Hello, folks! I'm in Florida, on vacation for a few more days, but I wanted to quickly share that Etsy ran an article on Garth Johnson's 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse- and here's what T&F contributed:

"thistledownandfinch: The best piece of advice I have for folks looking to creatively reuse is to open their minds. Wide, wiiiiide open. Think outside of the box. Literally anything can be reused — and (nearly as literally) anything can be made from that said-initial-anything. That's what makes Etsy so great. That's what makes art art and craft craft. (And art craft and craft art.) Reuse is as good for your brain as it is for your soul. And in this age of excessive consumption, it's better for the planet than most things I can think of.

My mantra for 2010 is "search for the bigger picture." There's enormous impact hidden behind everything that we consume, and it can be so simple to miss it — but it's so important to pay attention, because, often, I think, our intent can be nullified without our even knowing. People decide to buy organic to protect ecosystems and reduce greenhouse emissions, but their town only carries things flown the width of the country, wrapped in four layers of plastic, or someone wants to support sustainable clothing, but the mother-company is a conglomerate and the proceeds are in the hands of folks with abominable environmental records.

It merits enormous pats on the back for making that initial commitment, for leading by example and trying to effect real environmental change, but marketers are saaaaaaavvy these days. It is (almost) the future, after all, and so it's important to remember look behind things and to collect as many facts as you can to be sure that your resolve isn't in vain and that this happy little planet of ours has us all watching its back as well as we think we are."

Hope you're all well!