A fun thing to do - Austin Creative Reuse

Years ago I helped one of my teens set up a volunteer shift at this thrifty creative place in Austin:

But can you believe I had never gone to it myself?  That's odd to me as I love places like Hob Lob, JoAnn, Michael's...and at thrift stores I always gravitate to any crafty sections that might have notions or supplies or fabric.

I stepped into the store and was immediately mesmerized.  Its like a garage sale in a highly creative and organized place!  And they were doing a pretty good business in the middle of the day.

I spent most of my time in the sewing section going through crochet doilies, cross stitch kits, buttons.  But they had sections full of holiday things, school supplies, doll accessories, jewelry, yarn.  So much stuff - like a candy store for crafters.

And I ended up with some things I had been thinking about for Christmas crafts.  Three large plastic ornaments to fill were 25 cents each, two bags of clothes pins for $1, a small doily for $1, and a big ziploc of buttons for $2 that included many antique ones made of shell.  Cheap thrills!

When I got home I filled the ornaments with bits and bobs of crochet edging my mother had made long ago, before she lost her sight.  It will be a safe place to store them and a pretty feminine touch to my bedroom tree this Christmas.  And I think I will make snowflakes with the clothespins to tie on gifts.  Have you thought about Christmas crafting lately?

Gina