Tree Hugging Family » Green Wedding

INK + WIT Spooky & Sweet Fall Giveaway

Jennifer — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:00:27 +0000

Yesterday I told you about INK + WIT, a very cool sustainable art boutique. I love their pieces, and I’m thrilled to announce that one lucky Tree Hugging Family Reader is going to win a super amazing prize from them…

What you can win:

One reader will win a spooky set of 10 “Halloween Crow” postcards (shown above) AND a sweet limited edition “Pommebirds” print (shown below). The 10 postcards are 4×6 chipboard kraft 103lb thick, with soy based ink and the lovely print is a letterpress limited edition (one of just 300 prints); 8.5×11 acid free archival Stonehenge printmaking paper and soy ink (frame and matte not include). This is an amazing prize and arrives just in time to perk up your autumn.

How to enter:

Since we’re giving away some Halloween goodies, leave a comment on this post telling me how your family are planning to celebrate a green Halloween this year (no it’s not too early to plan!). Are you handing out Fair Trade treats? Making recycled costumes? What? Let me know. IF your family does not celebrate Halloween, that’s cool too. Instead tell me one thing your family is doing to green your life this fall.

RULES:

If you don’t follow the ONE how to enter rule above I’ll delete your comment. Comments that say, “Hey, enter me” will be disqualified.
Anyone with a mailing address in the U.S. can enter. Sorry, no international or Canadian entries on this giveaway.
Comment entries must be posted by September 11, 2009 – midnight my time (west coast).

I’ll randomly draw one winner on Sept 12th, post the winner here, and send the winner an email with more details.

Good luck!

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

INK + WIT: Sustainable Art for Kids & Other Green Goodies

Jennifer — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:44:14 +0000

INK + WIT is one of my favorite places around for children’s prints with an eco-flavor. Plus, INK + WIT carries oh so much more than just children’s art. In fact, I’ve written about INK + WIT Green Wedding Invites here before.

About INK + WIT:

The company was founded by artist Tara Hogan who also does all the illustration and design for INK+WIT’s lovely products. Her visions and pieces are beautiful and often nature based which I like. About her perspective, Hogan says, “I have a loving appreciation for nature’s intricate beauty combined with modern urban style. I see the world as organic and bright.”

INK + WIT products:

The INK + WIT collection consists of calendars, children’s prints and posters, letterpress note-cards, wedding invites, children’s invites, tea towels, postcards, and more. Hogan even recently partnered with BabyBe Organic Baby Clothing for a line of adorable organic clothing. See a gallery below of some awesome INK + WIT products.

What makes INK + WIT eco-friendly?

The company letterpress and offset print in all of their paper products.
100% cotton paper made from tree free fibers along with 100% post consumer recycled paper is used.
Ink is soy and water based.

All of Tara Hogan’s designs are beautiful, whimsical, sweet, or all of the above as you can see in the gallery below.

Coming up an amazing giveaway from INK + WIT that you won’t want to miss so stay tuned.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Where to find traditional green wedding dresses

Jennifer — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:40:22 +0000

It’s green wedding month here at THF, and earlier we looked at some vintage and casual green wedding dresses. However, if you’re looking for something a little more traditional, you still do have green options.

Your first best bet for a traditional gown that’s also earth-friendly is to go used. Wear your mama’s gown, look at consignment shops, or visit estate sales. For some new green gown choices keep reading…

Conscious Clothing creates unique green wedding gowns using environmentally friendly,SBP (sustainable and biodegradable product) hemp fabrics. The Basic Strapless Gown is shown above and the details on the organic cotton lace around the neckline is amazing!

Threadhead Creations: Actually, they carry some really unique wedding dress choices, but also some more traditional eco-friendly wedding gown choices too. Such as the Grace dress (seen above) which features a scoop bodice with an open back. The gown is hand-crafted with an eco-friendly blend of hemp/silk.

Other places to look…

Annatarian: amazing custom work on wedding gowns.
Olivia Luca: Custom create your own eco-gown.
Adele Wechsler: AMAZING GOWNS. In fact I’ll say it twice – AMAZING. The gowns here will make you swoon then faint.
Rawganique: Organic hemp wedding attire for bride and groom plus the wedding party.
Deborah Lindquist: Carries a unique but still traditional green wedding line.
Morgan Boszilkov’s Natural Bridal Collection: Not entirely traditional, but sort of tradition with flare.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Unique Sustainable Wooden Wedding Invitation

Jennifer — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:03:53 +0000

I know I talk about Night Owl Paper Goods all the time here, but being that I love them, and being that it’s green wedding month here at THF, I can’t NOT post their amazing eco-birch wedding invites, reply cards, and party invites.

zinnia • lavender wedding or party invitation

The eco-wedding line at Night Owl Paper Goods is beautiful, unique, and will kick your green wedding off right. The wedding line of products are made of eco-friendly sustainably harvested yellow birch wood. The wood grain varies, which means your invites will be super unique & lovely. Wedding cards includes custom text, or a fill-in section (yes, you can write on this wood), and outer envelope.

squirrel vows • golden pecan save the date postcard

Shown above:

Pricing is the only downside of these cards. Being so unique they go for $3 to $6 each, so I’m guessing these are MUCH better for a small eco-wedding. If you’ve got the budget though, these are simply the coolest material cards for a green wedding you can get. If going with touchable cards is not your deal check out:

Visit Night Owl Paper Goods to learn more.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Casual Green Wedding Dresses & Wedding Party Dresses

Jennifer — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:00:07 +0000

If you’re not interested in going nuts with a big fat gown for you and the other ladies in your wedding party, you can check out the goods at various eco-friendly shops and find something casual. Following are some great dresses that would be perfect for a casual eco-friendly wedding party.

Such as…

Bamboo Tiki Dress – at just $69 a pop, this 100% bamboo dress is pretty and inexpensive enough for your entire line up of wedding gals. The dress is from Sweetgrass Natural Fibers who carries products made in the U.S.A. from fabrics and fibers grown without any harmful chemical fertilizers or pesticides. They specialize in eco fashion made from hemp , bamboo and organic cotton. Simple, nice lines, and eco-friendly. PLUS this dress is available in a multitude of colors so you can match to your own scheme.

The Hoss Dress from Adili is beautiful and simple, made with sustainable soya jersey. I love the pink, but it also comes in jade.

BTC Elements has two good wedding picks – the Reversible Halter Dress – an owl neck halter that reverses for two dresses in one. Rich shimmery teal on one side, with a more casual silvery beige on the other. Handmade in Portland, Oregon out of reclaimed vintage Japanese qina nylon. I also like the Afternoon Latte Dress for a green wedding with vintage theme. Fashioned from reclaimed and secondhand fabric.

Personally, if I was getting married Posh Girl Vintage would be my first stop for dresses. The perks include vintage (reuse – very green) and lovely dresses of every type. There’s always something amazing at their shop. The downside with vintage is of course, you have to jump on it, and there’s a chance of an eclectic wedding party because odds are, none of your dresses are going to match. Also with vintage be aware that there could be some flaws. Posh Girl adjusts their price for flaws (cool beans) but you may need to alter the dress you choose.

However, if eclectic or non-fussy (i.e. non-matching) is your game this is your dream dress shop. I picked four current favorites that would work for a wedding. I picked mostly traditional colors, but note that their inventory changes often and that they have dresses in every color under the sun. PS the best thing about shopping at Posh Girl Vintage is that they’re very elaborate in their descriptions. If there’s fabric to let out, they let you know, if the dress is less than perfect they tell you. It’s an amazing shop!

Dresses shown above include…

Are you getting married soon? Would you go with a casual dress or do you want the whole nine yards sort of gown?

Coming up later, some more traditional minded green wedding dresses.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

INK + WIT Green Wedding Invites

Jennifer — Sun, 03 May 2009 22:44:32 +0000

I love INK + WIT. This paper products company creates invites, posters, postcards and more with illustrations and designs created by Tara Hogan. The company letterpress and offset print all of their paper products. They use 100% cotton paper made from tree free fibers along with 100% post consumer recycled paper. All ink used is soy and water based. Best of all they offer beautiful wedding invites. If you’re going to go with paper wedding invitations, this is one way to do so and keep it green.

Check out these beautiful designs….

CURRENT INK + WIT DEALS:

INK+WIT has new wedding ready made letterpress suites available; you can email for price list and details. There are two other special offers going on right now as well; first of all, you’ll receive a $50 INK+WIT merchandise credit with every ready made wedding order until August 1, 2009 plus you can score 10% off all custom designed wedding orders valid through August 1, 2009.

You also might want to check out INK + WIT’s adorable soy ink animal posters for kids.

[image via INK + WIT]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Jennifer’s Favorite Posts from Year One

Jennifer — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:00:32 +0000

It’s super hard to choose favorites here; but I’m sure I’ll manage. Following are some of the posts I’ve most adored over the last year.

My overall favorite posts:

Green Wedding Feature: I’m not the biggest fan of weddings in general, yet I really had fun during green wedding month. I liked the whole darn thing. The cake, the lighting, the flowers, the dresses, and more. It was a super entertaining theme, and I think I was surprised by just how many cool green wedding resources there are out there.

100 Ideas for Your Green Family & 60 Eco-Friendly Ways to Celebrate Spring & How Kids Can Make A Difference: Saving the Planet from A to Z – Good stuff. Also these lists posts take flipping forever, so I better love them.

The Tree Hugging Change Surprise – This post was pretty dull, but for me it marks something good. This was the post where I introduced Peggy when she joined Tree Hugging Family. I think Peggy’s been the best addition ever to this blog. She’s the best green co-blogger you could ask for, a good friend, and an all around killer person. Now, before I get too sappy, I’ll leave it at this – aren’t you glad she joined the party?

Month-by-month favorites:

I was trying to think, now how can I choose my favorite posts of the year. I can’t. It’s hard. So I’ll choose one great, visit again worthy post from each month, and be done with it. Here we go….

September: 10 Fun Organic Gardening Projects for Kids

October: Seven Trees A Year

November: Eco-Friendly Birthday Theme Cakes

December: 25 Reasons To Get Outside During Winter

January: Peace & Social Change: 10 Ways You Can Actively Participate

February: Make Your Own Solar Light!

March: Eco Tips from Kids

April: Homemade Organic Paint Soap for Kids

May: Organic Food Costs Rise – 11 Ways to Save Money on Organic Food

June: Overcoming Reusable Bag Shyness

July: Go organic without losing your mind

August: Solar Art Project

What are some of your favorite THF posts of the year?

(random flower images via stock.xchng)

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Green Wedding Round Up

Jennifer — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:00:44 +0000

This being the last day of June, we’re closing out our green wedding feature. In case you missed something essential, I rounded up all the posts we did so far related to green weddings. I also made this green wedding guide a permanent fixture in our sidebar page section (to your right). Although green wedding month is over, as we do other posts that relate, we’ll be adding to the sidebar guide.

Here’s what we covered in May…

Basics:

Green Wedding Planner: Helpful Links for Wedding Planning

Announcements & Invitations:

Wedding Dresses, Wedding Party Clothing & Accessories:

Cake:

Food & Beverages:

Gifts:

Special Touches:

Extreme Green Weddings:

I hope you enjoyed this special feature – we sure did. Don’t forget to look for a new feature in June.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Quick Green Wedding Tips: More Wedding Cake Ideas

Jennifer — Sat, 31 May 2008 06:00:31 +0000

You know, for someone who claims to have nothing to say about wedding cakes, I sure have a lot to say about them. We’re wrapping up green wedding month tomorrow though; so of course all these ideas are popping into my head tonight.

These are a few random tips I was thinking about.

Before I mentioned you could have edible cake toppers – a very green choice. However, I forgot to mention that you could go ahead and make them yourself. We have a post here on making candied flowers, and Linette, over at Mother Earth’s Garden has another option for creating candy violets.

Then I was thinking that one budget idea for green weddings is this – make cupcakes. Actually wedding cupcake cakes have become very popular, and there’s no limit to how you could decorate them. Cupcakes are a winner too, because no dishes are necessary. Linette (yes, again) has some Simple Summer Cupcakes you might like. Cupcakes can be any old flavor you choose too – here are some organic flavor ideas.

Other great links for ideas:

Bridal Shower Cake Ideas (also, by the way from Linette – she’s too smart for her own good.)

Marye at Baking Delights did an entire amazing series on making your own wedding cake – from choosing the shape, to cake flavors to assembly; plus some wedding food ideas. To read all about it see: Weddings: Cakes, Foods, Favors. Remember, any cake can be made with organic ingredients.

Ok, let’s hope I’m done with the cake ideas. Geez.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Green Wedding Cake Ideas

Jennifer — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:47:30 +0000

Ok, so I lied in the last post about not having jack to say about wedding cakes. Mainly because I totally forgot about this amazing cake site that I’ve had bookmarked for ages.

If you need a picture to take to your baker, and you want something with a natural theme then I’d visit Wildflowers – one of the most beautiful cake shop in the world (IMO). Not just cakes either. Wildflowers creates amazing baskets filled to the brim with sugar flowers, leaves, berries, and more.

Individuals in New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland can order cakes from Wildflowers, but outside of the area, you can still order custom toppers or a collection of flowers for your wedding. And believe me, you’ll want to after you see these cakes. Or rather works of art. Wildflowers creates both Wedding Cakes, Special Occasion Cakes, and Garden Cakes, and most would work for a natural themed wedding.

Here are just a few examples of these beautiful cakes…

Bride Magazine named the cake below as one of America’s 50 most beautiful cakes in 2008 – not very surprising.

Fall Apple Basket for an autumn wedding table. Beautiful sugar work.

Lilacs! My favorite – this was a birthday basket, but it could so be in a summer wedding.

I’m not sure how you could slice into this lavender and lilac watercolor wedding cake – seriously. It’s so pretty.

I have to say if I ever have a wedding, I’d have to get some sugar flowers from Wildflowers. Or heck, maybe skip the wedding, and just get a cake.

To learn more about these wonderful cakes visit Wildflowers.

[images via Wildflowers]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family