What's TerraCycle you ask? Good question. I first fell in love with this amazing company when my family received a Tassimo home brewer as a gift this summer. We were super excited to have it, but were a bit apprehensive about tossing the little discs in the garbage (eventually they add up!). So, I hopped on to the internet to see if we could recycle them. They definitely weren't acceptable in the blue bin, and I had a feeling they weren't going to be compostable materials...  That's when I came across TerraCycle's website. Not only was this a place to recycle my T-discs, but they were going to swap my discs for money. Okay, now I've got YOUR attention, right???? How can this be possible? Garbage for money? Yes, you heard me right!  Before I get into how you go about doing this, let me tell you a little bit about the company.

TerraCycle was founded in 2001 by twenty-year old Princeton freshman, Tom Szaky. Initially they began producing organic fertilizer (liquid worm poop in used soda bottles) and have since become one of the fastest growing green companies in the world. Currently their main focus is to eliminate the idea of waste, and they're doing this by creating recycling programs for non-recyclable items. These free collection programs allow you to send them your waste at no cost to you (a free courier comes to your door and picks up your package) and TerraCycle will then convert that collected waste into a wide range of products and materials. In addition to repurposing your garbage and keeping it out of the landfill, TerraCycle also gives money to the charity of your choice in exchange for your refuse! Depending on the product you can get from $0.02 to $10/a piece.  With over 14 million "collectors" in 11 countries they have diverted billions of pieces of waste that are either upcycled or recycled into over 1,500 various products available at major retailers.

So, if you're like me, it sounded a little too good to be true, but I signed up anyway, to check it out. The great news is, is that after working with TerraCycle for over 6 months, I've not once encountered a catch.  When signing up, you choose the charity you'd like your money to go to (they have many already registered on their site), OR you can register a charity of your own (I registered my son's elementary school). Then you sign up for each brigade (a brigade is another word for collection program) you'd like to collect for including products like diaper packaging, health and beauty products, cookie/cracker packaging, Tassimo Discs and much, much more! I've rallied all the parents on my son's school council and we do a weekly collection. Each week I'm knee deep and rubber glove'd in garbage as I sort the pieces into packages to send off. But it's worth it, as this is truly a win - win situation...We're keeping the garbage out of the landfill, increasing awareness and instilling Triple R (reduce, reuse, recycle) values in the kids at the school AND raising funds for a great "cause". We started this initiative in the school at the end of October, and since then we've diverted over 50,000 pieces of garbage from the landfill, and raised over $600 from the school. Our goal is to divert 100,000 pieces before the end of the school year! Thanks TerraCycle for opening my eyes to a world of recycling possibilities!

If this amazingly awesome company has inspired you to start your own collection, or if you're just curious about what they do, please check them out HERE! 

~F.

Two years ago this summer, my family moved from our "West Toronto" home to the burbs of Oakville. I had been trying to convince my husband for YEARS that suburbia was truly the place for us. Big homes with big lots for LESS MONEY! The commute for my husband was basically the same (just trading one mode of public transportation for another) and the move would afford us a larger space while still allowing me to stay home with the kids. When we stumbled upon a fantastic home in an older, established neighbourhood, it was difficult to turn down. It had all the space we needed (and then some...!), was on a nice court, had a good yard for the kids and was a two minute walk to the elementary school. Sounds perfect right? Well, I think we were blinded a little by the space without really taking into consideration the things that can't REALLY be changed. Not that we're not happy with the house...we couldn't be happier, there are just things we'd like to change. And this list grows each day, with my ambitious DIY-mindedness leading the way. Without spending too much time on all the OTHER things I want to change, let's focus on the biggest job. The EXTERIOR. Now, you'd think the exterior would be the selling point for most home buyers...but I don't even think my husband and I looked at the exterior when we toured the house (3 times - my poor real estate agent...!) . Now, it stares at me in the face every morning, afternoon and evening. We've got a split level home that is YELLOW brick (mottled with greens, beiges and greys), with GOLD and CREAM siding. How did I not notice that?????? Anyway, after we moved in, I asked our contractor what it would cost to do what I really wanted to the house (when I dream, darlings...I dream big). My reno list included reroofing, new windows, new garage door, new front door, new shaker style siding, new stone work and new porch, so, um....basically a new house, lol. When I saw the cost I realized that it was probably better for us to buy a new house, so instead, I racked my brain to figure out how we could modify the house without truly breaking the bank, yet still be happy with the exterior. Then I came across an article in Canadian House and Home on a former antique dealer's house in Port Hope. It opened my eyes to what a yellow house had the potential to really be. Simple yellow siding with white trim and a lovely black door as an accent. I think I would use black as the colour of the shutters, too, but not much else to change. So, this very expensive job has now turned into something a little more manageable, and with a little, er A LOT, of paint, my house could be reborn! Stay tuned while I look for the perfect paint, and when and IF I can convince my husband to do it, some BEFORE and AFTER shots of the final product! Wish me luck!!!

~F.

If you'd like to tour this lovely home (that my house will never look like, no matter how much paint I throw at it), in the comfort of your own home, click HERE!

Today I finally got to touch baby Marlowe's sweet, chubby cheeks. This little darling is the first girl for my friend Toni and her family and only the second lady in a pack of ever growing children born to a group of publicity women I used to work with. (Currently we're at a tally of 6 boys and 2 girls, with another boy on his way in a couple of months!!!!)

A major inspiration of mine is Marlowe's mommy, Toni. With two kids of her own, she reinvented her career and partnered up with OM home to create a line of locally-made kid's sleepwear and an organic line of baby basics. And then her family grew! Toni is a determined woman,
and continues to work now that her precious princess is born. When I was wrestling with the idea of starting The Paper Parlour, I knew that if Toni was able to keep up her impeccable work ethic while working around the schedules of two little people and a brand newbie, then I should have some faith that I could accomplish a much smaller job, with only two muffins of my own.

Baby Marlowe's family is filled with warm and fuzzies (as I like to call them - I on the other hand, am NOT a warm and fuzzy...) Their house is an exact match, warm and eclectic (mixing modern pieces with traditional) and ever so welcoming. When I heard that Toni had finally had her little lady (after having her water break on a Toronto Streetcar!), I wanted to be sure to create a piece that reflected that warm and fuzzy family vibe as well as a bit of cool and quirky ambiance that surrounds the house. I came up with this design for the "Alphabet Art" family. The red hearts signify the warm, loving side of this family, the circus'ish font is a reflection of the fun, quirky side and the flowy font that was used for Marlowe's name is a final, feminine touch. Welcome to the world, Baby Marlowe!
~F.

Don't forget to check out Om Home and their beautiful, stylish products without boundaries.

So, this beautiful little table got me in the mood for some DIY fun. My living room is beige (surprise, surprise) as is the rest of my house (surprise, surprise), so I generally use an accent colour to make each room stand out. The POP colour of choice in the LR is teal! How hot is teal, seriously???? As soon as I saw this accent table from Target (left), I WANTED IT...I NEEEEEEEEDED it!!!! And, Target had just opened a butt-load of stores in Canada, (one about 20 minutes away!!!!!), so off I shuffled to grab one of these. Oh wait....I forgot....I don't have $50 to blow on a silly accent table. Let's get real! So, when we can't buy the real thing, what do we do? We improvise. And, of course, that meant I had to travel to my tried and true Value Village (VV to most) to grab a table that would suffice. But there's never a guarantee that one will find what they want when they get there. Well, don't you know, I must've had horseshoes and rabbits feet galore because I came upon a nice, yellowish wood accent table for the low, low price of $6.99!! It was no antique (the "made in China" sticker on the underside must've given it away), but it was pretty and my living room was in dire need of a feminine touch. So, off I went to Home Depot to grab a can of spray paint (actual colour was Rustoleum's Lagoon in a satin finish) and off I went. It actually was a nice, quick project that my son was able to help me out with, until his poor little fingers got tired of pressing the nozzle on the paint can! Anyway, a couple of coats of spray and an overnight cure gave me this wonderful little piece to brighten up my drab room! All for under $20! Take that Target!
~F.