Wednesday, January 27, 2010

How much longer till spring??

The city I live in has had 41.4 inches of snow since Dec. 1. . . just let that soak in people . .. 41.4 inches!!! We’ve had at least 5 inches of snow on the ground for the last 50 consecutive days. (disclaimer: I know I have no right to complain because a lot of places get more snow than this on a regular basis - BUT this is the most snowfall we've seen in over 100 years so for us it's a lot and I reserve the right to bitch about it OK?)

You’re thinking, “What’s the point here Amy?” And I’ll tell you what the point is people. The point is that I’m so sick of snow that the next time I see a flake falling to the ground I will either a) curl up into a fetal position and start sobbing uncontrollably until spring, or b) figure out how to sell all of the duplicate organs my body can spare on the black market and drum up enough money for a 3 month vacation to the Bahamas.

Another point is that with the copious amounts of snow and ice on every surface of the earth around here getting out and about with two kids is not really feasible so cabin fever has set in. No, let me rephrase that; it has moved in, claimed a shelf in the fridge, used all my shampoo, borrowed my favorite pair of jeans and is currently wiping its orange cheese puff encrusted fingers on the arm of my loveseat.

Most people deal with cabin fever by finding ways to get out of the house. I combat it by purging and organizing. Because when you feel the walls closing in, the most logical thing to do is to get rid of as much stuff as possible that lies between you and the walls so that you have a little more room to breathe.

I started my purging/organizing in my craft area.

I keep my fabric in large plastic drawers and I really wish I had taken a ‘before’ picture because they were awful. The fabric was just shoved in willy nilly. Some of it was folded but most of it wasn’t and the only way I could find a specific piece of fabric I was looking for was to dump the entire contents of a drawer on the table and paw through it like a little old lady diving into the bargain bin at JC Penny.

I cut squares (or rectangles depending on the amount of fabric) of cardboard and folded each piece of fabric neatly around it. Then I organized by color. Isn’t it beautiful?


I also got rid of about 1/3 of my scrapbook paper and supplies. I really had a lot of stuff that I couldn’t ever conceive myself using.

I even made a pennant banner out of some old vintage fabric to spruce up the place. It's like the grand opening of my new cleaner space!

Maybe I can make it till spring after all. Next stop – the closet!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Those aren't raisins

It all started so innocently. I had a little bit of yarn leftover from a project so I made this little cutie.
And then I thought he might get lonely, so I made him a pal.

And they quickly formed a strong bond.

A couple days later I came home to Neil Diamond on the stereo and an opened bottle of Boone's strawberry wine. I think you all know what came next.

And then things really started getting out of hand.

I can't keep the cupboards stocked. They really like cookies - I'm buying Chips Ahoy in bulk!

And I'd really like to watch somehting other than GSN. I mean I enjoy Press Your Luck and old episodes of Let's Make a Deal as much as the next gal but 24/7? Everytime I try to change the channel thought things get ugly.

So I'm shipping these little guys off to my husband's mother who will find good homes for them with the children that come through the social service office she works for.

If you've got a surplus of cookies around you can make your own bunnies too. I used this fabulous free pattern from one of my favorite Etsy sellers; Rebecca of Danger Crafts.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Joys of the Season

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. I got some much needed time off and I happily spent it doing absolutely nothing. It was wonderful.

However, since I did absolutely nothing but revel in the joys of the holidays, I don't really have anything craft related to share with you today. But I didn't want to leave you hanging so I thought I'd show you one of the gifts I recieved this year. An Edward Cullen figurine:

As you may recall, I kind of have a small obsession and my husband indulged that obsession by putting this little guy in my stocking this year.


About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward's/Robert's hotness doesn't translate perfectly into plastic. Second, there was a part of me, and I wasnt' sure how embarassed I was of it, that was really excited about owning this figurine. And third, that I would absolutely and irrevocably keep this thing forever no matter how sad and pathetic it might make me.

I kept him on my desk at home during the holidays but I found that he drew quite a crowd. I tried to tell the princesses that Edward didn't like blondes, or seafood but they wouldn't listen. I thought Belle might have a chance being a brunette and all but she was just there to ask if Jacob was around. It seems she's got a thing for guys with fur.
So that I would have his full attention, I took him into work and put him on my desk next to my filing cabinet and I've been composing poems for him all week with my magnetic poetry set.