products that never include artificial additives, synthetic preservatives, harmful pesticides or toxic chemicals.

I must offer up  full disclosure here–I do PR for Etsy Earth. I do not exclusively support Etsy Earth by any means; I represent a range of companies and events. I do, however, believe wholeheartedly in the imaginative, wonderful and affordable Etsy Earth products. Here’s a random sampling, with more gift options at Etsy Earth:

Eco Chic Hand Knits, Organic Nesting Bowls – $35.00

Celina Mancurti Linen Place Mats - $30

Green Girls Global, Relic tee – $26

Nicolet Candle Company, Twigs & Berries Soy Candle – $15

Green Springs, Lip Service – $3.50 and Lavender Face Food – $20

Infusion, Eco Toes – $45

Soap Nuts, Nine Lucky Stars - $19/lb

Ecoleeko, Natural Bock Bock Chicken – $25

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Looking for more ways to shop greener online? MindBodyGreen.com listed five good options:

1. Etsy – If you’re looking for something unique and reasonable to give this season then there’s no better place than Esty. Most of the goods sold on Etsy are either hand-made, vintage, or made from recycled or refurbished materials so it’s also a great place to shop for gifts that are a little greener. You might even want to check out EtsyEarth – they’re a team focused on promoting products on Esty that are sustainable.
2. eBay’s Green Team – With help from our friends over at ecofabulous, eBay put together a “green team” and picked out some of the coolest and greenest products available. Their “green gift guide” will make you a smarter, greener shopper this holiday season.
3. FlowerPetal – Who doesn’t love receiving flowers? The flower industry still has a ways to go in becoming more eco-friendly as most flowers are flown in from South America. Ugh. But, FlowerPetal is a more eco-friendly option as they offset all their carbon via CarbonFund.org and only deal with local florists – so the flowers you send will arrive in a nice vase and won’t be stuffed in a FedEx box.
4. It’s Only Natural Gifts – Looking for some gourmet organic goodies to send? Then It’s Only Natural Gifts might be for you as they have an extensive product selection including items such as fair trade coffee, organic chocolate, body care, baby gifts and more!
5. Greenloop – If you’re shopping for a fashionista, then Greenloop is definitely the place to go. From men’s and women’s clothing to accessories and shoes, Greenloop carries some of the best when it comes to sustainable shopping: Loomstate, EcoSkin, and Edun are just three of the many fashionable and sustainable options to check out.

Friends and family have been very generous with their time, efforts and gifts lately. This has made me think about offering up skills and belongings that we each have but don’t necessarily know that they could be very useful to someone else. For instance, our family brought these peaches from Utah where they grown in abundance, or my friend Lauren Gregory who graciously offered her design skill to create my snazzy Presently Green logo.

Here’s what got me thinking…A few weekends ago, we were meeting a friend for a bike ride. One of the many bonuses of living in Montana is that you can do something fun while waiting to do something else fun. In this case, we were filling the gap by fishing. BJ rigged up his fly rod and cast into the Gallatin River while I watched from the embankment above.

“Shoot,” I thought, “unlucky cast into that large boulder…looks like quite a snag. He’ll be working on that for awhile.” As I started scanning around for bear, birds and other beasts of interest, he was quietly reeling in the big one. Turns out it wasn’t a boulder at all, it was the biggest trout in his fly fishing history. As he reeled it in, I realized I was empty-handed. No camera. Another catch and release fish would have to go down in history as conjecture. As I was running to the car for the camera I heard BJ’s voice in the dust behind me, “Can you get the shot?” After fumbling around in the car and running back to the scene of the catch, I captured the moment with this blurry shot.

Over the next several hours, I learned the specifics for taking a proper fish shot. Here it is (the result of another successful fishing trip the following day). BJ documented it himself, properly.

The point? It’s a gift to be at-the-ready for a great photo. (Especially if you’re just standing around on an embankment.)

Other ways you can give it if you’ve got it:

Do you have a sweet truck? Help your friends move. Volunteer to load up the recycling for your entire block. Carry a load of mulch for your friend’s garden.

Got some excess food or end-of-the-season garden extras? Take them to your local food bank. And, if you’re the one with the truck, offer to take your neighbors’ extras as well.

Lots of giveaway clothes or costumes? Host a clothing swap where friends bring their clothes to exchange. Or check out Freecycle and Swapmamas.

Maybe you’re a good cook/tennis player/reader/singer/writer/builder/designer/talker/communicator/planner/organizer/early bird/pilot/dancer/parent/fill-in-the blank. You definitely have something to offer and that’s what gives.

The original idea was to build a small sauna in our backyard. It ended up as a letterpress studio for moi. Earlier this summer my husband and his brothers disassembled a small barn from his family’s property in Utah and brought the treasured old barn wood to our yard in Montana. The plan was to build a small outbuilding that would house a sauna for chilly Montana evenings…and maybe there would be extra space for guests to camp out. No part of the plan included importing a three thousand pound letterpress machine and setting up a beautiful studio for me to create eco friendly cards, stationery, invitations and art. But, that’s what happened and I feel incredibly appreciative.

And here is the rest of the story in photos and a few words:

The original Utah barn

I harvested the end-of-summer garden crops and the backyard challenge came to an end when we bulldozed the garden, moved the greenhouse and made way for the foundation to be laid. The new 16 x 20 foundation was the last site I saw before taking off for Utah to pick up my new but very old letterpress.

The story behind the press is that I have always been enamored with the classic letterpress style and the idea of creating art that incorporates words, colors, creativity and environmentally friendly materials & processes thrills me. I also had inspiration from some cool letterpressers out there.

I announced my desire to find and purchase a letterpress machine and my search was on. My father in law (fondly known as Bear) miraculously found a Chandler & Price new series press at a printer outside of Salt Lake City. This was an exceptional find–I could drive and pick up the press rather than having one shipped for one zillion dollars. I hit the road, heading from Montana to Utah feeling comfortable knowing that Bear would go with me to purchase the printer, oversee the heaving lifting project and make sure the Uhaul trailer I had rented was securely attached to our truck. Welllll…when we pulled up to the printer, we realized that the 3,000 lb C & P letterpress dwarfed the Uhaul trailer. Skipping through the pins-and-needles part of the story when I thought I would drive back to Bozeman empty handed…Bear generously suggested we trade in the trailer for a truck that he would drive to Montana. Roadtrip! My mom-in-law, Kath, joined in and we were off the next day. (I am still trying to figure out how to thank them.) Everyone was eager to see the progress BJ was making on the studio back at home.

Bear and Dave the printer loaded ‘er up on a forklift that was creaking and tipping under the weight.

The C & P made the trip, unscathed. Very, very deeply dirty though.

So dirty that the cleaning involved goggles, rubber gloves and a cleaning solution that would not be appropriate to mention on this environmentally sound site. Kath and I had a seven hour cleaning session. Note the grime…

BJ and Bear rigged up the letterpress for the 100 yard dash to the backyard. Believe it or not, that yellow strap holds up to 5,000 pounds…luckily. BJ maneuvered the forklift, lifting the letterpress out of the truck and driving the several-ton load around the house to the backyard. (BTW-I just asked BJ if he had ever driven a forklift before this event and the answer was “no.”)

Making it through a tight spot

After the right side of the letterpress took out a small sliver of the door frame, (despite Bear’s warnings, “Woah, woah, WOAH to the left!”) BJ had to back it up for a do-over.

After trimming a branch of the apple tree, BJ had a straight shot into the studio

The three heavyweights (me, my mom-in-law Kath, and our friend Graham) kept the forklift from bucking.

The press is in! Forever.

With the reclaimed barn wood and metal siding from Utah along with metal roofing and tools donated by friends, (an aerial view of the roof is a colorful sight) windows and counter tops from Craigslist, and a beautiful desk acquired in trade, our building materials cost less than $750.

The renaissance man hard at work. He wrapped up this project (with help from friends when they were available) in a record-setting EIGHT DAYS. I’m pretty sure I really helped speed up the process by handing him hammer, levels & saws and standing on metal pieces while he cut them (boy that’s a nasty smell.) I did learn to use a nail gun…a powerful experience.

Eight days after the project began, while putting the finishing touches on the studio (inserting the wood stove and chimney) we heard the unmistakable sound of a hot air balloon. It looked like it was coming in for a leisurely crash landing on the new roof, but it actually landed in the adjacent field. A good omen from the skies.

AND THEN, three days later the snow flew. I am heading out there right now to start a fire, clean the space and get the letterpress rolling. Interior photos will come soon! So exciting.

I know back-to-school is a necessity but right now I’m more concerned with back-to-summer (easy for me to say when I don’t have classes to attend or kids to load onto a school bus.) I want to put the entire summer season in a capsule to keep for myself and to share with everyone. It would be like a snow globe but the opposite; with sand flying, waves crashing, mountain trails leading into the horizon and fresh vegetables bouncing around. I’m pretty sure the summer globe would be difficult to create. So instead I have a few simple ideas to bring back the summer experience. These are things we always associate with summer but don’t always end up doing. Now is the time!

PICNIC

I admit, this picnic took place in our backyard, but is was a fun break in the middle of the work day. The sleek table gear is compliments of Bamboo Studio. The company sent me a few place settings to test and I am sending back rave reviews. The elegant plates, bowls, dishes and flatware are made from sustainable, biodegradable bamboo. Bamboo Studio is conservative when they advise using their products up to five times. I’m on usage number eight and they’re going strong. www.ecobambooware.com

CAMP

Load up the backpacks, head for the trail head and go camp under the stars. You could plan your camping trip for the next full moon (September 4) since the added ambiance is always nice. Or go big for the Harvest Moon on October 4th.

If the moon isn’t lighting your way though the cool summer night, there’s always this Dynamo LED Collapsible lantern. It’s foolproof–if you forget batteries or forget to charge it in your car charger, no fear–just wind the little handle and it will light up! $40 from Oakleigh Vermont. (I like to buy from http://oakleighvermont.com because they give 10% of their profits to needy people with micro-businesses in Africa.)

KITE

Something happened today that made me realize true happiness and freedom come with flying a kite. I was dropping off some items at our local resale/second hand store and a helpful employee came to help. I pulled out a tattered kite and the employee’s eyes lit up. In fact she jumped in the air too. She said, “You’re giving this away?”then grabbed the kite and skipped with abandon, kite whirling above her, into traffic and smiling onlookers.

Here are directions to make your own kite. You will need:

• Newspaper
• 2 wooden sticks
• Glue
• Scissors
• String
• Ribbons

Kiting inspiration; prints from Etsy.com:

“Carried Away” by The Dreamy Giraffe($18, Etsy.com)

“Kites Flying High” by Michigan Hemp ($5, Etsy.com)

Lorraine, our star chicken has started laying eggs (at the advanced age of 4 months old.) She’s a charismatic gal but doesn’t have much of a mothering instinct so she’s not protective of her eggs. In fact, she seems happy to hand them over. This new egg chapter began a week ago. Once I realized there was some protein in the mix, I challenged myself to eat only what our backyard produces. (Only a couple days per week since it’s slim pickins out there.)

Some days are better than others–the solely cilantro day was tough. Luckily today was not a backyard challenge day because one yellow grape tomato would have kept me satiated for four minutes. Sunday was a jackpot–two eggs with basil and six beans for brunch  (see above). The cucumber dinner was delicious but felt more like an appetizer. It looks like the next full meal might be an egg, carrot, basil, oregano and tomato combo. Maybe I can find a pie crust out in the yard to complete a Quiche Lorraine. That would be a good backyard challenge day.

I’ve found that the best summertime gift to bring along to a bbq or dinner party is something straight out of the garden. A bundle of basil, a bunch of cut flowers, a box of tomatoes, two strawberries…whatever you have is always appreciated. Supplementing from your local farmers market is fair game too.

There’s Lorraine, much more concerned with her mealy peach than the egg in her little house.