You Mean It Rains In The Desert?

June/July is monsoon season here in Tucson.  And that means rain.  I'm not talking about a sprinkle here and there either.
 

I was just about to leave the house to get the boys from piano lessons when a microburst hit our neighborhood.  65mph winds and sideways rain.  At one point I couldn't even see the houses across the street.



Just thought I'd share a bit of Tucson with you all!

Chaos

The fun starts today. At least that's what I keep telling myself. Later this afternoon, the workers are coming over to assess the damage and get started on repair work for our wall. It will all go smoothly and I'll have my house back to normal, complete with new tile, new carpet, new paint within a week.



Okay, I know it will take longer than that. I'm actually estimating April so if they finish before that I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Engineer and I boxed up our room and have most of it moved out into other parts of the house. My friend Becky said, "So it's like you're camping at home?"

I think that's an excellent way to put it. Camping...only not as fun.


I'm sorry I don't have anything new to show you just yet. The only crafty thing I've been able to do lately is sneak on the computer and have short surfing sessions on a couple of blogs here and there.

I'm actually supposed to be working right now...but I needed a break from the house. Don't tell Engineer!

Order

I'm usually happy to start a new year. I use January as a "practice month" to get the rest of the year organized and get everyone back on a good school schedule. I even told the boys (including Engineer) that the word for the year was ORDER. That meant this year we would focus on getting the house in order (decluttering the closets, giving things away, etc.), getting our finances in order (can see the light at the end of the debt tunnel), getting ourselves in order (each of us getting our work done so we can have more time together as a family). Doesn't that sound nice? Even the first lesson of Joy School this semester for Knock-Out was The Joy of Order!

Of course his teacher for those lessons had to call and tell me when she asked the class what order meant, Knock-Out raised his hand and said, "When you call the pizza man!"

So where was I...oh, yeah. Order. Do you all know the old adage, "Life is what happens while you're making other plans?" I would like to meet the person that coined that phrase and give him a piece of my mind. On second thought, I could use all the pieces I have left.

Our house has been upside down for the past couple of weeks and I'm just about to go crazy from it. It has been raining quite a bit over here and we found some water damage on the baseboards behind our bed. Oh joy. So we've moved our bed frames to the hall, our mattress is taking up all the floor space in the boys' toy room, the boys have been using the living room and dining table as a play room for all their Lego sets. Thank goodness the bathrooms are still the bathrooms.

All this chaos is the reason I haven't been very crafty lately. But I have swap deadlines to meet and projects that have to get started. So every once in a while I've been able to push stuff to the side and get a card made here or there.

In the Copic Crafter group (see that neat little blue button on the left side? I made that!) we have a Birthday swap for the year. All those that signed up have a month to shower the birthday girl (or boy) with cards. I was super hesitant to sign up because my resolution last year was to get my own family their birthday cards to them on time. And what happened?

That resolution died about September.

But I caved to the peer pressure and here I am trying to meet birthday deadlines again. Our group has also "adopted" a soldier through one of the members and her birthday was the first to come up. She loves purple and I dug through all my paper until I found something that would work. I kept the embellishments to a minimum...actually, I didn't use any at all now that I look at it. Hmmm. A nice simple card. Who knew I could to that? Mom?


Stamps: My Favorite Things: You Take The Cake
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: CTMH Bella Reflections Kit


So I'm not sure when I'll get the table cleared of Lego pirates and space police to get crafty again. But it will have to be soon or I may loose that one piece of my mind that's left.

It's Later Than I Thought

I know you guys visit in hopes of seeing something crafty...but how about something witty tonight instead. No one says this feeling better than the Doctor himself...

"How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?"
~ Dr. Seuss

I'm sure I'm not the only one here that feels like this...right? You mean you are all ready for the holidays?

Am I?


So I'll just go back to the closet and see what I'm behind in...brothers' birthday cards, check...teachers' gifts, check...Christmas cards for friends, check.

Yup, looks like I'm behind in just about everything!

*sigh*

Wake me when it's over.

Post Thanksgiving Weekend

The guests have left, the food is mostly gone...except for pie. We have lots and lots of pie left.


Can I offer you some to take home?


I've started working on some Secret Santa cards but I can't show those just yet...wouldn't be a secret anymore then, would it?

So for today I'll just let you know about some fantastic blog candy over at Elisabeth Bell's place. Who could resist the lure of 31 brand new stamps?

Not I.

Just So You Know...

It will be a Happy Thanksgiving after all!

Thanksgiving Eve

The boys are out of school, my parents are on their way...with my brother and his family close behind. The food is all nestled in the pantry and fridge awaiting the melee tomorrow that is Thanksgiving marathon cooking.

I've just finished cleaning up from creating my mom's birthday card, which is the day after Thanksgiving this year. Kind of hard to surprise someone with a card if your creative mess is all over the dining table.

I still have some light straightening to do before guests arrive and what have I been doing every 10 minutes...all day long?

Checking my UPS tracking number for my Gypsy! You know, "I'm sorry" may be the hardest words to say but "Out for Delivery" is the most anxiety causing phrase to read on the screen!




If I don't get back here before tomorrow,

It's Done!

The Open House is over and my family has their mom/wife back to normal! There was a wonderful turnout and I thank you ladies that came,

The best part is all my workshops are set for the next three months so I won't have to scramble to get them ready the weeks before, we all know how great my time management skills are. The second best part is my clubs starting back up again, I miss seeing all my friends regularly.

I'll have lots of pictures to show...later. Right now, even though it's only 3 in the afternoon, I'm ready for a nap.

Stamplicious

Are you one of the millions of crafters suffering from "Stampitis"?
Some symptoms include staying up all night for new release parties, blog hopping till your wrist is sore, spending your budget for supplies three days into the month. At this moment there is no cure for stampitis, but there is help.

If you need somewhere to turn to talk all things stamps, to learn of new companies you didn't even knew existed, or just to get silly with a bunch of grown women, then you might want to check into the Stamplicious Yahoo group. Enablers of all kinds are welcome!





Join the dark side, we have chocolate!

Lesson Learned

So I came back from vacation, all rested and relaxed. Then I saw the huge pile of laundry that was awaiting me and

But I quickly realized I had two extra helpers for the summer and the boys and I quickly got those 11 or so loads down to nothing...mostly. I hope my washer and dryer made it through.

My family (us, my parents, siblings, in-laws, neices, nephews) goes every year to the same timeshare up in Ruiodoso, NM. I love going because it is about 30 degrees cooler than here...and seeing all the family, too. But is makes the last couple of weeks of May busy, busy while I try to get end of school stuff done and pack for this week long vacation. This year, while doing all this planning, list making, packing, shopping I forgot to get my mom's Mother's Day card made. And while she can tell you it's not an unusual thing for me to be late with cards for her, I still always feel bad about the whole thing. Even though she says it's okay.

I did have all the good intentions to have the card made, take it with me and hand it to her in person. But that didn't happen either. All the pieces were cut, the coloring done, I just ran out of time, plain and simple.

To make me feel even worse, while at church on vacation, we watched a short film called The Mailbox. It is a story about a lonely mother that makes her daily trek to her mailbox, hoping to get something from her children. It's a sad little movie and made the room full of women teary eyed, to say the least. And the whole time I'm thinking of the card, not put together, on my kitchen counter. So I learned when I tell my mom I'm sending her a card, I better well get it in the mail!

After all the laundry got done, I was able to sit down and get it finished! So Mom, this card's for you!



Stamps: Stamping Bella SuperBella, CTMH Tiny Typewriter Alphabet
Inks: Brilliance Graphite Black
Papers: CTMH Emporium Reflections Kit

Now all I have to do is get it in the mail...

Serendipity

This weekend is the start of something wonderful.

I was born on Mother's Day thirty-something, something years ago. And that means every once in a while my birthday falls on or near that most desirous holiday. This year is no exception. And today I got a serendipitous gift...

You see, I have been working my little fingers to the bone making display items for my open house tomorrow. I started weeks ago when I first got my big box of summer items from the new Idea Book. And that's when I planned the date. So imagine my delight when I learned it coincided with a Father/Son camp out. I mean, what would be more perfect. I asked Engineer if he planned to take the boys. He commented that he hadn't planned to because that was my "Scrapbook weekend". I looked at him as though he was crazy and asked him why he thought I would want him to stick around the house for that. He rethought the situation and quickly started planning a camping trip with the boys.

So now I have been in my house, alone, in the peace and quiet for 5 hours now. No TV, no Wii, no crying, no fighting. My stuff is all set up for tomorrow, the snacks will be made in the morning, with no little fingers trying to snatch some away. It is the best Mother's Day/Birthday gift I could ask for right now. Is it awful that time from my boys (all 4) is a great Mother's Day gift?

Ask me tomorrow after I've had a good night's sleep in a bed to myself.

It's Been A Zoo!

Today, instead of staying home and getting things ready for club meetings this weekend, I went to the zoo with Bio-Comps class...and all the other 2nd graders at school. It wasn't too bad, Knock-Out and I just walked around with the small group Bio-Comp was assigned to. We saw all the animals, they fed the ducks, then went to the park for a sack lunch. Knock-Out was just about knocked out by the time we got home.

After getting settled at home again, I got to work on some upcoming workshop items. I might have them all finished up by tonight. In the meantime, here's another card I did with this month's Stamp of the Month. I know those of you up north probably don't think snow all day is a fun thing, but down here it's the stuff of my boys dreams. Just a couple of details about this card. I used my snowflake punch and a transparency for the snowflakes. I painted them with CTMH's Create-a-shade paint and added Sparkles.


Stamps: CTMH All Decked Out (November SOTM), Boutique Alphabet, Chocolate Alphabet Small
Inks: CTMH Desert Sand
Papers: CTMH Aspen Reflections Kit, Notebook Reflections Kit

Busy Season

It never seems to fail that the week I have my craft clubs meeting, I am busy every day that week. Good thing I'm so organized and efficient...ha! I actually do have all the projects done but my house has suffered for it. And I can't for the life of me remember why I thought it would be a good idea to go with Bio-Comps class to the zoo tomorrow. Didn't I know I would need that day to get laundry done? I certainly don't want my guests wading through piles of the boys clothes. Or the stacks of food storage stuff we got at Costco yesterday.

So before I go start sorting said laundry, here's one of the cards we'll be making in the Wild Cards class Saturday. I copied it with what I had from a card I saw over at Amy Scheffer's Pickled Paper Designs. She is just one of the many talented crafters I stalk, I mean follow.



Stamps: CTMH Wonderful Holiday
Inks: CTMH Outdoor Denim
Papers: CTMH Aspen Reflections Kit

Things That Go Bump In The Night

This morning the boys finally got the Halloween calendar filled. Every window, every tombstone, every bag of candy is out. I made this a couple of years ago with much help from my mom. In a month I'll get to hang out the Christmas one.



I like Halloween, more now because the kids are old enough to enjoy it. But what I really love more than that it to watch scary movies and TV shows, because I can do that whenever. However, when these two things get together, it's a recipe for an overactive imagination.
The other night my Engineer went to Scouts. I like when he's gone because when the boys get to bed I have a quiet house to myself. I was watching a TV show that I always watch on Wednesdays (Criminal Mind), and right in the middle our doorbell rang. I absolutely did not want to answer it. Who visits people at 8:30 at night? After staring at the door for a while I finally talked myself into looking through the peephole, which was something I did not want to do, I could get my eye poked out or something! (that's the overactive imagination taking over) When I did peep, I saw something on the ground. Then my mind went to someone leaving it on the doorstep so I'd open the door, then they would reach out and push their way into the house. I decided since Engineer was on his way home, I'd let him get whatever it was out there. Then I started thinking, "What if he doesn't see it and steps on it?" And that quickly went to "What if someone is still out there and grabs him when he gets to the door?" (it is totally fine if you are snickering right now). Rest assured that he did get home and in the door safely...along with the plate of chocolate cupcakes someone "ghosted" at our door. I'm glad he wasn't eating one when I told him what I was doing the past 5 minutes, because I'm pretty sure he would have chocked with laughter.

When Are You Going To Start A Blog!

Well, how about right now. I've spent way too many hours looking at other craft blogs out there and got tired of certain people (you know who you are) asking that very question. So I caved to the peer pressure of "every body's doing it".

Why The Craft Closet? Simply because it's my favorite place in my house. And because a majority of things will come from there. I know, the last thing the world needs in another paper crafter enabling other crafters, like we even need encouragement. But I like to make things and I live with my three boys and my husband. I know boys and men can be creative, I do. But my husband is an engineer and it has become apparent that my boys will follow down that same road. Their idea of creativity is to see how many toys it takes to cover the carpet in the play room, or to see how many computers and laptops you can use...at the same time. So when I finish a project, I'd like to hear more than a "That's pretty...when is dinner?" or "Nice, can I play a game?"

So I turn to you. And even if no one out there is looking at me and my stuff, I can at least imagine I have a group of friends that understand me and my craft closet.