Reuse, Recycle, Think Green

Have you picked up a copy of the newest Stampington publication called Green Craft? I'm hooked! Little gift baskets made from cardboard egg cartons and peet pots...little paper packages wrapped with tiny bits of fabric & ribbon...paper garlands from used coffee filters...far too many to mention. But my favorite had to be the little gift packages made from those tiny cereal boxes. Way fabulous baby!!!

I've spent the last 2 nights in the studio, unpacking suitcases, sorting, stashing, trying to find homes for all my new goodies but it's impossible. My solution to overcrowding is to move box after box of supplies out of the studio and into the family room next door. But then I need to find a book at bedtime and the built-in bookshelves can't be reached for stacks of boxes. So I drag them back into the studio. And then it's time for another stamp club meeting and what's a girl supposed to do? Drag those boxes back outta the room or drag them downstairs, unopened and toss them in the trash can outside? Blasphemy!!

I'm a collector of all things...and a lot of those things are junk. I come by it honestly. Just visit my mother's house. Or visit mine since she finds these "great things" for me everywhere she goes. She's coming for a visit on Friday...spending the night and playing dominoes til the wee hours. What treasures has she found for me this time?

How do you like the bird on this cup? For months now I'm been whacko over birds. Not pigs anymore. Not monkeys. Not elephants. Nope. Right now I'm all about the birds. In the 100+ rubber stamps I brought home from Stampaway I have multiple birds. MaryJo McGraw was doing a demo in Carmen Veranda's booth with this huge crow and I swear I made her wipe it down with a nasty paper towel so I could bring it home with me. Also got a few more Coffee Break stencils of birds. In the last few months I've added 3 die cuts of birds to that collection. I found these fabulous little paper mache birds on etsy just this week and nearly fell right out of this chair when I realized they were selling for $65 each!!! Why it was like a dash of cold water in the face (or a bucket full poured over my head)!

It's time to fall in love again with things I already own. I should be creative enough to find new uses for old, much-loved things. But it might be worth mentioning this new fascination with birds to Mother, just in case...