Vote For Me Messiest House

I am thrilled and honored to be considered a top contender for Artist of the Year!

What?  Not Artist of the Year?
Album of the Year…that is such an hon….No, not record then
No way… I'm up for Record of the Year? OHMYGOSH…That is the best and I've worked so had….What? No…No Grammy for me?
Well I did think it was weird…you know since I cannot sing or play an instrument.  I guess I makes more sense that I am up for
Best Craft Blog of 2012. I mean that makes sense really because I am very crafty and I do a lot of crafting that I share on my blo…. No?…Not for my Crafting?  Well than What am I nominated for?  Messiest House.  MESSIEST House?  MESSIEST House?
It seems that the hilarious Anna (aka Anna Banana) at My Life and Kids is having a "Messiest House Contest" and since I don't like losing…at anything…I want to win.  

But really, how can I win…I don't have a messy house…I mean, have you seen my humble abode?  Oh you have…Well, then you know that I am a super-duper neat freak and NEVER, ever messy… ALRIGHT, so I may be a TAD messy…. at times….like when I am busy or not feeling well or….but it isn't my fault.  

My house is messy because I hate cleaning…I have bigger and better things to do than clean up after everyone….like I could be using that time to create art….being crafty…making pretty things.

My house is messy because my family never cleans up after themselves.  That isn't completely true.  My 7-year old does a fairly good job of being responsible for his possessions… except for the

1, 000,345 Legos he owns.  I spent a lot of time and effort coming up with a storage system for the Legos (you can read all about that here) but in the end we found the best place to store his vast collection is the living room and his bedroom floors.

The Lego-inator

My 14-year old is waiting to wake up one day as a responsible adult who ENJOYS cleaning up after herself…seriously.  Between you and I, I've come to the conclusion that she was a high ranking princess in a former life  with a full staff at her beck and call… so one cannot blame her for her bad habits now can we?

Pretty Pretty Princess Ryann

In order to stay married, I will ignore my husband's contribution to the problem in this blog post.

Back to me now because you see, my award-wining submission to Anna's Messiest House competition was all my fault.  (standing up) "My name is Danee, and I'm a Craft.Supply.Fanatic".  I mean I've never, ever, ever met a Craft supply I didn't immediately fall in LOVE with (she says with heart-eyes and a dopy smile).  I mean craft supplies are my life blood…they make me feel giddy and giggly and cause an endorphin release like nothing you can imagine.  The bottom line is "I need to own them all…like right NOW".   But let's be frank- because we are now besties after all- the biggest problem is that once I get the beloved craft items in my hot little hands, I never want to part to let them go.  So I don't.  
The Nominees for Biggest Contributor To Danee's Mental Illness… er…Issue are:

1.  Swarovski Crystals…they sparkle so PRETTY.  Why would I want to get rid of them?  Why would I want someone else- AKA NOT ME-to have the joy of watching them sit and look so very pretty?

MME Union Square

2.  Scrapbook Patterned Paper? I search out the prettiest papers…snap them up and then…can't let go.  I mean H.E.L.L.O.…I have like 4 Stacks of Mind Mind's Eye Lost and Found Union Square cardstock and yet I cannot seem to bear parting with a single sheet.  I have heard that I am not alone in suffering this disease issue and in fact many of paper crafters become paper hoarders.  The Uber Talented Artist Michelle Ward struggles with this as well and has made a book to keep swatches of her favorite papers.  This way no matter she uses the beautiful papers, she always has a bit to keep for herself.  You can read about what she calls "Me First" Journaling here and here.  

I am proud to point out that I may not be hopeless… My Mind's Eye has come out with Lost and Found 2 and 3 and Halloween and Christmas AND I have not purchased a single sheet of any of them.   Baby Steps People…Baby Steps.

3.  Glitter…Please…Do I really have to explain this to you?  Oh and Glass or not, I don't care. 

4.  Tim Holtz: Just about anything and everything designed or developed by Mr. Holtz makes my creative heart go into pitter patting overdrive.  It is pathetic and embarrassing really.  His twice-a-year product "sneak peaks" usually about send me into an almost catatonic state as I SWOON and giggle and then realize I have to wait months, sometimes many months, to get my hands on the actual products he is taunting in front of my eyes.  Oh the despair and sadness…I digressed didn't I?  I have tried-and tried hard I might add- to get control over this disease, addiction infatuation and the first step was admitting that I am a Holtziholic.  It's true…there is no denying it any longer and admitting it is the first step to overcoming it.  So I did a good thing here, right?  I figured the second step is to purchase ONLY what I absolutely NEED but TIM he makes it sooo damn hard.  I mean it becomes like Sophie's Choice.  I know he must be so proud that he continues to come up with soooo many new products every 6 months but come on Tim…cut us some slack…this isn't always about YOU…WE need time to catch our breath and let our bank accounts recover between product releases.  Maybe you could help the Holtziholics among us by developing only a few dozen new products every year?!

5.  Heidi Swapp: I've always had a hard time resisting Heidi Swapp's products  and this is true whether she is designing on her own, when she was with Making Memories and my beloved House of 3, or when she teams with the digital Queen, Jessica Sprague.   My addiction isn't quite as bad as it is with Tim and Heidi is gracious enough to develop a reasonable number of new products each year- so thank you Heidi for that- but it is still a problem.  

6. Miscellaneous: One cannot understand my craft..er…"issue"… without understanding that there are many, many, companies besides those listed above that may not consistently make me scream Visa, Visa, MasterCharge but do come out with products that I MUST have.  Prima has the most amazing self-adhesive, faceted, rhinestones, Teresa Collins makes gorgeous acrylic jewels and some pretty papers, Claudine Hellmuth has fantastic paint and Matte Medium, Martha has always been a favorite of mine.  

7.  Basic Grey: Probably deserves a separete bullet all its own if only for it's historical significance, so I gave it one.  Back in the day I would buy everything they designed- which was doable because they produced 1 or 2 paper lines a year and it was only paper- this was during the dark ages, pre-embellishement days if you will.  One day they started pumping out the products and I gave up.  Then they really shot themselves in the foot but releasing really sucky designs.  I hated the papers or they were so similar to their old stuff it was a joke.  Initially Basic Grey was so unique and that was their appeal to me; nothing on the market looked like Basic Grey.  But the other companies aren't stupid, they caught on and started making papers that looked like Basic Grey.  Suddenly Basic Grey was releasing too many new lines of ugly papers that looked like everything else on the market.  Today they get their own bullet because lately they are releasing fewer lines with better items and the lines are fantastic.  Did you see Clippings?  Serenade?  True Love?  

Basic Grey Clippings

Basic Grey Serenade

Basic Grey True Love

So now that you understand on an intellectual basis WHY I'm "Clutter Challenged" and it is time to give you the visual evidence…the proof if you will cuz I WANNA WIN and in order to WIN I need you to vote.  I am not beyond campaigning for this awesome award, I mean I never win anything so I've become Not-So-Picky about the awards I beg for.  Here is how you come in…Starting Monday February 11th, between 5am-10pm EST you can go to My Life and Kids and vote (FOR ME).  It is a head-to-head competition so each day fewer house will be left standing tall and proud. 

Imagine…It is Christmas 2010…there is a beautiful Christmas Tree sparkling with dainty lights in my living room;  the trees outside my Michigan home are heavy with new fallen snow, fragrant mulled apple cider simmers on the stove and my gorgeous dining room looks like this:

Say it LOUD Say it PROUD….

 Laters Baby….