I am absolutely, positively bonkers for this eco-friendly material from 3form.

All-natural materials like leaves, shavings of bamboo and this maidenhair fern are encased in resin.  The large sheets can be used as room dividers, as fronts for kitchen cabinets, as a tabletop surface and so much more.    I’m interested in using it in the bathrooms in the new house; perhaps as a divider for the shower?     I have a call into the company to find out if the organics line is waterproof or not… but how amazing would that look?

It’s fun just to look at the whole palette line:

http://www.3-form.com/materials-varia-organics.php

Way back in May, the green issue of ELLE Magazine came out that I worked on with eco-activist Laurie David.    Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was cleaning up the hard drive on my computer and found these digital photos of an eco party I produced for the ELLE issue.

The guest of honor was jewelry designer Jennifer Meyer, who happens to also be married to actor Tobey Maguire.   Both proud parents (of their newborn baby Ruby) were at the party.      But before the festivities could begin, I had to take a deck space in Malibu (at the home of Jen’s father Ron Meyer) that overlooked the Pacific Ocean.   

To cozy up the space, I brought in these recycled sari fabric pillows from Matta NY.   They. Are. Incredible.

Isn’t this table setting great?     To cut down on plastic and disposables, I brought in reusable Bento boxes I picked up at Pearl River in New York City.   Inside, we filled each little box with organic salad, sushi and other treats.

And while I’m not usually a fan of very modern design, I do like these organic rose arrangements made by a fantastic flower designer in Beverly Hills.     Check out that view!

I have these giant Japanese maple trees in the front of my house and they are blazing red today.     Whenever I take a break from work and just look at the window, I’m absolutely in awe of the bright red and orange trees.     I have to go out there with the clippers to cut some branches to preserve them.   If you pour a mixture of warm water and liquid glycerin together, the branches will soak up the mixture and will preserve the leaves.   They get all leathery and can be used all year round. 

But it is November and I need to start thinking HOLIDAY!    So I headed to the craft room and brought out a giant wine box full of vintage holiday ornaments.

The ones that were saved from my wax dipping project (scroll down the posts…you’ll see a project where I dipped these ornaments in melted wax to "frost" them), are being used in the house.

I have this butler’s tray table from JC Penney sitting in my living room with these glass lanterns on top. I thought it looked cozy and festive just to scatter the balls inside the tray:

When the candles are lit at night, it really casts a reflective glow from the ornaments.  Hmm..maybe I don’t need a tree this year.  Maybe.

I love LED holiday string lights.    They use a tiny fraction of the energy compared to traditional string lights and they last a really long time.       The best part?  They don’t get hot or warm like regular lights; even when lit for hours (or days) they still feel cool to the touch.

You can find LED string lights now at lots of retail stores and online.   All you have to do is search.   I bought these lights years ago when only a few stores carried them.  These were from Brookstone and cost a fortune, but at least I know they’ll be good for another 10 years.

This year, I attached 6 strings of lights together and wrapped it densely around a grapevine wreath.    When lit up, it really does glow on the front porch.   I’m thinking of just keeping this wreath wrapped in lights and will just hang it up and plug it in each year.       I’m also tempted to get some new LED string lights I’ve been seeing and doing an uber-giant wreath to hang on the fireplace outdoors.     Let’s add that to the to-do list.

Have you tried out the LED holiday lights?   

I’m not sure if you’re in the same situation I am, but I have a bunch of leftover pumpkins sitting on my front porch from when I decorated it for Halloween.

Today, I decided to put the smaller pumpkins in these metal plantable stakes I have in the ground.  They look nice nested in a mound of moss, don’t they?  And I placed a great big squash at the foot of them.

One tip from my new 2008 one-a-day calendar Do Just One Thing is to crack open the large squash and let wild animals—squirrels, chipmunks, maybe even deer—eat the seeds and flesh inside.    I’ll be taking a hammer to this orange mound later today and will let you know if it becomes a feast or not for our furry friends.