Back-to-School is upon us and what better way to start out the new school year by saying bye-bye to those little plastic bags. With just a few snips, you can create a set of cool, eco-friendly, reusable snack and sandwich containers from juice cartons and milk jugs. They’re food-safe, easy to rinse clean, and absolutely free, so it’s no biggie if they get tossed accidentally. Let your younger kids decorate the boxes with stickers and permanent markers for an even more personalized look. And for all those brown-baggers out there this is a great way to transport your lunch with out getting squashed and you can also clearly label it as yours. Here are the easy step by step instructions!

Materials-

SANDWICH BOX:

1-gallon milk jug

Marker

Scissors

Thumbtack

Adhesive-backed Velcro dot

SNACK BOX:

Juice or milk carton, in any size from a half-pint  to a quart

Scissors

Adhesive-backed Velcro dot

SANDWICH BOX Instructions:

1. Mark a clean 1-gallon milk jug as shown.

2. Cut along the lines with scissors. To make the crease lines, use a thumbtack to
pierce a row of dots at 1/4-inch intervals across each side of the jug, 1 3/4
inches up from the bottom.

3. Fold the flaps at these dotted lines, then open them and fold them in the
opposite direction along the lines (this will make the flaps easier for your
kids to open and close). Fold up the box and add an adhesive-backed Velcro dot
closure.

SNACK BOX Instructions: Use a clean juice or milk carton. Cut off the top, then cut
the sides into flaps as shown. Carefully crease the flaps, then fold them down
and add an adhesive-backed Velcro dot closure.

I feel like a broken record over here because again it’s all about keepin’ cool in this HOT weather! And if you’re hanging with us in New Orleans, you know it’s especially hard to beat the heat this summer. So Thiri and I selected our August favorites with that in mind.

For the gentlemen!

The Country Time shirt is a classic take on vintage favorite. Short sleeves and 100% cotton to keep you cool.

We went with another summer time classic for the men, the Simple flippee. The Bio-D flippee is the ultimate eco-friendly flip flop. This Vegan shoe has a foot form made from post-consumer recycled paper and the sole is biodegradable! The sole is made of recycled and natural rubber with Eco-Pure additive which helps the sole biodegrade in a landfill. Awesome, right?!

For the ladies!

The Squid top is perfect to be dressed up or down. Tuck it into a high waist cotton body-con skirt and add some killer heels for a night time look or throw it on with a pair of cut-offs and some gladiator sandals for day. I think it’s the stud detailing that allows it to go both ways.

We also thought it would be fun to feature some jewelry that’s great for hot sticky weather. The paper bead jewelry is made by Ember Arts, a company that partners with women in Uganda to make hand rolled beads out of recycled paper. Their jewelry is great for summer because of it’s weight. When it’s a million degrees outside you don’t want 12 pounds of jewelry hanging from around your neck and these beads are lighter than air! And don’t worry, they are specially coated so they won’t fall apart on extra hot days.

So come check out all the fun picks online or in-store and keep having a great Summer!

xoxo,

lauren + thiri

The summer heat is already here and at Branch Out that means trying to keep cool while enjoying all that the summer months have to offer. So Thiri and I have picked out some fun in the sun outfits and accessories as our favorites.

For the guys, we picked a classic, our Everyday Chino short. So classic you can wear them everyday and with anything. And comfortably cool in three cotton colors!

We also picked the Animals t-shirt. The design is super cute and we love the deep army green color. Stop by in-store to see all the awesome t-shirts designs we have in stock!

For the ladies we picked a hot little number, the Sasha Mini dress. It’s short, it’s sassy and it’s 100% organic cotton to keep your hott self cool!

We also decided that the Yuki Tote would look adorable with the Sasha mini. The Yuki tote is made from all recycled fabric so each tote is unique and fun. It’s the perfect size for a carry-all beach tote or even an over-sized purse for a long day of shopping.

So there you have it, kids! Our cool picks for May, so enjoy!

love, Lauren + Thiri

Branch Out is in the running to win the Merriment on Magazine St. Wreath Contest! Please help us win by “liking” Magazine Street and then simply ”like” Branch Out’s wreath in their album.

We made our wreath from 100% recycled materials and boy, did it take forever to make! I hand traced snow-flake designs off the Internet, then made the designs  into  paper stencils and used the stencils to cut snow-flakes from recycled cardboard boxes. (haha I used old Cheese Nips boxes and Heineken cartons)

We then added some of our recycled paper gift boxes and left over holiday ribbon to complete the festive wreath. Doesn’t it look great!? I’ve hyperlinked the photo so you can vote easily.

The grand prize is a years membership to the Magazine Merchant Association worth almost $400! So please, please help us win!

Thank you!

Lauren + Thiri