Happy (plastic free) Easter

 

I am still unable to leave comments, even on my own blog.  I plan to reinstall Firefox in a few days.  I'm reluctant to do so because I lose everything, including all my saved cookies.  

As most of you who follow along on my blog are aware, every April leading up to bEARTHday, I try to create something new from recycled, repurposed, or reusable items and turn them into art.  Each year the task gets harder because there are limited things I can come up with to create.

For example, I'm not one who drinks soft drinks, especially in cans, so art made from aluminum cans is limited.  I also seldom drink anything from plastic bottles, including soft drinks or water.  So making art from plastic bottles is practically out of the question.

You will find a ton of art (and some of it quite clever) made from plastic bottle and jar lids.  Unfortunately, it would take me about as long to collect enough to make art from these lids as it would for plastic lids to disintegrate in the landfill.  I am just not a person who buys plastic.

That reminded me of the plastic we use at Easter, so I am bringing back this post about my beef with Easter.  I call it

Why Easter is not Green

At the risk of repeating myself, I've said this before: for being so green, Easter isn't really green at all.  So, please put up with my antics while I share my thoughts with you.

What do I mean by Easter not being green?  Easter celebrates a rebirth, time for renewal, time for spring. It occasionally occurs around the time we celebrate Earth Day, too. So why is it, you ask, that it’s one of the most UN-green holidays ever? Plastic, plastic, plastic.

In case you’ve never thought about recycling, plastic is a petroleum product. It lives simply forever in the landfill. On a larger scale, it’s the material that wars have been fought over, especially those in my lifetime.  

Plastic wrapped in plastic stuffed in a cardboard gift basket

Same baskets, expanded view.

 

Although the bag is canvas, there is a ton of plastic in the bag.          

Plastic holding candy wrapped in plastic.

I give this one credit.  Although the plastic gifts are wrapped in plastic, at least the "grass" doesn't look plastic and the "basket" is cardboard.

This is possibly the worst offender of all the baskets I found at Sam's a few years ago.

Supplies: Plastic Easter Eggs and Napkins

Plastic has taken over the Easter industry. There’s probably more plastic sold, then disposed of at Easter than at Christmastime, although I have no statistics to support that. Granted, even though I don’t have kids, I can see what is being sold in the stores: plastic baskets wrapped in cellophane or plastic, loaded with plastic eggs, along with individual chocolate bunnies wrapped in hard plastic shells, sitting atop plastic grass in various colors.  Even Peeps, those disgusting marshmallow confectioneries sold in the United States and Canada, shaped like chickens and bunnies, come wrapped in plastic.

Am I a cynic? No. I love Easter. It even lands on my birthday on occasion. But parents need to indulge their children in a very different way using only recycled or eco-friendly materials to celebrate this holiday which will also provide a great teaching moment.

However, if you have some of these ugly eggs, here's a way you can use them to your advantage.  BTW, I got mine at a garage sale years and years and years ago (probably sometime in the late 1980s).

Although my plastic eggs are very old, I have observed two types.  One type snaps together in two parts, and one type is fused together, like the one above.  This is a single egg that snaps shut, while the other type twists apart into two pieces.  I'm not describing this too well, I'm sure, but you don't want this one shown above.  You want the egg that comes apart into two pieces.

Now that you've chosen your plastic egg, pull a napkin of your choice apart.  There will be three layers, so be sure to use only the top layer.

Once your napkin is apart, turn it over and cut it in a circle.  Cover the egg with the glue of your choice.  I prefer white PVA glue which helps the napkin shrink and fit perfectly on the egg, while sealing the entire assembly.  When dry, you can even stamp on your egg(s).


Try not to press too hard, because the napkins are fragile and will tear apart, like mine did.  However, since the egg color and the napkin colors were compatible, once the glue dried, my error didn't show as badly. 

Once dry, place your egg in your Easter basket and make about a dozen more!

While I make a few more of these, let’s look at some of the worse plastic Easter offenders and some possible alternatives.

1. Plastic Easter baskets. Alternative: buy natural fiber baskets at the thrift store, or dig out one you’ve had for years like I did.

2. Cellophane or plastic wrapped Easter gift baskets. Alternative: consider wrapping your Easter basket using tissue, old dress patterns, or other eco-friendly materials. Or, leave it unwrapped if it doesn't have far to travel to reach the recipient.

3. Candy goodies wrapped in plastic to go in the plastic baskets. Alternative: dye real eggs using natural dyes with your kids and hide them in the baskets or outdoors early on Easter morning. Instead of buying the pre-made chocolate bunnies, why not buy a bar or two of your (or your kids) favorite chocolate and cover with various bunny stickers or rubber stamped images.

4. Plastic grass. Alternative: Use your paper shredder to make recyclable grass. When Easter is over, put the shredded paper in your compost pile or around the base of your plants. Don't leave it in your basket, because it might attract varmints or critters. If you have plastic grass, be sure to either dispose of it quickly and responsibly so pets (like curious cats, dogs, or birds) don't get into it and accidentally digest it, or do as I do, wrap your basket filled with the grass (probably purchased in the 80s) in a large kitchen trash bag that you keep from year to year.  Never dispose of it so birds can get it. They will be attracted to it to use in their nests.

5. Hard plastic wrapped chocolate bunnies:  Alternative: Instead of a chocolate bunny, find the softest, cuddliest stuffed bunny rabbit to add to a child's Easter basket.

6. Plastic eggs.  Alternative: Here's a look at some I've made in previous years.

I hope you find some lovely napkins to recycle your ugly offensive plastic eggs this year (next year since Easter is today) and turn Easter into a genuine green holiday!  Note too, this is the same basket and same green plastic grass I use every year.  At the risk of repeating myself, I really appreciate your visit on this Easter Sunday. 

 

I hope you enjoyed this look back on my take of why Easter is not green.  For Day 5 of 22 leading up to bEARTHday, I recycled two Easter posts.  

 

Important holiday and dates today

  

You surely know by now that Bleubeard and I are hosting Art Journal Journey (AJJ) this month.  Our theme for the entire month is Anywhere, Anytime, Any Place, with Anyone.

Be aware please, even though I read each post you link through AJJ, I can't leave comments on any blog, including my own.  I believe it's a blogger problem.

And because I have a ton of media, I'm also joining Creative Artiste and their 123rd Challenge (their theme is always Anything mixed media goes), even though I can't leave any comments to my visitors from their blog, either.

This is an important day, culturally.  Both Mardi Gras and Chinese New Year (CNY) land on this date in 2026.  Details are below.

 

I began by adhering Joss papers to the 8.5 X 11 inch (21.59 X 27.94 centimeter) 110 lb. cardstock.  I adhered the NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) court house and statue to the page.  I glued the Mardi Gras masks in place.  I then adhered the lanterns, which are German scrap.  Next, I added the sentiments and the date.  

 

Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the day before Lent begins, traditionally celebrated by eating pancakes to use up rich ingredients like eggs and milk before the fasting period. There is a famous celebration in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England and Liberal, Kansas (USA).  The friendly competition between Liberal and Olney, with women running 415 yards down the streets of each town flipping pancakes, has been going on for 73 years.  It is still the only race of its kind on the planet.  As of Pancake Day, 2025, there have been 42 wins for Liberal and 31 for Olney.

 

For the bottom half, I adhered the 60 symbols Joss paper which doesn't contain any gold or silver.  As an aside, Joss paper is also known as incense paper.  It is meant to be folded and burned.  Joss paper is traditionally made from coarse bamboo paper, which feels handmade, although rice paper might also be used.  Traditional Joss paper is cut into individual squares or rectangles.  Never burn these papers, even though they were meant to be burned.  Joss paper emits toxic components from the gold or silver.  This causes health risks because there is a significant amount of heavy metals in the dust, fumes, and ashes.

 

For the center of the Joss paper, I included a Chinese coin to which I added a piece of wood which I wrapped in fabric.  I then added the red envelope, which is traditionally given to children on CNY.  To the envelope I adhered a Chinese yen coin.  Finally, I added the sentiments.  This is the year of the male (yang) red Fire Horse.  Today is also the start of year 4723.

 

Bleubeard and I are incredibly delighted you stopped by on this holiday, and hope to also see you at Art Journal Journey and Creative Artiste (even if we can't leave you a comment) with your own interpretation of Anywhere, Anytime, Any Place, with Anyone or Anything mixed media goes. 

 

 

Presidents' Day in the USA

 

I'm sure by now you are tired of reading I am unable to leave comments on any blog, including my own, even though I visit each and every link left at Art Journal Journey (AJJ).   It's true and frustrating.  Even Google AI isn't able to help me.

If you live in the states, today is a Federal holiday. It is a celebration of George Washington's birthday, but has been changed to Presidents' or President's Day.  It is always celebrated on the third Monday in February.  

Originally it was intended to be a three day holiday for Federal workers, but has turned into a weekend of commercialism, with discounts of big ticket items such as appliances, furniture, and especially mattresses.  This is so retailers can clear their inventory by taking advantage of tax season. 

Today is Presidents' Day in the USA.  And what better way to recognize it than to visit Mount Rushmore.  Details are below.

 

This is the first time I noticed I was running out of toner in my black-only laser printer.  It became obvious when I printed the Mount Rushmore image.  

I colored part of the sky with a blue watercolor pencil and the trees with a green watercolor pencil.  I outlined the sentiment in black dye ink.  Note the mistake in the first paragraph.  I didn't until it was already glued in place.

Bleubeard and I are incredibly pleased you stopped by on this holiday, and hope to also see you at Art Journal Journey (even if we can't leave you a comment) with your own interpretation of Anywhere, Anytime, Any Place, with Anyone. 

 

Valentine's Day

 

As you probably know by now, Bleubeard and I are hosting Art Journal Journey (AJJ) this month.  Please be aware, however, I am unable to leave comments on any blog, including my own, even though I visit each and every link left at AJJ.   

Today we are celebrating Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine. Over time, it has evolved into a cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of love and affection in many parts of the world.  Details are below.

 

 I began by stenciling the hearts which are punchinella, also known as sequin waste, over the entire 5.5 X 8.5 inch (13.97 X 21.59 centimeter) cardstock using red dye ink.  I then stamped and fussy cut both stamped images. I stamped the larger Tim Holtz stamp which is by Ranger (Stampers Anonymous) several times, to no avail.

 I believe I got such a good deal on this stamp which was originally $11.99 (USD) because it had been returned to the store defective.  I didn't use any green ink or paint on the stamp.  I bought it that way.

 

Thank you so much for visiting today.  I hope you will join Bleubeard and me at Art Journal Journey (even though we can't leave comments) with your own interpretation of Anywhere, Anytime, Any Place, with Anyone.   

  

 

It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day

 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States, observed on the third Monday of January each year, to honor the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and his contributions to racial equality and social justice. 

 

According to Britannica:

Almost immediately after King’s death, there were calls for a national holiday in his honor. Beginning in 1970, a number of states and cities made his birthday, January 15, a holiday. Although legislation for a federal holiday was introduced in Congress as early as 1968, there was sufficient opposition, on racial and political grounds, to block its passage. In 1983 legislation making the third Monday in January a federal holiday finally was passed, and the first observance nationwide was in 1986. The day is usually celebrated with marches and parades and with speeches by civil rights and political leaders.

 

September 11

 

   

  

 

  

 

       

 

 

   

 

   

 

  

 

  

  

  

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

  

  

   

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Statistics provided by CNN in 2017 (found here)

19: Hijackers of four fuel-loaded U.S. commercial airplanes bound for West Coast destinations

2,977: People killed in New York City, Washington, D.C., and outside Shanksville, Pa.

2,753: People killed at the World Trade Center (WTC) site in Lower Manhattan

343: New York City firefighters who died in the initial attacks and subsequent collapse of the WTC towers

23: New York City police officers who died

37: Port Authority officers who died

2: Age of youngest victim

85: Age of oldest victim

184: People killed when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon

40: Passengers and crew killed when United Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pa.

1,641: WTC victims’ remains positively identified as of August 2017

$500,000: Estimated amount of money it cost to plan and execute the attacks

$123 billion: Estimated economic loss during the first two to four weeks after the WTC towers collapsed in New York City, as well as decline in airline travel over next few years

$60 billion: Estimated cost of the WTC site damage, including surrounding buildings, infrastructure and subway facilities

3.1 million: Hours of labor to clean up 1.8 million tons of debris

$750 million: Total cost of cleanup

22: Governmental agencies rolled into a single Department of Homeland Security, including the Customs Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, after 9/11

Statistics provided by NY Magazine on the anniversary in 2002 (for NYC only)

The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. 

• Total number killed in attacks in New York: 2,753

• Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343

• Number of NYPD officers: 23

• Number of Port Authority police officers: 37

• Number of WTC companies in the towers that lost people: 128

• Number of employees who died in Tower One: 1,402

• Number of employees who died in Tower Two: 614

• Number of employees lost at Cantor Fitzgerald: 658

• Number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Enduring Freedom: 2,343

• Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115

• Ratio of men to women who died: 3:1

• Age of the greatest number who died: between 35 and 39

• Bodies found "intact": 291

• Remains found: 21,906

• Number of families who got no remains: 1,717

• Estimated units of blood donated to the New York Blood Center: 36,000

• Total units of donated blood actually used: 258

• Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609

• Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051

• Percentage of Americans who knew someone hurt or killed in the attacks: 20

• FDNY retirements, January–July 2001: 274

• FDNY retirements, January–July 2002: 661

• Number of firefighters on leave for respiratory problems by January 2002: 300

• Number of funerals attended by Rudy Giuliani in 2001: 200

• Number of FDNY vehicles destroyed: 98

• Tons of debris removed from site: 1.8 million

• Days fires continued to burn after the attack: 99

• Jobs lost in New York owing to the attacks: 146,100

• Days the New York Stock Exchange was closed: 6

• Point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average when the NYSE reopened: 684.81

• Days after 9/11 that the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan: 26

• Total number of civil rights complaints reported to the Council on American-Islamic Relations nationwide from 2002 to 2008: 12,962

• Economic loss to New York in month following the attacks: $105 billion

• Estimated cost of cleanup: $600 million

• Total FEMA money spent on the emergency: $970 million

• Estimated amount donated to 9/11 charities: $1.4 billion

• Estimated amount of insurance paid worldwide related to 9/11: $40.2 billion

• Estimated amount of money needed to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $7.5 billion

• Amount of money granted by U.S. government to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $4.55 billion

• Estimated amount of money raised for funds dedicated to NYPD and FDNY families: $500 million

• Percentage of total charity money raised going to FDNY and NYPD families: 25

• Average benefit already received by each FDNY and NYPD widow: $1 million

• Percentage increase in law-school applications from 2001 to 2002: 17.9

• Percentage increase in Peace Corps applications from 2001 to 2002: 40

• Percentage increase in CIA applications from 2001 to 2002: 50

• Number of songs Clear Channel Radio considered "inappropriate" to play after 9/11: 150

• Number of mentions of 9/11 at the 2002 Oscars: 26

• Apartments in lower Manhattan eligible for asbestos cleanup: 23,000

• Number of apartments whose residents have requested cleanup and testing: 4,167

• Number of Americans who changed their 2001 holiday-travel plans from plane to train or car: 1.4 million

• Estimated number of New Yorkers suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder as a result of 9/11: 422,000

 

Don't forget today is

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

I hope this reminder means you won't forget, either.   

I'm also sharing this with Nicole and Friday Face Off because there are a lot of faces in this post.