Texts from my husband: “Where are U”

I have been putting off a trip to my local big box craft/hobby stores for several months.  My supply of foam mounting squares is getting really low.  So low that a project I’m working on will require more than what I have on hand.

The temptations that await me at a craft/hobby store are more than I have the power to resist.  Even if I take Joe with me as the sane adult.  I have come to flippantly calling my journeys to these stores….seeing my drug dealer.

Just as soon as I walk in the doors I get a rush.  Some endorphin, or whatever the chemical rush is, kicks in and I become hyper focused on the goods displayed.  A joy wells up within me.  An excitement that is akin to a child let loose in a toy store.  The mantra in my head is “I WANT IT!”   The major problem with that is, I can’t seem to muster the restraint required to end up leaving the store with what I had gone in to get in the first place.  Invariably, I wind up leaving the store with a whole lot of stuff and NONE of what I went in for.

I don’t watch the plethora of “HAUL” videos on YouTube because of the same thing.  I see what people have and I feel the great need to say “I WANT IT!”.  This is the main reason why all of the things I create are from my burgeoning stash of old items.  I have way too much stuff from my many previous visits to my “drug dealer”.

So, with Joe in tow, I went to my local Hobby Lobby.  I told him before we got out of the car that I needed to get “Foam Dots”.  My husband is totally awesome in so many ways.  He is, however, an “Enabler”.  He can make the process worse for me.  He’ll see something on display and say “You don’t have this do you?” or “Do you want that?”.  He was going in to find balsa wood strips to prepare for the day he creates a model train landscape with all the bridges and towns.  He has been acquiring bits and pieces since 1993 and has yet to build more than one trestle bridge.

My recent trip to Hobby Lobby

My recent trip to Hobby Lobby

I felt that the best way to handle this was to not stroll next to him.  If I go off on my own, maybe, I can be less tempted and actually get the foam dots.

The foam dots used to be in the back of the store where the Clearance items are located.  Of course, I immediately headed to the clearance area.  First thing that caught my eye was a border punch.

A border punch

A border punch

Who cares that we are nearing winter and the Holiday season.  It is shiny and “I Want It”.

No foam dots in the cart, yet.

The project I am working on needs to have some winter embellishments.  Snowflakes or something winter like.  The butterfly punch, although lovely, is not what I need.  The foam dots were no longer displayed near the Clearance wall.  A small, very small, selection of dies was on display near there.  I saw this die for making snowflakes.  Yes, it is shiny and it went into my cart.

Snowflake die

Snowflake die

I got a text message from Joe.  “Where r u?”

Where r u?

Where r u?

When I left the aisle with the dies I went in search of Joe.  Only to find a couple more things I could not resist.  Clear Christmas balls just waiting to be altered.  Then fake snow to go inside the clear balls.

Clear Christmas balls

Clear Christmas balls

Fake snow

Fake snow

I did, finally, find the foam dots and get them in my shopping cart.

Foam dots

Foam dots

Ultimately, this was the extent of my shopping trip.

Results of my shopping trip

Results of my shopping trip

Well, as  you might imagine…the project I had been diligently working on was put on the back burner.  The whole reason for the trip to the craft/hobby store.  Here is a little teaser for what will be coming to my YouTube channel this coming Tuesday.  It is only a little over one minute long and packed with music, excitement, and a bit like a professional movie trailer 😀

Leslie

My very FIRST “Finish It Friday” feature.

Usually….unless I have a gift making project….the “How To” video item gets tossed to the side, shoved into a box, hidden beneath a pile of other stuff, and generally is forgotten.

As a fickle crafter, always looking for the next fun technique or idea, I have amassed quite a stash of……crap…..

Seriously folks, I don’t think very far into the future as I create.  I get an idea for a technique.  Make a video featuring the technique.  The end.

These past two weeks I’ve been showing you how to heat emboss items without using rubber stamps.  Getting creative by using what I have on hand.  Saving myself money and time while trying to let you know that the online or walk in craft stores don’t have to be your go to place when you need something for a project.

If your craft space is anything like mine (after 10+ years of creating) you have a rich supply of paper, adhesive, dies, tools, equipment, and just a whole lot of cr….oops STUFF patiently waiting for you to remember them.

No matter your age as a new paper crafter, YouTube is a gateway to creativity.  It can also be a gateway to hell as you compare your work to others with more experience.  I might even go so far as to say quite a number of the 10 Commandments get mangled and abused in our my craft areas as we watch YouTube videos.

COMMANDMENT #1:   You shall have no other Gods before me.

I’m guilty of abusing this Commandment.  Tim Holtz, for example.  Wonderful man and teacher.  When he has a new blog post or video I am on it.  Reading every word of his blog or tweets.  Intently listening and watching his instruction as he creates his art pieces.

Tim Holtz is not the only one.  Stampin’ Up!, Graphic 45, Die Cuts With a View (DCWV), Michaels, Hobby Lobby to name a few.

COMMANDMENT #2:  You shall not make idols.

Yes, I’ve fractured this Commandment a time or two.  I’ve made a few things that I am particularly proud of and often look at the photos of my creations that have been passed on to whomever I made them for.

COMMANDMENT #3:  You shall not take the name of your LORD and God in vain.

Yep.  Smashed this Commandment on numerous occasions when a project or technique goes bad.  Hissy fit with a potty mouth.

COMMANDMENT #4:  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

When I am in the creative zone one day runs into the next.  The only day(s) I don’t do anything creative are the days when my Mojo takes a hike or I am in a total funk.

COMMANDMENT #5:  Honor your father and mother.

This one gets trashed from time to time.  If I feel the need to speak about my childhood in foster care my father and mother usually get eviscerated in the conversation.

COMMANDMENT #6:  You shall not murder.

So far….I’m good on that one.  However, I am sorely tempted to act on this when I get a particularly nasty comment on one of my videos.

COMMANDMENT #7:  You shall not commit adultery.

I often wonder what my husband thinks as I babble on and on about Tim Holtz.  At least I only babble about him and don’t actively seek him out.  So…I guess I’m safe on this one.

COMMANDMENT #8:  You shall not steal.

Err, uhm, ahem.  I have stolen someone’s idea from a YouTube video and made it my own.  Not anymore though.  I have learned to give credit where credit is due.

COMMANDMENT #9:  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

I have not sullied this Commandment…..yet.

COMMANDMENT #10:  You shall not covet.

Guilty!  Totally guilty of obliterating this Commandment.  Don’t believe me?  Take a look at my craft room tour video if you have AN HOUR to kill and want to listen to my voice drone on and  on.

I’m going to Hell I tell you.

Before I go to Hell I want to share with you the newest video I have created.  It is a scrapbook page featuring all the heat embossing techniques I’ve shown you how to do.  It is a “Sampler” page or a reference.  I can look at this page and remember how I did any one of the techniques and use that on a card or another scrapbook page.

I hope this video helps you to be a bit more creative in your craft room.  Using what you have on hand and make others marvel at your genius.

Leslie

 

 

 

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