Earthbag Construction EarthBag Homes - you're standing on the building materials... earthbag home Long sandbags are filled on-site and arranged in layers or as compressed coils. Stabilizers such as cement, lime, or sodium carbonate may be added to an ideal mix of 70% sand, 30% clay. Straw may also be added. The earthbags are then plastered over with adobe. earthbag home Plastic bags recycled into plastic bags -- if plastic does not break down for a thousand years, this building is sure to last several lifetimes. earthbag construction Foundations differ as per site. earthbag construction The time consuming part, filling the bags. earthbag construction Testing the strength of an arch. earthbag home Project Seres, Guatemala. projectseres.org, flickr.com earthbag home CalEarth -- Emergency Shelter Village, Hesperia, California. earthbag home Cal Earth -- Emergency Shelters. earthbag home CalEarth let the layers show. CalEarth -- this might not be totally earthbag, but like the fish face. Resources: Lessons:
DIY Wrap Bracelet You should all know by now that we are all about stacking bracelets on our wrists. The more, the better. In fact . . . the most, the best! With that being said, we’ll show you how to master a version of the ever so popular wrap bracelet. It’s so simple and addicting, you’ll soon be churning out these wristlets with your eyes closed. You’ll need (for a double wrapped bracelet) :* Lengths will vary depending on the size of your wrist (see comments for suggestions). Fold the length of leather cording in half to form a loop. Place the ball chain along the leather cording with the end of the chain meeting the end of the wrap. Continue wrapping while checking it for fit around the wrist. When you have reached the end of the ball chain wrap the linen cording around the leather strands 2-3 more times. Thread the hex nut through the strands and tie a second knot. Trim with scissors and your wrap bracelet is finished!! The materials are listed for a double wrap bracelet. It’s a party!
Holiday books roundup: Regional "AMERICAN BOY" by Larry Watson (Milkweed Editions, $24) After a lengthy hiatus, the author of "Montana 1948" is back with a coming-of-age tale about a 17-year-old boy in rural Minnesota in the 1960s. Matthew Garth's life changes when a mysterious woman moves into his mentor's home. "GLASS" by Sam Savage (Coffee House, $15) Although the story is told through the memories of a depressive, aging widow -- which makes it sound rather bleak -- "Glass" is actually a fast, glittering and beautiful read. "I GAVE MY HEART TO KNOW THIS" by Ellen Baker (Random House, $26) Set Up North during World War II, Ellen Baker's second novel is steeped in time and place. "GRYPHON: NEW AND SELECTED STORIES" by Charles Baxter (Pantheon, $27.95) Seven new and 16 selected short stories by University of Minnesota English professor Charles Baxter. "MERIT BADGES" by Kevin Fenton (New Issues Poetry & Prose, $15) "THE LONG-SHINING WATERS" by Danielle Sosin (Milkweed Editions, $24)
The world's 10 oldest living trees: Chestnut Tree of One Hundred Horses Interested in uplifting stories on the natural world, sustainable communities, simple food, and new thinking on how to live well? Please enter a valid email address and try again! No thanks Offbeat Home | How to make your own apothecary, make a super simple linen spray, and feel like a wizard As a little girl I mixed up shampoos and lotions in my laboratory, trying to improve on the toiletries we had. I never came up with anything worth mentioning, but I did once get scolded for spilling my mom's shampoo all over the bathroom rug. A friend of mine told me about the "laboratory" she'd had at age 12, in which she created, among other things, the cure for AIDs. You probably won't cure any diseases with your apothecary, but you will scratch that youthful itch to create something useful out of ordinary ingredients. narfmore I'll get your mad scientist career started with a list of ingredients to start a home apothecary, with which you'll be able to make herbal teas, salves, syrups, tinctures, eye pillows, and infused oils. I've also included a recipe for an air freshening spray you can make. Starter herbs and their properties You can find these herbs online or in stores with large bulk herb selections. So, oils. Starter oils AND! Storage Lavender Mint Room Spray & Linen Mist Ingredients
How to make a scratch off lottery ticket? You probably know the scratch off lottery tickets? Ever wondered how to make them? Well, they are very fun & easy to make.I used to make greeting cards from them but now I'm going to use this technique as a promotional tool.I made 25 scratch off tickets and will include 1 ticket with every order I ship.On one of those tickets, there is a coupon code and a value of 25 dollars to spend in my shop on Etsy. Here is what you need:cardboard, a print-out of your lottery ticket, glue stick, sticky back plastic (contact paper), metallic acrylic paint (preferably silver) and washing liquid.I prepared the paper cutting beforehand so I'll skip that part in the tutorial. :) Beforehand you print out a design that you want to be on the scratch off lottery tickets.If your printer can take thick paper you can print it directly on the cardboard and skip this part. Then you take a piece of sticky back plastic and put it onto the design. Mix some metallic acrylic paint with washing liquid.
Sample Western Europe Travel Itinerary Dublin->Glasgow->Edinburgh->Manchester->London->Amsterdam->Rotterdam->Brussels->Paris->Bordeaux->Zaragoza-> Madrid->Lisbon->Lagos->Sevilla->Malaga->Valencia->Barcelona->Toulouse->Marseille->Lyon->Geneva->Bern->Milan-> Genoa->Florence->Rome->Naples->Venice->Munich->Stuttgart->Frankfurt->Berlin->Hamburg->Copenhagen See it all with this itinerary. Start in Dublin and see the Emerald Isle before having Haggis in Scotland. Minimum Completion Time: 3.5 months You can get 10% off your European Rail Pass when you purchase our editor’s book on how to save money traveling the world!
Start Your Day in 33 Different Ways Mornings are underrated. I consider them fundamental for the whole diurnal experience. What you do in the very first moments of your morning will fundamentally and inexorably shape your entire day. Consciously inserting your intentions in these very first moments will have a huge effect. Here are at least 33 ways in which you can transform your days by only spending 5 minutes every morning. 1. I love the morning stillness and the unspoken promise of something ready to start. 2. And do nothing. 3. Point your mind to something you’re really grateful for and stay there. 4. Regardless of the current season. 5. You’re going to spot it pretty easily if you put your mind to it. 6. Write an answer to an old question, do part of a small chore, move an object out of somebody’s way. 7. Empty your mind and isolate from your environment. 8. This is different from number 6 in terms of the actual time of the helping act. 9. Like in getting physical. 10. 11. Let go. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.
Nature Sounds 10 Things to Do When There Is Too Much on You Posted in Balanced Lifestyle, Balanced Mind and Soul | May 12, 2010 | 25 Comments This post was written by Anastasiya. Follow me on Twitter or StumbleUpon and keep your life balanced! Do you sometimes feel that you are running round like a squirrel in a cage? Once you are finished with one project there is already another one waiting for you. You get through one deadline but the next one is already knocking on the door. There is nothing wrong with being busy but if you overdo it then you feel completely out of balance. When you feel overwhelmed with everything around you it is time to stop and think. So when you feel that you are just too busy and have no time for yourself then it is time to stop and think. Live according to your life priorities. Now there is just one more tip I can give you. Keep it balanced!
Orange Blossom Frescas – A beverage for the Morning After I know this is a strange day to post about a refreshing, cold beverage, being we’re in a midst of a Snow Advisory but I’ve been drinking Orange Blossoms with Cranberry and Mint all day long and it’s just too good not to share. I started making Infused Waters out of necessity. Being a poor college student and wanting some variety in my daily menu, I just took fresh fruit and picked some mint that was growing wild on campus and let it ferment for a few hours in ice cold water. But you can make it more complicated by adding several different fruits or herbs. Sometimes I like to add a tsp or so of Rose Water to give the beverage a delicious fragrance. If you’re serving this to a group of people, have a few pitchers infusing in the refrigerator for refills. I must have refilled this same glass 8 or 9 times and look…no residue at all! Infused waters work out very well for large gatherings, wedding or baby showers, birthdays and 4th of July. Slice orange into sections and remove pits.
Blogging by Numbers: How to Create Headlines That Get Retweeted There is an art and science to getting blog posts to travel like wildfire. This post will look at both, based on number crunching with 281 posts, 39,000+ comments, and almost 2,000,000 click-throughs via my Twitter profile and Facebook fan page in the last six months. Here’s what I’ve found to work well… The Art In this context, more than anything else, the “art” is coming up with good headlines. I presented the above slide to a Fortune 100 company that wanted to encourage employees to blog. Just invite a few friends to dinner, look at the graphic, and follow the instructions. Into trapeze or German techno? “How German Techno Can Make You a Better Agile Programmer” “5 Principles of Flying Trapeze for Better Hiring Decisions” See how that works? Once you’ve had a bit of practice, it’s oftentimes easier — and more scalable — to imitate what works elsewhere. The Science The “science” is borrowing headlines or testing them. How do you know if you have a good headline? How do you learn what works?