If drafts were dollars...

So, I just went back and looked at all the posts I started to blog last year and never finished. Yep--that's the story of Me, all right. Hey, there was some good stuff there. Now that I'm no longer addicted to Gardens of Time (DON'T!! JUST DON'T!!) or feeling depressed and lazy, maybe I'll pirate myself. Who'll know but me? Tee hee. After all, that's what empty journals, blank canvases, and new years are for.

Smash My Stash in 2013

For the entirety of 2013, I am resolved to make art only with what I already own. No buying paper, tools, glues, studs, ribbons, buttons, or any other geegaws and foofies--it's time to SMASH MY STASH! THE RULES: 1. No using anything from now until Jan. 1, 2014 that I don't already have in my already-overflowing hoard, unless it is a salvaged jar, piece of junk mail, or such from the week's recycling. 2. Must complete and post at least one full project per week, utilizing said stash. Caveats: I will continue to buy from my wonderful neighborhood Beverly's store as usual--who could possibly pass up such deals?--but I will list what I buy and put it away for next year. I am hereby making myself responsible to myself for this, since after not posting anything fresh in this blog for 11 months, I'm sure I no longer have any followers. ;-) FULL DISCLOSURE: I went nuts this past week stocking up on end-of-the-year goodies from Beverly's, knowing that my deadline was approaching. Good thing I had myself a Marvy little Christmas, thanks to my generous husband.

Saw It/Did It Saturday

I have had a week wherein I had to take everything in my entire kitchen apart and put it back together again, after a close encounter of the uninvited furry kind. That brought on a frenzy of pre-Spring cleaning which led from closets to drawers to cupboards--I just could not stop myself! Then the owner of the building I live in and manage bought a brand new Shark Navigator floor cleaner for me to haul up and down the four floors of the building (three residential, plus basement) which were horribly overdue for cleaning since the last vacuum broke down before Thanksgiving. Not much time left over for crafting. So easy to veg out in Gardens of Time or Words With Friends--dude, I was sooooo tired!

But know what? When I saw this on Pinterest, I knew immediately that I wanted to copycat it. Here it is at its original Tumblr page. Isn't it just magnificent? And what a (BAD PUN ALERT!) timely message. Ba dum DUM.

So I sat down late last night and covered my kitchen clock numbers with this constant reminder: Come on and do it, Sharon--while you can. There goes your life, tick...tick...tick..the time is always NOW.



Yeah, the Mod Podge was still too wet when I brayered over it to get some air bubbles out, and I didn't notice till later when it was already dry that one of the squares had rubbed off a bit. That's okay; it's imperfect, just like me. I'm not redoing it.

...the HECK was THIS?

Spotted in my kitchen when I got up to make coffee this morning:

It was not there at 1 a.m. when I went to bed.

So, am I sleepcrafting now?

82 Clothespins!

6 dozen plus 10. That's how many wooden clothespins I painted, beribboned, doodled, and decoupaged Sunday night while watching the first few episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford. Aren't they cool? Now I want to go back to the Dollar Store and buy bunches more. I'm thinking the next time, I'll put words and phrases on them, magnetic strips on the back, and use them like poetry magnets!

Where's my fairy godmother? Crafty Chica Cruise 2012!

Six years. That's how long the Crafty Chica Art Cruises have been happening, and that's how long I've wanted to go on one. What's not to yearn for? Eight days...beautiful weather...every yummy, pampery thing provided...off-the-page crazy, creative fun around the clock...and crafting flippin' ROYALTY!

Le siiiiiiiiigh. El suspiro. One more year to dream, dream, dream.

I met Kathy Cano-Murillo back when she was launching her Crafty Chica line at a Michael's in San Jose, CA. She and her hubby were just setting up when I got there, so I got to "pretend I was helping" and also chat with two of the nicest people on the planet. My jeans even got a mention on her blog! No, really! (My brush with greatness.) I've been a fan for years, and just wish some magical sparkles would drip off Kathy's left pinky onto me--maybe some creativity would stick.

So...the cruise. Oh, yes...when I win the lottery which I don't enter /publish my bestseller which I haven't written yet/inherit a million from a relative I don't know. That's when I get to lay down 900 smackers to abandon my DH on his birthday, cart my ageing tushy to a fancy ship to play with wild color and sip Margaritas and be waited on by cute little guys in cute little uniforms, and forget I have a cell phone and a pacemaker and grandkids and tenants whose toilets sprung a leak in the night.

And little piggies fly.

We all require fantasies; we can't live without them. This is one of mine. I am so happy for anyone out there who can take this dream vacay--and I hope you're one of them! If your ship came in (bad punsRus) then by all means, GO on this marvelous cruise! Have a blast and come back with glitter in your hair--and be sure to bring me back some extra fun stuffs, okay?

Life's little lessons: Obey them.

Or you might find the day you devoted to de-Christmassing the habitat, and also finishing up the embellished clothespins project, your head poppin' full of a hectazillion ideas--taken up instead by running through your home like a coocoohead because you left the water running full blast in the sink and flooded your kitchen. And you're still wiping it up at 11 p.m.

Some days are like that.