Fabulous Eco-Friendly Find

I came across an Eco-friendly crafter whilst on twitter Saturday who blew me away with her eye catching and beautifully coloured designs. I loved her work so much that I had to buy this necklace and bracelet that very same day! Melissa of Sew Sweet Stitches uses recycled felt and vintage buttons to create some of her amazing designs. I only have one problem now...who to give it to!!!  Do I give it to my Mum (whom I love dearly), my Nana (who is still into fashion at 92), my best friend  (who loves unique one of a kind treasures (or keep it for myself!). I would love to share Melissa's story and give one lucky person the chance to win the bracelet shown below or to work with Melissa on a custom made bracelet.

"I first began using felt to make hair clips for my little girl. Whenever she wore them we got lots of compliments, which gave me the idea of selling them online. Soon I was using the embroidered flowers on other projects like coffee cup cozies, which has become my most popular item. Lately I've been exploring other creative uses for felt, such as jewelry and accessories.

There are many kinds of felt available, but the kind I mostly use is made from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. It's called Eco-fi. While Eco-fi doesn't feel quite the same as wool felt, it has many advantages. It's washable, inexpensive, and of course helpful to the environment. According to Eco-fi's manufacturer, it takes 700 years for plastic bottles to begin decomposing. Over 56 million plastic bottles have already been made into fiber this year alone. The bottles are washed and stripped of labels, then crushed into flakes. The flakes are melted and the plastic fibers are extracted, then processed into many kinds of fabric to be used for carpet, clothing, and home furnishings"
  
I absolutely love that Melissa has taken a recycled product and made beautiful jewelry from it. You can also email her direct for more information on any of her products @ sewsweetstitches_on_etsy@yahoo.com. If you would love to own a one of a kind piece from her collection here is how you can enter:
 

You must become a public follower on Google Friend Connect on my blog to enter this giveaway
If you are already a follower just let me know.

There are so many ways to enter!! you can do some or all of the below. Please leave a seperate comment of each additional entry:

 

Entries:

1. Tweet about this giveaway up to 3 x a day. Don't forget to leave a link to your tweet. Feel free to tweet this "I love #eco friendly products & want to win a one of a kind bracelet @maxwelldesigns #giveaway ends 11/03" (1 entry)

2. Go to Sew Sweet Stitches on Etsy and come back here to tell me which of Melissa's products you love the most and why (1 entry)

3. Tell the next person you see they look amazing today (1 entry)

4. Blog about this giveaway. Be sure to link back to my site and leave the URL where you blogged in your comment (2 entries)

5. Link to me and grab my button for your blog or webpage (5 entries)

6. Follow @maxwelldesigns on twitter (1 entry)

7. Sign up for my blog newsletter (2 entry)

8. Follow @SweetStitches on twitter (1 entry)
9. Vote for me at Top Baby Blogs - just click on this link. Vote as many times as you like. (1 entry per vote)
10. Do one eco-friendly act today - make sure you come back and tell me what you did (1 entry)

 

 

This is not a paid post, I purchased this giveaway personally as I wanted to be able to share Melissa's gorgeous products with you. Melissa very kindly agreed to share her story and create a custom made bracelet if you choose this option rather than the one featured. All photographs are the property of Melissa.

Be sure to include your email address in EACH comment so I can contact you if you win. To prevent bots from picking up your email address and sending you spam, please enter your email address like this: "maxwelldesigns at hotmail dot com")

This Giveaway will end on March11th @ 12 noon (Pacific time). A random comment will be chosen. The winning comment will be verified at that time, so if you said you follow the blog in your comment and I don't find you in the follow list, we will choose another winner. The winner will be contacted by email the following morning and will have 48 hours to reply with their name and shipping address. If a response is not received within 48 hours the winner will forfeit the prize and a new winner will be selected. Sorry, no exceptions. Open to Canadian & American residents only

Good Luck