How many stars can you count from where you live?

Growing up in St. Louis, there were a few constellations that we could pick out in the night sky. It wasn't until I started going to Girl Scout camp that I realized how many more stars there were in the sky. The Girl Scout camps I attended were out "in the country," which really meant maybe an hour or so from where we lived. Still, it was far enough from the bright lights and pollution of the city that you could actually see the stars at night.

When I moved away for college, I moved to a fairly rural area. The university still had enough light to make the stars a little hard to see, but you could get outside of town and see plenty of stars. The town I moved to for graduate school was a little bigger than where I did my undergrad, but again, there were plenty of rural areas nearby where the stars were clear.

I'm not sure that I've seen the stars since we moved to Seattle. Every once in a while, the clouds break for long enough to see the night sky. But we're not too far from downtown Seattle, and there's just so much light and pollution in a city of this size. Maybe the pollution isn't quite as bad as it could be in a city of this size, but pollution seems to go hand in hand with city living.

What does this have to do with anything? Counting Stars is my new Etsy shop. I still have ScaryWhiteGirl as well, but I'm basically separating out the contents of each shop between things that are crocheted, and things that are made from upcycled, repurposed, or otherwise environmentally friendly materials. This is not to say that my crocheted stuff can't be environmentally friendly as well, but I'm putting the emphasis on Counting Stars for environmentally friendly items.

So there you'll find things made from manufactured items which have reached the end of their lifespan in their original purpose. You'll find things made from thrift store finds. You'll find tags made from thin cardboard, attached with scraps of ribbon. You'll basically find things made from as much upcycled and repurposed materials as is possible.

And it may not have a huge impact on the environment, but every little bit helps. And maybe, just maybe, as more and more people buy and create upcycled/repurposed items, there can be a few more stars to count in the night sky...