Organized!

Organize is not my word of the year, but I always like to start the year off a little less chaotically than I end it. Lucky for me, my life is often such a mess, it's not too hard to improve a lot.

Here's a big truth nugget:  I lovelovelove when people like the stuff I make enough to buy it. It makes my heart soar.  I sing and dance and am happyhappyhappy...for about five minutes. Then I realize I'm going to have to mail it to them.  In a box.  Using tape and bubble wrap and more tape (which I can never ever ever ever find no matter how many fancy dispensers or how many economy sized rolls I buy) and it needs to look cute and there needs to be a thank you note and I have to remember an invoice and I have to go the post office where I have to wait in line behind the woman who apparently has 876577 grandchildren who all live in remote villages on other continents. ::vigorouslybangsheadondesk::

I have been doing shipping in the most disorganized way possible, I'm sure, because I'm an over-achiever like that.  I basically dumped every possible shipping item into a brown paper bag (at least it had a handle) and dragged it all back and forth to work with me.  At about 4:45 each day I would finally remember there was something I was supposed to do, at which point I would tap the side of my head with my forefinger and think, "Hmmmm, what was that?"  My brain would eventually screech, "MAIL!!!!!!". I would jump out of my chair, grab my paper sack and furiously commence creating a nightmarish mess of tape, paper bits, torn cardboard, crumpled tissue paper, twine and who knows what all else might have ended up in those packages...except sweat. There was probably a lot of sweat. Sorry about that.

I decided to do something about it because, honestly, I can't afford any more brain cells.

I shopped around my own house for the sweet fake wall made of old screen doors (which my handy man brought upstairs for me and cut to fit), the record stand I got at a yard sale for $1, and some bins and baskets; got a couple things at Walmart and an official shipping scale from Sam's.

 Behold my new shipping station upstairs! (Do you hear the angels singing?)

I'm all set now.  I'm going to be a wrapping fool.  Y'all go order something.

<3 Lori

Current Events

I obviously did not blog every day in October. And I'm not going to remember to post everything I'm thankful for in November.  I'm also not going to do art every day in November.  I'm lucky if I get to shower every day, frankly.

I can't seem to keep up with those kinds of challenges.  But I have been doing a lot, actually.  Girlie and I made 8 dozen cupcakes with homemade chocolate buttercream and homemade cream cheese icing for a bake sale.  Not only were they actually edible, they were really pretty, too.  I was very proud of myself.  We went to watch the boy play college basketball which meant 7 hour round trip in one day.  And I've been working on remaking some stuff for a silent auction for the girlie's art group trip this summer.  These have been really fun, so I thought I'd share them with you.

This is the makeover of a little vintage suitcase. It's now a hipster pet bed.  If I had a little doggie, I would keep it.  I'm pretty sure there's a little doggie and another suitcase makeover in my future.

A very plain, very square, very nondescript picture frame I bought last summer not knowing what I would do with it became this cute collaged chalkboard. 

I bought this old six-pane window from an online garage sale group on Facebook, which I'm now kind of addicted to.  I knew right away what I wanted to do with this one.  I kept all the old chippy paint and just sealed it.  The top glass was still in the window, but all the bottom glass was missing.  It's now a super cute family message center. 

There's one more project I'm working on.  This octagonal side table is becoming another pet bed--one you can put your drink on!  It's still in progress, but here's where it is so far.

The silent auction is on Sunday. After that, my schedule will significantly open up. Maybe then I'll be able to do art again!  Eeek!

I took the day off today from the real job so that I could work on these projects.  Because of this, I thought today was Sunday.  This means Wednesday is going to seem like another Monday.  However, by Friday, I'll be surprised that it really is Friday.

So...Happy Monday, y'all!!