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I.D.E.A.s!
Newsletter of The I.D.E.A. Store, March 15 - 28, 2012
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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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We're practically ubiquitous! Reaching out to YOU in so many new ways
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Education Coordinator Shauna Carey and volunteer Grace Mott (R) provide guidance during a recent birthday party at The I.D.E.A. Store. (Photo by Sheila Daniels)
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The I.D.E.A. Store team is in the midst of changing the store's workshop format, but our classroom remains very well used. In the past few months we have hosted an incredible roster of activities and events. Among them:
- 3-5 birthday parties a month
- Talk and workshop by Iowa artist Velga Easker
- numerous Girl Scout meetings with educational and craft activities
- informational meetings and store tours with University of Illinois classes
- presentations for sewing and craft groups
- adult craft parties
- informational programs and tours for craft/sewing groups
We also love to take our show on the road. Our recent outreach activities have included:
- Generations of Hope
- Next Generation
- Energy Innovation Conference, Lake Land College, Mattoon, Ill.
- Minds in Motion
- Mothers of Pre-Schoolers (MOPS)
- Craft tables with varied projects at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts to complement performances and activities there
- Informational tables at local schools
- CU Living, WCIA-TV, recycled wrapping demonstration
- Bi-monthly "GO Green" segments with Carol Jo Morgan on WCIA-TV
Upcoming events include:
- Informational displays:
- Home Schoolers at the Champaign Public Library
- World Thinking Day Celebration for the Girl Scouts
- Champaign Sustainability Expo
- Various Earth Month activities in the community in April
Also, Gail Rost, The I.D.E.A. Store Manager, will present a talk on "Creative Funding Models" at the Community and Nonprofit Leader Symposium in Entrepreneurial Thinking at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, Mattoon, Ill., on March 28.
Keep an eye out for The I.D.E.A. Store staff and volunteers; we're here, there and EVERYWHERE!
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| Heads up! Cascarones will crack you up . . .
Egg dye + tissue paper = altered traditions
 
If you've perused the barrels on the north side of the store lately, you know we have boxes and boxes of kits traditionally used to color Easter eggs. But what if you don't celebrate that holiday or have zero interest in colorizing your eggs before consuming them? What could you possibly do with all that dye? Being The I.D.E.A. Store, of course, we have some ideas! For starters, try your hand at cascarone-making (and breaking!), a fun and frisky Mexican tradition that ultimately made its way to the American Southwest via Asia and Europe. While cascarones - hollowed egg shells that are filled with confetti then cracked over someone's noggin - are made for family Easter celebrations, they can have a starring role in just about any fiesta. But what to do with all that left-over confetti? We're betting our reuse-savvy readers will come up with ways to breathe new life into those scraps!
And with a little prompting from the links below, you may have fun exploring all manner of alternative uses for the egg dye that don't even remotely involve eggs!
* Make paint, tie-dye doll clothes or dye yarn. And if you remain convinced that eggs are to dye for, try creating eggshell mosaics.
* How about using the kits on doilies to make colorful garlands, or coffee filters to make buntings?
And if you prefer to be go the even more eco-friendly route, try making natural dyes for your projects.
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The I.D.E.A. Store Village Green: For the birds
Treat your feathered friends to new digs
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By Carol Jo Morgan, MSW, MS
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Environmental Outreach Coordinator
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The robins are back! It's birdhouse cleaning and installation time! My husband and I disassembled ours, removed last year's nests, and scrubbed them thoroughly last weekend. They are back up now, ready for new residents and their offspring.
Adding birdhouses to your outdoor environment is a good family
weekend project, and The I.D.E.A. Store has the great scrap wood you'll need. You'll be able to find lots of
easy-to-make house
designs for our area's birds. Design should provide protection from the elements and from predators. Many
materials could be used, but wood is always preferable because it is naturally breathable, moderates hot and cold temperatures, and it's durable. During assembly, avoid adhesives, paints and stains because they are hard on bird health. Linseed oil can be applied to the exterior surfaces to help preserve the wood. The creosote in treated wood is toxic to birds.
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This birdhouse has a removable roof for easy cleaning.
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For success in attracting regular occupants, provide single-family dwellings. In a 4-unit birdhouse my husband and I inherited from previous owners, we've seen a maximum of two units inhabited, usually not at the same time because birds can be territorial. Knowing which bird species you want to attract helps determine the floor plan to choose. Considerations include the size of the entry hole, room size, depth from entry hole to floor, and height above ground that the feeder should be positioned. Check out this helpful chart from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
A hinged or removable roof, front wall or floor allows easy cleaning. Brass hinges won't rust like steel ones do. I thought a perch at the birdhouse entry would be a desirable feature, but
this can make it easier for predators to threaten a nest inside.
Attaching a piece of hardware cloth or roughing up the area around the entry hole inside the house can make it easier for the inhabitants to exit. A roof extension over the entry hole will shade the box from sun and keep rain from entering. Remember to drill several holes for water drainage in the floor and ventilation holes on each side just under the roof.
You can add personal touches to your birdhouse in several ways while protecting the health of the residents. You could carve or use wood-burning tools to apply a pattern to the sides. One of our favorite birdhouses features metal bottle caps arranged in a floral design. They and the short nails which hold them in place are slowly rusting, giving the house a folk -art appeal.
Here are a couple more links to help you get started building your own backyard birdhouse:
* From Mass Audubon, these helpful, comprehensive guidelines and ideas.
* Tips for building cedar and other rustic birdhouses.
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Volunteer Extraordinaire: Mary Shelden
Initially drawn by the concept of reuse and recycling, Mary Shelden has been an active and passionate volunteer at The I.D.E.A. Store for the past year. Mary is happy to lend a helping hand wherever it is needed. Working in all areas of the store, she said, inspires her to view all sorts of recyclable goods in a new and innovative light.
Of the various events the store has organized, last December's "Merry Treasures" DIY bazaar has been one of Mary's favorites. That event was special to her because all of her wares were created primarily from materials she bought at The I.D.E.A. Store. "Merry Treasures" was also significant to Mary because of its community-building nature, which brought like-minded people together, uniting them around a cause.
As a substitute teacher at a Montessori school in Savoy, Mary has been able to witness first-hand the infinite capacity of The I.D.E.A. Store. She has introduced several recyclable materials into her classroom over the past year, finding ways to use them for craft-making exercises that teach her students practical life skills.
Outside of work, Mary is a self-proclaimed "crafter" and mother of a young boy, Ethan, who also enjoys creating from the used materials found at The I.D.E.A. Store. Mary and Ethan have produced some awe-inspiring artwork - from an alliterative alphabet to the Pixar character Wall-E - that will make you think twice about throwing away Styrofoam!
Mary Shelden is truly an extraordinary volunteer. Thank you for all your hard work, Mary!
(Editor's note: This feature was written by Lauren Heritier, this semester's intern from the University of Illinois department communication.)
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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 is 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
Phone: 217-352-7878 Store hours: Tuesday - Friday, 2 pm - 7 pm and Saturday, 10 am - 3 pm
28 E. Springfield, Champaign, IL 61820
2nd Floor - handicapped access and loading dock available on north side of building
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