30 Minute Slippers

I can’t take credit for this tutorial at all, but it’s too cute not to share! Alisa Burke shared this tutorial with everyone here on her blog. Personally I think hers are to-die-for, but I lack the patience to put as much effort as she did into her beautiful slippers!

These easy slippers took 30 minutes and only some felt and minky fabric that I had in my sewing cabinet!

As you can see by the blur of toes and blue pjs, I had a little help making these. 🙂

I traced my existing slipper onto felt.

I started by tracing my existing slipper onto some felt. For some reason, months ago I thought it was a good idea to purchase 2 yards of pink felt. (Probably because it was on sale.) I had no clear objective in mind for this, but somehow I must’ve known there would be a fabulous tutorial in my future. I also had some left over girly minky from a tag toy that I made B after he was born.

Minky layers on top of felt.

I cut the tops to be slightly larger than the bottoms, by tracing wider around the bottoms. I cut out whimsical hearts and used some felt ribbon to the trim them.

The Tops

These are nothing fancy and obviously homemade. As you can see by Alisa’s tutorial, you can really make these beautiful!

The end result of these is pretty cute. They are really warm and very soft. They can also be easily tossed in the washing machine for cleaning! Consider making some of these as gifts! I think they would make a fabulous Christmas present!

For me, these were eco-friendly. I used only materials that I already had. I realize not everyone has a sewing room with lots of fabric, but if you were to purchase to make these, you wouldn’t spend a lot! Felt sheets are on average 29 cents per sheet. You’d need 2 sheets for the bottom and one for the tops. One quarter of a yard would be plenty in your choice of fleece or minky fabric. You could cut up old sweatpants even! Be creative!

Happy sewing! I am off to finish Christmas pillowcases!

Again, this tutorial is NOT my own. Please view Alisa Burke’s original work here for your own inspiration!

Calling all Eco-Enthusiasts and Readers!

I don’t always have the time to write the quality posts that I want to write or complete the numerous eco-friendly projects I have lying around the house and home improvement has come to a halt with the holidays here and money at a shortage. I want to keep the mix for you guys so that  it’s not the same reviews and product ideas all the time. I realize I’m not the only one with ideas on how to be eco-friendly and frugal so here’s where you all come in…

If you want a place to share your knowledge, Journey to “Green” is open to YOU!

Share your knowledge, crafts, WAHM products, eco-friendly upgrades, and so on with thousands of readers!

Some ideas of what you can submit:

• A photo of your cloth diapered cutie
• A DIY craft that’s eco-friendly (pictures, tutorials, links, etc.)
• A tutorial on a personal beauty product that’s green (i.e. shampoo, deodorant, etc.)
• See a great coupon? Let us know! Have a link for a related site? Share that too!
• A recipe
• A WAHM advertisement. If you make cloth diapers, upcycled clothing, mama cloth, etc., feel free to email me! I’ll be glad to help you advertise. I can post pictures of your latest products and advertise specials.
• An eco-friendly art project
• An eco-friendly home improvement project or upgrade! (i.e. a picture of that shiny new kitchen with Energy Star appliances, etc.)
• Do you have a trash to treasure before and after!?! Let’s see it! Who doesn’t love a trash to treasure find? I do! I love seeing your projects as well!
• Did you score an amazing deal while shopping today? Show us the goods and tell us how you did it!
• Any ideas for living Green and Frugal are welcome! Feel free to send me whatever!



Will [you] receive credit for work published?

Yes! You will receive credit for that which you submit and/or write! I will link to your site, business, blog, or whatever. You will be named as the contributor unless you wish to remain anonymous. The idea is to help you out! I love hearing your suggestions and ideas and chances are that readers will as well! If I can help promote your creativity, products, or site(s), I am glad!

How to submit?

Send me an email at: palaciosamantha@yahoo.com with your stories, photos, coupons, links, businesses, projects, crafts, etc.

What to submit:

• A way to contact you if I have questions
• Applicable pictures
• Links to reference
• A full name (unless anonymous)
• Your story, directions, explanation, how-to, etc.
• Any other pertinent information

I  look forward to hearing from you ALL!

Today’s Saves

Eversave is offering $50 worth of Abe’s Market goodies for $25.

Zulily has Box Creations and Stainless Steel bottles on sale today!

EcoZip on Sale!

I was so excited to shop my local Bi-Lo this morning and find that not only are they carrying EcoZip bags now, but they are on sale, BUY ONE GET ONE FREE! Purchase one box of either size at $2.99 and get one FREE! This is such a great deal! If you missed the EcoZip giveaway, now is your chance to try them for a low price!

Wild Dill Coupon

If you scored the Eversave deal from Wild Dill like I did, here’s a coupon code to pair with your savings. If you didn’t, check out Wild Dill any way. I got some really great  organic Christmas gifts for B for really affordable prices!

Wild Dill is offering a coupon code good for 20% off. Enter: Facebook20 at checkout.

Put Books Under the Tree

B has developed a very strong love of books. In fact, he’s developed quite the attitude if you don’t read him his books when he picks it up. He especially loves board books with big pictures and the “touch and feel” books with fur. I took him to a local bookstore to test out which books he’d grab for to know which to add to the Christmas list. These are some of my favorites for those wanting to add reading material to your Christmas list:

This adorable set of 10 can be found in Borders stores and online at Amazon ($10.19 at Amazon). It’s made of 98% recycled materials and they are small in size so that you can easily tote a couple with you in a handbag or diaper bag. I’ve already stored one $5 Amazon card from Swagbucks and I’m close to earning a second. I’ll use my SB gift cards to make this $10 purchase. If you aren’t using SB, you should be! If you have a Borders store near you, you can use this 33% off coupon (click coupon to print) or use code: BJK7974N at checkout online.

Teach your children about recycling with this adorable book. You can find it at Amazon as well for only $3.99!

If your children like to do crafts, here’s an idea book for green crafts that all of you can enjoy:

Find it at Amazon as well for $13.57.

Little Green books has a great selection of children’s books that will educate them about conservation, recycling, and saving our planet. Here is another favorite:

Only $3.99.

How about this adorable book and plush set from Innovative Kids? So cute! It’s only $9.99.

Easy to Be Green ($4.99) is a great story and lesson for age 4-8:

As a side note: Little Green Books has FREE interactive games for children about recycling  and saving our planet at their website.

Don’t forget about the FREE Children’s books at Story Time for Me! I blogged about these here. These are downloadable books that you can access on your computer, kindle, Amazon reader, iPhone, etc. Use code 4j9Cn3m8 to get the two free books.

Holiday Gift Guides Part 2

Another Holiday Guide is finished. Check it out for some of my favorite eco-friendly finds this season! Stay tuned for lots more!

Unpaper Paper towels

I am quite IN LOVE with these UNpaper paper towels! Did you know that the average person uses around 3,000 paper towels PER YEAR!?! That’s a lot of paper and a LOT of trees! Why not switch to reusable towels? Not only are they practical, a HUGE money saver, and an environmentally-concious choice… they are so darn cute! We’ve made the switch and I love it. I keep a small laundry basket in our laundry room to throw all dirty rags and towels after use. Every 7-10 days I wash a load and then reuse. It’s cut down on grocery bills dramatically and the thickness of cloth means less wiping!

This set of six is on sale at Foundary for only $30.00! There are MANY designs to match your personality and decor.

Now, wouldn’t you like to snag these for FREE!?! It’s as simple as creating an account. Once you create your account, you just invite your friends to join. You get $1.00 for every person that you invite to join you (and they actually sign up). There’s no trick or purchase necessary. They have many green items listed regularly and the prices are fantastic on a wide variety of name brand items. I love the Foundary!

Natural Home Magazine

Natural Home magazine is a great source for green tips, living on  budget and finding eco-friendly products. Their free newsletters are full of information and right now they are offering a Kitchen Guide when you sign up. Make Natural Home one of your daily read sources! Click on the image above to sign up.

Natural Home also carries their own line of eco-friendly products for the home. Check it out!

Eco-friendly Personalized Bags

Today’s Eversave deal is $50 worth of eco-friendly bags for only $22! Use your photos to create these unique eco-friendly bags. Make a couple to give as gifts and keep one for yourself!