A day to be Restord

Transition is always tough, but as I begin to grow roots in a new community, I've discovered many opportunities to give back, thanks to two of my new friends here. They told me about this fun resale shop, Restord, where they volunteer and whose profits are put to use helping women and girls who are transitioning to new life after struggling with substance abuse. I am happy to be putting in some volunteer time for this organization because I believe in the mission and the people at Restord are the kindest one could meet. It feels like home when I walk in to the store.

As a volunteer, there is always something to do; Donations need to be processed, hangers need to be sorted, areas need decoration and merchandising. One time I played saxophone for an open house and this morning was spent working on clearing out shelves in the warehouse/garage sale area for new goodies arriving daily.

My two friends and I looked through the shelves, tossed old and broken pieces, rearranged/organized remaining pieces and then sort of merchandised things for sale. One of the benefits of working here AND being part of the ReMakin it MeetUp group is we get some of the discards for re-use and repurposing. I have always loved going to garage sales, but my collection of things just keeps growing. Some of my treasures will become subjects for the February art pages. I just love glassware and mugs, so those alone are a pretty good hint of things to come. And then I can always donate when the things overflow from home.

I got to spend the rest of the day, with one of the two friends, visiting a home furniture consignment store and two other thrift shops. She likes finding wool and enjoys reusing the wool to make new purses and bags. We checked through all of the clothing to find sweaters and coats that fit the bill. It's fun to accompany her on her searches because she's let me in on where to find even more good stuff! And, you never know what you are going to find.

We also made a stop into JoAnn Fabrics and found the Gelato gel sticks my two friends had had trouble locating. I had shared them with my friends at our last MeetUp and they wanted to have fun, too! But there is a story with that medium.

After winning a set of four last spring that were priced at $9.99, I had to do some research because I knew I would need more than just four! I found out the set for kids are called Gel Sticks and the set for grown-ups are called Gelatos. I also found out the "grown-up" collection of 28 goes for about $60 and there is a set for kids for $12. Any comments I read told me there is no difference when it comes to using them and after I've used them, I agree.

But on the trip to JoAnn today, lo and behold, the Gelato sets are on clearance and marked down to $2.97. With that price, I had to buy another set knowing full well the current set will wear out. Also on clearance is a set of Faber-Castell watercolors in the "cakes". I decided to buy them for fun and to maybe discover another diamond in the the rough.

What an amazing day filled with activity, good deals, and laughs!

Now I am exhausted and ready for bed- so please excuse typos and the like because I'm just getting this in under the people nap. Like the past week...at least it's further from midnight.

Too early for hearts? Nah. Never too early to celebrate LOVE! Love is everywhere. I started this piece with the "cakes" just to play around, then finished it with the Prang for highlights. It was fun, but the jury is out. The cakes give a lot of pigment but not a lot of versatility. Then again, what could I expect from a kid set on clearance for $0.97? Fun. That's what.

Materials: 
Canson XL 11x14 
Faber-Castell Watercolor Cakes (found in the kid section!)
Prang Watercolor Ovals