Our donators just get it.
While I strive at the studio to connect kids and adults to the value of reuse for it’s own “perfectly cool to create with” sake, I work to infuse the importance of it’s practice for our planet too. Oftentimes kids see the materials we have for them to use as just another material source to create with without the burden of why.
Our donators know the burden of why. They know the impact that everyone’s stuff has on our landfills and recycling centers and that there is no such things as “away”. They are relieved by the idea that their things can be used again. That feels so much better than sending things to their end by recycling or even throwing them away . Though they may not be interested in the act of creating, they see that everything has potential for reuse. They are the hero’s in our eco efforts. I am grateful that thanks to their contributions we can all be a part of the solution for our planet. In that way, everyday is Earth Day for us.
Learn about the history of Earth Day and more by visiting earthday.org

I am so excited to kick off April with our new CReATing at home Coloring page! You can download it here.
It’s just in time for Earth month. I have compiled 30+ idea sparks for easy creations kids and adults can make at home with everyday items found around the house! It’s right in line with our ongoing CReATing at home page and social media shares to inspire families to think about the things they recycle or throw away. I want to inspire fun new ways that instill new reuse habits and ways of viewing the packaging and parts that move through our homes, often be thought of as trash.
The coloring page itself is meant to be colored and doodled square by square to bring each creation image to life. When I was younger, I loved to make xerox copies of photographs then color them with colored pencils my own colorful way. I am sharing that inspiration here. I just love the way the artistic combination looks. Try it at home with the page when you print it. While Global Warming and Environmental Impact are huge issues to address we can all be a part of the change we need to see in the impact itself. By rethinking the often single use things you have around the house and using them in playful new ways you are doing something powerful to reduce the impact on our planet, one creation at a time.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said ” Nothing in nature is exhausted in it’s first use. When a thing has served an end to the uttermost, it is wholly new for an ulterior service.” I deeply believe in what Emerson had said. I have felt inspired to enter into my studio’s reuse odyssey to make the process of “uttermost use” inspiring and accessible for everyone through creativity. Come along in your own creative way.

I’m reminiscing over this little homage to my girls Irish Great Grandma who came to American through Ellis Island as the first in her family.
My daughter and I created her as part of a school assignment when she was in second grade.
Still today I love the versatility of wooden clothespins. They can do and be so many things, even an Irish Grandma.
Happy St. Patricks Day!

I think I first read this quote by John Wesley, English Clergyman as I was sorting through a bag of donations at the studio and the moment I read it I was in.
Ok, I thought. I can aim for that. It rumbled in me like a truth I was unlocking for mankind, a secret for how to get along in life. Originally written by the author sometime during the 1700’s it read to me as a modern day proclamation-maybe that was the typeface and the simple name noted. No matter, it is a timeless statement. It doesn’t matter who we are, what our beliefs, it’s message just fits. I mentioned in my last post that we are all stewards of the earth. This quote could weave into that idea, entwining the aspects of our lives – Do good no matter who we are.
There are two charities we support, Charity Water as Spring Members and Impact Club as Community Members. I believe they both model this quotes challenge. You can learn more about them through our e-newsletter. The older I get the better I want to do, the farther the reach I would like to make and the bigger connection that would come along. I am inspired by these organizations and the chain reaction of good they do.
So John Wesley, I am in.