Pod Fest

We have lived in two houses, both on boulevards and both with female locust trees in the yard. Don't get me wrong...they are beautiful most of the time, but occasionally they go into distress and release a huge number of pods. The pods are fine (actually, quite decorative) when they are hanging up in the trees, but you can see what a mess they make when they fall.

Today was Pod Fest day. As soon as the wind kicked in this morning, pods began flying through the air. SMACK! They hit the house and windows, alarming Tinsel and Lily. They blew from our yard into our neighbor's yard (nice). And as bad as it looks right now, not even half of the pods have fallen.

A couple of years ago, I came up with an idea for a Pod Catcher. This device would fit around the tree and catch the pods as they drop. It would look sort of like a large trampoline with sides and a hole in the center for the tree trunk. When the pods finish dropping, you'd simply lower the sides, cinch the top and haul the whole mess to the local composting area. Don't you think it's a fabulous idea?

While I'm trying to locate a manufacturer for my Pod Catcher, I'm also open to craft ideas.

Anything to avoid raking.

Feline Friday: Beware...

There's a cereal killer on the loose!

Your local copy shop: A very good thing

This week, I'm starting to prepare the kits for my Christmas card classes. After so many years of doing this, you'd think I'd be getting smarter about the prep work, right?

NOT! I guess I'm a slow learner, because this is the first year I've taken my cardstock to the copy shop to have it cut. This is a huge deal for me, because in the past, I have cut it myself or had students cut it as part of the class. But when you're making 20 cards in 3 hours, time is of the essence, and I'd really prefer students not have to spend so much of it cutting.

So today I had 1,200 sheets of cardstock cut to make 2,400 card bases. It took the guy at the copy shop less than 30 minutes to do it. And the cost? Less than $5.

Do you have any idea how long it would have taken me to cut this by hand? I won't even say how long, because my spouse reads this blog. But I WILL say that seeing all of this cardstock cut (by someone other than me) and neatly stacked in boxes nearly brought a tear to my eye. I kid you not.

Keep in mind that this is only one part of the kits I'm making. But it gives me a big jump start and (most importantly) a psychological boost. With this part done, tomorrow I can start pulling the rest of the kit components together.

Next time you have a big project to do, I'd suggest asking your local copy shop if it offers this service. As Martha would say, it's a good thing.

A VERY good thing.

2 Peas Blogging Challenge: Scrapping with Others

Today's 2Peas Blogging Challenge is this: How often do you meet with friends to scrap? Do you wish it could be more?

My answers? Never and no.

This challenge caught my eye right away, as I've been meaning to blog about this very topic. Sad as it may be, I cannot scrap with others.

I'm not anti-social by any means, but I somehow become completely befuddled when it comes to scrapbooking with other people. This is kind of bizarre coming from someone who actually teaches scrapbooking classes. But truthfully, you might as well ask me to use the restroom with someone else in the stall. That's how pathetically intimidated I am when it comes to cropping with friends...or strangers, for that matter.

Don't get me wrong: I am completely in favor of the idea of crops, and I always recommend to students in my classes that they attend a crop to meet new people and be inspired. I actually envy people who go to crops and enjoy themselves. But, alas, that's not me. For me, scrapbooking is a really private thing.

In fact, the only way I can attend a crop is to take something mundane to work on, such as sorting or labeling photos. I have gone to crops and spent three days beforehand actually "pre-doing" everything, so all that's left to do at the crop is to glue it down. By the time I do all that work, it hardly makes going to the crop worth the time.

The other reason I don't scrapbook with friends is that I really prefer to work in my own space. I am completely dependent on my computer and printer for scrapbooking, and going to a place without them would be akin to roughing it in a tent without my curling iron.

So, dear scrapping friends, please don't take offense: I love scrapbooking, and I love you.

I just don't love you together.

Organization: Card-Making Supplies

Last week, I decided to get control over my card-making stash. Most of my blank cards and envelopes were piled on my drawing table, and my embellishments for card-making were stored away in various places (out-of-sight, out-of-mind).

I decided to consolidate all of it in a three-drawer organizer. This ended up being no small task, as I had a lot more stuff than I remembered. After setting aside some things for a future garage sale, I put my envelopes in the bottom drawer, blank cards in the middle drawer, and smaller embellishments in the top drawer. While the smaller pieces are accessible, they are not particularly "containerized" yet, but at least they are all in one place. I'd like to use that drawer as a place to put embellishments that I will not use on layouts but might use on cards.

I also use a lot of cardstock and patterned paper scraps for card-making. I have those in separate drawers, organized by warm colors, cool colors, and neutrals. Right now, my patterned paper scraps are all in one big drawer.

This is not a sophisticated organization solution, but I think it will work well for me. The best part is that it freed up my drawing table so now I can actually use it!

Modern Art?

No! It's our bathroom!

This photo shows the the progression of trial and error in our first floor bathroom.

This little disaster started back in May when I decided to remove the heinous wallpaper as a nice little weekend project. Turns out it was practically superglued to the walls. After weeks of peeling off pea-sized pieces, we were left with several large gouges and not much progress. So what's a responsible homeowner to do? We abandoned ship and worked on the other rooms instead.

Having finished the laundry room and the kitchen, we're now back at work in the bathroom, trying to figure out how to salvage it. We purchased some heavy-duty primer to see if we could paint over the wallpaper and stripped areas. Of course, the difference in texture is evident. Scratch that idea. We researched textured paint, looked into professional wallpaper removal, and tried an array of different methods for removing the paper. No go.

Finally (in a desperate attempt to save both bathroom and marriage) we decided to cover up the entire mess with a textured, paintable wallpaper. While we really didn't want to hang wallpaper again, the bathroom walls are in such dire shape (thanks to me) that we don't have many options. Over the weekend, we hung a couple of strips of the textured paper to get a feel for it. As it turns out, the stuff is extremely easy to work with and covers a multitude of sins. It has a troweled, stucco-like appearance...sort of Tuscan, as my friend Sharon would say. Once it's painted, I think it's going to look really nice.

And while I appreciate modern art, I believe the textured wallpaper HAS to be an improvement.

2 Peas Blogging Challenge

Today's 2 Peas Blogging Challenge is this: Share something you have recently created. Well, instead of something I've created, today I'm going to share something amazing created by my friend, Darci. This perpetual calendar is truly one of the cutest projects I have seen in a very long time. And Darci is not planning to keep it!

You see, Darci is not only a scrapbooker extraordinaire but also a volunteer extraordinaire for JDRF. No one could be more dedicated to the cause than Darci. This weekend, she'll be overseeing the annual fund-raising gala where many items, including her perpetual calendar, will be auctioned off to raise money for JDRF.

Let's hope that the bidding for Darci's calendar goes right through the roof!

Feline Friday: Straw Obsession

Visit our house and you'll likely find plastic drinking straws stashed in most any room.

Lily is completely obsessed with straws, especially Starbucks straws. But really, any straw will do.

If you happen to bring home a drink with a straw, watch out! She'll quietly wait until you're distracted, then she'll knock over the cup (spilling the contents) and pull the straw right out. She'll pick it up and run to some secret place where she can sit and chew on it until the ends are flat and slobbery.

Few things, I might add, are cuter than Lily running across the room with a straw in her mouth like a tightrope walker carrying a balancing pole.

This straw obsession started one day when Lily was just a baby. She was riding in the car on DD's lap and got squirmy, so we looked for anything we could find to distract her. There happened to be a Starbucks straw on the dashboard so we grabbed it, and Baby Lily (teething at the time) chewed contentedly on the heavy plastic like a dog for the rest of the trip. Since that day, she's been completely obsessed. She can spot a straw the minute you walk in the door.

Now when I go to Starbucks for my Triple Grande Caramel Latte with Whip and Drizzle Heated to 170 Degrees, I make sure I also get a cup of water, with a straw, for Lily.

It makes her day. And mine.

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Hey, don't forget to vote in Sharon's Informal Underwear Survey at the right of this page. We only have a few days left to gather this critical data. Thanks!

2Peas Blogging Challenge: Christmas Cards

Today's 2Peas Blogging Challenge is this: With the holidays around the corner, are you planning on making your holiday cards? If so, when do you plan to start so you can get them all done?

Before I answer, let me ask: Do you know the story of the cobbler whose children had no shoes? Well, I am the card class instructor who doesn't make her own Christmas cards. How's that for ridiculous? We always laugh about this in class.

Truth is, we don't always send Christmas cards. In years past, we actually sent New Year's cards, which sometimes turned into Valentine's Day cards, or even Saint Patrick's Day cards. Until last year, I had never sent many handmade Christmas cards. I'm usually so busy creating Christmas cards and projects for classes that I don't have time or inclination to make my own. I also have a deep aversion to making more than one of anything, so the idea of making 50 of the same card doesn't appeal to me at all.

Last year, though, I decided (at the very last minute, as a way to avoid Christmas shopping) to make a huge number of Christmas cards (each one different) using only scraps and leftover odds and ends. They actually turned out pretty well, so I decided I would try it again this year, only this time with new materials since I used up all of my Christmas leftovers. Fortunately, I happened upon a Rob & Bob Christmas Slab at our store's garage sale over the summer. While I love Rob & Bob stuff, I never buy slabs. But I decided that the three mixes of papers, stickers, and die-cuts would be perfect for this project. I'll throw in some cardstock, ribbon, ink, and brads and I'll be all set. In fact, I may be able to get two years worth of cards out of this stash, assuming I use most of the stuff this year and the scraps next year.

When I'll start making my cards is anybody's guess. It definitely won't be until December. Probably not until the snow flies and on a day when I really should be shopping. Let's just hope it's in time for Christmas. THIS Christmas, that is.

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Hey, have you voted in Sharon's Informal Underwear Survey? If not, please vote! (Survey is at the right of this page.) We only have a few days to collect all the data we possibly can! Thanks!

Tagged!

I was tagged by fellow blogger Heather. This was fun and easy!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Peanut CRV

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Praline Toffee

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) J-Pet (I have no idea what this is, but it works!)

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Purple Cat

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Le Des Moines (sounds quite French, no?)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Petja (kinda close to Ninja...)

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) The Green Latte (Wow! I’m flying!)

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Don Harlan

9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) I don’t wear perfume these days so I cannot answer this! Nor would you want me to have such a name, I assure you.

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Le Edwin

So now it's your turn! Lynn - consider yourself tagged :) Just copy and paste the above information on to your blog, change the answers to reflect yourself, and tag some fellow bloggers!

Got cat photos? Got time to waste?

Thanks to my blogging friend (and apparently long-lost twin sister!) Maureen, I've now been officially sucked into the wonderful world of lolcats. You can get sucked in, too. All you need are a few cat photos (and if you're reading my blog, chances are you have 'em) and only a slight amount of creativity.

Visit lolcatbuilder for complete instructions on how you, too, can waste more time than you ever knew you had.

Fall is in the air

Just a quick post this morning with glimpses of some of our fall activities. Marching band season is fully underway, and that means 6:30 AM practices, invitationals, road trips, and football games. This past weekend was our school's Homecoming, which included a parade, a performance at the Friday evening game, and a dance, among many other activities throughout the week.

With these photos, I'm reminded why fall really is my favorite time of year.