We have shown here how to make sculptures with toilet paper rolls, and our friend Denise Rangel has also showed us how to use these rolls to organize electric wires.

Today we’re going to see another interesting way of using toilet paper cylinders. This tip comes from Tali and her Growing Up Creative blog, which always brings lots of ideas based on the projects she does with her two young daughters.

In this project, the rolls are cut into smaller rolls and glued together. Tali cut out the rolls into 60 pieces. Each one of them looks like a leaf or a flower petal, which is glued on her wall forming a beautiful design.

I wonder if this idea can be used for creating a Christmas tree. I guess I’m already in the holidays mood.

You may have asked yourself this question several times as you came across a bunch of things lying around your home. What can you do with so many objects, leftover food, old household items, and empty containers of all shapes and sizes?

How I can recycle this?, a spectacular website run by Louisa Parry and John Leach, two friends from Leeds, UK, has many interesting suggestions for reusing or recycling things that could go to waste

They show what you can do with every home, office and garden item. Objects previously used for recreation or sports purposes, broken or outdated technology items, day-to-day objects like old rubber gloves, worn out socks, diskettes, old glasses, and even used tea bags — everything has a right and efficient destination.

Do you have an object that you would like to reuse or recycle, but do not know how? Before tossing it in the trash, visit Louisa and John’s website and learn how you can reduce your household waste and check out creative ways of reusing or transforming items you have in your home.

Did you take the test to find out if you tend to be an orchid killer? Find out your profile according to the majority of your answers…

More C – Tistu
A person who knows how to take care of plants is often called a green-finger, an allusion to a boy called Tistu, a character in Maurice Druon’s book. In fact, you do not seem to need much effort to have beautiful orchids in your home. What few people know is that one can develop a “green finger”. The recipe is so simple that it seems magical: watch for the signs given by the plant. And make lots of mistakes, because this is the only way to learn.

Also: Orchids “talk” when they are thirsty (their leaves lose vigor and their pseudobulbs wrinkle), when they are drowning (their leaves fall while still green and their bulbs rot), when they need more light (their leaves get yellow and they sprout but fail to blossom) or less light (you’ll see circular burns on their leaves). When they are being attacked by pests, you’ll see stains or holes on their flowers and leaves. If you see cloves or little ferns in an orchid’s substrate, it’s time to change the soil. And if it is growing out of the pot, it is begging for a bigger pot. Familiarize yourself with the plant by watching it every time you water it. You’ll be introduced to a world full of new things!

If most of your answers were A or B, see the other profiles.

Did you take the test to find out if you tend to be an orchid killer? Find out your profile according to the majority of your answers…

More B – Cruela Devil
You know that perfect, fully bloomed orchid that you see sitting on an amazing bathroom countertop in an interior design magazine? It’s faux. It is either: a plant placed there especially for the picture… or an artificial one. Many people who have orchids just to decorate their homes feel let down when they realize that the plant is a living being and therefore requires some basic care. Also, remember that most orchids do not die from excess water but from lack thereof!

Also: Water your plants more often, keeping the substrate always moist — never dry or soggy. Avoid leaving the pot under the sun, especially in the afternoon, when it is stronger and can seriously burn the plant’s leaves. Do you want flowers all year round? Then, buy a new potted flower each season. Or go for a Phalaenopsis or an Oncidiuns, which can bloom two or three times a year. And do not discard the plant once the blooming period is over: if you water it properly and fertilize it at least once a month your home will be always full of life!

If most of your answers were A or C, see the other profiles.

Did you take the test to find out if you tend to be an orchid killer? Find out your profile according to the majority of your answers…

More A – Felicia

You know that cartoon character who loves pets so, so very much that she almost kills them with her love? Think of an orchid instead of a pet and you’ll have an idea of what you’re doing to your plant. You have the best of the intentions: you wake up earlier to water it, buy a lot of fertilizer and pamper the orchid; so, you don’t understand why it refuses to blossom. What is surprising is the fact that it is still alive! Yes. Too much water and fertilizer are some of the main risk factors for plants.

Also: An orchid that sprouts but fails to bloom every year is telling you that it is getting too much water. Remove the flower pot saucer and start watering your plant in the sink, watering the leaves and the entire substrate. Allow the water to drain thoroughly before putting the pot back into place (without the saucer, remember?). And use fertilizer according to the amount and frequency prescribed in the package.

If the most of your answers were B or C, see the other profiles.

1. Your orchid is watered:
a) Every day
b) No more than once a week
c) I keep the soil always moist

2. How do you water the pot?
a) I stop as soon as I see water in the flower pot saucer

b) I use an eyedropper

c) I take it to the sink and let the water fall on it, even on the leaves

3. How many hours of sunlight does your plant get each day?

a) I let it soak up the sun all day

b) Sunlight? Are you sure the plant needs it?

c) As much as my window allows

4. You check out on the plant…

a) Every day!

b) Whenever it is ugly and I need to replace it

c) Whenever I water it

5. What do you do once the blooming period is over?

a) I leave it there; it will sprout but never blossom again

b) I give it to someone else and buy another pot in bloom

c) I carry on just as I did before

6. Which extra things do you do for it?

a) I put fertilizer in the water

b) I move the pot around from time to time

c) I use fertilizer every month (or whenever I remember)

7. In your opinion, an orchid is…

a) The queen of all flowers!

b) A very demanding plant

c) A plant like any other

Find out your profile on our next post!

This week we are going to introduce you to Revira Ideias, a project by Alexandre Oelsner and Sheina, his partner. It all started last year when they decided to move in together. “We wanted to decorate our apartment with eco-friendly pieces, but we had a hard time finding products that fit this concept. So, we started a search across the country and found that there were many eco-sustainable products out there — all that was missing was someone to gather them all in a single place,” he says. Having decorated their nest, the dynamic duo went live with their online store in August of 2010 — this means that this e-store still smells of “fresh byte”. The investment, not disclosed by the entrepreneur, was used to buy goods (they keep their own inventory) and an e-commerce system.

Our suppliers are designers, cooperatives of artisans and NGOs from all over Brazil. We looked for suppliers who worked with recycled and reused materials without neglecting the appearance of the final product, the quality of the workmanship and the production methodology. We are also very serious about paying the supplier a fair price.

All of the products are environmentally friendly. But transporting them in a safe way without further harming the environment is still a challenge. Thus, we try to use packages that cause as little impact as possible:

1. The product is wrapped in bubble plastic, made from recycled materials or saved and reused by the supplier.

2. The product is shipped in a recycled cardboard box.

3. The box is filled with shredded newspaper.

4. The box is closed with a tape made of brown paper, which uses water-based glue. Therefore, it can be recycled with the box.
All of the products come with a label made of seed paper that teaches customers how to take care of their piece.

The couple also made sure to protect themselves from those who love to steal and copy other people’s ideas on the Internet. Unlike other websites that sell ecological or sustainable products, they do not tell the origin of their merchandise. “We invested in a unique project and should it be successful, all of the involved parties will succeed too,” says Alexandre.

I loved the idea, but I have to admit that the prices scared me… I’m waiting for your comments.

In times of rampant consumerism, it is important to introduce children to old games, and teach them that it is totally possible to build traditional toys from recyclable materials.

Making a toy is much more interesting than buying it. Wouldn’t it be cool to play with your children with a toy made by you? Use your creativity, learn how to make it and have fun with your kids, playing with a cup-and-ball made from recyclable materials

How to make a cup-and-ball toy:

1. Cut a pet bottle in half;
2. Remove the ring that is around the neck of the bottle and tie a string to it (if you like, you can make a hole on the cap)
3. Make a hole on the neck of the bottle and pass the other end of the string through it;
4. To make the handle, roll a piece of the bottle into a tube and wrap it with colored cellophane tape;
5. Attach the handle to the neck and secure it with cellophane tape.

The goal is to put the cap or ring inside the bottle. Although it has no batteries, no flashing lights, and no sound, a cup-and-ball toy can develop children’s coordination, it is very fun and environmentally friendly.

Building toys promotes children’s socialization and provides parents with an opportunity to get involved in their children’s daily lives, appreciate elements of our childhood and bring back toys that are not disseminated by the media but by our culture.

The bottom of the bottle does not go to waste; it becomes a new toy: See how by clicking on this post.

The 26^th Sao Paulo International Motor Show will start on October 27 and this year’s edition is promising to be about electric cars.

We had a preview of some of the vehicles and concepts during the Paris Motor Show. For example, the electric scooter developed by Smart. The vehicle is electricity-powered and can run up to 100 km with a single charge on its lithium-ion, 48-v battery.

The interesting thing about this cute motorcycle is that it has no dashboard and is fully controlled through an iPhone or iPod Touch. The iPhone works as a key — it turns on the ignition as it is hooked to the motorcycle — and controls the speed, the battery level and other vehicle information.

Another innovation that may show up here is Gordon Murray’s prototype. For those who are not familiar with him, he designed Ayrton Senna’s McLaren in 1988, and has worked on several Ferrari and Lamborghini super sports cars.

This time, however, Murray has bet on electric cars and developed a model that not only is low cost but also more economical in terms of consumption and space (the prototype measures only 1.3 m and can accommodate 3 people).

Called XP1 (like McLaren’s first F1 model), Murray is still seeking investors for his car in Brazil, but people in the industry say that this South African genius has offered his prototype to Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista. The investor’s team denies it.

A deal would not come as a surprise, since the entrepreneur — owner of the EBX Group — announced in September that he was interested in investing one billion dollars to produce electric cars in Brazil. In summary, we’ll see many new things at the Motor Show and some of them will be electric-powered

The Manifesto House is located in Curacaví, Chile, and combines two very popular materials — containers and pallets — to build a minimalist, sustainable house.

Using three containers on two floors, this prefabricated, bioclimatic, modular house has almost 160m². On the first floor, a container divided in half is used as a supporting structure for the two containers that are on the second floor.

Nearly 85% of the materials used in the construction are recycled, reused or from certified sources. This includes a series of interesting items used in the project, such as the recycled cork used for insulation; reused aluminum, iron and steel, and even recycled paper. The house gets 70% of the energy it consumes by using solar panels and the wind.

One side of the facade is covered with certified wood and the other, with recycled pallets. The pallets can be moved, creating several openings that allow natural light to come into the house and heat the metal frame of the container during the winter; in the summer, they can be closed to protect the house from heat.

The design of the Manifesto House was commissioned by Infiniski, a construction company focused on projects environmentally correct, to the architecture firm James & Mau Architectura.

According to some sources (1, 2), the house cost nearly €80,000 and was built in just 90 days in 2009. The house was furnished with pieces provided by Cómodo Studio.