{"id":972,"date":"2007-10-24T11:21:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-25T03:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/catchingfireflies.com\/blog\/?p=972"},"modified":"2014-08-21T13:21:29","modified_gmt":"2014-08-21T17:21:29","slug":"thinking-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.catchingfirefliesgifts.com\/blog\/2007\/10\/thinking-green\/","title":{"rendered":"thinking green saves you green"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s no doubt that 2007 has been the year of green<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.  It makes me happy to see the environment take a front seat in the media circus.  And it’s about time that catching fireflies got in the act.<\/p>\n

First a little history – circa 1996…  Before catching fireflies<\/a>, there was April’s Ideas (a.k.a. a.i. paper design<\/a>)  Since I was going to become a special education teacher, I worked in elementary schools and couldn’t bear to see all that colorful bulletin board paper go to waste… so I started recycling it by making handmade paper.  \"Paper_1b\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

There’s my now husband<\/em>, Steve helping shred loads of paper (Little did he know this was only the beginning of the craziness!)\"Paper_2b\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

Making paper is a little like panning for gold… only it’s just pulp<\/em>.\"Paper_3b\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

I’d layer the wet sheets of pulp between tapestry samples (for texture), Then officially<\/em> stand on them to press the excess water out.\"Paper_4b\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

Afterwards, I’d hang them to dry and then peel the paper from the tapestry samples for cool textured paper sheets.<\/p>\n

All of my designs were originally made from these recycled sheets, but as a.i. paper design<\/a> grew, it wasn’t practical or feasible to continue making my own paper.<\/p>\n

Now, most of the papers I use are handmade and printed in India.<\/p>\n

With all that being said… I still care about the three R’s (recycle-reuse-reduce) and want to pass that passion on.  I realize this is a very small step,<\/em> but at least it’s in the right direction.\"Thinking_green\" <\/p>\n

From now on, ALL our paper*<\/strong> bags and gift boxes will come with this card. *(unfortunately, our plastic merchandise and gift bags wrinkle too easily to be reused) <\/p>\n

For every 2 bags or boxes (in reusable condition) you bring back, we’ll give you a buzz buck coin you can use the next time you visit us.  It’s our way of saying thank you for thinking about the environment. <\/p>\n

Also for small items, I’ve instructed our staff to ask if you need a bag.  Every little bit helps. Thank you so much for being supportive in our efforts.<\/p>\n