Saving The Planet Through Crafting!

That is the motto of the Dorset Scrapstore- a charity which is 20 years old this year.
Notice the R-R-R, for "reduce, re-use, recycle" in their logo.
This place is truly an Aladdin's Cave.
We have a Church Membership card, and in recent weeks I have visited twice to pick up materials for our children's activities [once with Bob, and once with my friend Alison who runs a craft&coffee group at UCF]
The store is only a few miles up the road, in Poole. Members can fill a carrier bag for £4 or a binbag for £10, from the bins and  the 'freebie' shelves. There are other individually priced items [fabric on a roll, to buy by the metre - from as little as £1] Everything is beautifully laid out, and it is easy to look round.

Local companies donate unwanted stuff - so there were lots of brightly printed 'Lush' cardboard boxes available. I picked up some jingle bells and some 'DIY Xmas Crackers' [I know it is July, but they won't be there next week]  I got some fabric to make a cover for the PA box in the church hall, coloured card, pingpong balls, and a few other bits and pieces. Bob collected some lighting gel, and Alison chose some textured lino [she has an idea about embossing with it] I needed a few more shoelaces for my snakes- and ended up with a bag of100 lilac ribbons with aglet ends.
The staff are incredibly cheerful and seem ridiculously pleased when they can supply the item you need,or something similar. If you are in the Dorset area, you should check them out [schools, church groups, individuals can all apply for a membership card]
I just love the idea that things which otherwise would go to waste are being used for positive craft purposes.