colorful fun and a great discovery

I'm attracted to wonderful, colorful things. Are you? I'm attracted to pastels and brights alike -- things chocked full of fun color!! Something else I love, as much as color, are books.

I also enjoy recycling things into other things, repurposing, altering. This book lived a fun colorful, well used life - someone had owned and loved this story book before it came to us to stay for awhile. The pages were tattered and torn and the book was falling apart. It was certainly well used but far from being used up! I have used the pages -chocked full of color- and the front book cover to make some fun altered art projects.

Speaking of recycling and repurposing and altered art---I have been meaning to blog about a great place that my friend Sharon discovered that was hiding in plain sight, right under our noses!! A great road trip destination. It is called Scrap4Art and is in downtown Toledo Ohio. It's non-profit. It is a place where you can take true art supplies or ingredients or things that can be repurposed into art supplies or ingredients to donate; a place where artists and teachers can shop.

Sharon was destashing her art studio and felt the same way I do about many of the items that may be no longer needed/wanted. We both felt that if you have bits and pieces of things and donate to the Goodwill that those things would not be found by the correct crafty/art creating person and would be thrown out or just lost in the huge shuffle of what we all know a Goodwill store can be. She did some internet research and found Scrap4Art , it was just the place we needed.

We anxiously went together with some stuff from her studio to donate. Wow!! Scrap4Art is filled to the gills with stuff. I do not think I have ever in my life uttered the phrase "OH MY GOSH!" so many times in under an hour= first, probably much to audibly, when we entered and then, for the rest of our visit, under my breath enough times to break some world record documented somewhere!!

Our schedule that day limited us on time that first trip, which was probably good because it was just so much to process- in my spinning brain, anyway.

I couldn't stop thinking about the store and soon went back without Sharon and bought a bag of stuff (goodies) for $5. Five dollars I tell ya!!! You fill the bag -and you heard me- pay only $5.

Sharon and I went back the next week and we had the car filled with stuff from both of our destashing efforts. It felt so good to have our houses breathe a slight sigh as some stuff was leaving and going to a good home to be discovered by some other artist. Sharon made a purchase this trip.

I think a great plan to stick to is that we should always take some to donate when we go to buy because it could get dangerous and soon a house could be bursting at the seams with new found treasures. The stock is obviously ever changing based on what is donated by people and businesses.

I told every teacher I came in contact with for weeks at school and no one had heard of it. They were so excited to go check it out too. Great resource for teachers- not just art teachers.

It has made me look at recycling in a whole different way- through fresh eyes!! Here is a list of what they have and take as donations. And to think that Sharon found it hiding in plain sight. Way to go Sharon!!!

Maybe you need to help your house breath a sigh of relief and have the added benifit of sleeping well knowing your odds and ends are being housed where the right person will find them....OR maybe you need to add to your studio stash!!! Maybe you have a place like this near you...search the internet and find out.