I’m excited that we finally have the last of the old videos uploaded.  Sometimes you don’t realize how far behind you are getting, until you’re there.  I’m not sure why we haven’t been uploading as many videos as we used to, but I’m hoping the tide is turning.  I wanted to have a small contest for viewers around the Elf on the Shelf that I’ll be showing in all of my Christmas videos this year.  When I was crafting with Shelli and Linda, Shelli thought Rich should choose the name from those submitted, so we rolled with it.  Rich didn’t know about his new responsibility until after it was committed to video, and as usual, he was happy to help the channel.  I couldn’t ask for a better partner in this endeavor, as he’s exceptional with technology, and has done a tremendous job with editing and choosing music.  He’s a one-in-a-million kind of guy, and I’m lucky he’s my one-in-a-million guy.

After uploading that video, I think Rich thought he might get a breather, but then I told him I need another one to go live tomorrow and another one the day after, so his week is already committed.  I’m hoping that some of the videos aren’t exceptionally long, so it doesn’t take him too long to edit them.

I finished the flip card today, and figured out what I was doing wrong.  I didn’t realize that it needs to be flipped back on itself to be “closed” and that you pull on it to open it.  I guess it never occurred to me how the mechanism worked.  I know I sound kind of dingy, but I just never really looked at one before.  Of course the card I made had to be remade, as it was stamped on the wrong side, but these things happen, and often for the best.

I’m hoping that Rebecca from Rubber Stamp Tapestry likes this card, as I made it with her new stamp sets and discussed the upcoming destash video within the body of this one.  I feel bad that I’ve been using old videos because I’m not updating anyone on the project to make a difference for those who lost crafty things in the flood.

I got a little bit more organized today and then decided enough is enough.  I moved some things out of the way and started to make some cards/videos.  I’d gotten some really lovely gifts from viewers and wanted to share them with everyone.  I am so behind on discussing my plans for helping with the flood/hurricane victims, that people probably thought I’ve forgotten about it, so wanted to make sure I talked about that as well.  The first video is a card using the stamp set my friend Linda gave me.  I promised her that I would do a video using them, so I did.  I really liked it at first, but then it got a little bit over-the-top, and now I’m not sure if I like it or not.  I really thought my idea was sound, but sometimes, they just go awry.  I’m going to look at it again today, and hopefully I will like it better, but you never know.  Sometimes it takes a day away from a project, before I can look at it and decide if it is video worthy or not.

I also finished a card that I started a few days ago and wasn’t really sure about either.  I had to give myself a few days away from this one to find clarity.  It’s the House Mouse (note sure why I capitalized it, but I’m keeping it that way), and he’s laying in the center of a sunflower.  I watercolored it and didn’t really love it, so used Stickles on it, and so far, it’s much improved, but I always like to wait until it’s dry before giving it my final opinion.

Then I wanted to make a card using the new peg stamps that my friend Rebecca, from Rubber Stamp Tapestry sent me.  She sent me six of their new sets and I couldn’t wait to play with them.  There’s a set where you build your own cactus, and I wanted to do something fun with them.  I thought I’d use my Aliexpress dies and make a flip card.  Ok, here’s the funny part.  I’ve seen flip cards made, but really didn’t know how they flip.  So I used the die and made the card, but the flip action doesn’t seem right, so now I’m going to watch some flip card videos to determine what I did wrong.  My card flips, but it looks kind of odd when it does.  I might have put the die in upside down, or created the wrong type fold before using the die, whatever the reason, my card has a wonky flip.  I might need to remake the card, and I really don’t think I’ll be disappointed, because I had some issues using a darker green paper as my background.  I need to use a neutral tone, so that my cacti look the way I think they should.  It’s one of those things, that, until I get it right, I just can’t let it go.

I’ve spent most of the day labelling stamp sets so I know what category they fall into, and had to add a couple more…earth/stars/moon, people/clothes and shapes.  Who knew there would be so many?  I really wanted to ensure that I could easily find stamp sets by category, so if I needed to make a card that had an animal, I’d know to find them with a yellow sticker.  It’s definitely not foolproof, but at least I won’t be searching like a chicken with my head cut off, the next time I’m looking for a particular stamp set.  By now you’d think I would be finished, but no, it has taken me a lot longer than I thought it would.

I did take time out to go to a craft fair at our local senior center.  It was like a step back in time, as most of the crafts were either those plastic sheets that you stitch through, or Halloween wood painted objects with googly eyes…I think you get the idea.  I saw one vendor that sold greeting cards, as well as a local Stampin’ Up representative.  I’m not sure what she was doing there, as she wasn’t selling anything and didn’t approach anyone to suggest possibly having a party for her.

I did find the Scentsy representative and was glad that I did.  If you’re not familiar with them, it’s like the old Tupperware system, I think, where you attend a party and buy electric wax warmers and the wax scents that fill them.  I’ve seen the same woman twice, and both times it was at craft fairs, so I’m not sure if they even have parties any more.

I had gotten one of their electric warmers a few years ago, from a friend for my birthday.  I really liked it and used it often, until recently when the bulb burned out.  I have been trying to buy a new light bulb for it, but none seems to fit.  So when I saw the Scentsy representative, I thought I’d ask her about it.  The light bulbs that they use in their units are specific to their products, so no other light bulbs will fit.  I think that would have really bothered me if the bulb was more than $2, but for that price, I was on board.  I was a little bit surprised, though, that you can only purchase bulbs from a Scentsy distributor.  I learn something new every day.

I got the closet put together, now I just have to figure out what I’m going to put inside the closet.  I have a bunch of different storage units in there and have so much craziness in the room, that I don’t really know where to start.  I know I want to put most of my stamp sets there, as well as loose stamps, but am not sure about everything else.  I just started thinking about things like dies and wood stamps and then that’s when I just shut down.  I’m not sure where to go from here, but know tomorrow is another day and I’ll tackle it then.

I came up with a system for determining at a glance which stamp sets are what.  I made colored stickers and broke them out into categories….animal/birds, sentiments, flowers, household, trees/bushes/cactus, vintage, and holiday/graduation.  Then I’m going to make them alphabetical by stamp company within the color coding.  I really hope that it works for me and kind of wish I had done more, like masculine, celestial (for suns and stars)….but don’t have so many, that I think it would be worth the hassle, but tomorrow is another day.  I might change my mind and add them.  I really want to make one system and use it going forward.  I really hope this one works for me, but if it doesn’t, I’ll find something else that does.

I worked on about thirty stamp sets and color coded them…This could take longer than I thought.  I really want to get my room back in order, so that I can make some cards/videos.  I’m starting to get a little bit stir crazy, not being able to create anything.  I really need to get focused, so tomorrow I can do something beside move things from one spot to another.  I really hate it when I’m indecisive, and this organization process is really making me that way.  YIKES!

I know you are probably waiting with baited breath, to find out if I actually put my craft room back together.  Ok, the answer is yes and no.  I had purchased a couple of cool wooden boxes at garage sales that weren’t in the best of shape.  I decided to cover them with paper, so they didn’t look so bad, and because one had nails that looked like they might catch something (me.)

It was a cool day, only around 60 degrees, but as soon as I started covering that box with decorative paper, I started to sweat like crazy.  Maybe I should change my YT name to Sweaty Crafter, because it’s starting to get ridiculous.  I did finish one box, then thoroughly washed another box and that’s when I threw in the towel.  I could have done more, but decided I needed a nap to recover from my sweat fest.

Rich edited and uploaded the video of my cousin making her fairy garden (yes, that was a month ago), but he has been backed up with videos.  He only has one more video left before I have nothing to show, so I need to get serious about that craft room.   I’m hoping tomorrow is another cool day and that I can get everything back in the closet and make some videos.

I’ve gotten some really nice gifts in the mail from viewers in the last few days and I really want to show them.  I also need to get my destash video done so we know how much money we will have to buy gift cards with.  I saw the Jennifer McGuire and a lot of her friends have started a go-fund-me page for people affected by the hurricane, but so far, I’m not sure what they are doing with the monies.  I think they are selling crafty things, but not donating them, so I’m continuing on with my original plan, and hope that we can make a small difference in at least a few people’s crafty lives.  I guess I look at it like this.  If we help one person regain their crafty tools, then that’s one more person who is getting back to a sense of normalcy, and that’s all we can ask.

My cousin Shelli, her friend, Linda, and I spent a day together crafting…Shelli wanted to make a fairy garden and was inspired by Crafting it up and Creations by Janet on YouTube.
You’ll need a planting pot and foam core for this project. You’ll trace the top of the pot on the foam core and then cut the foam core so it fits inside the top. You’ll buy a door and glue it on the side of the planter and then glue greenery around the door. Shelli found a lot of her fair garden products at dollar stores and Big Lots.
You’ll want to glue the foam core into the top of the planter with hot glue and then position the fairy garden pieces around the foam core and once you are sure that you like it, glue it all down. When gluing the greenery down, you should make sure you only glue small portions so the glue doesn’t dry before you get your moss glued in place.
If you glue anything and regret it, you can pull them back off and reglue them down. As for the door, Shelli placed hers in the wrong place (once her pieces were glued in place), so she pulled the door off and repositioned it so it was on the opposite side of the planter from her house.

Linda made a Halloween inspired fairy garden and I made a wreath with my fairy products.

Some days I just don’t accomplish very much.  Today was one of those days.  It seems like I’ve had a string of “those kind of days,” and honestly, wish I had less.  I didn’t sleep well, and I’m not really sure why, but decided at about 4AM, that I needed to do some laundry.  I know you should just lay there, and eventually you’ll fall asleep, but somehow, that doesn’t work for me.  I’m more of a, lay there until I get up and either make a list of the things I need to do, or get up and accomplish something kind of girl.  So this morning, I did laundry.  Just one load, but it made me feel like I could check something off of my invisible list of things to do, so I could go to sleep.  I probably would have laid there awake for a couple more hours if I hadn’t.

I slept late and then decided to put my closet back together, then, because I completely forgot about the closet, sent some emails and took Rich out to dinner and ran a few errands.

I did get a really nice surprise in the mail from Rebecca, the owner of Rubber Stamp Tapestry, the peg stamp people.  She sent me their new stamp sets that are almost all focused on succulents and cacti.  (I wanted to make sure that the plural of cactus was cacti, and it is.)  Whew, a load off my mind….It’s not like I’m a stickler for vocabulary, but I don’t want to appear illiterate if I can avoid it.  But in doing my research, apparently cactus is also acceptable as the plural of cactus, who knew?  These are the things I learn from doing this blog.

Back to the peg stamps story….She also sent their new fall based stamp sets and one set with some gorgeous florals.  I’m a sucker for their flower stamps and must have at least fifty of them.  So tomorrow I’m going to put my closet together and then focus on making some cards.  I have several that I need to make for friends and family, and some that I just want to play with some new techniques.  All in all, I have a lot of card making and video making that I need to do, and I’m going to staple myself inside my craft room until I accomplish something.  Ok, I might not staple myself inside, but I am definitely going to make some videos tomorrow.  I feel really guilty, because I just keep procrastinating and I think it’s because I just don’t want to organize the closet.  It seems like an overwhelming task and I need to force myself to do it.  You’d think I would be really excited and would jump right on this, but for some reason I keep putting it off.  I’m really not sure why.  No more excuses, tomorrow is the day, that closet is getting done. Period.  Or I’ll find another excuse and postpone it again.

Today was the day that I was going to finish the house mouse card, or throw it in the trash.  But then bright and early, Rich said, I’m going to finish the closet, and did.  It took all day to sand it and paint, so I didn’t get a chance to go in the craft room.  Instead I spent some time spray painting one of my bird feeders (and myself).  I didn’t spend any time in the craft room because the paint smell was horrible.   So I did what I always do when it’s hot and I don’t want to do anything, I ran errands.  That wasted a couple of hours, but it made me feel like I’d accomplished something.

So I’m delaying making cards until tomorrow, when hopefully, my room won’t be smelly or hot, and I’ll be in the mood to make something.  I don’t know about other people, but when it’s 90 degrees, I don’t feel like doing much of anything, and today, I didn’t.

I decided I needed to get my craft room back together, whether or not Rich was finished with the closet.  So we put up a new light and repositioned my tripod and I was ready to roll.

I have a sunflower house mouse stamp that I really wanted to use in a video and so I started to watercolor it with Crayola watercolors.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m terrible at mixing colors, so my mouse and the sunflower looked very similar.  I played with it for a very long time, and I’m not sure if it’s going to end up in a video or the trash.  Sometimes making cards will go that way for me.  I have a great plan in my head, but when I try to put it on paper, it goes horribly awry.  Such is the case of the house mouse sunflower.

I thought I would let it sit overnight and then determine if it needs to go in the garbage or not.  That’s the beauty of making things out of paper…all that I’ve wasted is my time and a piece of paper, and that’s not so bad.  I guess I’ll think about it tomorrow.

Sometimes I just want to talk about things that I shouldn’t.  Today’s discussion is about hot flashes.  I know you don’t want to hear about them, but I’m going to share.   If you don’t want to hear the story, it’s ok, there are lots of normal people that blog on crafty sites, unfortunately, I’m not one of them.

One of my girlfriends asked me if I would help her reorganize a space that she and another woman share at an antique market.  She refinishes furniture and the other woman makes deco mesh wreaths, candles, framed art, and a variety of other crafty projects.  Their space is probably 25 feet wide and 15-20 feet deep.  It holds a LOT of stuff. The owner of the antique market doesn’t really believe in air conditioning, and yesterday, the temperature was almost 90 degrees, so it was extremely warm there.  Not only was it warm, but it was also very humid.  It was so humid, in fact, that we couldn’t get the metal tape measure (that normally retracts automatically), to retract.  It was humid and I was miserably hot.  I started with a minor hot flash and within a half hour of being there, my entire head was drenched in sweat.  I tried mopping my head, but that really didn’t do much (besides glue my hair flat to my head), so I just let it drip.  I looked and felt disgusting, but I was committed to helping, so I soldiered on.  The antique market was open, but they thankfully had very few customers, (so very few people saw how bad I looked.)  And then it happened.  A woman walked up to the booth (that looked like an explosion had gone off as everything was off the walls and either in shopping carts or on the floor), and says to me, “You look familiar.”  I immediately said the town I was from (which was about 40 minutes away), thinking that would end the discussion, and the woman said, “Rich Parker.”  This is the exact moment I tried to crawl under something and hide, because the sweat was now pouring down my back and I knew I looked like a wet dog.    She said “I met you once at a restaurant, and went to high school with your husband.”  Really?  What are the odds that I would run into someone who would recognize me from meeting me once and would remember me (even though I swear I didn’t look this bad the other time we met.)  She’s telling my girlfriend that she came specifically to see this booth as she is friends with the other woman that she shares the booth with and then looks back at me.  I decide to diffuse the situation by explaining, “hot flash, you know how these things go,” and she says, “I’ve never had one.”  I could have cried or karate chopped her in the throat for saying that, but I just smiled and said, “wow, that’s lucky,” but inside, I was dying.   I was just waiting to get home and have Rich mention that his facebook page was buzzing with all of his high school friends, talking me and my new wet dog look.

All I’m saying is some days it’s just not worth getting out of bed when you have a four hour hot flash ahead of you.