She cherishes the homemade cards and the handprints set in clay, but this Mother’s Day take the DIY-ing up a notch and treat mom to an exquisite gift that’s also a labor of love. We’re highlighting 6 awesome presents that dads and kids (or anyone!) can make with their own hands to truly wow the lady who gave them life. From a necktie necklace and confetti earrings to an aromatherapy herberrarium and a fabric sample self portrait, roll up your sleeves and get busy crafting the perfect offering for Mother’s Day.

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According to Earth911.com, “As much as half of the 85 million tons of paper products Americans consume every year goes toward packaging, wrapping and decorating goods… [and] wrapping paper and shopping bags alone account for about 4 million tons of trash annually in the U.S.” This holiday season, forgo buying rolls of wrapping paper and upcycle what you already have on hand instead. Open your craft and office supply drawers, unearth those brown paper grocery bags you’ve stowed away and make your own gift wrap! We show you 6 simple, festive ways to present your gifts with eco-savvy style.

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TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO WIN $150 to spend at ModernGreetings.com!

The holiday season is nigh, and it’s time to start thinking about gifts and greeting cards. Get a head start on all of the hoopla by creating your own customized family holiday cards and personalized photo books with the help of Modern Greetings. We’re giving away a $150 gift voucher to be redeemed at the savvy site, where you may fashion your holiday cards and photo book gifts via easy to use online templates that are available in an array of designs to suit every sensibility. After you enter to win, head to ModernGreetings.com to redeem 20 FREE greeting cards!

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The winter season has most people spending more time huddled up indoors — so use the opportunity to get crafty and make a terrarium to bring the outdoors in! Comforting and cheerful to behold and easy to maintain, we show you how you can create a tiny world of greenery in a recycled glass jar in no time. You can move your vibrant wonderland from room to room to brighten up your home, or whip up several terrariums at once and dole them out to the sure to be delighted recipients on your holiday gift list.

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Today is the LAST DAY to vote for your finalists in Inhabitots Green Halloween Costume Contest!

We’re pretty certain there’s no other competition on earth in which Baby Marty McFly and his DeLorean push-car, a strawberry Starbucks Frappuccino and a cardboard R2D2 are all vying for the same title. We received so many entries of adorably clad kiddos in costume this year that we need YOUR help deciding who should win up to $200 in sweet prizes. So get ready for cuteness overload and head on over here to cast your vote for your favorite DIY costume! The polls close Nov. 6th at 11:59 PM EST – that’s tonight!

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE COSTUME HERE >

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Put down the fun-size Snickers bar and step awaaaay from your kid’s trick-or-treat bag. Do everyone in your house a favor and clear out those lingering stashes of Halloween candy by exchanging the sweets for coupons, toothbrushes, or even cash! There are plenty of Halloween candy buy-back programs across the United States in which a dentist near you will “buy” back your sugary treats and send them to Operation Gratitude and other military support groups. Find out how to locate a Halloween candy buy-back program here before you bite into one more Tootsie Roll!

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60 million people on the East Coast are bracing themselves against the upcoming wrath of Hurricane Sandy. High winds, torrential downpour, power outages and major flooding are just a few of the monstrosities Sandy may leave in her wake. If Sandy doesn’t veer from her current track, she is poised to make landfall in the U.S. on Monday night or Tuesday morning. Hurricane Sandy has already claimed at least 45 lives and caused hundreds of millions of dollars of destruction across the Caribbean. Due to her close proximity to Halloween, meteorologists have nicknamed Hurricane Sandy ‘Frankenstorm’ for her potential to merge with other weather systems to form a monstrous outcome not unlike Frankenstein’s infamous creature.

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Everyone loves pancakes! The breakfast standby is one of the most universally appealing foods. But if you’re ready for a delicious twist on your trusty flapjacks, you must try these organic pumpkin pancakes topped with homemade honey butter. They are a delightful meal any morning (or any time of day really!), and serving up a stack complete with a smiley Jack-o-lantern grin made out of nuts would be the perfect treat on Halloween. Fire up your griddle and check out the recipe here!

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Calling all crafty moms and dads! Inhabitots is officially accepting entries for their 2012 Inhabitots Green Halloween® Costume Contest! Whether your little ghoul’s or goblin’s costume delights or frights, we can’t wait to see what they’ll be wearing on Halloween night! All of you supremo DIY-ers, now is your chance to shine! We’re looking for the most inspired, resourceful and creatively fashioned get-ups — and the greener they are, the better! So whether you dig through your recycle bin or rummage through the outdated clothes in your closet, hunt down thrift store finds or sew a masterpiece by hand, take a picture of your little one proudly wearing your masterpiece and enter to win over $200 in prizes!

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One of the scariest things about Halloween is that 85% of the textiles sold to more than 170 million Americans who celebrate the frightful night, meet their demise in a landfill. You can still dress-up and look fantastic to boot by forgoing the standard issue PVC get-ups sold at the store and ‘shopping’ for your costume in your very own closet. The fearless fashionistas at Ecouterre will show you how to easily assemble and accessorize 7 last-minute Halloween costumes that are lurking inside your closet, just screaming to make a festive appearance come October 31st!

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A new study conducted by researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital concludes that prenatal mercury exposure is linked to ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in children. According to senior study author Dr. Susan Korrick, “A hair-mercury level in the mother of about 1 part per million (ppm) or more was associated with a 60% increased risk of ADHD-related behavior.” Oddly, the same fish that carry mercury may also counteract this effect. Read on to learn why.

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Halloween – Image from Shutterstock

Mark your calendars: Green Halloween’s 3rd annual National Costume Swap is coming to a town near you on Saturday, October 13th, 2012. This year, over 100 cities across the United States will be participating in the event wherein Halloween revelers can swap their gently used children’s costumes and score ‘new’ costumes, saving money and precious resources. Green Halloween organizers estimate that if half of the kids in the U.S. swapped out their costumes, 6,250 tons of waste would be saved from landfills annually! Find a costume swap location near you, or get information on hosting a swap.

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Lightlife is making it easier and tastier than ever to enjoy protein-packed meatless meals by introducing four new frozen vegetarian burgers: Kick’n Black Bean, Backyard Grill’n, Mellow Portobello Mushroom and the Farmer’s Market Veggie Burger. Eliminating meat from your diet, even occasionally, is one of the easiest ways to make a huge impact on the health of the planet, as emissions produced by the meat industry are one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. Lightlife’s clever video on what a vegetarian farm would look like is a must-see for animal lovers.

WATCH VIDEO >

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Dreaming of a green Christmas for your tot? The holiday season is a perfect opportunity to teach kids about sustainability with eco-friendly toys that preserve their health and the integrity of the planet. We’ve rounded up some fantastic green presents that your little ones will love tearing into! From rag dolls and race cars, to uber cozy puppy dog slippers and organic sherpa pajamas, we’ve got something for every little boy and girl on Santa’s ‘nice’ list!

GIFTS FOR TOTS >

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Make your little drummer boy’s heart skip a beat this Christmas with gifts that are sure to delight and inspire him. Whether the charming lad on your list loves art, construction, robots, cars, dinosaurs or skateboards, we’ve got the perfect present to suit every penchant. From a real, heirloom quality tool kit he can hand down to his own son one day, and a robot he can build by fashioning trash into a real-life treasure, to a skateboard stool made from shattered boards and decks and a cozy, stylish organic merino wool sweater that’s sure to make the girls swoon, here are our top picks for gifts for boys!

GIFTS FOR BOYS >

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Education is the key to conservation, and Ian Shive’s photographs in The National Parks: Our American Landscape enlighten viewers with a rare, adrenaline-filled look at the phenomenal beauty of the American backdrop. Shive’s photography offers a fresh outlook on nature, making a hairy tarantula in the Chihuahuan Desert featured in an extreme close-up, appear as a dazzling wild gem, and depicting a giant Sequoia Tree as it reaches deep into the sky, its branches blending with the stars. In the book’s collection of 200+ photographs, Shive manages to both capture the magnificence of too grand for words settings while enabling the viewer to interact with the environment and process moments in time on an individual level.

Read the rest of BOOK REVIEW: The National Parks: Our American Landscape

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Looking for the perfect gift for a new parent? You may not be able to wrap up eight hours of sleep in a shiny box, stuff a long, hot shower into an exhausted mom or dad’s stocking, or present them with the true meaning of a ‘Silent Night,’ but our list of eco offerings will make those caring for a new baby feel the hope and joy of the holidays nonetheless. From adorable holiday-themed baby jumpers to organic baby carriers to supersoft swadding blankets, we’ve handpicked these green gifts for new parents and their little bundles to help make the throes of those first several months a little easier – take it from a bleary-eyed new mom who is cradling a one-month old baby as she writes this!

MORE GREEN GIFTS FOR NEW PARENTS >

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You’ve been pretending to call Santa on the phone in front of your unruly toddler since October, but we all know whether your little one has been naughty or nice, that jolly old fella will still be landing his sleigh on your rooftop this holiday. That said, we’ve put together a list of sure to please green gifts for tots - because coal is just so passé. Your kids will be tearing into these colorful games, time-tested toys and beloved books with unbridled delight, and if you’re especially lucky, you may be gifted with a few hours of banner behavior from them!

GREEN GIFTS FOR TOTS >

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Bay area startup Project FROG has been busy schooling teachers and kids in the art of sustainable design via their eco-friendly modular classrooms. Given a two million dollar budget, the company constructed 3,500 square feet of classroom space built from 50 percent recycled material for Watkinson School. The school building is outfitted with 60 solar panels reducing electricity costs to zero! Learn how Project FROG is changing the face of the school system with efficient green design, and read the amazing statistics about how children actually learn better and score higher on tests by attending school in these modular classrooms!

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