It’s an exciting day in the world of Freebie Fridays. We’re giving you the chance to win an original work of art from artist Carrie McGee, whose piece 5 Strands is featured in the 2010 HGTV Green Home in Plymouth, Mass. Carrie has created the new piece, Oscillations, just for Design Happens readers. Oscillations was made by using rust, metal leaf and oil paint on acrylic blocks to create a truly unique work of art. For a chance to win this beautiful piece, answer this week’s question before 12/11c, Monday, June 28. To find out more about Carrie’s piece, check out Gail, the HGTV Green Home Super Fan’s video. Be sure to provide a valid email address so we can contact you if you win. Mark your calenders for June 28 at 8 e/p for an in-depth tour of the home with Sabrina Soto. At the end of the show, watch as Jamie Durie hands over the keys and $100,000 to one lucky winner. It’s an event you won’t want to miss!
This week we want to know, what are you doing to make your home more eco-friendly? Cutting down on energy usage by properly insulating your walls? Minimizing the need for irrigation by planting hardy, native plants? You have until 12/11c Monday to answer. Click for official rules. The 2010 HGTV Green Home is only the second home in Massachusetts to achieve Gold certification by the National Association of Home Builders — see why here.
As far as the beautiful artwork goes, it is almost as if it was made for my newly remodeled living room! I just got sage colored sofa and loveseat with oversized pillows that have cream, rust and copper accents! My area rug is sage, cream, rust and copper patchwork squares on my new hardwood flooring. The walls are beadboard on the bottom half (painted sage), the top half are beige with Ralph Lauren "candlelight" glaze, and there is a copperish bronze wooden chair rail in the middle. Being as I live in the "Land of the Midnight Sun", I can just imagine the sunlight streaming through the artwork casting a warm glow on my living room walls! It would be magnificently beautiful! I need to post pics, because everyone would agree the artwork looks as if it was made for my living room. It matches all my existing decor perfectly!
Thank you HGTV for all the inspiration you have given me through the years! Tamara M. *********Email: AlaskaHGTVfan@live.com*********
BLOG#1 Page 4of 4 (The word count is limited, so it took 4 pages to answer the question of going "green")
Just by doing simple things like have my son color on both sides of a peice of paper to reusing soda bottles and make them water bottles. We don't own the home so there isn't much we can do but change habits in our daily lives.
ah…now in IntenseDebate…
I got our apartment building to put recycle bins in the basement – since no one has room in our tiny apartments to separate recyclables from trash – now we can recycle in the basement. Lots more in the blue recycle bins – lots less in the garbage!
Also got all the lightbulbs in the common areas changed to CFL – saves energy and $$.
Plus we hang most of laundry, rather than use the dryers in the laundry room.
In my first "blue" comment:
Thanks for this wonderful opportunity to win a gorgeous piece of art! What are we doing to make our home more eco friendly? We've made vinegar our friend! We use it for cleaning all kind of things; counters, windows appliances-you name it! No more chemical fumes here, just the tangy clean smell of vinegar. My son has always loved to help maintain drains by mixing vinegar and baking soda and watching the "eruption" shoot right down a sluggish drain! We also try to practice the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recyle as much as possible! Each little bit helps!
we add more insulation in our attic,we are going to put all new windows in real soon,far as native plants we have are 35 acres tillable farm ground planted in crp that means it planted in native grasses an trees,it attracks all kinds of wildlife i live on a 110 acre farm we turkey fox coyote deer racoons rabbits squirrels we have a 2 acre an 1 acre ponds loaded with fish we have a water fountain an air rator pump in one to help the fish to spawn it works good.we have dehumidfiers to take out the humidty in our basement but i feel there is room for more we can do but everything takes time an money.so every little bit helps that we do.
an we put sump pump in basement water proofing the walls to like i said everything takes time an money
we have hot water boiler heat right now to heat our home,always though looking for more ways to conserve energy,
Thank you Gail for giving us the opportunity to win a piece of the HGTV Green home. It's a lovely piece and I have the perfect place for it.
What a wonderful additional giveaway! It's hard to choose what I like most about this house (other than it's obvious "green" qualities. This piece of art is my favorite wall piece. Thank you.
It's a beautiful piece of art and I have not seen anythingelse like it in our whole state. Send it to me and I'll hang it in my gallery and tell everyone about it! Like the idea of using elements from the earth.
I appreciate all HGTV does with the Dream Homes and Green Homes.
I especially love the art work at the stairway and would love the win the piece shown.
I was raised on a farm and learned to be a good steward of the Earth. I have always practiced recycling and being kind to the environment. Thanks for giving us all something to dream about these past few months.
One recent thing I found to make our home more eco-friendly are energy smart surge protectors that automatically shut off power to things like DVD players, video game systems, speakers, etc. when not in use. It's a little thing that everyone can afford.
Thanks so much for this opportunity Gail and HGTV! I am a big-time recycler, (not sure if that's a real word!) Our good City of Austin, TX provides us with HUGE recycle bins and I take full advantage of it. I even pull things out of the trash that people throw away to put in my bin. I recycle all plastic groceries bags at the store bin. We recently installed an energy efficient front door and just sprayed insulation in our attic to add to what was previously there. We also caulk around windows to keep the hot air (and it is hot here!!) out and cool air in. I love our earth and hope it will be around for many years to come!!
Gail, you rock! Carrie, thank you for sharing you extraordinary talent with on of the fans! <3
Love the art! This would be a great addition to my living room for everyone to see! Thank you Gail and HGTV!
Fun! Fun! Fun!
I love Green Art!!!
I would love to win this gorgeous piece by Carrie McGee. It would be perfect in so many places in our home. Still hoping to win the HGTV Green Home. Is it too late to dream that you are knocking on my door? And I am very excited about the new Dream Home in Stowe, Vermont! This is all lovely. I will be watching on Monday at 8 p.m.. I cannot believe I am this obsessed about all of this, but I am…….
I am learning alot that I can apply to my future as well. Thank you HGTV! Just love it all!
I love art pieces like this, and I have the perfect place for it!
We just changed our 20 year old refrigerator to a great new efficient one, and we will be getting new windows and fixing weatherstripping, etc. I will also be getting solar shades for the new windows! Yes, no more drafts!
Entry#3-Ever since watching Wall-E with my granddaughter….all I could think of was "WOW! I wish in a way we could turn back the clocks to the days when I grew up…Push lawn mowers, milk in bottles, the vegetables my Grandfather grew, we didn't have much in the 60's, it truly was a simpler time then it is now unbelieveable what ends up in land fills now. I want my beautiful granddaughter to have a beautiful place to live in and not a bunch of land fills with junk in it.. so everytime I look at her that has been my goal! Recently, my 10 year old laptop died..I bought it back to the store I bought it from and they have a program for recycling them.. YES! One thing not in the landfill from me.Years ago think of all the TV's etc we would leave at the side of the road for the garbage men to pick up..you don't see that as much anymore. We are becoming more responsible for OUR FUTURE-Our Children's futures!
I sell appliances-ENERGY STAR is the way to go less water-less energy used, it all starts at home! *smile*
What a beautiful piece of art. Colorful and playful to the eye. Who wouldn't love to own it. I do hop eit is mine. Good luck everyone!
I'm so excited with the giveaway tomorrow!!! Good Luck Everyone!
We have changed out all our lightbulbs to the low energy ones. We have installed a programmable thermostat and the temp. goes up during the day when we are at work to 78. We are using a bigger recycling trash can then regular trash so we are trying.
You think of everything … a lovely work of art to remember this wonderful journey.
That art piece is awesome! It is one of my favorite art pieces in the Green Home. If you are not chosen to win the Green Home, this smaller version would be a nice addition to your home. I just picture my husband having a ball in the Green Home (of course our entire family would have a ball). He is so ecofriendly in our own home with his compost pile in the backyard and always reminding the kids to recycle and save energy. The laundry room is even the colors of his alma mater – Ohio State! Good luck to all who entered. The winner will be very lucky and blessed
We have installed rain barrels like the ones at the green home!
just checking to find if I am still registered
As I looked around earlier this week for any suspicious activity on my street or at work, one thing came to mind when no one ever showed……..there is one thing worse that no one coming……and that would be sadly watching as they all show up NEXT DOOR! Hope I win the art piece – very lovely!!
What a nice surprise and consolation prize for one of us.
Thanks Gail.
I unplug appliances when not in use. It's one of the little things we all can do that not only doesn't cost anything, but actually save $$$ in the long run.
It is last day to find out who is the winner.
This art would be fabulous in my home
This art would be fabulous in my home.
We recycle as much as possible. I have taken to recycling old soda cans in paintings of flowers. I recently used some old plastic picnic forks and made an art piece for my kitchen…everyone loves it!! I'm trying to raise my two daughters with the philosophy if it can't be used for something else then and only then shall it be thrown away. My oldest daughter visits a thrift store near us and reworks all of the clothing she chooses by sewing them into new outfits. She "bedazzled" some old shoes she owned with beads for her prom and all the girls wanted them
She's pretty talented!!! As an artist, myself, I appreciate anything green!!
You find such wonderful artists. It would be such an honor to use this lovely piece as inspiration towards our remodel ideas.
I do not know what I am doing wrong here….I joined intensedebate created a profile, but my posts are still not being shown. Am I missing something?
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity, Gail and HGTV, and your hard work to make it happen for us! Carrie, THANK YOU very much for donating this incredibly beautiful piece of art! I would be humbled and honored to win it.
I've replaced all of my lights with the high efficiency light bulbs, I use my own shopping bags made from recycled products, and I recycle everything that I can. I always turn out lights in rooms not being used and I use candles in the evening in the living room while relaxing. In the winter I use a timer thermostat that lowers the heat to 60 degrees at night and when I'm gone during the day, and in the summer time I've opted to opening the windows rather than using a/c – the fresh air is nice too! I drive a fuel efficient vehicle and plan a route to run my errands in a logical driving pattern once a week so that I'm not wasting fuel. I have energy star appliances (stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer, and water heater that has an insulated blanket wrapped around it).
Thank you, HGTV, for helping us all to be more conscientious about living green anyway that we can!
This is my attempted third day entry for the art piece. The computer is working so slow that it has taken me an hour to read the blogs just from yesterday and to post. I love this art piece and would be proud to own it. Enjoy reading everyones green tips! Can learn something new everyday.
What am I doing to make my home more eco-friendly? I catch spiders and wasps that get inside and release them to the wild. No bug spray for us.
Thanks for the sweepstakes. This strand is indeed beautiful and I would be thrilled to win it.
P.S. This is Lindi, aka Lindigo, but it wouldn't let me log in with either name (yes, I know this name already exists–it's me!), so I am using a favorite misspelling.
Thank you Carrie McGee, Gail and HGTV! The Carrie McGee installation was my favorite piece of artwork in the HGVT Green home. Whoever wins will be one lucky person.
To make my house more eco-friendly I recycle everything I can and conserve as much utilities as possible (turning off lights when I'm not in the room, turning off the water when washing dishes or brushing my teeth and keeping the heat low in the winter and using the air conditioner only when absolutely necessary).
Thanks again for the great opportunity to win this amazing piece of artwork.
If I can't have the whole house then I would love to at least have a piece of it.
Even when my kids were small I was teaching them to love and respect the environment. Don't litter, recycle, purchase products that are ECO friendly, and conserve water/gas/electricity. If you grow up with it then it is a way of life that you never out grow.
This is just a test for now. Something I'm doing on this blog is not working, because nothing is being posted.
Well that worked…lol…so here goes. For going green in our home, we turn soda pop cans in art pieces, I've used old picnic plastic forks for a wall art piece in my kitchen. Everyone who sees it loves it! I'm teaching my two daughters to only throw something away when there is no longer another use for it! We donate all old clothing, shoes, books. My oldest daughter visits the local thrift store and revamps old clothing to make hip new clothing. She "bedazzled" her old wedge shoes and wore them for her prom and now all the girls want her to make them some! If you are creative anything is possible for going green.
Is anyone else getting the response "must be approved by the site admins?
I feel that I could always do more to be "green". I try hard to be a nonwasteful person ( I do use papertowels, YIKES! I know!) but as a mother of two ( 3yrs and 1yrs) my goal is to teach them not to waste. My oldest reminds me every morning to turn up the air conditioner and make sure all lights are off!. To me, I feel that is important. As an adult, I try to do my part, I recently purchased a fixer upper home in august of last year and the first thing we did was upgrade the appliances and clean the air conditioner. Next hopefully will be to replace the windows. The thing I dislike most is a wasteful world. I feel if you do not NEED something then do not purchase it. So that way there is less to contribute to waste in our landfills. Anyways, I love Carrie's work. Would love to have to put in my new home that lacks design because hate to buy stuff just to fill a hole. Have contacted gallery where her work is being displayed and because of HGTV she has gotten alot of publicity. So Thanks to HGTV for discovering her and sharing her with the rest of us. Katy &hgSearchType=HGTV.com
I love the artwork!!!! thanks a lot for this awesome prize to try and win. Although it's harder to be eco-friendly in a apartment rather than a home I feel i'm doing my best and no matter where you live there's no excuse to not be eco-friendly. I've changed out lightbulbs to be more energy efficient, unplugged things when not in use. I've also not ony bought green cleaning supplies but made my own. I mix vinegar with water and to give it a fresh smell I add some lemon juice, it works great especially if you don't want to have to spend money on special cleaners. when painting i use more organic paints that are less harmful. There's many other small things I do here and there to try and live a green life such as recycling and using green bags, and I hope everyone else out there is trying their best to be green as well!
Thanks Again Carrie! you are an amazing artist and Gail you never fail to offer something great Thanks HGTV!!!
Just beautiful….they sparkle like Gail's eyes!
I've always tried to live Green…but, it wasn't called that..it was call…don't be wasteful! Or, waste not, want not!
I would love to win the bonus prize created by Carrie McGee. I have looked at her work on-line and really find it fabulous! Of course, I would love to win the Green Home even more!