Aromatic Votive Candles

Do It Green! Minnesota Reprinted from www.homemadetreats.com Select the container for the candle holder. If using a flowerpot, seal the hole in the bottom with self-hardening terra-cotta or modeling clay before the wax is poured in. For a 2-cup container, you will need 7 to 10 drops of essential oil …

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Becoming More Self-Sufficient

Matte Resist Resist Zine I’ve been thinking a LOT about Do-It-Yourself (D.I.Y.) projects and culture lately. It’s really starting to pull together into a big picture and make sense to me. At first, when I thought of D.I.Y. projects like fixing my bike, saving money seemed to be the main …

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Birdseed & Peanut Butter Feeders

How 2 Zine Learn to make pine cone/birdseed/peanut butter animal feeders! Make friends with the local wildlife by attracting birds and squirrels from miles around with these tasty, fat-packed treats. What you need: a few large, untreated pine cones sugar-free/salt-free peanut butter birdseed nontoxic ribbon or string What to do: …

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Bubbles to Puffy Paint

http://members.aol.com/Sgrmagnlia/create.html Bubbles 1 C water 2 T Karo syrup 4 T Dishwashing liquid Notes and Comments: If bubbles pop easily or solution does not work well, add more water. Dawn and Joy seem to be the best choices for bubbles. It is the antigrease agent. Bubbles work best on an …

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Cloth Napkins

Sandy Voeltz Sandy’s Sewing Corner I started making cloth napkins about ten years ago. I like the way they feel, and I like not wasting paper napkins – to save trees. For napkins you could also use: bandanas, fingertip towels or kitchen hand towels. To make napkins from material: Cut squared …

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Fix Yer Bike!!!

Resist Zine One of the most common reasons for a bike to sit unused is a flat tire. I know, because I am just as bad about it as anybody else. I just got a new (used) bike and started using it, and a week later I had a flat. …

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Fix Your Shoes

Alanna Stitches Things You Need: A leather needle or very large sewing needle with a large eye and thicker stem than most needles. The good ones are about an inch or so longer than a regular one. Embroidery thread or waxed dental floss Broken shoes (yeah, this is a fool …

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Get The Music Out There!

Trey Balch Murder and Mayhem Records I’m probably not the right person to write this column; there are many people out there who know more than me, I’m sure. I’m just a dumb punk rocker who wanted to do something for the scene and for my friends’ band. I decided …

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Gift Bags Made From Wallpaper

How 2 Zine Cut piece of wallpaper 10 1/4″ x 15″. On back side, mark lines with a light pencil as follows: Crease paper on horizontal and vertical lines. Fold 1″ top horizontal section over and glue in place. Cut bottom vertical lines to 2″ fold (horizontal line). Put glue …

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How to Make Wine

Jim Stumm reprinted from Living Free #118 I’ve been making wine at home for many years. I seem to constantly make small changes in the process in an effort to make it simpler and quicker. The way I do it these days is to use a 64-ounce bottle of grape …

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How to Plant a Tree

www.communitytrees.org Choose at least a 5-6′ tree grown to nursery standards. Select a site with enough room for roots and branches to reach full size. Avoid overhead and underground utilities. Prepare a planting area as deep as the root ball and 3-5 times its diameter by loosening the soil. Dig …

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Keychain

Anonymous I made this for myself a few months ago and it has been great! There are a bunch of reasons why I love it and here are a few: 1. I always have a fork and spoon on me, so I’m always ready to eat. 2. It saves water …

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Make Your Own Envelopes!!!

How 2 Zine Sometimes I make my own envelopes to mail things in. It’s a nice way to personalize whatever you’re mailing. There’s so much scratch paper that always gets thrown out; why not put it to some good use? Here’s what I do: Get a piece of paper (I …

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Making My Backpack

Eva Lewandowski Last year I decided that I needed to replace my backpack. Since I have made quite a few bags over the years, I decided to take on the project of making my own backpack, and I wanted to do it entirely from reclaimed or reused materials. When I …

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My Experience Building a Computer

Nate Dobbins Do-It-Yourself projects – whether they be repairs, improvements, or brand new creations – are often highly regarded among sustainably-minded people, and for good reason: getting into the habit of ‘doing-it-yourself’ will lengthen the life of your possessions, thus reducing the amount of ‘stuff’ you consume. It also affords …

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Natural Beauty Recipes

http://styles101.homestead.com/hrecipes.html Herbal Ingredient List: Burdock: root helps prevent dandruff Catmint: leaves encourage hair growth and soothes scalp irritations Chamomile: flowers soften and lighten hair Flannel Mullein: lightens hair Goosegrass: tonic and cleansing, helps prevent dandruff Henna: red hair dye and conditioner Horsetail: non-fertile stems and branches strengthens the hair Lavender: …

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Natural Foods Cooking and Health and Wellness Classes

Ami Voeltz Do It Green! Minnesota Byerlys Cooking School St.Louis Park, MN 952-929-2100www.byerlys.com/fc_culinaryarts.cfm  Chef’s Gallery Stillwater, MN 651-351-1144 (Chef’s Gallery) 651-439-1118 (Chef’s Table) Email: mail@thechefsgallery.com www.thechefsgallery.com  Cooks of Crocus Hill St.Paul: 651-228-1333 or Edina: 952-285-1903 www.cooksofcrocushill.com  Kitchen Window Minneapolis, MN 612-824-4417www.kitchenwindow.com/CC_CookingClassHome.asp  Pathways 3115 Hennepin Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55408 612-822-9061  Present Moment Minneapolis, MN 612-824-3157 Email: herbshop@presentmoment.com www.presentmoment.com Twin Cities Co-ops See …

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Non-Toxic Cleaning Supplies

Various Basic Supplies: Baking soda Bon Ami cleanserer Borax Cornstarch Lemon juice Liquid dish soap Vegetable oil Salt White vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner: Mix one teaspoon of liquid soap or borax with a gallon of hot water. Lemon juice or vinegar added to the mix will cut grease and leave a …

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Plastic Bag Holder

Sandy Voeltz Do you need a way to help you organize all of your plastic bags so you can re-use them for shopping, diaper bags or doggie poop bags? Why not make a plastic bag holder. It’s simple to make and handy to have.  You will need: Material/fabric (or you …

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Rainwater as a Resource

Patrick Hamilton Do It Green! Magazine My wife and I have a small water feature in our backyard. When we refill it in the spring, the garden hose gets the job done quickly, and then we give the water plenty of time to release gas before we add plants and …

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Raw and Delicious

Do It Green! Minnesota Easy and Quick Raw Apple Pie Crust: 2 C. Walnuts 5 C. Dates (Medjool dates work best) Filling: 3 Apples 1 Banana 1 C. Currants 1 Lemon 1 Tbs. Cinnamon Extra currants for garnishing (1/8 C.) In food processor, combine dates and walnuts for crust. Process …

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Rubber Stamps

Matte Resist Resist Zine Making rubber stamps is incredibly easy. I can usually throw something together in about 5 minutes. All you need is: An old inner tube (like from a bicycle tire) A scissors (or very sharp knife) Rubber cement Something to glue your stamp to (like a block …

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Screenprinting At Home

Brent Johnson The Twin Cities Green Guide Materials: You can find most of these supplies at Northwest Graphic Supply, 612-729-7361 located at 4200 E. Lake St. in Minneapolis or check your local art store. Although many art stores have stopped selling these products, you can still order them from online …

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Tasty Condiments Can Benefit Digestion

Jennette Turner Wedge Co-op Newsletter Believe it or not, ketchup was originally a naturally fermented condiment. So was mayonnaise. Instead of being health liabilities, they contained beneficial enzymes and nutrients that actually enhanced digestion. In fact, people all over the world have included naturally fermented foods in their diets – …

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The Best of the Vegan World

Ami Voeltz Do It Green! Minnesota Anything-Bread 1/3 C. Magarine or soy butter 1/2 C. Sweetener (Sucanat, turbinado, date sugar, maple syrup) 2 C. Flour 11/2 tsp. Baking powder 1/2 Baking Soda 2 Ripe bananas or 2 C. shredded zuchini 1/2 C. Soymilk 1 tsp. Vanilla extract 1/2 C. Chopped …

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The Sun Powered Pond

Patrick Hamilton Do It Green! Magazine After a couple of years in the contemplation stage, my wife and I finally decided to build a small backyard water feature. In May 1999, we ordered pallets of Sahara stones, Holland pavers, and sand, with which we hoped to build a small (56″w’ …

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