Call off the Lawyers

If you are beginning to see a theme emerging on my blog you are either paying attention or you have been to my house recently.  Unfortunately, this theme isn't one I am proud of.  In fact, I want you to see this dirty-little-secret about as much as I want you to see my asymmetrical haircut from 1988.  Realistically though, I don't think I can keep it a secret much longer if I want to continue blogging. So here goes… (standing up) "My name is Danee Lynn Paullin-Kaplan, and I'm a very messy, messy, Messsssssyyyyy crafter." (sitting down). Whew... (wiping brow with my left hand).. though it is very unexpected... I feel so much better; like a weight has lifted off my hypermobile, about-to-blow-out shoulder.  My dirty little secret is out and I'm thrilled to report there are no pigs flying outside my window and HELL has not froze over.  Ok, so I must be honest here and confess that I don't really have any good information as to whether or not HELL is currently ice or fire.  I can only surmise it is still burning away under the watchful eye of Hades, because the world appears unchanged.  As I bask in the freedom I found by letting go of my dirty, dirty little secret, it dawns on me that maybe it wasn't such a SECRET to those who have visited my house in the last year and if you tried to eat dinner at the dinner table, well this is very old news because you would have had to eat dinner on the coffee table.  

Wow, so that went so well I think I will do that again!  So here is another dirty little secret (#2 for this posting but who is counting?).  (cue trumpets)... I am happy to announce that my husband of 16 years  has withdrawn the divorce petition he filed over the holidays.  Why would he file for the dissolution of our marriage you ask?  You think I'm going to say "Irreconcilable Differences" right?  Does anybody get divorced for any other reason?  What the hell are irreconcilable differences anyway?  Don't we all have irreconcilable differences all the time in our marriages.  Right now we are irreconcilable about keeping cute little candy jars on the counter filled with my favorite candies.  He hates it.  I love the way they look all filled with candies that reflect the current holiday.  Irreconcilable.  He HATES when I leave the front door open in the winter.  It does allow quite a bit of cold air into the house but it is the only source of sunlight into the front room.  We solve this by disrespecting each other; when he is here, he shuts it and when he is away, I leave it open.  Irreconcilable.  


Back to my original story:  So we were not getting divorced because of irreconcilable differences but rather on the grounds of a new and very special category that is to be used only in a very specific set of circumstances and only by one whose spouse is- in legalese- "BeyondAllReasonAVeryVERYSupercalifragilisticexpialidociouslyMessy Crafter."  Only a spouse living against his/her will knee deep in glitter is allowed to file a petition using this special circumstances as grounds for dissolving a marriage because after all, we crafters are messy right? Crafting is just inherently messy right?  I mean, it has been scientifically proven… Oh, I'm sure it has been proven by somebody  that it is absolutely impossible to keep things neat and tidy when one is working with paper (tiny scraps), glue (wet and sticky), glitter (static cling), thread (odds & ends), and paint (wet color).  I mean, SERIOUSLY, who keeps their workspace tidy?  Tidy is a four letter word!  How can one actually CREATE and still be Nancy Neat?  If you aren't making a huge mess you aren't CREATING right?  Who puts away their toys when they are done with them?  I mean you might need it again right so why bother?  Right...?  Right….?  Right….?   WHY AREN'T YOU AGREEING WITH ME?  Isn't anybody listening to me?  I mean come on, don't pretend that you are neat and tidy… Who are you kidding?  Nobody keeps their art spaces clean.  You do?  Really?  Hmm….really?  You keep it neat?  All the time?  Well, I sure as hell can't!

My studio is where I create.  I call it a studio because, well, I makes me feel like I'm truly an artist #@a%^** it (I'd like to use my dad's favorite swear word right here but it offends people so insert the foul work you like to use for emphasis).  Maybe because I am one of those completely self-taught artist, I don't really feel like a TRUE artisteeeeest but I like the sound of it so we're going to go with it.  

Motifica

Now, what exactly is in my studio?  A whole lot of craft stuff….  I have a love affair with all things paper and have for several decades now.  I can't get enough and now that America has embraced scrapbooking there is a pletherora of paper available.  I think I need every design I like.  A few years ago this wasn't a big deal since most companies made cutsey-themed papers I didn't even need to look at--yuck.  Then a little company called Basic Grey put out a line of paper called Motifica and I swooned.  I still have the entire pack of paper because I loved it.  Motifica was so different from anything else  I had ever seen, certainly different than anything on the market.   I was too afraid to use it up fearing I would never see it again.  It took a few years but suddenly everybody is producing papers in the style of Basic Grey and Basic Grey went from one new line every year to 100 every 6 months.  Ok, so maybe not that many, but it is impossible to keep up so I gave up.  

Now that you know where my mess started, let's I discuss my studio space.  You see, I had a great idea when Chase was smaller….if I put an extra table up in the dining room, I would have space to craft and the family table would be clear for dinning.  Yeah, well it was great on paper.  The problem is I have too much stuff.  Oh,  and my space was too small so eventually there was no place to put things and stuff got stuck behind the table and the junk.  I am going to post a picture but keep in mind this is after I knew I was moving it all and it was Christmas time, so it really was beyond ridiculous how messy it got.  It was way past being able to actually work at the table and was crawling slowly toward the living room.  

Yes that is a kitchen table and chair

This the table that was supposed to keep me neat and off the dining room table

you see the fingers creeping and reaching toward the kitchen

God that is embarrassing!  I moved all that stuff to the basement and cleaned out the big closet I have down there.  I recycled several decades of Martha Stewart Living magazines that I had been saving. Yes, I meant literally decades!  Now in all fairness I do go back and read them but only the Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Valentine issues.  Everything else I do online at Martha's website.  I collected a huge box of stuff for my niece, 2 bags for the neighbor girls, and 4 bags for Goodwill.  After all that work this is what we have….

I'll show you the basement when it is cleaned and open for business.  

Laters...

What a Fabulous Holiday...More or Less

Ok, so December just flew by in the blink and 1/1/11 blew in and out without much more than a "Happy New Year" and a nod.  Did you think the "holidays" went particularly fast?  I used to love December.  My birthday is in December (8th) and if you knew me then, you know I tended to mention my upcoming birthday thousands of times in the days and weeks leading up the big day.  Honestly I didn't do it to get attention or special gift…. No, I just LOVED the idea of my birthday as a special day.  I loved the excitement of thinking of an extra special way to treat myself my birthday.  How great is it that my birthday falls between the beloved holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas?\

www.sweetfineday.com

December holds so many wonderful memories of family, cozy fires after soft snow falls, skiing, warm soup, paper snowflakes, 

hot coffee or chocolate, picking out the perfect present for my family and friends, Christmas cards with news from the year, Christmas pictures of friends long since moved away, Christmas Trees hung with my cherished ornaments,  red green, gold, and silver everywhere look, and beautiful store windows.

My first Menorah was similar to this one

 Then I married a Jewish boy and we decided we should celebrate BOTH Christmas and Hanukkah.  At this point we had my birthday, my dad's birthday and two major holidays happening in December, and while it was a little crazy it was  manageable.  I collected gorgeous Menorah candles and Rick tried to teach me how to say the Hebrew prayers each of the 8 nights of Hanukkah.

Unlike Christmas that comes faithfully every year on December 25th, Hanukkah fluctuates based on the Jewish calendar.  To further confuse this Christian-raised woman, Hanukkah starts at sundown the night BEFORE so the calendar is a day off… I think.   In the mid '90's I was still doing great, got the Hanukkah gifts off on time, purchased and addressed the Christmas cards, decorated a beautiful tree… it was always such a magical time for me.  Then we decided to start a family and I swore to myself that there was NO WAY I would have a December baby.  After all, I had too many years of the “combined gift” and watching my sister throw pool parties to celebrate  her August birthday.  Of course, as you work at a pregnancy time passes and suddenly you joyously realize your going to be a mom….. in December.  What? Huh?  How did that happen?  On No!  It make it even worse, my December 13^th baby became a December 20^th baby and the holiday season has been but a blur every since.  In an effort to illustrate this point I will divulge one dirty little secret (I have picture proof of another later on).   I purchased a Martha Stewart Gingerbread House kit, 3 years ago thinking Ryann, my niece Ally, and I would enjoy building and decorating this simple kit.  You know where this is going right?  I packed it up again this year and it's still as a kit… here's hoping for next year!

So as Y2k was approaching and the December page of my datebook (remember when we had paper datebooks?) was getting really messy but I was confident I was still in control, right?  Then, when baby was 9-months-old, I rediscovered rubber-stamping and I was hooked, lined, and sinkered.   I was invited to a Stampin' Up party, hosted by somebody I liked a lot and just wanted to support.  You know those women whose energy and life spirit draws you in?  I had wanted to make a velvet embossed scarf for sometime and Stampin' Up had a rose stamp that I knew would be perfect. Unfortunately, the rose was a hostess set- meaning there was no way I could buy it without hosting a party.  I begged, pleaded, and whined, but in the end I signed up to host a party, got the stamp, and made a beautiful black-velvet scarf.  

Ryann's 1st birthday approached and I think it goes without saying that I added the Big Birthday Party to my December routine.  Maybe I started this because I found the perfect "1st birthday" theme in a rubber-stamp….Raggedy Ann.  For those of you who weren’t friends of mine in 1972, I was deeply love with a raggedy Raggedy Ann and my bully of a sister decided to decapitate her in a moment of rage.  

There was no replacing my Annie, though my mom tried.  I remember to this day, exactly how the new doll felt and smelled.  She was all stiff and chemically smelling; not at all good for snuggling while I sucked my thumb, at night, or during a particularly scary moment on Captain Kangaroo.  The bully did make amends a few years ago by shopping on E-bay (back when you could still find a treasure now and then) and surprised me at Christmas with a vintage Ann that isn’t stiff or chemical smelling.  

What is this crumbly thing?

I eat this?

Mmmmmm

 But I digress (again)… we were talking about Ryann’s 1^st Birthday Party…. In December 1999, the kids b-day party scene was just beginning to overboard in America.  I'm pretty sure that Oriental Trading was still somewhat unknown and Birthday Party Express had yet to take-over the world.  Most kids who had big parties, did so at a venue like Chuckie Cheese or a scary jungley-gym place with a big bin full of dirty-plastic balls and a rope net.  Nobody wanted the hassle of entertaining a gang of toddlers, but I loved having her party at home because I enjoy all the planning, decorating, crafting and baking.  It was even more fun because while we lived in North Carolina, we had a solid group of friends with kids all around the same age.  

I broke out the new stamps and made probably 10 invitations, a cool cake, some treat bags, and a few others foods that fit the theme and we had a fun party.  While the 1st Birthday party wasn't a tremendous amount of work it did set the standard and each year they got more and more elaborate. One day I may blog about some of those parties.  

Sadly, I didn't keep an invitation from that party.  It was a shaker card with Raggedy Ann holding a book and hearts floating in the shaker portion.  It was pretty simple but hey, she was only 1! 

I think it was the next year that I decided I should MAKE my Christmas cards.  I mean, I really enjoyed making those 10 birthday invitations and a few birthday cards over the previous 12 months, so why not make holiday cards?  All 70 of them.   I admit that over the years, the cards a year were a huge source of stress as well as pride.  I love sending something beautiful to my friends.  Sending something pretty and that I designed and handmade, feels to me like sending a little part of my spirit to my dear friends.  Being former Air Force family, we have been privileged to know many amazing families and keeping in touch means a lot to us.  Before Facebook, it was much harder to keep in touch, but sending a Christmas card was always one simple way to remind those families that we miss them, think about them often,  and am honored to be their friends.  For me, sending a preprinted card just wasn't enough but every year Rick, gets annoyed and (repeatedly) tells me "they just throw them out".  EVERY YEAR...Ah… yeah, I get that, but it isn't about what THEY do with the card; it's about what sending the card means to me.  

I tried to do it all for years but, slowly it dawned on me that the month of December which had always meant so much to me, had became so over-booked and over-stressed, it wasn't any fun anymore.  I had forgotten how to enjoy it.  I have yet to discuss it in this blog but my health is ever an issue and I never know if I am going to have a good day or a bad day.  Though I probably will talk about this more as time passes I will say that I, and both my children, have Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (HEDS) which is a genetic collagen deficiency that ultimately causes pain and fatigue.  You can get more information here.  HEDS obviously adds to the stress and makes all the obligations, expectation, and deadlines so much more difficult to meet.  Throw in anything extra like planning of the huge Squadron Kids Christmas Party (while in NC) or Hosting Bunco (here in Michigan)... December was on chronic and perpetual OVERLOAD and I was more often than not running on empty, stressed at myself for not getting everything done, and certainly not enjoying the moments of family and friends that I've always treasured around the holidays.  

As much as I adore Martha Stewart, there is now way to get as much done as she pretends to on her ubiquitous calendar.  Obviously, I needed to do something(s).  I stopped making Christmas cards a few years ago and instead will stick with New Year or Valentine cards- take that one off the list.  I try NOT to host Bunco in December because it always falls within a day or two of Ryann’s birthday- take that off the list. 

 Last year I decided no more big birthday parties for Miss Ryann after the Twilight-Tween Extravaganza.  She doesn’t want a big, activity-filled, pinata-bashing party anyway at this age.  She'd rather "hang out", maybe go skating, and have a sleep over-take that one off as well.  

Hey, I did makes some changes but did my changes help?  I can’t say that this year was perfect, and I didn’t get to relax as much as I would have liked to, but at least I wasn’t a complete basket case so I guess I would say… YES….

Laters...

Better Late than Never or Inspiration for Next Year

Better late than never I am posting a few pictures of my Christmas decorations. 

Bookcase

I stuck with the same color scheme I’ve used for a few years because I love it and you just can't go wrong with red and white at Christmas.  I always, always throw in a little metallic for sparkle and shine.  So, while I love this look  something was just off this year. 

I love these two Snowmen

It just didn't look as beautiful and luscious as in years past.  Why?  I'm not really sure, but a few things were off.  First, I use Angle Hair to cover the mini-lights  on the bookcase and mantle and this year it was a disaster.  I've used it for probably 10 years or more in a variety of Christmas themes.

The Mantel

Although it isn't necessary to throw it away after one use, over time it does get mangy.  I bought a new bag for this year and I think this was the reason for the mess.  It turned out that this new bag was full of short pieces; something I had never seen before.  I was impossible to work with because I couldn't pull it out and stretch it to create the airy, ethereal look I was going for.  Instead the short pieces pulled apart and some actually fell onto the floor (not good to have spun glass fibers on the floor).  The short fibers stuck straight up and didn't do much to cover the mini-lights and strings. 

close up of tree

Every year my Christmas tree is my pride and joy.  I have collected ornaments since I was literally 3-weeks-old from a variety of people and places.  I have carried on that tradition by giving my kids special ornaments each year.  This year the tinsel was a nightmare with so much static electricity it stuck to everything but the tree. 

 It caught on pants as we walked by and boots and shoes as we walked on it.  I found it stuck to my furniture and on the carpet upstairs, and even in the sink!
Over the years I have cared for and saved the ornaments by returning them to their original box if possible.  If there isn't an appropriately safe box then I protect them by wrapping them in tissue or bubble wrap and carefully packing them in hard cardboard or plastic boxes.  I put the ball ornaments in special boxes made to hold them.  I’ve never broken an ornament until this year and I more than made up for it.  Several broke sometime over the year of storage and I have no idea how since those boxes are really never bothered.   I broke two “Normal Rockwell” ornaments I’ve had since high school.  I probably broke 10 basic ball ornaments, which itself was  sad but what a nightmare worrying about getting every single shard up off the horizontal surfaces involved.  I even broke a ball at my mom’s house.  I topped this streak off on Sunday by breaking the glass from a huge picture frame on my HEAD as I carried a box to the basement.  It hurt like hell and glass went EVERYWHERE.  There is nothing worse than worrying about that moment when your child comes to you screaming with a piece of glass sticking out if his/her foot so cleaning just never seems to be enough. 

The Mantle:

Bookcase

I love making these from kits but adding lots of extra sequins

Close up of Stockings I made the Kids

My stocking made by my grandmother

Mirror in bathroom

Laters...