Night Owl Paper Goods is a stationary company based in Birmingham “Owlbama” (their pun, not mine… I love puns!) They use the phrase “modern yet folksy” to describe their company, and I’ll add “sustainable” to that list, too. They make two kinds of greeting cards: paper and wood. The paper letterpress designs are printed on “100% reclaimed & recycled cotton from the garment industry” which have a luxurious feeling to them that you normally associate with fancy but eco-UNfriendly paper.

Their unique wood cards are printed on thinly sliced, sustainability harvested yellow birch. The birch slices are also turned into business cards, journal covers and custom wedding invitations. They’re pretty cool!  My favorite product was the wood postcards which you can buy with one of their cute designs or blank so you can DIY.  They go right in the mail with a postcard stamp, and are just as easy to write on as paper.

I met Jennifer and Alan at the National Stationary Show this year, and they were kind enough to give a Night Owl Paper Goods discount code to The Amber Show readers good now until June 30, 2009. So go shopping! (The wood cars are especially rad for Father’s Day!) Use the discount code Amber* to receive 20% off.

*(dude. How cool am I? )

Happy Earth Day!

This is my earth friendly tip for you: Save your plastic bags. The bags that dry cereal and noodles come in are my favorites. They are much sturdier than the plastic bags you buy, and work well for housing leftovers.

Some examples: I used the last of some Rice Krispies and a bag of marshmallows to make Rice Krispie treats. Then I put the treats, when they were cooled, into the empty cereal bag and the empty marshmallow bag.

Our onions are in an empty cereal bag so they stay fresher longer (we hardly ever use up onions before they go bad; I’m hoping this will help).

We bought some lox and I used only part of the package. Instead of wrapping the extra in plastic wrap, it’s in an empty noodle bag.

I keep the bags in an old cereal box put aside for this purpose, and it sits on top of my refrigerator. If I was more ambitious I’d decorate the box.

P.S. Stu! told me she hoped I wouldn’t become “one of those freaky ‘freegan’ people” when she saw what I was up to, but this is just a matter of common sesne.  I have no plans to rummage through a dumpster for my clothes anytime soon (although I’m a terrible dresser and sometimes I look like I might…)