Curtis brought home some; tea bags, stir sticks, and instant coffee after a business meeting. Of course I tucked the tea away but the “coffee stuff” sat on my kitchen counter for weeks because we aren’t big coffee drinkers and we when we do make coffee we use spoons to stir not disposable utensils. Right? Not using disposables is one of the ways to positively impact the environment and reduce your waste. I didn’t want to send them to the landfill, but they were going to end up in my cabinets collecting dust. I knew I wasn’t going to use them in the kitchen, so…

I put my recycling cap on and started think about how I could transform these silly wooden sticks into something more use full, more entertaining, and hopefully send a message about looking at the items we use and toss in a new way. I thought about all the items we use to make coffee and tea; stir sticks, tea bags, coffee filters, individual packets of sugar and creamer. Many of them we just use once and toss. I pulled out a coffee filter and stir sticks and started to let my imagination go. Coffee Fairy! I got my wire out and started to bend and twist the core anatomy of the fairy. I looped hip, neck, and shoulder joints to attach the limbs and head of the fairy. I made a spine, ribcage, and even a spiral heart to fill the space under the dress. Adding cotton balls gave Stacey a little more substance to her body. The sir sticks could make simple stick figure arms and legs. I cut the stir sticks in half and wired them to the fairy’s frame.

A filter would make the most beautiful, fluffy, and chic dress for an eco fairy. The hardest part was coming up with a head and wings for Stacey. I eventually found the right size and shape for her head and figured out the simple lines of the copper wings. Now Stacey the Coffee Fairy is ready to hang on your tree or by your desk. Just be careful not to leave a cup of Joe out, she might just drink it down to the last drop!

I named this one-of-a-kind fairy after my close friend and graphic designer, Stacey Pastor. She has been the reason I have a website and wonderful graphics for Miss Fi’s Kingdom. She has works hard for me. She took my pencil drawings of Miss Fi and my vision of her Kingdom and turned them into pixels and points on her Mac. Stacey LOVES coffee! So when we work she has to have to have a cup of coffee or a latté or two. She is one of the reasons I bought a coffee machine. So I thought naming this fairy ornament, Stacey, would be the perfect tribute to her and all her work for me.

Stacey the Coffee Fairy drank all her coffee and she wants some more! Go to www.MissFiKingdom.etsy.com to purchase this very special ornament. There is more to come from Stacey the Coffee Fairy but this is the 1st of her kind.

Gourds are a type of fruit. They are in the pumpkin family and grow as a flower and then fruit from growing vines. They don’t like to grow on the ground like pumpkins. Gourds like strong support like a trees, trellis, or fence. The plant produces oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. When the gourds are harvested and the plant has died, the decaying plant matter is great for nourishing the soil. Gourds are grown around the world for practical and decorative uses. Gourds are used for all sorts of items such as drinking vessels, food storage, decorative baskets and musical instruments. Gourds have played an important role in human progress.

These particular gourds are very small, grown for more decorative uses rather than carrying life-sustaining food and water. However, they still share a history, beauty and function. These ornaments may be decorated very differently but they all speak to the fact that there was a natural, beneficial, living plant cycle that took its course to create it. Covered in paper, painted, gilded, and wired these gourd ornaments are definitely a great way to “go green” for the holiday season. Give it as a gift or hang it with care. Enjoy!