Green Living

Fall is here in full force! And as the leaves cover the ground in a beautiful blanket of deliciously warm Autumn colors our leaf collection continues growing (out of control). We've been having a blast doing all sorts of fun projects with our fall treasures. However, the leaf rubbings are getting a little played out. Becky of My Kids Make offers this simple activity for making leaf connect the dots. A few fall leaves, paper and pencil. How clever is that?

Family walks are a whole new level of special when Autumn rolls in to show off it's beauty. And my kids (expert leaf hunters) make sure we arrive home with a baker's dozen worth of fresh leaves on each and every outing. We count them, make crayon rubbings of them, craft crowns, masks and fans out of them. Then, they dry up and become a crunchy mess all over my floor. It's kinda sad to see their demise. Wouldn't it be nice to enjoy their beauty the entire season and beyond?

Time to start filling the ol' summer bag of tricks with a few good ideas (that is if you treasure your sanity). Here's a cool project for making a CD case fimo labyrinth contributed by Teri of Giddy Giddy on Bloesem Kids. It's the perfect go-to summer project when things get hairy with the kids.

I admit our home is overrun with small plastic toys...Boo, hiss!...I KNOW plastic...Don't judge! Despite our best attempts to provide eco-friendly playthings for our kids these bright colored pieces of death are the most popular toys in our home providing hours of imaginative play. However, that doesn't solve/rationalize the unequal toy-to-kid ratio of our already spaced challenged living space.

Hey Engage 360, count Otterhop.com 'in' with your smart energy movement. Like other concerned parents, we want a brighter future for our children (and their children's children!). We all have a role to play in meeting future energy needs. It's a cause that transcends politics, socio-economic boundaries and geography. Let's work together as Californians to make our future golden.

If you live in California -- take a moment and Like Engage 360 on Facebook to show your support!

After seeing Maya*Made's tutorial for fall newspaper bunting I knew I just had to jump into Autumn action.

Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a notable holiday falling after Halloween and is celebrated by many Mexican and Latin American families. The holiday is a vivacious and spirited celebration of the deceased honoring their lives and life itself.

Wikipedia:

This papier mache candy bowl by Ellen Luckett Baker of The Long Thread is simply too sweet. What trick or treater wouldn't want to dive their costumed paws into one of these bowls made from recycled materials...What trick or treat supplier wouldn't want to make one of these bowls then fill it to the brim with yummy Halloween treats?

Ellen:

My 4 year old daughter has decided this week to be equally enthusiastic over leaf collecting and sending mail. She's decided every day we must collect 3 leaves on our way out to our mail box...place our letters in the box (she flips up the red flag and closes the box)...collect 3 more leaves on our way back to the house...And so it's continued, day after day this entire week. As you can imagine, not only do we now have a fierce collection of autumn leaves but we are coming up new ideas for stationary we can craft so she can send words of love to all her favorite people.

A fall twist on the daisy chain these maple leaf crowns from Twigs And Toadstools are purely magical. Made entirely and only from maple leaves this is a fabulous trick to tuck into your magic mommy (or daddy) bag of tricks ready to be pulled out on that perfect autumn day.

Twigs And Toadstools: