When Life Happens, or Why I’ve Been So Quiet

So I haven’t exactly blogged much in the last few months.  I do have a reason for this, something that I’ve been rather quiet about offline and completely silent online.  How should I explain?

Once upon a time, toward the end of last October, I got home from an appointment only to have my sister inform me that we received an eviction noticed.  The notice didn’t actually give a reason as to why they wanted us out, which of course was strange.  What was even stranger was when they refused to accept our rent payment for November, but then we got a court summons for eviction due to “non-payment of rent”.  We moved out in December and my family sort of split in different directions, that includes Midnight.  Yes, I had to give up my beloved kitty.  She’s alright though, she’s living with a friend of a friend of a friend.  Some people call him “the cat whisper”, Midnight totally loves him.  I stayed with friends for a while and have been staying in motels with my mother and brother for the last couple of months.  Some people might use the word “homeless” to describe the current situation.  I’m not sure about that, but I don’t like to focus on that for too long. 

The main reasons I have been so silent here?  First off, I just wasn’t really ready to talk about all of this much let alone blog about it.  Second, it was pretty much the only thing I had to blog about.  We had to put most of our belongings in storage, that includes all my craft supplies.  So I have not been able to make anything since December, oh the horror!  Plus the whole losing the last place I called home really does put me in the mood to blog about other happy things, not!  So here’s the equation:

No crafty fun to blog about + big event that I couldn’t speak of + sadness

=

dead, silent blog

They say when things don’t go quite right, it’s good to stay positive right?  So, in the name of optimism I have come up with two new goals.  One is to try to appreciate the little things in my life.  So every week I will blog about something that brings a smile to my face on a regular basis.  Watch for this later this week.  The second is pay back.  I mean giving back, to those online who support me.  Explanation?  Whenever someone leaves a comment here or on my other blog, re-tweets me on twitter, follows me on pinterest, etc. I receive an email.  I have never deleted any of these emails because each one has made me so happy.  I thought why not return the favor.  So from now on whenever I receive one of these emails I will try my best to do something in return, be it leaving a comment, re-pinning pins, or following blogs and such.  I am starting retroactively, meaning I am going through all my old emails and spending a few moments each day showing some love to these individuals who gave me some love over the past few years.  Better get to it, I’ve got a lot to do now.

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Cardboard Decor

A while back I notice how bare some of my walls looked and thought I could use something to cover them.  The idea of making picture frames out of cardboard then popped into my head.

Fast forward, here’s my first attempt at it. 

I carefully cut and glued together multiple layers of corrugated cardboard to form the frame, then painted it with blue acrylic paint and applied a sealant to make it look finished.  I carved a little slot in the back to use to hang it on the wall. 

Of course a frame isn’t complete with out something to frame, right?  I got the idea for a silhouette with glitter from this tutorial on Naughty Secretary Club.  I made it on this cute piece of scrapbook paper and outlined the butterfly with fabric paint.  Simply done and it really makes a statement.  Does it send the right message though?

Here’s the updated list:

• Pillow
• card bracelet
• charm necklace
• netbook sleeve
• doll swimsuit
• bum bag
• sleep mask
• picture frames
• dress

Eight down, just one more to go.  And it looks like I’m going to finish earlier than I planned, that’s always a plus.

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Dino Birthday

Today is my nephew’s birthday, he’s three today and very happy about it.  

For a present, I made him this pillow.  The dinosaur came from one of his old and stained t-shirts.  I cut it out and attached to another t-shirt, which I cut to size.  I used scraps of orange fabric for the edge and cut it with pinking shears to sort of resemble ridges on a dinosaur’s back, at least that was the idea. 

It is a little lumpy, stuffing pillows isn’t one of the things I excel at, but he totally loved it anyway.  He keeps on pointing at the dinosaur and saying “dinosaur!”, he is just so adorable.

Here’s the updated list:

• Pillow
• card bracelet
• charm necklace
• netbook sleeve
• doll swimsuit
• bum bag
• sleep mask
• picture frames
• dress

One down, eight to go.  Up next is more jewelry.

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Organized Time

I’m still alive, so don’t worry.  I have just been a little preoccupied lately.  One of the things I’ve been up to besides the usual stuff is reading up on organizing and decluttering.  I figured if I cleaned up a bit and organized everything, then I would have more time for important things, like crafting and sleep.  Here’s some of what I have been reading, maybe it will help some you who may have the same problems with time and stuff.

• The Queen of Clean Conquers Clutter by Linda Cobb—This one really popped out at me because it was pink and glittery, but it’s fantastic.  It helps you get started almost instantly, you just have to know what Q.U.E.E.N. stands for.
• Simply Organized by Emilie Barnes—This one is as simple and straight forward as it’s title, it is also so thin that you can read through it in a hurry.  Good for a “there’s no time to organize but I need to” solution.
• Emilie’s Creative Home Organizer by Emilie Barnes—If you liked the last title, you’ll love this one.  More help from the wise one.
• Clutter Cutters: Store it With Style—It is hard to organize all your junk if you have no where to stash it.  This one helps you to declutter and store what left so your house won’t be one big eyesore anymore, not that it is that bad.

Hopefully I’ve learned enough to successfully keep all my obligations in check with these resources.  Or at least I've learned enough to keep my sanity as I try to be superwoman.  It’s an improvement.

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Home Sweet Home and Maybe a Campout

  Well, I finished the doll house.  At least I finished building it, I still need to furnish and decorate all the little rooms.  Those will be separate little projects.  Anyway, the house is made from a cardboard guitar box and all the window trimmings and sidings and stuff are made from old file folders I found.  Along with the folders I found a sheet of clear plastic which I used for the window glass.  The door knobs are made from wooden beads and a straight pin.  Can’t wait to furnish it. I’ll probably start with the bathroom.  I found some fun books at the library about making tiny toilets.  More on that later. 

I also manage to make the sleeping bags.  They are based are some I saw in a book several years ago.  The book is called Wild with a Glue Gun.  It’s a simple design with a built in pillow and just the right size for tiny dolls.  I’m thinking of using them for another short film.  Although it seems a little chilly for a camping video.
Here’s the updated list:

Altered jacket

doll house

sleeping bags

hat

Glittery makeover Just one more to go. It might be a little difficult since I have no clue how to make hats.

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A Home of Their Own

Here’s episode two of Kailey and Boris, I’d meant to have it up about a week ago, but things happen sometimes.

In this one, Kailey and Boris get a house, so naturally this lead to them needing furniture.  I had a little trouble at first, but with some old ribbon and thread spools and cardboard scraps along with the usual supplies, it came along nicely.

I love the fabric covered frames on the walls, I’m thinking of making some for myself.  The little bowls on the tables are made from curled strips of paper and glue, I’d like to make some of them too.

When you do watch (please do), some of you may notice the sunny face above the table.  It’s part of a broken pencil sharpener I saved.  You may also notice it moves a little, it kept falling down during filming, oops. 

Now here’s episode 2!

The photos in the film were provided by FreeDigitalPhotos.net.  Yay!

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