Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without

Bring in 6 gift boxes or paper shopping bags and recieve 15% off any item in the studio.

For those of us whose parents lived through World War II this was heard a lot. It was a mind set that helped many people get through some very lean years. Clothes were handed down to siblings or cousins, broken things were mended until there was nothing left to mend.  Being thrifty was something to take pride in because it was "for the boys over there"

Not so much anymore- with affluence comes waste and we are a wasteful nation. That bothers me. You see, our natural resources are not infinite. I have been the butt of much kidding over the years for being able to make something from nothing. For re-purposing items that most people would throw away. I was raised among a very large group of strong minded opinionated women. They were mostly Aunts and Great Aunts and a couple were cousins of my mother but were lumped into the group I referred to as the "Loony Ladies" There were 9 of them and each one was quirky and loud and thrifty. One of The Loony Ladies used to say:

 "If you take care of the pennies the dollars will look after themselves".

  If you asked Aunt Lu where she got the new mixing bowl or rolling pin or picture on the wall her response always was:

"I got it at a garage sale for a quarter"

Aunt Mary was a bargain shopper- Younkers downtown in the bargain basement would offer such treasures. The one I remember best were the summer dresses she bought for the youngest 5 girls in the family. These dresses had matching bloomers underneath so when you twirled around no one could see your underwear. Mine was pink with big polka dots! Aunt Emily took frugal to heights I won't even go into here. Suffice it to say when she held forth on ways to save money it made for interesting commentary in later years. I mean -

 "If you're going to bake a turkey then for Pete's sake BAKE a TURKEY"

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It's time for me to restock the shelf of empty jewelry and gift boxes and paper handled shopping bags. I could order new ones complete with my logo in shiny gold letters. I prefer not to. I aks my customers, family and friends to go through their stash of paper goods at home and bring in thier excess boxes and bags. Anyone who brings in at least 6 boxes or bags or a combination of them get's 15% off anything in the studio. This is the only sale I ever have. I figure it's a win-win. I get boxes and bags out of it you you get to take home something wonderful.