Memorial Day 2014

Memorial Day isn't about barbeques and it isn't "the official start of the summer season."  It's a day to remember all the men and women who died in the service of our country.  Special thoughts for Private Oscar Sauceda who died in 2007 while serving in Iraq.  Oscar was a student of mine during my final year of teaching.  He was a bright and well mannered young man who had a pretty wicked sense of humor.  I also want to remember a man who I never met.  His last name was Davis. He served in Vietnam with my husband. This wonderful man was assigned to fly in place of my husband.  Tragically, the plane that Davis was in crashed and there were no survivors.
I am ever grateful for the ultimate sacrifice these two men gave. You will always be remembered.

The Business of Paper Crafting

I've come to the conclusion that there's not much fun in the paper crafting world…especially the business aspect of it.  About two and half years ago I discovered (quite by accident) a very talented woman who specializes in 3-D projects and albums.  Mind you, these projects are made completely out of paper.  Absolutely nothing is pre made.  I was stunned, awed, impressed…you name it!  This woman has some serious talent, but what was more important, I would be given the foundation to make these awesome projects, too!
I anxiously waited to become a member of her monthly club. Sign me up.  Here's my money.  I'd get all the materials to make a project and I would also get written and video tutorials.  I didn't care about the cost and neither did my hubster.   I was in heaven.
I made quite a few of the projects.  I bought every tutorial she offered.  I was a member of her Facebook group. I watched her videos.  I participated in the discussion during those videos.  I met many very creative ladies and became very fond of a few of them.  In fact, even today I think of some of those women as the daughters I never had.  Then about a year ago, things changed.
You see, the ladies in the Facebook group are humans first; paper crafters last.  Many, including myself, became disenchanted with the products and the customer service.  Projects were delayed for various reasons, and our kits were held hostage while we waited for the trinkets used in the kits to arrive.  {Enter a visual of a slow boat from China}  People grumbled about this.  People shared their disappointment. People wrote of their problems.  Then all hell broke loose.
Word of our concerns got back to the owner.  Denial.  Anger.  Grief.  You name it.  The Facebook page was removed.  What was once a happy group of crafters split in two.  We now had a crafter equivalent of the Hatfields and the McCoys.
During all of this, I learned of other paper crafters who offered to share their creativity.  I discovered the talents of The Gentleman Crafter and Laura Denison.  Both of these creative geniuses were/are on the Graphic 45 Design Team.  Believe me, you've got to be damn good to be on that design team.  The detailing and preciseness of their creations is abso-fucking-lutely amazing!  But what's most important is that they know they're humans first; paper crafters last.  There's no over-inflated egos, no blind promises, and no "Praise me because I'm so fucking wonderful" attitude.    There's just fabulous creations…creations that they want to share with us and teach us how to make.  They inspire us.  They guide us.  They support us.  And because of that, we don't see them as a business; we see them as our friends.  Ain't that wonderful!

My Craft Room

My craft room isn't one of those match-matchy rooms with the expensive cupboards and work tables.  It works for me.  That's all that's important.

My work area

Some of my completed projects

Tools

More tools

Completed projects and inside the closet

Resources

Even more tools

Stamps and paper

Inside the closet/Paper Collections

Paper and Bonkers

Why I Became a Paper Fanatic

If you read my first post, you'll remember that a ran the gamut of crafting hobbies.  For five or more years, I focused on counted cross stitching.  Unfortunately, this is a craft that is done alone.  After all those years, loneliness became my enemy.  It was time to find a hobby that would get me out of the house and around other people.
As luck would have it, I discovered a list of classes being offered through the Harker Heights Recreation Center.  One of the classes was a stamping class.  Why not try this?  The classes are held on Thursday mornings (they still are!).  I decided to go.  The instructor was a Stampin' Up demonstrator and was a pretty good teacher, but the best thing about this class was being around people.  How I longed for conversation.  I took the class for nearly 2 years.  In addition to this class, I discovered a scrapbook store in the area. That store held classes, too.  I was in heaven.  I took classes, met quite a few people, and spent a ton of money. I discovered Archiver's in the Austin area. That store became my  heaven on earth.    The time came, though, that I wasn't being challenged anymore.   I stopped going to the classes at the recreation center.  The scrapbook store closed.  Eventually Archiver's decided to close its stores nationwide.  Even my friendship with Jody ended because of our major political differences.  I'm back to being by myself.  Should I just sell or give away all the supplies I have and search for something else?  Should I go back to cross stitching?
I can't remember how I found a website that specialized in making 3-D projects and albums.   The owner of the site has some serious paper crafting talent.  She offered a monthly club that included videos and written instructions.  I was hooked.  From that site I found other equally talented paper crafters.  More important, I found people on Facebook that provided me a sense of friendship in a virtual world.
It's been about 2.5 years since I became a paper crafter.  I've made a few things that bring me pride.  I've tried to curtail my spending, but that isn't realistic.  I'm hooked on all the new paper collections.  I'm a trinket junkie.  I buy ScorTape (an adhesive), by the ton.
The hubby has been wonderful in his support of my hobby.  He doesn't seem to care how much I spend either!  I think the one thing he's really looking forward to is my return to crafting.  He knows that my mojo is gone.  I honestly believe he'll be delighted to see me working on a paper project again.  I don't want to disappoint him or me.  I need to get back to crafting.

I Am Defined by Numbers

Mentally and physically I'm a whole number.  Emotionally I'm a fraction.

Has Anybody Seen My Mojo?

I think I'm beginning week 8 (maybe 9) of not doing anything related to crafting.  My house can be considered very clean by most people's standards, the laundry is done, and all the bills have been paid.  So why won't I work on my paper projects?  Fortunately, some of the new paper collections aren't to my liking, so that's good news. I'm not spending any money.  The biggest question remains:    What must I do to get my mojo back?                                      

Boredom Compounded by Loneliness Equals Nothingness

Not much going on today.  Hubster is still in New Mexico.  I hate it when he's away.  I never sleep when he's gone and the pupsters are constantly bothering me because they must be wondering where Dad is.  Also, I still can't get motivated to do any crafting.  It's been nearly 2 months since I've even *touched* anything related to crafting.  In fact, the typewriter that I started work on back in late February has dust on it!  Ridiculous.    I have so many projects I could be working on, but I can't seem to get my mojo back.  I'm not even posting comments on my favorite Facebook pages.   I'm suffering from a massive case of "Who the Fuck Cares?"

I wish I could deny this, but I'm guilty of it every day.

If Your Facebook Profile Picture Isn't a Fluffy Dog or Cute Kitten, or You Have a Different Opinion….

then you're probably not welcome at Scrapbook/Craft Organization Ideas on Facebook.  For some odd reason, I was accused by many of the members of that Facebook site of being a troll!  You see, if they can't access all the information on your own Facebook page, then you're sole purpose is to cause problems on the site. I was even told that I didn't exist!   Also, God forbid, if you have a different opinion about Hobby Lobby and its campaign to dictate a female employee's healthcare choice(s), your chances of being labeled a pariah are pretty damn good.  Unless you're a sheep and love to see the same old IKEA or Michaels shelving units, look elsewhere.  I did.

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST!  I'm posting here that this month (May) the following will happen on "The Young and the Restless":  Ian Ward, the evil life coach, will be murdered.  Who bumped him off?  It's a toss up between the Cassie look-a-like and Tyler, Abby's fiancé.  Who will get accused of the crime?  Dylan.  Fenn will decide to research Dr. Stitch and discover he isn't exactly who he says he is.  My guess is that he is the guy who accidentally killed Kelly's son.  Stay tuned.

Virtual Smackdown

Arguing with idiots on the Internet is like trying to drown a vampire using your own blood.

Welcome to Diary of a Paper Fanatic

My History in the World of Crafting

After spending the majority of my life teaching, I decided to retire.  Once I retired I throughly enjoyed being able to go wherever I wanted during the school days and to do whatever I wanted without feeling guilty or being afraid of being seen.  (You have to be a teacher to understand how odd it is to be anywhere else but in the classroom during school days.  It's the feeling that you're playing hooky.  Will someone see you and report to your principal?  the superintendent?) Unfortunately, being able go anywhere you want and watching all the daytime shows ("The Young and the Restless" specifically) started getting really boring.   It was time to find a creative outlet.  The problem was that I had never had a crafting hobby(other than sewing a few skirts)  and I'm not an artsy-fartsy person.  What could I do?

I began my search by wandering around various craft stores.  I saw a few crafts that looked promising so I bought all the basic supplies that I was told I needed to have.  FYI:  It's best to save your sales receipts.  You never know when you'll want a refund.

My first foray was cake decorating.  What a great hobby.  Art & food.  A winning combination!  I signed up for classes at Michael's only to discover that I had absolutely no talent or patience to make all these pretty little flowers.  I spent more time squirting the icing out of that squeeze bag into my mouth than I did anything else.  Cake decorating?  No.  Cake eating?  Yes.

Why not take up candle making?  According to the store display,  candles are supposed to light up my indoor and outdoor spaces. I like light.  I like good-smelling candles.  I can melt stuff.   This just might be just the hobby for me!  Classes and YouTube videos to the rescue.  Let's start making candles.  As for my success as a candle maker, let's just say that I'm really happy that I saved the sales receipt for the supplies.

Two crafts eliminated, I decide to continue sewing.  This meant a new sewing machine (nothing was wrong with the old one except it was... well, old.)  Rather than sewing clothes as I did in the past, I decided to make decorations for the home:  placemats, table runners, and holiday decorations. I envisioned my home looking as good, if not better, as Martha Stewart's.   Off to all the fabric stores in search of the perfect fabric.  Since I was on a rooster "kick" at that time, anything and everything "rooster" found its way into my shopping cart.  Naturally, you can't sew without a pattern.  There were countless hours spent perusing pattern books.  I fell in love with all the projects I found in pattern books.  Unfortunately, I never made anything.  I looked at the instructions on the patterns and discovered that I don't really remember how to sew.  Too bad that you can't return fabric to the store, but you can buy those big Rubbermaid tubs to store fabrics, notions, and patterns.  Perhaps one day I'll return.  After all, the fabric was so stinkin' cute.  It would be such a shame not to use those materials.

INTERMISSION

Enjoy the pupster

This is Bonkers as a pupster

I said "no" to clay, flower arranging, wreath-making, fabric painting, glass painting, wood engraving, quilting (I can't sew), stenciling, making items from light bulbs, rug hooking (I wasn't much of a happy hooker), decoupage, gilding, knitting, and finally crocheting.  Little did I know that an innocent trip to the dry cleaners would lead me to a craft/hobby that I actually would be successful in doing.  As I was leaving with my dry cleaning, I noticed a cute little store in the vicinity.  I must see what's inside.

Eureka!  I discovered counted cross-stitching.  I can count.  I can thread a needle.  I can make an "x." I took my first class at Ginger's Needlework Store in Austin, Texas.  I had absolutely no knowledge of what to do, but I was eager to learn and I actually finished my first cross stitching project during that class.  I was hooked!  My life now revolved around Ginger's store and the internet.  I was constantly buying floss and patterns.  When I completed something spectacular, it was off to the framer's.  One project that I was especially proud of was the Vietnam Veterans' Wall.  After if was framed, the hubby and I presented it to the VA Center in Cedar Park, Texas.  It's proudly hanging in one of the classrooms.

I cross stitched for nearly five consecutive years.  If I started one project, I stayed with it until it was completed. No multiple works-in-progress for me.   I have probably forty completed projects that still need to be framed.  I've gifted many of my projects to my family.  One of these days I will get all of them framed.  Here are a few photographs of my cross stitching.

I consider this my best accomplishment.  It took months to complete.  I still need to frame it.

I bought many of this style of patterns.  I think I have a passion for buildings.

Another one of my favorites.  Lots of trinkets on this one.

This was one of my first projects.  It was a gift to my husband who is a model railroading enthusiast.

I love the design.  So true of Texas.

Ah, but then boredom and most important, loneliness, crept in.  Time to begin yet another search for a new crafting experience.