making good on my New Year's resolution...

...to purge, clean, and organize my craft space-- you know, that room that I could barely walk into a month ago, lol! I think it's well on its way to finally being organized and usable! I did a lot of purging to start: we have a 55-gallon recycle bin, and I probably filled it once, all by myself, with just paper and cardboard-- lots of it was scrapbooking layouts I had printed off the internet, old, old issues of scrapbooking magazines, and all sorts of cardboard boxes. After looking at it all, I realized most of it was really useless- I currently use the website Pinterest to save links to scrapbook layouts and websites I like, and most of the magazine information seemed extremely outdated (not to mention full of out-dated advertisements). So, off to the recycle bin it went! (At least 5 medium-sized boxes of random stuff went to Goodwill, as well: books, old dishes, etc., most of which I probably got at the thrift store to begin with.)

Goodwill books

Sad to say, some of the boxes I unpacked while doing this cleaning project had never been unpacked from when we moved into this house initially, over 3 years ago now. I guess that means I didn't really need the stuff inside them very bad, doesn't it?? (I did find some things I thought I'd lost, too, though, which was cool!)

assorted Goodwill stuff

The next step was to decide what crafting and scrapbook supplies I didn't want any more, and sort them out... I signed up for the local scrapbook store's spring 'garage sale' in April, where people bring in their scrapbooking and crafting supplies to sell, and get store credit for everything sold. It's a pretty well-attended event, so I hope to make a bit of money (store credit, technically), and pass some of my stuff along to someone else who will find them more useful than I did- things that no longer fit my style, or crafty things I bought intending to use them at some point, but never did. (I'm not the only one who does that, right?!? hopefully not, lol!)

scrapbook garage sale box #1

...things like old sets of rubber stamps (from back when I used to make stamped greeting cards, but I don't really do that very much anymore), rolls of decorative tape I don't really like (and know I won't use), some old bottles of glitter that I bought at the thrift store and never even used...

scrapbook garage sale box #2

...sheets of cardstock and patterned paper that I've had for years and finally decided to pass along to someone else who might use them (I mean, really- why did I ever think I'd use bright orange cardstock, anyway?!? and I know some of the patterned paper was bought back in Illinois, before we moved to AZ), stickers, assorted tags and scrapbooking embellishments...

scrapbook store garage sale books and magazines

...and a large number of more up-to-date scrapbooking magazines and craft how-to books. Hopefully shoppers at the the SB garage sale will like and buy my stuff, so I can get a decent amount of store credit for it (which I will then spend on buying new stuff, of course!! haha!).

I've also done some re-organizing in how my supplies are stored, which I'll show in my next post.  My end goal is that all this purging, cleaning, and re-organizing will allow me to actually create more scrapbook pages and cards! (It's not a very high bar to meet, considering that the last scrapbook page I created was made in May 2012, I think...) In all the time we've lived in this house, my space- and the supplies in it- just wasn't set up in the best way possible, so the only scrapbooking I actually did was when I attended a weekend scrapbooking retreat a couple times a year. I'd really like to do crafty things more often than that, so that means making my space here at home more useful! And finally, I think I'm on the way to doing just that!  (it's about time, right?!? lol!)

(And of course, there's the cat issue to consider as well: I'd really like to be able to keep the door to my craft room open sometimes when I'm not in there, which means things have to be cat-safe. If not, I'll end up finding erasers, paintbrushes, and other little things all over the house... or else they'll be lost forever under the refrigerator or stove.)

in the works...

so, here's a few random things that have been in the works:


1) My scrapping room is finally evolving into its (hopefully) final form. It's about time, too, since we've lived here for, oh, over two years now- LOL! I've never been very happy with the arrangement of the desks or the amount of light on the work spaces, and I've moved the furniture around at least 3 times, but I think I'm finally close to getting it how I like it. (I used to do this when I was little, too; I'd totally rearrange my bedroom at least once or twice a year- remember that, Mom?)  


Anyway, back to my current issue: I usually end up working in this room late into the evening, so decent light is a must! I have one decent drafting-type light on the main desk, but the only light the other work surface (which is our old kitchen table; how's that for re-purposing?) received was from one of those clip-type lights you can buy for around $5 at WalMart. Not exactly good lighting for actually seeing what you're doing! (and, since the desk was usually piled full of junk stuff when I wanted to use it, I needed another work surface for actually working at.) Tom just installed track lighting in his music room (lighting left over from our first apartment), and he suggested getting the same thing for my crafting space- that way, I can direct the light wherever I want it: brilliant!! (Of course, the room now needs to be cleaned, since the better lighting shows just how messy it actually is- please disregard the mess for now, and focus on the lighting!)

(once I get the shelves re-arranged, I'll take some close-up pics of the items on them to show you...
I have a pretty eclectic collection of stuff up there.

2) A couple new scrapbook pages, with more on the way. I recently signed up for a workshop on the scrapbooking site Two Peas in a Bucket, and have finally gotten back into the groove of scrapping. It's odd; my scrapping mojo comes and goes, and when it goes, it takes me quite a while to find it again. But for now it's back, and I'm taking advantage of it while it lasts! The class is The Hitchhiker's Guide to Scrapbooking, a 5-chapter course on scrapbooking taught by Shimelle Laine, with a humorous nod to Douglas Adams' classic book, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe. (which I need to read again, so I can get all the 'in' jokes that I think she's added into the class content.) The course is chock-full of handouts, ideas, videos, a private message board, 42 example scrapbook layouts, and tons of information, and so far I've made two layouts with ideas for plenty more! Here's my first two, both using some pretty old pictures from my pile of unscrapped photos:

Both layouts are about the flowers and flower garden I used to have back in Illinois. I spent alot of time gardening, but that was in a different climate, and before we had 5 pets and a house to take care of! 

(and before we lived in a desert- lol!) 

3) not so random, but spring is definitely in the works here in AZ! The high temps have been in the low 80s, the hummingbirds are extra-busy, and there are more hints of green appearing in the backyard grass. (the dogs are trying their darndest to find the greenest shoots to graze on... apparently they're confused and think they're sheep, rather than sheepdogs?!?) I guess they like a bit of salad with their dinner now and then- haha!


4) another random thing in the works for me isn't quite so fun: this Wednesday, I'm going to the endodontist to have a root canal re-done... re-peated... whatever the correct word is for that process-- Not fun!! But, neither is having an infected tooth, so I know it's best to get it fixed sooner rather than later, before it becomes more serious. 


5) a more-fun thing I have in the works is some cute Easter cards: I have the idea; I have the supplies; I just need to put those ingredients together and make them. (once I pick up all the crap straighten my desk, that is.)


6) one more fun thing in the works is a weekend scrapbooking retreat in May at the Phoenix Scrapbook Cottage, over National Scrapbooking Day weekend- it's the cottage's one-year anniversary (already!), and they're having special stuff for the weekend scrappers: door prizes, dinner provided, and other assorted goodies. Since they were instrumental in getting me back into scrapping again, how can I pass that up? (answer: I can't!) So, I hope my mojo stays around until at least then-- or at least, it better not go very far, so I can find it again by May! 

still here! a photo post--

yup, we're still here, and still doing stuff- I just haven't done anything with my photos lately! (I'm actually embarrassed to say that most of my recent pictures are still hanging out on the camera...) But, here are a few of them that I did rescue from photo cyber-purgatory!!

we took all three dogs to the groomers a month or so ago; no way are we patient enough to deal with all that hair!! Melissa and her staff at Puppy Love Pet Stylist always do a great job with them- Doesn't Krista look happy?? (Bisbee and Prescott are probably thinking, "come on, let's get home- it's dinnertime!")

a cool-looking early evening sky (the colors were much more vivid in real life)

everyone waiting at the door- must be dinnertime!!

Prescott's "olyphant" toy hanging out at the top of the stairs, waiting for him to come back.

"unpacking Christmas" from the coat closet. (I'll post some pics of the decorations, too!)

yesterday afternoon we went out for lunch, then attended a performance of Handel's Messiah given by the Scottsdale Choral Artists and Scottsdale Arts Orchestra. [The performance venue was a (large) Lutheran church-- notice all the organ pipes in the background? We didn't get to hear the organ yesterday, but I would definitely love to- it's one of the largest church organs in the state, and has over 5,000 pipes!]

transformation!

remember this?? well, if you don't, this is what the backyard of our house looked like when we first saw it back in April, 2009. Kinda scary, isn't it?? The house was a foreclosure, and had been empty for almost a year-- from the inside, it looked like the previous owners weren't much for cleaning even when they lived there, either! (it wasn't as bad as some stories I've heard, but it did need a lot of cleaning.)

The backyard needed a lot of help, too... but over time, we decided what we wanted to do with it, planted cacti, and after the last few days of landscape work, it now looks like this:

pretty cool, huh?? grass, concrete curbing, a screened-in patio (no more flies or mosquitoes!), and a fire pit.

we have to keep the dogs off the grass for a couple weeks, till the sod roots, but I'm looking forward to them being able to lay out there, and not get covered with dirt!!

oh my gosh: what a difference a few tons of gravel, some sod, and concrete can make!! anyway, enjoy your weekend! We are going to the AZ Science Museum tomorow, to see the Body Worlds and the Brain exhibit- I'm sort of excited about it! Tom isn't exactly excited (like, not at all) but he said he'd go with me, so he'll do it. then again, it may be creepy to me, too-- but, at least we have a nice backyard to come home to!

t05- a weekend in pictures

5tthe weekend in pictures-p0oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo the framing for the patio877 screen-porch project is done- next, we need to paint, then her put up the screen. I can't wait!! (the flies were in full force today, since there was a weather system moving thru.

Butters was exhausted, from being mad at the kitten. She loves this afghan. (so do I; it was a lap robe my Grandma crocheted years ago, and it stays on "my" chair in the living room.

and this is how Ariel prefers to relax- I told you she likes to cuddle up right in the crook of a shoulder! It's pretty nice, until she starts kneading her paws on your neck, then does some serious relaxing with play-biting on the nose area... cute, but a bit painful. (and all those misspellings?? those are because she's feeling much better, and is trying to chase the cursor across the screejn. lol!!)jjjjm

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bye!!vgfffffffff

l;.

"""""

a busy weekend

so much for my plan to sleep late yesterday! :D Tom and his friend Murray started in on a much-anticipated home-improvement project yesterday morning, about 6:30 am... (since the forecast was for 105+ temps, an early start was necessary!) They worked till about 12:30, when they ran out of 2x4s, but they got a nice start on the framing to screen in the back patio. Next week the plan is to finish the framing, then we have to paint everything before putting up the screen. Next weekend they'll finish up the framing, then we'll paint the wood to match the house before putting up the screen and trim pieces. This will be really nice once it's done-- no more flies or mosquitoes to worry about, and the pets can lounge out here without having to keep an eye on them, like when they're in the yard. (and we would, too, cause even though the wall is approximately 6 feet high, Butters has already jumped to the top and over it!)

and, meet our new kitten!! Yesterday after Murray and Tom quit working on the patio, Tom and I headed into Phoenix to the Arizona Animal Welfare League, to look at kittens. There were plenty (it's still kitten season), but we were on a mission for one that would be able to stand up to the dogs-- after checking our a few of them, we brought home this adorable gray tabby girl.

She's so tiny-- this picture shows a good comparison, since she's sitting next to the camera bag, which isn't very big. She likes to climb; she's already figured out how to jump up into the window, up onto the kitchen chairs (and table). She certainly has held her own against the dogs, too-- they were very interested in her, and there was some hissing, but she held her ground and took a couple swipes at them, which is a good thing, in my opinion. (I wouldn't even mind if she had connected-- that would make them think twice about messing with her!)

This pic shows just how tiny she is... the only collars they had at the grocery store were for 8" - 14" and Tom made it as small as it would go. It's way too big, but it sure helps to have the bell jingling when she's wandering around-- especially she can get under and behind the furniture!

she's an adorable little kitty; too bad Butters doesn't think so! There was plenty of hissing and some swatting from Butters, and since then, she's pretty much ignored her. Hopefully she'll eventually come around. And have you noticed, I haven't said what her name is?? That's cause she doesn't have one yet... The shelter called her Arielle, but that just doesn't have a good ring to it, so we're on the hunt for a new one. So far, we're calling her "Kitty," but there's gotta be something better than that out there- it'll come to us (hopefully)!!

we're back...

and once we get the pics off the camera, I'll post again- now, off to do laundry...

small changes = big impact!

so far, we've had the entire place painted, put up new light fixtures (to be perfectly truthful, Tom put them up- I just helped to pick them out), got the place recarpeted and cleaned, and got new appliaces delivered.

Small things do make a big impact- changing the paint color in the powder room made a huuuge difference, thank goodness! getting rid of the brass-and-bare-bulb light fixture (which you can't see in the before photo) also made a big difference in the feel of the room. Changing the wall color from white to beige and the kitchen appliances from white to black (to go with the black refrigerator we already own) also changed the feel of the kitchen. (changing from electric to gas was also a huge improvement, in my opinion!!)

we're moving this weekend, so there will be tons more changes- like our furniture finally being settled into the new spaces! I can't wait for it to be over with!! (thank goodness we're hiring movers this time- I'm already tired of hauling boxes upstairs.)