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I.D.E.A.s!
Newsletter of The I.D.E.A. Store, December 1 - 14, 2011
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Join our email list for updates of inventory and ideas!
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SHARE this newsletter to help us get the word out about what a great place this is for our community! Check out our website for our shopping hours, directions to the store and our wish-list of items for donations and more!
www.the-IDEA-store.org
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Looking for original, handmade gifts?
'Merry Treasures' DIY bazaar offers unique alternative to big-box, mall shopping on Saturday, December 10
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Stuff your stockings with these stuffed tweeters created by Sheila Daniels.
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If you're a fan of handmade gifts (and who, here, isn't?) but not all that handy yourself, be sure to check out the first ever "Merry Treasures," a DIY bazaar hosted by The I.D.E.A. Store on Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will feature practical and whimsical wares created by volunteers, friends and other faithful supporters of The I.D.E.A. Store.
This is not your great-grandmother's craft fair! No crocheted toilet paper holders for sale here (not that there's anything wrong with them!). Instead, expect the unexpected! Our vendors will be exhibiting and selling everything from pan scrubbers made out of recycled produce bags and reconstructed/repurposed cards, jewelry and notions to ornaments and mini-shrines fashioned from food, candy and spice tins, as well as odd bits reassembled into knick knacks, paddywacks and stocking stuffers guaranteed to please and surprise that person on your list who already has everything!
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'Tis the season to . . . Make 'n' take jolly holly-day trimmings 
Through December 23, drop in The I.D.E.A. Store on Thursdays and Fridays for "open studios" from 4-7 p.m. and enjoy creating cards, gift tags, origami boxes and other embellishments for your holiday packages from the store's extensive selection of donated paper materials (including greeting card fronts). Supplies, tools and simple instructions will be available for you to work with. This is a perfect activity for families, as well as your holiday visitors.
Children must be accompanied, supported and guided by an adult, with no more than two children under age 18 with any adult. All children must be age 7 and older, and a liability waiver must be signed for children under age 18. Cost to participate is $5 per person, or you can purchase a December studio pass for $25 per person. And check out these links for all kinds of other wrapping, decorating and gift ideas: |
The I.D.E.A. Store Village Green: Cards and letters Make eco-smart holiday greeting choices By Carol Jo Morgan, MSW, MS Environmental Outreach Coordinator In the United States, around 7 billion greeting cards are purchased each year, of which almost 2 billion are Christmas cards. You and your family can make this tradition more environmentally friendly in these ways: * Send e-cards or call people on your list to help reduce paper waste, fossil fuel and water use. * Substitute postcards for traditional folded greeting cards with envelopes to reduce the weight of paper used. * Avoid non-recyclable cards and envelopes. If you purchase cards to send, choose those without glitter, metallic foil, reflective coatings, pop dots, ribbon and other non-paper embellishments, including stickers and music makers. Envelopes with foil liners should not be put in your recycling bin because the liners contaminate the paper-recycling process. If you enclose an annual holiday letter, copy it onto light-colored papers to help reduce the need for bleaching during recycling. Remember that photo paper is not recyclable. * Look for eco-symbols on commercial cards. Greeting card companies now proudly use soy- and water-based inks, post-consumer-waste paper (i.e., paper you've used and recycled!), paper from sustainably grown forests and carbon-neutral (wind-powered) production. Many also use alternatives to acids and chlorine during manufacturing. * Reuse, donate or recycle greeting cards you send and receive throughout the year. The I.D.E.A. Store accepts used cards, and other groups and individuals welcome them, too. These tips, presented by The I.D.E.A. store volunteer Carol Hays, were featured on the twice-monthly "Go Green" segment on WCIA-TV on Nov. 29. |
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Check out some of the other fun items that also will be for sale at "Merry Treasures":
 
Zipper hair accessory, Leslie Kimble Dino-mite wall decor, Carleen Sacris
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It's a wrap! An eco-wrap, that is . . .
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Volunteers from will be wrapping gifts in everything from recycled commercial paper to calendars, blueprints and billboard vinyl.
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Got your shopping done early? If so, let the the Illinois Green Business Association and The I.D.E.A. Store apply the finishing touches with all repurposed materials.
Just bring your "wrap-ables" to the M2 Lobby at M2 Lobby, 301 N. Neil St., Champaign (by Bank Champaign) THIS Saturday, Dec. 3, 1-5 p.m. and support a good cause!
We will be wrapping gifts in the following materials:
* Donated/repurposed wrapping paper
* Maps and architecture plans
* Donated bows, ribbon, and more!
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Calling all volunteers . . .
We need you now more than ever!
Planning to be in town over the holiday break this year? If so, consider signing up to help out at the store in December and January. Even if you only have an hour or two to spare at a time, we'd love to get you on the schedule.
Please note that if you're planning to assist, we need at least 48 hours advance notice. Also, you must complete the regular, short volunteer orientation prior to helping out.
If you're willing and able, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Claire Billing at claire@the-idea-store.org as soon as possible. Thank you!
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So, What's This All About?
The Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation saw a need in the community to accomplish several things: 1. Support the arts and arts education, 2. Support environmental education in our communities, 3. Impact the environment by reducing the rate of waste disposal, 4. create a place for everyone to have access to quality materials and 5. Support itself in light of the difficult economic times. So donate your discards and shop re-use. Its about making a difference!
www.cuSchoolsFoundation.org
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INVEST. DEVELOP. ELEVATE. ACHIEVE.
The I.D.E.A. Store, an earned-income social enterprise
of the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation,
a full 501c3 non-profit organization supporting K -12 education in
Illinois Community School Districts Unit 4 and Unit 116
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All Rights Reserved by the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation
3358 Big Pine Trail, C / Champaign, Illinois 61822 /
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