Itty Bitty Bonzai is a collection of tiny tips and tricks for living a life more mindful. Small actions, collectively and compounded, become a powerful force of change.

#17

So the holidays are over and you’ve got a pile of greetings and gift cards, on display and collecting dust in a corner of the living room. But they’ve got to come down eventually, and unfortunately most will find their way into the rubbish bin.

Of course you, diligent Bonzai readers, would never trash that precious card stock, I’m sure. We’re all recyclers here, are we not?

But what about doing one better? Instead of tossing them in with the newspapers and tomato tins, why not hold on to them for later use? Simply remove that pretty (and valuable) front! (leaving the back, inscribed with your relative’s well wishes, to recycle) Now you have a brand new post card, a clever thank-you note, or a lovely gift tag!

You can also wrap a gift in simple brown paper (re-use a paper grocery bag), then tape the recycled card front to it, to add a festive image.

So save your holiday cards for the next years festivities! But don’t forget to save other cards throughout the year – this works equally well for Valentines, birthdays, and beyond!

BONZAI!

Happy New Year! I used a random number generator to select our three winners, and here they are!







First was #68, Jill, who wrote: “I have no bag. I only have pockets and sometimes I don’t even have that. I hope I win!”

Congrats lady! Now you have a bag!







Next up was #31, Sara, who said: “I don’t know why I’m doing this, I have so many bags already but those are so CUTE! :) Novica’s mission is pretty amazing too.”

Sara, a girl can always use another bag. ;) Congrats!







And lastly, we had #46, Minna, who commented: “Haha, all of a sudden there’s like 45 comments :D That is such a cool drawing! I wonder if people outside of the USA can enter :P”

Yay! You’re comments are always so positive and sweet, I’m so delighted that you won! (and of course, anyone in the world is eligible here)


Congratulations to our winners – you should be receiving an email from me shortly.

And thank you to everyone who entered. I hope that this will be the first of many giveaways here, so make sure and check in again soon. And mostly, happy new year to all of you!

Everyone knows that the new year is a traditional time for starting over.

I was always the sort to eschew the new years resolutions. “Everyone always breaks them anyway,” I’d say. I think my friends and I all tried to quit smoking together one year. I lasted about 3 months – others didn’t even last the night.

But then in early 2008, I found myself in a very, very bad place. Would you believe I was a totally bitter, negative person? It’s true. I’d never dealt with depression before and it took me damn near a year to figure out what was going wrong. The sadness itself was brought on by a multitude of factors, but suffice to say it left me in a pretty bad way. I was lonely, lost, unmotivated, and squarely in the center of a quarter-life crisis. I knew I needed to do something radical, before I lost myself forever.

So I did. Not overnight and not without trial (and error), but I wrote a journal about the breakthrough, here, if you’re interested. I began to practice positivity as a lifestyle. I made sweeping changes, looked at myself critically, imagined what I wanted to become. A lot of the work I did during that time served as inspiration for this article. And of course, it led me here (among other places). Just a few months later I was launching Bonzai Aphrodite.

The turn of the year seemed a perfect time to put my vision down on paper. I do believe that having a reference point, the simple act of writing something down and thus entering it into the world, can be a powerful force in manifesting that goal. I had 10 new intentions that I kept in a Word doc on my desktop. It’s entitled 2009 – Living the Dream, and along with my ‘resolutions’, I record my strategies for happiness, my sources of inspiration, and a list of the books I’ve read (I always try to read more than I did the year before). I make sure to open it at least once a month, to read over my 10 intentions and remember the bigger picture.


Resolutions for a New Year:

1) I can be whoever I want to be.
2) CLARITY → VISUALIZE → MANIFEST
3) Practice being a good wife. Be good to Damian. Try to make sure that every day, his life is better because of me.
4) Make realistic, ambitious lists. Cross off everything. Then, allow satisfaction and relaxation.
5) GET PREGNANT IN 2009. Get happy before getting pregnant. Get happy.
6) Enjoy food. Eat healthily. Eat with intention and moderation and pleasure.
7) Walk the boys every day I am able.
8) Exercise every day I am able.
9) Worry less about money. Worry less about the future. Worry less.
0) Never get a ‘real’ job in 2009!




This year there are less intentions – I’m coming from a very different place, after all. But I still have a few (always will, I hope!), and on new years day I’ll write them down in a new Word doc.

What about you, my dears? Do you believe in setting intentions? Do you you make new year’s resolutions, or are you more the type to skip the gimmick?

Lots of Love and wishing you all the best and brightest year of your lives!

I’m so happy to announce our first giveaway, just in time to kick off a new decade! When Novica approached me about sponsoring the site, I thought, ‘what better way than to pass on the goodies to you guys’!? So here it is, in the form of three free handbags to three lucky readers!





Novica is an online international marketplace of sorts, and functions in association with National Geographic to allow artisans from around the globe to hock their wares worldwide. You can read more about their mission, here.





Each of the bags pictured in this post will be given away on New Years day! All you have to do to enter the drawing is to leave a comment on this post. Feel free to request the color you’d prefer, though I can’t guarantee that you’ll get that one if you win. And why not poke around Novica’s site to check out their awesome unique handbags, slings, and totes.

You guys are awesome! Happy New Year!!!

Growing up in my house, we always made our own holiday gifts. We were pretty poor, and I suppose it was our only option. But it was never presented to me like that (I didn’t even know what ‘poor’ was, really, and I had a stupendously fabulous childhood full of ‘thing finding’ and ‘government cheese’. But that’s another story.) It was all about crafting our caring into something unique, something personal. My mom and I made play-doh ornaments, or baskets of baked goods, or clay coffee mugs. And, I guess, the tradition has just continued.

The first holiday season that Damian and I spent together, I was a starving college student. So I thrifted the softest cashmere sweater I could find (this was pre-vegan), disassembled it, and sewed it into a pillowcase. I needlepointed ‘Damian’s Head Here —->’ into the corner. Damian, who is sort of obsessed with really soft things, loved it. It’s still on our bed.

Last year we made all our gifts together – our attempt at canning. All our friends and family got our truly terrible plum syrup, sugar-free strawberry jam, and tomato starter sauce. Hey, it was our first time! And it’s the thought that counts, right?

Anyway, there I go reminiscing. Pregnancy and the holidays have got me all nostalgic! But all of this story-telling serves a purpose: to introduce this years gift projects. First up – candle making!


How To Make Candles In A Crock Pot

All you need is some wax, some wicks + wick bases, and some candle-holders. I used soy wax because it’s vegan and I think it makes superior quality candles (just my preference, I love soy candles!). It’s available at any craft store along with a selection of other options. I used precut wicks that came in their bases, because they were really cheap. But you can also buy wick string and cut it yourself. Both are available at the craft store. For candle holders, I just used a bunch of shot glasses I’d purchased years ago for a party, and never even opened. You could also upcycle your old candle holders, or hit the thrift stores for anything from shot glasses to tea cups, whatever you can imagine can become a funky candle holder.

Optional additions include color (candle dye is available at the craft store) and smell. I used eucalyptus essential oil, but you can also buy scents specifically designed for candles (though you certainly don’t need to and can use any essential oil you’ve got). You’ll also probably want a wooden skewer for stirring hot wax (a chopstick or a length of wire, like from a hanger, would probably work just as well)

Once you’ve gathered all your supplies, set aside some time when you’ll be around the house for a couple of hours. I made these candles on Sunday afternoon, whilst cleaning the kitchen and then suggling with the husband for movie time. Just make sure you’ll be nearby and available for frequent checks. You don’t want to deal with a waxy mess (or worse!).

1) Spoon the pieces of wax into your candle holders and arrange them in the bottom of the crock pot. Don’t overcrowd and definitely don’t stack! Turn the crock to high, cover, and go do something else.





2) 20-30 minutes later you can check back. Your wax will probably be melted and you’ll probably notice your candles aren’t as full as you’d like. So carefully add more wax to each container. You may have to do this for a few rounds.





3) When the candles are as full as you like and you’ve let them get good and hot and melty, it’s time to add the essential oils. You’ll need to call for an assistant. “Assistant!”





3.5) He was very helpful. So, using a dropper add 5-15 drops of your odor-of-choice to each candle. I wanted a more mild, mellow vibe so I only used 5 drops. If you were to use color, this is where you would add the dye as well.





4) Stir it up! (note bulging belly creeping into the pic)





5) Add your wicks. Carefully insert them and make sure they’re centered. They should stay straight up on their own, so don’t worry about that.








6) Turn the crock pot off. Leave it uncovered. Go do something else.





Over the next few hours the wax will cool and harden. They’ll be hard enough to handle if you’d like to remove them after a few hours, but give them at least 6+ hours before you really toss ‘em around. They need plenty of time to get good and set.

And that’s it, just a few hours of monitoring and six easy steps gets you these adorable, customized gifts that anyone would be delighted to receive. They’re so cute, no?





Happy Holidays!