DIY

I recently attended a few Christmas workshops presented by Food Lover’s Market and was inspired to DIY this year’s table decoration. I used items I already have to decorate the table and instead of buying Christmas crackers filled with items my guests and I probably don’t need or want, I decided to make my own and use them as both a gift and decor.

* This post is a paid sponsorship with Food Lover’s Market. Opinions expressed here are my own.

What you will need:

1. Paper. You can use any paper you already have at home. I used brown paper that was used to protect items in one of the deliveries I received. I always keep these, so I can reuse them for future gifts I’ll be giving.

2. Toilet paper rolls. I keep toilet paper rolls as they have so many uses.

3. String. A few years ago I bought a big roll of red and white cotton string and have been using it every Christmas. I also love jute string, as it is also biodegradable.

4. Cracker Snaps. You can buy these at Merrypak

You can fill these with whatever you want. I took some dried fruit and nuts I bought packaging-free at FLM and wrapped them in some leftover paper and put them inside the crackers.

Here are some other ideas: diy paper crowns, seeds (herbs etc), chocolates, small items like lip balms or mini bottles of gin, notes, jokes, challenges etc.

Let me know if you have some other ideas for fillings. I’d love to hear from you in a comment below.  If you’d like to see more DIY’s have a look here. Alternatively, If you are looking for some vegan recipe inspiration, have a look here. 

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I’ve started making my own DIY general cleaner and it’s so easy I thought I’d show you how, so you can too! It’s made with 3 basic ingredients, which you most probably already have in your kitchen, and it can replace most of your general cleaning products.

Why go natural?

I used to have a ton of plastic bottle cleaning products at home, which mostly consisted of synthetic chemicals, which are harmful to us, our families (including our fur kids) as well as the environment. Then I switched to green cleaning products, which was a better alternative, but still generated a lot of packaging waste. I used natural versions for years, and only recently started to switch to waste free versions I could decant into a jar at my local zero waste store. And this year I wanted to take it a step further, and try make my own. It was so much easier than I thought it would be to make my own DIY general cleaner.

Vinegar has been used as an effective cleaning ingredient for a very long time. Citrus (oranges, lemon or lime) is a great deodoriser, so adding it to the vinegar removes the harsh vinegar smell. Citrus is also antibacterial. and vinegar and citrus are both great de-greasers, so combining them not only smells good but cleans really well. I first learnt about this DIY cleaning combo on Pinterest & Instagram and knew that I had to try it.

The Process

I started making orange juice from scratch so I now have lots of orange peels that I end up adding to my compost. So one day I decided now was the time to try it, and added the orange peels to a jar, and threw in some vinegar. I popped it into the cupboard and left it there for about 3 weeks.And voila a DIY general cleaner

Once it was ready, it no longer smelled of vinegar but rather had a pleasant citrus smell. I took out the peels, which I added to my compost, and was left with a yellow thicker liquid. I then filled half of my amber spray bottle with the liquid and topped it up with water. Voila! As easy as that. The great thing about it is that I buy the oranges free from plastic, so there is no waste, and once my last vinegar bottle is done, I will buy vinegar by decanting it into a jar at the store. So this cleaner will truly be waste free!

I have fallen in love with the many uses for essential oils. For my second batch, to make this cleaner even more powerful I added tea tree oil, which is very effective against germs as well as mould and mildew. And for the latest one, which I am currently making, I added lavender, which is a great disinfectant.

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Are you a DIY’er? What do you make yourself? I’d love to hear from you in a comment below. I’ll be adding more DIY’s soon! If you’d like to see green and vegan products I have found browse my Directory. Alternatively, If you are looking for some vegan recipe inspiration, have a look here. 

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Follow me on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with my posts and the upcoming DIY’s! 

© the green vegan chick. All images & content are copyright protected. Please follow my Sharing Policy if you would like to use or share any part of this post.