I am really starting to get excited about the bedroom I am redecorating for the little girl I’ve adopted for Christmas.  So far, we have a comforter set with matching sheets and pillow sham and a matching purple rug.  I redecorated a lamp for her and made an ornament into something she could hang from her door knob or on a Christmas tree.  The next project is turning a vintage picnic basket into a bedside table and storage for her.  I also bought her a memo board for on the wall that will match the rest of the things in her room.  Her curtains will be white with matching tiebacks and I just bought a monogram letter for her first name.  Of course I’ll need to bling it up as well.  I think this room will be so cute, she’ll never want to leave it.  I’m not sure what your room looked like, but mine was not the prettiest thing and I’m reliving my childhood dream room through her.

I found a great toy box as well and it may be another repurposed video.  I just have so many ideas and can’t wait to get started on more projects.  I love to redecorate rooms so this combines two loves of mine, helping others and redecorating.  Who could ask for a better Christmas gift?

 

Today I decided I needed to get organized.  I realized that I have so many things that I can’t use and things that I have bought thinking they would work and don’t.  I have things that I should have returned but didn’t.  Do other people do that?  Have a pile of things that need to be returned but then time just slips away and the time to return them has passed.  I hate it when I do that.

I learned a new crafting term this year.  It’s called de-stashing.  It’s when you have things you just need to purge yourself of.  Mostly it’s when you have bought way too many things that you could never possibly use.  That describes me to a tee.  I was never like that before.  I never really had a hobby other than travel and reading but this crafting thing is more like a horrible obsession.  If I watch a video on a certain technique, I have to go out and buy the things to make it.  And ribbon, forget about it.  I’m never getting over that one.  I just love it way to much to ever give it up.  So my goal before I have my surgery is to de-stash.  I said it and I mean it.  My follow through may be another thing, but I have every intention to do it and isn’t that the most important part?  Wait, or is it something about some road that is paved with good intentions?  Let’s assume my version is correct.  I am going to de-stash and I’m committed to doing it.  Now I just have to do it.  I’ll let you know when I actually do something about it.  Until then, just think of me as the craft hoarder trying to push past ribbon to get to the kitchen.  No, it’s not that bad. Yet.

Finally, the technical difficulties are almost behind us.  The only thing that remains, other than my lack of sanity, is music that is on the video but disappears when you view it.  I’m not into computers but my husband is.  By now I would have drop kicked that thing into the next room.  He has so much patience with this and it is pretty impression, considering he’s  put these videos online at least ten times and had the computer crash at least that same number.  I am so lucky to have him run the operations part of this.  I can barely keep the batteries charged and the camera on the tripod.  Ok, there are more times than I can count that the batteries weren’t charged and yes, I have knocked over the tripod a few times and dropped the camera more than that.  If technology was an Olympic event, I wouldn’t even be in the stadium to watch.  I like the results of technology but absolutely hate the learning curve.  I remember when we were kids and they gave us aptitude tests.  Mine said something like I have zero aptitude for anything mechanical.  No surprise there.  I may still be out of frame more than I would like.  Also my fault.  Every time I knock over the tripod or drop the camera, the frame I should be working in has changed.  I guess I need to learn to change with it, and that’s the least I could do since I created the problem to begin with.

I have four videos ready to go but we’ve had some technical difficulties and haven’t been able to get them loaded.  For some reason, I haven’t been staying in frame and I’m not sure what’s changed.  Also, my editor and chief-of-all-he-surveys,  bought a new software program but so far, he’s still in the learning curve.  So today I thought I’d stamp a bunch of things and spend the day water coloring.  That sounded great until I started stamping and then I got distracted by one stamp.  Decided to make a card from it, which turned into a really big project, and that turned into another card and a video.  You might be asking “What does that have to do with the price of bread?”  My response is “What is the significance to the price of bread anyway and why correlate anything to bread pricing?” Maybe there’s a conspiracy by bread manufacturers to get you talking about bread prices for no apparent reason, as in this case.

Back to my story.  So I was finished with stamping at 5PM, keeping in mind that I began at 11AM.  Where does the time go and what was I doing all of that time?  It’s a blur.  All I can say is I am covered in ink and I have two completed cards and a lot of stamped images to water color at some point (hopefully) in the near future.  All in all, a day lost, but well spent.

 

 

I had my doctor’s appointment today and they can’t do my hip surgery until January, so I have a reprieve of sorts.  They want me to wear a brace to ensure my hip doesn’t decide to wander again, but otherwise, it’s business as usual. I am kind of relieved because I am really getting into making videos for You Tube and today I got a comment from the A.C. Moore company telling me they liked my video and would be watching more of them.  I have to say, even if it was an automated service, it felt pretty great to hear from a retailer.  Yes, I was using their products, but I only paid $2 for them so was it really in their best interest to waste their time commenting on my video?  Of course in my opinion, it was a great use of their time.  Actually, I was so surprised, I didn’t know what to think.  It wasn’t the first time I had mentioned them or used one of their products, but it was the first really inexpensive product of theirs I had used.  The moral of my story is this. If you want to get noticed for your artistry, the amount of money you spend is not important.  What’s important is that you took the time to make it.  Is that the moral?  Or is the moral “buy cheap, get noticed.”  Maybe the moral isn’t a moral at all.  because  it’s great to have a nice comment on your work.  Thanks, A.C. Moore, you made my day.

 

Tomorrow is my appointment to set my surgery to replace a portion of my artificial hip.  I have to say that currently I’m not really upset about it.  I knew that ultimately, one of my replaced joints would need to be repaired.  After all, they date back to the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. I’ve been blessed to have them this long and count my lucky stars that I have.  I wish the timing was a little better with the holidays upon us, but fate chooses these things and I roll with the punches.  I’m still trying to do a lot of videos but we’ve had some technical difficulties that have delayed getting things online.  Today, Rich put up my new obsession with alcohol inks.  They are so much fun, and totally addicting.  I love everything about them from the color to the stains.  They make me feel artistic, when I know I’m not.  Anything that gives you that kind of sensation is definitely worth exploring.   I know I can’t do five or six more videos on alcohol ink, but I’d sure like to.

And, I got a present in the mail today.  A huge ribbon rack.  I realize I have a ribbon purse, a ribbon set of shelves, a ribbon box, but now I have a RACK.  It’s like every ribbon lovers fantasy.  I’ll have to do a new room tour just to look at my new ribbon rack.  It’s love I’m telling you, LOVE!

I’m so excited about it, I had to go online and buy, guess what, RIBBON!

Life is good when you have an unlimited supply of ribbon.  I am one happy girl.  I was going to say “Camper” but what’s a happy camper have to do with ribbon?  I’m sure they could figure something out if they really loved it now wouldn’t they?  So yes, I am one happy camper.  I’m making a ribbon tent to celebrate.  No, I’m not.  Just considering it.