DAILY DANNY

Which New Book to Write?

I've been going back and forth on what my next book should be.    So, I'm asking you for some help.   

I have completely different ideas that I think are both equally helpful and useful, but at the end of the day, I need to focus on one idea.  So, here we go:

1.  A BIG GREEN DECORATING BOOK.    There are lots of eco-friendly home design books in the market that give great tips on renovating or building a new house: what type of insulation to use, choosing the right windows and doors, installing bamboo flooring, etc.   But there aren't a lot of eco-friendly design books on creating a comfortable, chic and environmentally-friendly living space.

I was thinking a big decorating book full of lots of ideas for all rooms of the house could be useful for lots of people who have an existing home that they're happy with, but would like to give it a fresh update and new look.   Lots of ideas will involve using what homeowners already have, but can use them in unexpected and different ways.   Basically, lots and lots of ideas you've seen on this blog that follow my ethos that they should be beautiful, simple and resourceful.

I'm thinking full color photography, step-by-step instructions, and informative text.  I have hundreds of decorating ideas that I could share, so this book would be more than just pretty photos of pretty rooms.

2.  A DEFINITIVE GUIDE ON LIVING GREEN.   Now, hear me out here.    There are plenty of books out there on how to "go green."   Many of them are absolutely well-researched, informative and useful for any novice greenie.

What I'm interested in writing is a guide to living green that follows more of my philosophy and personal take on it.    Lots of insider secrets, tricks, tips and simple solutions.     For example: Sure, we all would love to put solar panels on the roof of our house, but it sure is awfully expensive.  But what if you could shop for solar panels like you could buy a discounted sweater at an outlet store?    When manufacturers make solar panels, they have to be 100% absolutely perfect to be sold to the public.  Lots of panels are only 99% perfect, so they end up being sold at a drastic discount by the manufacturer to homeowners because of the 1% imperfection.    The only way to buy them is to know who to call and what to ask for.  If you're okay with 99% perfection and would like to save thousands of dollars, this is the most economical and ecological way to go solar at home.

So, basically, hundreds of insider tricks and personal tips that I like.  I really think the book would prove that going green can actually save you lots of money; you just have to be in the know.   

So, there you have it.  Gorgeous and fun decorating book or a green guide that's insider in nature.   Or both?    What do you think?

Do Just One Thing

In a few days, my new one-a-day calendar Do Just One Thing will hit bookstores.    I know, it's a bit early to start thinking 2008, but that's the way the calendar business works.

I thought I would share a sneak peek at the calendar with you.    There are 366 daily tips in the book that are truly easy, really green and seasonal in nature.   Instead of writing up a tip, like, "put solar panels on your house" it's more realistic on little things that you can do each morning or night as you tear off a page.  And just fyi: the calendar is made from recycled materials and the entire casing is returnable to the publisher for recycling.   

Tuesday

January

15

Winter Warm-Up Week: Make sure the damper on your fireplace is completely closed.  Keeping a damper open all winter long is like having a small window open. Brrrr! Not sure if it’s open or closed? Place a featherweight plastic bag (like a grocery store bag) in the fireplace; if it flutters, it’s probably open.     By keeping the damper closed, you’ll keep cold air from seeping in, saving you energy & money.   

Friday

March

14

Green Bathroom Week:   Speaking of toothbrushes, the next time you’re feeling under the weather, be sure to disinfect your toothbrush when you’re finally rebounding.    If you don’t, you risk re-infecting yourself simply by brushing your teeth!    To disinfect, place a wet toothbrush in the microwave for about a minute on high; it’ll radiate the germs away.   When in doubt, replace the brush with a new one (what an opportune time to give an eco-friendly Recycline brushes a try!).

Wednesday

July

16

If you can’t break your daily diet soda habit, skip the plastic bottles for aluminum cans.   It’s the greenest way to quench your thirst since aluminum is easily recyclable and can be recycled into brand new soda cans. Plastic bottles are recyclable, but are A: hard to recycle and B: can’t be recycled into new plastic bottles.   Fact: Nearly 50% of all soda cans are re-collected for recycling.    A good start, but we can do better!

Thursday

December

11

Small marks, scratches and scuffs on your wooden table, chair or dresser can be covered up with a trip to the pantry.   Simply rub a walnut into the scratch; the natural oils in the nut will conceal the scratch marks.   

Tuesday

December

30

The Day After Christmas Tips:    It’s easy to make a mini-version of the

Times Square

crystal ball for your own New Year’s Eve party!    Just bundle your holiday lights (about 4-6 strings of lights) into one giant ball, plug into an extension cord, and hang from the ceiling.    3!  2!  !! 

One Change at a Time..

So, sometimes I get totally fixated on something until I get it absolutely, positively, perfectly right.

I've been working on this exciting new project that will be out later this year.   It's a one-a-day calendar called Do Just One Thing that features 366 seasonal and eco-friendly tips on living greener all year round.   I've spent so much time on coming up with practical and innovative tips that A: are actually do-able and B: are truly meaningful. 

Anyway, the cover has been something I keep changing my mind on, much to the dismay of the publisher (sorry!).    But above is the final cover that I finally fell in love with.    I love the simplicity, modernity and cleanliness of the design.  What do you think?  Here's what it used to look like:

Just One Thing

So, I've been busy working on a new project I'm really excited about.  It's a one-a-day calendar called Just One Thing that I've been doing with Andrews and McMeel, the leader in calendar publishing.

One of the biggest complaints I hear from folks is that they're too busy to implement huge green living ideas into their lives.     So, I decided to put together a very seasonal, very timely calendar that features ideas, tips and practical solutions that you can do throughout the year.   I wrote the whole calendar really on easy things I do year-round, too.    In the Spring months, there are loads of Spring Cleaning and dejunking tips.   Around the holiday season, eco-friendly gift wrap solutions, gift cards and tags and much more.   And of course, in the winter months, lots of tips to keep your home snug and warm without wasting loads of electricity.

The calendar is printed on recycled paper (of course!) and we even will take back the packaging for recycling when you're all done.    If everyone did 366 tips on the calendar (it's a leap year), imagine how much good could come from it!

To pre-order.

On my bookshelf...

I fell in love with the Chic Simple book series about ten years ago.  I was living in Washington, DC and thought the typography, clean layouts, bold photos and the whole idea that "less is more" was revolutionary.    They don't seem to be producing anymore Chic Simple books these days, but the many editions that were publishers can be found in used book stores.

Chic Simple Home is probably my favorite.   I'll flip through it from time to time and be reminded to pare down my home to the basics and to the cherished items that I truly love.

This is a new book that just came out.    When most people think about crafting, they usually go straight to knitting, embroidery or stenciling flowers onto the wall.   Craftivity is not your grandmother's crafting guide.

There are whole variety of DIY ideas in the book.  My favorites:  embroidering the screen door on your porch and the crystal decoration (right here on the cover) all over a bare lightbulb.

Crafting can be fresh, modern and young.    I think this book proves that.

On my Sirius radio show, Simply Green, I interviewed Ellen Sandbeck.    Now, I've talked to MANY experts in the non-toxic homekeeping area, but Ellen is someone who is seriously obsessed with not only keeping your home clean, but in finding quirky ways to do it.

One idea: Rain Washing.   She suggests during a storm (in the Spring or Summer) to stretch out a dirty sheet outdoors and let the pounding rain wash it clean.    And there's a tip on snow washing your rugs.  Yes..using snow...to clean...your rugs.    Since it hasn't snowed yet, I have no idea if it works...but if you read this book, I think you too will find a plethora of green ideas you didn't know were possible.

Barbara Close is the founder of Nautropathica, an all-natural skin care line based in NY.   She's also related to the actress Glen Close.   But that's not the point: the book is a visual feast full of DIY spa, skin care and beauty ideas.

The book is full of the hard-to-do (which is why you buy the products instead of making them) to some simple ideas.   Great photography and a nice layout.    I made a sugar scrub from the book and it has done a great job in buffing away dead, dull winter skin.     But more importantly, this book can open your eyes to all the skin care ingredients that can be found right in your pantry or fridge, too.

Silky Flowers

Tis the season!   This week, I'll be posting an excerpt each day from my book SIMPLY GREEN GIVING: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrappings, Tags and Gifts from Everyday Objects.     The book is full of over 50 projects, 100 ideas and many resources to create beautiful gifts without any waste.

Here's the jacket photo for the book.  I think it's one of the best and easiest ideas in the whole book.

We all have ugly silk flowers in the basement or attic...or we've seen them for 5 cents a bundle at the Salvation Army or Goodwill store.  What to do with them?

First, strip all the green "leaves" off each stem; they look the most fake.    Combine flowers by "color" and bundle them togehter using florist tape (at any craft store).    Attach to gift and voila!   A flowering gift box.    Doesn't it look real?    And who cares if it's fake; you recycled something ugly into something useful and interesting.

PS-Please don't run to the craft store and buy new silk flowers.    Just visit any thrift shop and you will find a huge selection almost priced to give away.

Pieces of You

Tis the season!   This week, I'll be posting an excerpt each day from my book SIMPLY GREEN GIVING: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrappings, Tags and Gifts from Everyday Objects.     The book is full of over 50 projects, 100 ideas and many resources to create beautiful gifts without any waste.

We've all had pieces of ribbon that are too short to wrap a gift.   What to do?   Don't toss 'em!   Make a patchwork ribbon.

There's this thing called Stitch Witchery.  You can find it in the sewing dept in most craft stores.   It basically lets you fuse two pieces of fabric together without sewing!    It looks like this gauzy tape that when heated, melts and fuses fabric.

The simplest idea is to take two pieces of ribbon that are too short to wrap a gift and fuse them together.   Just place a strip of Stitch Witchery on top of one ribbon, place the other ribbon top, and heat it with an iron at low heat for a few seconds.  Let it cool and it should set and bond them together.

Wine Not?

Tis the season!   This week, I'll be posting an excerpt each day from my book SIMPLY GREEN GIVING: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrappings, Tags and Gifts from Everyday Objects.     The book is full of over 50 projects, 100 ideas and many resources to create beautiful gifts without any waste.

I use this idea all the time.    Wrapping a bottle of wine can be a real pain.   It's not easy to wrap and what's the point in spending money on those tall bags for wine? 

Instead, wrap it in newspaper.   Simply wrap two sheets around a bottle and tie a ribbon around the neck of the bottle.    Cut strips of newspaper from the top of the paper to the top of the bottle; the more, the better.     Curl each strip with scissors and voila!   It looks like a festive bottle of champagne.

All you need is newspaper, scissors, a piece of string and tape.

Too Busy for Cards?

Tis the season!   This week, I'll be posting an excerpt each day from my book SIMPLY GREEN GIVING: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrappings, Tags and Gifts from Everyday Objects.     The book is full of over 50 projects, 100 ideas and many resources to create beautiful gifts without any waste.

Here's a simple way for a quick gift tag: old business cards.   Just glue two cards (of the same size) printed info sides onto each other, leaving a blank side and another side with a pretty graphic.

Once the glue is dry, fold in half and punch two holes down the middle; string with ribbon or hemp twine and attach to gift.   It really is that simple.

Ribbon Tape

Tis the season!   This week, I'll be posting an excerpt each day from my book SIMPLY GREEN GIVING: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrappings, Tags and Gifts from Everyday Objects.     The book is full of over 50 projects, 100 ideas and many resources to create beautiful gifts without any waste.

This is one of my favorite ideas.   We ALL have old VHS with no idea what to do with them.   Rip 'em open (I just throw it on the floor until it cracks open.  I know, not the safest idea, but it is the quickest).   Inside, you'll find an almost endless supply of black, shiny tape to use for ribbon.   It curls right up, too!  Just run the tape along the edge of a sharp scissor and it gets all fancy and curly. 

Go nuts on a package.   There's plenty of VHS tape to go around.

Obsolete to Absolutely Fabulous

Tis the season!   This week, I'll be posting an excerpt each day from my book SIMPLY GREEN GIVING: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrappings, Tags and Gifts from Everyday Objects.     The book is full of over 50 projects, 100 ideas and many resources to create beautiful gifts without any waste.

Today:   Burberry inspired gift wrap.     Simply wrap a package in brown kraft paper (or rip open a brown grocery store bag and use the unprinted sides).     Then use electrical tape in colors like red, black and white to re-create the famed Burberry plaid pattern all over the box.    It's easy and the tape comes right off for simple recycling.    No need for bows or ribbon; it's elegant all on its own.

Tomorrow?  What to do with all those old VHS tapes.  Hmmm....

Leafy Tags

Right now, the ancient Japanese maple trees in my front yard are blazing red.   And it got me thinking: I should probably clip some and use them for the holiday season.

Let me explain:  In my new book Simply Green Giving, I talk about collecting colorful leaves and stamping the recipient names right onto the lef as a gift tag.  It's very pretty and it doesn't cost a penny to make them.   But since the holiday season is a time of giving, and since trees are QUITE barren at that time of year, I better think ahead this time.

Now is a great to collect leaves and press them for use as gift tags.   All you need to do is collect the best leaves you can find and press them.

Now, I don't have a plant press or one of those fancy things you see at Discovery stores in the mall.   What I do have is a phone book.   And it works just fine:

Just add leaves, close a few pages, add more leaves, close a few pages and so on.    Place something heavy on top (I have a heavy crock on top) and let it sit there for a few days.   Once they're pressed, you can use 'em this holiday season. 

Book Club Time!

We've just started an online book club at Barnes & Noble for my new book SIMPLY GREEN GIVING.  Join us and we'll chat about fun and simple and ecological ways to celebrate the upcoming holidays.

I'll be leading chats and answering questions... spread the word and let's come up with some festive and fun ideas for the holidays.

Click here to enroll:

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/bn/board?board.id=simplygreengiving

Ribbons Galore

Well, I'm gearing up for the holiday season to promote my latest book Simply Green Giving.  It's a gift giving, gift wrap, gift tag...you name it...guide to using what you have to create, wrap and present beautiful gifts.   Perfect all year round, really... but even more so for the holiday season.

I've been going through my workshop and realized the PILES and PILES of ribbon I have lying around in bins were a really insignificant investment on my part.   I never realized this, but I've been buying giant spools of vintage ribbons for months now, sometimes for as little as 25 cents for 30 yards of satiny ribbon.

Have you ever gone to the store to buy ribbon, buy one spool of it, and come home to realize it's more cardboard/plastic packaging than actual ribbon?   Well, in the past, it wasn't the case.   Ribbon was sold in 30, 40, 50 yard spools...none of this 3 yard stuff we see today.

And that's my point: when you shop at flea markets, thrift shops and yard sales, the old stuff is better.  The colors are more vintagey, they are cheaper and get more money for your purchase.  AND, it's of course a green choice to reuse.

Well, that's my two cents.   Come see me this holiday season.  I'll be doing a bunch of TV shows and I might go tour somewhere in this great country.   

Unusual Ribbons

This photo is from the dedication page of my brand new spankin' book Simply Green Parties.   I love this photo... I used an old measuring tape and curled it around until it became a ribbon.  It couldn't be easier to make and all I needed was some glue (although it was the smelly, toxic Krazy glue stuff that mind my head spin!)

Have you thought of any crazy solutions when you were in a gift wrap jam?

Use What you Have Gift Wrap

Hi All!    I did the Today Show this morning to kick-off my brand new book SIMPLY GREEN GIVING.   I am so proud of this latest book in the SIMPLY GREEN series.

You can learn everything from how to wrap a bottle of wine in minutes using newspaper (it flowers at the top of the bottle) to ripping open an old VHS tape and use the black tape inside to create very chic ribbon all over a package.   More than 50 projects, 101 ideas and lots of sidebars and tips...plus ideas how to GIVE and RAISE money for your favorite charity, too.

If you love this blog, I think you'll love the book.  Let me know what you think.

In November, I'll be teaching a month long, TOTALLY FREE, online workshop about the Giving book...so all you crafters, sign up for an interactive learning experience.  It will be on www.bn.com (Barnes & Noble) starting mid November.  I'll post info when I get it!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061122777/ref=pd_rvi_gw_1/103-4574674-5000633?ie=UTF8

Green Gift Wrapping

Coming in a few weeks, the next boo in the SIMPLY GREEN series will come out!   SIMPLY GREEN GIVING is all about eco-friendly gift wrapping, gift tags and handmade gifts.... and, yep, they have to look cool, too.   

This is one of my favorite iteas from the book:  Using newspaper to wrap a bottle of wine.   All it takes is newspaper, scissors, and a piece of tape to make this.    SHARP scissors are key to make those fanciful curls on top of the bottle.   Lots of snips of paper and curl, curl, curl away!

Pick up SIMPLY GREEN GIVING this September... and tell me what kind of eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas you might have too.    Leave a comment or email me at simplygreen@lime.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061122777/sr=1-2/qid=1154911487/ref=sr_1_2/103-6054390-6865416?ie=UTF8&s=books

My 3 favorite kids

I recently wrapped a radio promotional tour for new book Simply Green Parties, and I have to say one of the most common questions I got asked that I never knew how to respond was "what's your favorite project in the book?"

Simply Green Parties is filled with over 50 projects and 101  ideas on throwing the perfect birthday fete, dinner party, baby shower and much more.  It's all using stuff we already have---to make invitations, tablesettings, gifts, decorations and anything else you need to have a festive day.    To pick my favorite?   Horrors.   It's like picking a favorite child.

Well, not quite the same.    So after much thinking, here are my top 3 picks from the book:

PAINTER'S TARP CANOPY:   I love the simplicity and functionality of this idea.    Grab that old canvas tarp in the garage and hang it high up in the trees as a canopy. It creates an instant "room" outdoors for your summer time dinner party.   Cozy, unexpected and EASY!

BLUEPRINT TABLE RUNNER:   I think blueprint paper is really beautiful and handsome.   You either have blueprints of your existing home or you can find stacks of them at junk shops or even on Ebay.   I bought this blueprint of the Golden Gate bridge and had it laminted at my local Staple's office supply store.   It cost about a dollar to professionally laminate and it looks perfect and amazing.    You can use maps from those oversized driving books as placemats, too.    Laminating preserves the paper and spills can be easily wiped up.    One simple step!

HANGING SOLAR LANTERNS:   Love, love, love this.   I've been doing this for years.  Grab those solar lights from the driveway and hang them  high up on the trees.    Use metal hooks from the hardware store (normally used to hang bird feeders) and let the lanterns glow in the trees.   During the day, they charge in the bright sun; at night, they cast a soft sheen.   You can also line sidewalks with lanterns, too.  Just let them rest right on the ground to guide guests through the dark.

If you like these ideas, you'll love my new book!  There are 50+ projects and 101 ideas, all fully illustrated with colorful photography.  Step by step instructions and a few sidebars on saving money too on your next party!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061122718/sr=8-1/qid=1154270128/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-6054390-6865416?ie=UTF8