LET'S SWAP!

One of the things I have always loved most about Austin, and our own little town just southwest of it, is that they are filled with creative people who actually care about our planet and the legacy we are leaving our children and grandchildren to deal with. So, imagine our glee when daughter Alexis introduced us to this amazing place in Austin just last week -- a place called Austin Creative Reuse.

As the sign in the window explains, it's a place where all my fellow creatives can take those piles of artsy supplies they no longer use and that are taking up much needed space, then come home with a basket full of stuff they actually will use, for a fraction of it's original price -- stuff that might otherwise have ended up in a landfill.  And, they've got so much more than just paints and brushes. Why, they've got buttons and beads...

yarn and needles...

fabric and embroidery supplies...

not to mention all these pencils, markers, crayons and stamps!

And, to top it all off, there's a section in back where you can purchase all that you can cram into one of those big orange buckets for just five bucks!

But, that's not the only way people around here are putting their creative minds to good use.  A few weeks back, Austin artist and Lucky Star Art Camp instructor Heidi Miller Lowell came up with the idea of doing a clothing swap at art camp this year. She had a bunch of nice clothes she could no longer wear, and was looking for things in a different size, so she suggested that anyone who wanted to participate should bring a few things that were still in good shape, but no longer loved, and then take home a few new-to-them items they could get excited about.  It was kind of a last minute suggestion, so only a few participated (daughter Lex being one of them) but those who did had a blast, and a whole lot more will be participating next year. Think I'll be taking those cowboy hats and boots I never wear anymore, and which take up sooooo much space in my wee little closet!

Then, to top it all off, we just heard that our new favorite hangout,  Cactus Coffee Shop here in Wimberley -- owned and run by a single mom with three little ones -- is hosting a toy swap this Sunday at 1:30. Is that brilliant, or what? Just bring in a few toys that are still in good shape but no longer being played with, and take home a few new-to-them toys just in time for Christmas! So much easier than the laborious garage sales my neighbors and I used to set up and host when our kids were small, where we stayed up half the night pricing things, and sitting outside in bad weather the whole weekend, and ended up doing pretty much the very same thing, just swapping one neighbor's goods for another!

Genius, no? Wonder what they will think of next!