So I Married A Craft Blogger

How Many Boxes? The Answer

2014-07-24T06:30:00.000-05:00

OK, so last week I asked the question of how many boxes it would take to pack up Mandy's craft room. I suppose I should have asked how many days it would take, seeing as Mandy did it in what I consider record time. I came home from work Wednesday and she had packed up her (almost) entire craft room.

What's more, she had sold the lovely set of cubicles she had used as a basis for her craft room furnishing for the past 6 years. Even better is that she sold them on Craigslist for $50 more than we had paid for them (meaning we now have $50). I know what you're thinking..."Trevor, that's amazing. It can't get any better than that." Except it does get better. She sold them to someone who came and disassembled them and hauled them off without my involvement. The only finger I had to lift in the whole process was that of putting my tools away after they were used in dis-assembly. But I'm willing to live with that.

As a reminder, here's what the craftroom looked like as recently as last week.

And here's what it looks like today. An amazing transformation.

OK, I've hemmed and hawed long enough without getting to the point that you're actually here to discuss: the count of boxes. Drum roll, please.

Mandy's craft room took:

33 boxes
18 buckets, bags, or totes
OR, 51 containers in total

Proof...

Granted, a few of those boxes were smallish in nature, but even so, that is an impressive figure. It's more than our four kids' belongings in total. More than our kitchen, family room, and bathrooms combined. More than my garage collection of tools and do-dads, which is saying something.

Speaking of which, some of you were innocently asking how many boxes it was going to take me to pack up the manly side of our house:

16 boxes
3 bags or buckets

Of course, I'm not counting the riding lawn mower, go kart, motorcycle, table saw, router table, tool chest, etc. in my numbers, so I'm willing to call it a draw.

Poll: How Many Boxes Will It Take?

2014-07-14T22:53:00.000-05:00

There are two facts that I'm distinctly aware of at the moment.

Fact One is that Mandy has a lot of craft stuff. Some of you might remember my concern that she was a hoarder and my efforts to help her reorganize her craft room. That was in July of 2012. Two years ago. And about six posts ago. Let me tell you: a lot can happen in two years. And even more craft stuff accumulation can happen in two years.

Fact Two is that we're moving. In about two weeks. We've been sort of packing and purging for a couple of weeks now, but we haven't touched the craft room. And that worries me. We have to take the craft room stuff that survived "The Great Craft Room Reorganization of 2012" and all the stuff that's found it's way into that space and move it.

I asked Mandy how many boxes she thinks it will take to pack all the stuff in her craft room and she thought for a second and threw out the number 20. Then she paused and asked what size of boxes we were talking about and if we were counting the stuff that's already packed. I think 20 boxes may be about right, if they were refrigerator boxes. Unfortunately, we don't have refrigerator boxes. Even if we did, I don't think I could lift a refrigerator box full of fabric. Packed fabric is surprisingly dense.

So I'm taking a quick poll. Here's a candid, unprepared snap shot of the craft room in its current state. How many "normal size moving boxes" do you think it will take to move her out? Let me know in the comments below. Whoever is closes gets to help load the truck.

Top 10 Ways to Annoy Your Craft Blogging Wife

2014-06-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

It's been about a year since my last top ten listing. Then again, it's been about a year since a lot of my standard posts. You'd think that in a year's time, I'd have come up with a lot of ways to annoy my craft blogging sweetheart. And you'd be right.

Hack her Pintrest account and pin a few motorcycles under her "Next Projects" board.
Attend the PTA meeting while she's at a blog conference and nominate her for president.
Volunteer for her to make embroidered shirts for people at your work. All of them.
Set her ringtones so that it plays "My Little Buttercup" from The Three Amigos whenever you call.
Empty out her craft knick knack bins and use them for LEGO storage.
Put LEGOs in her knick knack bins. (The kids might do this for you)
Clear off the air hockey table to attempt to play a game.
List her spare sewing machine on Craigslist as a WTT for a go cart.
Walk behind her while she's on a Google hangout.
Repeat number 9 above. Naked.

Sometimes I throw dirt at dogs

2014-06-16T06:30:00.000-05:00

Monkeys get to fling poo in zoos. And in their natural habitat, I suppose.

Last week a had a lot of chances to fling, not poo. But dirt. And mud.

I flung some at the dog. Not really intentionally, but those watching me work thought it was funny. All part of building a house. You can read about it here. But beware. It's long. But if you get to the bottom, you can see how Mandy helped.

Also, someone should have told me that red hat was so blinding. Remind me not to wear it in public. Unless it's WIWW.

Fathers

2014-06-15T12:52:00.003-05:00

In addition to being married to a craft blogger, I'm also father to four mini-crafters, and the son of a man who taught me all I know about doing man projects. Happy Fathers Day!

The Flat Surface Cycle

2014-06-11T06:30:00.000-05:00

We have a problem in our house. It involves flat surfaces. I've been studying craft rooms for quite some time now, and this problem with flat surfaces keeps coming up. It comes up often enough that I now know its not unique to our craft room. In fact, its a trait of most, if not all craft rooms.

This problem stems from a strange power inherent in most flat surfaces; the power to attract craft supplies and materials. This power is similar to that of a magnet in attracting metal, except that the flat surface attracts items much more slowly, so slowly that it is not perceivable by the human eye. The flat surface accumulates items over time, eventually disappearing beneath the items. (Note: some researchers have speculated that the problem may lie with the crafty persons, and not the flat surfaces, but it is mere speculation at this point.)

When the problem is brought to the attention of the crafty person, the area may be cleaned to some degree or another, but rest assured that items will again accumulate on the flat surface eventually. This cycle of accumulation, reclamation, and reaccumulation is know as the flat surface cycle. It's kind of like the water cycle, only it involves ~~junk~~ craft supplies and materials.

I did a quick Google Image Search of the phrase "craft room mess" (you might want to do the same, just to validate your statement to your husband that "my craftroom isn't as bad as it could be"). The results illustrate the fact that any flat surface has this power. The various flat surfaces have attracted all sorts of items, though fabric, patterns, paint bottles, and scissors seem to be more susceptible to the flat surface's power than things like, say, cleaning supplies.

To further illustrate this cycle, I'll use an example from our home. Recall the air hockey table that I purchased last year at a garage sale. I mentioned last month that it had been annexed by the craft room. This annexation was a result of the flat surface cycle. Typical of the flat surface cycle, the surface (air hockey table) was cleaned off today. The question is, how long will it remain clean before the cycle continues?

I'm putting the over/under at 4 days.

Man Crafting vs. Blog Crafting

2014-05-28T06:30:00.000-05:00

On Monday we did a little man crafting. I've had some readers questions whether man crafting is a real thing, and if it is, how it differs from crafting that one might do for something else, such as a craft blog. In an effort to clear up any lack of clarity on the subject, I've decided to highlight a few of the differences by comparing my recent man craft to a few past blog crafts.

1. Functionality - a man craft is done to achieve some sort of objective. In the man craft example below, the objective is to cross a creek. In the blog craft example below, the objective is to...well, look at empty frames, or something.

2. Equipment - a man craft utilizes heavy machines, while a blog craft utilizes sewing machines. It should be pointed out that blog craft equipment can't be traded for a go kart.

3. Longevity - a man craft is built to last a life time. Many man crafts are still in existence today, such as the Egyptian Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, and Stonehenge (note: some scholars debate whether Stonehenge is a man craft, since its functionality is not evident). A blog craft, on the other hand, need only last long enough for pictures to be taken.

4. Fasteners - a man craft uses some serious fasteners, such as 16d nails, deck screws, or hardened bolts. Blog crafts are held together by thread, yard, staples, or, more commonly, hot glue. I think the results of our man craft below would have been less than favorable had we opted for hot glue instead of the 6" nails in the picture below?

There is, however, one fastener upon which both man crafters and blog crafters use in agreement.

Duct tape.

The only difference is that blog crafters refer to it as "duck" tape.

WTT: Embroidery Machine for Go Kart

2014-05-22T06:30:00.000-05:00

I came across a Craigslist post this evening that I need to share. I may or may not know the poster. I feel fairly safe in posting this, since Mandy no longer checks my blog.

I've included the text below as the listings often disappear from the web once they expire. Which in this case, might be a good thing.

WTT: Embroidery Machine for Go Kart

P.S. If any of you need a Singer XL-1000, let me know...

WTT Singer Embroidery Machine XL-1000 - $1 (Liberty)

(google map) (yahoo map)

For trade is a Singer Embroidery Machine, Quantum XL-1000. It comes with the embroidery arm and sewing base, so you can sew or use it for embroidery. It also comes with several different sizes of hoops. It is in good condition and works great. It has a touch screen. My wife doesn't use it anymore since she got a new embroidery machine. It comes with the manuals, which is a good thing, since I can't explain how it works or anything of the sort.

Looking to trade for a go kart. Conditions of trade:

1. Go kart must be in good running order.
2. Must be a 2 seater so the kids can ride and drive together.
3. Prefer a go kart with suspension (I'm getting too old to be banged around by one without).
4. You must come and pick up the sewing machine and drop off the go kart.
5. Pick up time must be scheduled such that my wife isn't home.
6. Trade only, since my wife doesn't want to sell the machine, even though it hasn't been used in months. By trading it I'm technically abiding by her wishes not to sell it.
7. Lightsaber in picture can be included for the right deal.
8. Fabric in picture is NOT included, as it's disappearance would be noticed.

Please reply via email only.

I Heard He's Blogging Somewhere Else...

2014-05-14T06:30:00.000-05:00

I must admit to some blogging infidelity. Some other blog has been taking me away from SIMACB. I blog there almost every day, whereas I'm lucky to hit SIMACB twice a week.

Feel free to join in. You can follow along with our house build. The "other blog" doesn't pretend to be funny and is pretty much just a blog without the "b". Trivia: the word "blog" comes from the term "web log", which is pretty much my intention with the "other blog."

Craft Room Annex

2014-05-13T06:30:00.000-05:00

Life got a little easier for me and the kids once we admitted that the air hockey table (of 2012 blog fame) was annexed by the Craft Room.

No Flip Flops for You!

2014-05-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Mandy was crafting up some flip flops the other day for our family. Notice anything about the picture below? Besides the spot of gray paint in the driveway above the orange pair (casualty of a previous project). Yep. Five pair. In our family, there's four kids. Two adults. I'm not the sharpest tack in the box, but I count six total. Five pair of flip flops. Six people. Someone's odd man out. And I'll give you a hint. It's not Mandy or any of the kids.

So why did I get the heel when it came to crafted flip flops? Could it be that I gave her a little grief about wanting some manlier colors and maybe a camo design? Poof. No flip flops for me.

You don't want pink flip flops with purple dots? No flip flops for you!

You want a size larger than comes in the $1 pair? No flip flops for you!

You won't model the crafted flops with you sexy man feet for a blog post? No flip flops for you!

Eavesdropping on a Blogger Google Hangout

2014-05-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

If there's one thing I love more than a good Google hangout, it's a good Google hangout with six crafty lady bloggers at 10:00 PM on a school/work night. Fortunately, there was one going on last night. Unfortunately, I was not invited. I think it's because I would be an eye-candy distraction. Fortunately, Mandy was invited, and I happen to sit next to her and could take it all in second-hand.

Mandy does her hangouts using earbuds. I guess it keeps down the echos. And the eavesdroppers. So all I get is a visual of the party, no audio. Except for Mandy's audio. Which makes for some interesting conversations, of which I only get to hear one side.Here's a few quotes I heard her say at some point during the hangout. You'll have to guess as to the context.

"I think it's good."
"She makes it big to entice them to pin that one."
"No, the share button doesn't work."
"All I did was take one picture of the chocolate."
"You should really go to bed." (said to me).

Since Mandy was busy chatting with her homies, I didn't want to pester her with questions about whether they would care if I shared a few snapshots of their party. I can only imagine the fun and excitement that they are having.

Mother's Day Shopping

2014-05-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

I was doing a little online shopping and came across this gem. While I wasn't specifically shopping for a Mother's Day gift at this particular site, it did get me thinking...Would Mandy prefer to get a pair of these for Mother's Day, or should I just get her one, and get the second for our anniversary, exactly one week later?

Eight Months, Eight Excuses

2014-04-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that I've been a complete blogging slacker for the past 8 months. I more or less dropped off the face of the proverbial blog map in August, with nary a goodbye or a farewell post. Sure, I posted a few pics to Instagram, but who uses Instagram these days, anyways.

I didn't stop blogging because of the constant requests to guest post on my blog, or the spam comments. And I certainly didn't stop due to lack of post ideas (have you seen Mandy's blog lately?). I mainly stepped down "to pursue other opportunities."

What were those opportunities? Here's a rundown of 8 reasons, one for each month, that I was MIA.

8. Land Fever - suburbia's been good to us, but it's beginning to cramp Mandy's crafting style. I mean, you can only do so much on a city lot. The real crafting starts with acreage, and that's where we're headed. Think bare-foot crafting, chicken coops, and real foxes and owls. At least that's what I tell Mandy. I'm more along the lines of Doomsday Preppers. Last August (right when I took my leave of absence from blogging) we worked a deal to buy 20 acres in rural Missouri, with intentions to build.

7. Fizzled - As if building a house wasn't enough, I decided to throw a career change into the mix. After months of negotiations and intense competition, I gave up on my bid to replace Jay Leno as the next host of the tonight show. They said I didn't know enough A-list celebrities, and I was like, "I'll be Jimmy doesn't know Kimbo." That stumped them, so then they said my ties were too wide and I wasn't BFF with Justin Timberlake.

6. Quitter - Even though I lost out on the Tonight Show, I still had the "career itch." Technically, it was a "resignation" as opposed to quitting. At least, that's what I tell myself. After five years of having the coolest job in the world making ammunition and blowing things up, I decided it was time to move on. See reason #5.

5. A New Hat - Since my ultimate goal is my own famous craft blog (or something), I decided that I needed to move away from an industry centered on destruction and move into one centered on creating. I now get to craft for a living, though we call it "construction". It's basically the same thing, without the wreaths.

4. Pinterest - or more accurately, Houzz. We've been pouring over design ideas constantly, in search of the perfect match of size, style, and price. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist. Except in the magical worlds of Pinterest and Houzz.

3. Negotiations - when you're designing your own house, you can't blame things on the previous owners. Mandy and I both have ideas on the definition of "dream house" and we did a lot of negotiating over the past several months. Mandy scored the biggest coup by getting a craft studio on the main level.

2. Lost in Design - you've all been there. You have this great idea of how you want your project to turn out and you can kind of picture it in your mind, but you can't reign in the details..."gingham or chevron, glue it or pin it, Tweet it or Instagram it...". That's how its been with us, only on a house designing scale.

1. The Ultimate DIY - with so much experience helping Mandy hang frames, cut out foam letters, and paint stuff in the yard, we figured I was ready to start a project on my own. We decided it was "go big or go home" time, so we're taking on the ultimate DIY - building a house with me as own GC.

Looks like this post got a little long. I could have summed it up with "new job and building a house," but that would have cut down on my average session duration.

SNAP! Insights 2014

2014-04-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

Well, SNAP! has come and gone again. It seems like I was just blogging about SNAP! a few posts ago. Maybe that's because it was a few posts ago, and my posts have gotten farther and farther apart. More on where I've been and what I've been up to (other than succulents) in a future post. I first need to reflect on this past week's SNAP! adventures.

Mandy once again enjoyed a lovely three-day vaccay out west. I hear she got to hob-knob with big wigs from the social marketing departments of a well-known glue company, meet semi-famous celebrities, participate in a "thrift-store tour" (JEALOUS), do some 80's dancing with a bunch of blogging ladies (I've seen the videos making the social media rounds-and haven't slept well since), and share a bed with someone that she's known for years in the blog world but just met in real life (jealous, Kimbo).

Meanwhile, I got to hang with the kiddos for a few days and wear the mom and the dad hats. In typical bullet point fashion, here's a few things I learned while Mandy was away:

Dishwashers stop working if you don't scrape the big chunks off before loading.
Kids have a lot more fun at "Take Your Child to Work Day" when they get to ride a forklift vs staying home to do a craft.
When you hear "my belly hurts" from the way-back seat of the mini-van, you have exactly six seconds to pass back a puke container.
Six seconds is not enough.
A paper plate is not a puke container.
Speaking of plates, Corelle plates are not unbreakable.
It helps to ask each kid if they remembered shoes before getting to the airport to pick up your wife entourage-style.
Piggy-back rides get a little long when the flight is 20 minutes late.

WARNING: Viewer Discretion Advised.

The photo below contains graphic images, including a broken Corelle plate and some overheated eggs.

WARNING: Viewer Discretion Advised.

The photo below contains graphic images of adult women having way to much fun.

The Truth About Crayons

2013-08-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Mandy recently wrote a pretty popular post about crayons.

I think it deserves a little clarification and commentary. So much so that it pulled me out of an accidental semi-retirement.

The first thing to note is that it was a well-timed post. We were running short on coloring utensils. We were down to one shoe box full of markers. This is not including the emergency supply of crayons that our ever-prepared children have artfully hidden under couch cushions, beneath beds, behind curtains, and down HVAC vents. When it all goes down, we'll have our owns stash of hidden crayons.

Another thing to point out is her blatant disregard for the non-photogenic colors. Apparently, if you're black, brown, tan, or white, you're not can-worthy. Most of the peach crayons got the boot too, though a few managed to sneak into the nice orange can.

Speaking of nice cans...

Did you know that the wooden tray was custom built by Mandy specifically for this project? Unfortunately, after carefully measuring the width of the cans and cutting the center board, she then mistakenly glued the side runners on the top of the center board instead of on the sides, creating a jean-like dilemma of trying to fit too wide a can into too narrow a space.

Which leads me to my next point.

Every one should have a bench vise.

How To Sell Your Mini-Van

2013-07-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

Many of you might know that I dabble in used cars on the side. I go through a different car every couple of months, usually fun ones like Minis, BMWs, Porsches and Mustangs. It's my manly hobby to offset all of the crafting that I get to do with Mandy. After hanging three pictures, two of them twice, it takes about 100 miles behind the wheel to get my man card back.

So with all of my buying and selling, I feel like I've come up with some pretty good templates for listing cars on Craigslist. I write up a straight forward, honest description of the car along the lines of "...17-inch factory alloys with near-new Z-rated tires..." I even use Mandy's good camera to take pictures (timing the light just right, of course). All told, I write a good Craigslist ad.

At least, I thought I did. Then one of you (thanks, Jessica!) had to send me the holy grail of Craigslist ads. Straight from Bellingham, WA, this ad will get your van sold in no time.

note: I'd link to the source, but it's such a good ad that the van has sold and the author has deleted his post.

So it's come to this for you. Looking at used Odysseys on Craigslist. I was like you once. Thought I had given up on myself as we only had one child at the time. And there I was, certain that I was selling a piece of my soul. For what? So that I could take a child, a jumperoo and two bikes with me wherever I went? And to what end? Would it make me feel more like a man to know that my 4x8 sheets of plywood were staying dry in the back of my minivan? As it turns out. . ..yes. Yes it would.

Questions you may have about our sweet ride.

1. How many miles of pure adrenaline have you put on this baby? A: 100,000. Total is has 152,000. All heart pounding.

2. Am I giving up on myself if I drive a minivan? A: Yeah. But its not forever and you have a lot of crap to drive around and you're tired of playing Tetris to fit everything in the car. I gave up on myself for years. 8 glorious years of transporting every last piece of baby gear, soccer gear, bikes, plywood and random stuff my wife made me bring.

3. When you say "smooth tranny" - we're still talking about the van, yes? A: Yes. No tranny problems here. Never had a worry about it.

4. Will I need to get more friends to fill this thing like a party bus? A: No. You're days of looking for friends are over. Friends come to you now. Why? Because you're new nickname is Seven Passengers McGee. And everyone wants to take a ride with S.P. McGee.

5. Is there anything festive about your ride? A: You mean like a Christmas tree? You're in luck friend. The dashboard on this car is filled with expensive and well thought out warning lights. While we've loved seeing the gas light come on from time to time, it carries a mere fraction of the thrill of the check engine light! Did you know what an O2 sensor was before you became an adult? After you learned, did you care? Well, as far as we can tell, its what makes the check engine light come on. And does not affect performance. So, it comes and goes and we leave it there like a little message that says - hey! The festive dash lights still work. But we can talk about that.

6. When you priced this van so low, were you thinking that you might have underpriced the cost of a dream come true? A: Yes. Yes I did.

7. Do you love new tire smell as much as I do? A: (single tear). That's why this baby has new tires.

8. I get tired of whistling. Does this vehicle come equipped with some sort of music generating device? A: Yes. It plays one CD at a time. And is able to tune in to MULTIPLE radio stations. Eureka! Who comes up with this stuff?!!!

9. Is stopping important? A: Depends on how fast you want to get where you're going. And this baby has never had a problem stopping. At the moment, however, it does like to do what I call a "celebrated stop". It makes a bit of a squeal to say "We're stopping! Hooray!" But let's be honest here. I'm clearly a big deal. I don't have time to be driving to Les Schwab and getting new brakes at this point in my life. Not when I have to mow the lawn. Refer to item #6.

10. The small dent in the passenger power sliding door. . ..is that included for free? A: You're welcome.

11. I have a utility trailer in which I like to keep my mother in law during long drives. Does this come with a trailer hitch? A: Yes. What you tow behind it is up to you.

12. I feel like this Craigslist ad is unnecessarily long. Do you feel like you've taken up too much of my time? A: If you read the entire thing, that's on you. You could be emailing right now to get a piece of this action and you are wasting time reading a pleonastic car ad such as this? (small sense of pride).

13. Did you have to look up the word pleonastic? A: Yes.

14. Did you have to sound it out? A: Just buy my damn van. It's awesome. And it's below blue book.

Email for details. Thanks - Chris

It's been a while...

2013-07-30T21:48:00.002-05:00

Apparently, I've slacked a little lately. I sat down to write a post and saw that I'd only posted once in all of July. Either it's been a busy summer, or Mandy has me so brainwashed that I no longer think that hanging five mini-succulents on tin cans, nailing them to a board, and calling them a "hanging garden" deserves to be mocked.

It does.

So I'll have a post up tomorrow. After that, no guarantees. I'll likely wait until August to post again

Sewing in the Buff, and Other Projects I'm Not Asked to Help With

2013-07-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm a pretty big sport when it comes to helping with Mandy's projects. I've been trained to take before, during and after pictures. I know what tulle is. I know where all the JoAnn's and Michaels are within a 50 mile radius. I could probably even pick out Kimbo from a lineup.

So after years of supporting Mandy's projects and blogging, why is it that I'm not asked to help with the one project I might actually be excited about?

And of course, she forgot to take before, during and after pictures.

Unless you count this one.

Behind the Scenes

2013-07-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

The other day we threw a party. We were celebrating the fact that Mandy needed to write a blog post about throwing a party. We invited the neighbors under the pretense that we couldn't eat all the cake.

Since it was a blog-inspired party, we had to document the event for later posting. Below is the glorious scene. Doesn't it look inviting?

Of course, that's the view the blog world sees. I had a much better view of how it really went down. The ten year old on the right had not view at all.

On a side note, yes, that's a Minnie Mouse pinata. No, we do not have a plethora of them (Mandy does not get this reference). And no, we didn't need to hit it with a stick to get the candy. Instead, each kid took a turn pulling one ribbon from the bottom of the pinata until it gently released its cache. Sound safe? Yes. Sound fun? Not so much. Half of the excitement of a pinata is watching the other kids duck the blindfolded kid's random swings.

Ode to Wallpaper

2013-06-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

I have a few craft pet peeves...straight pins left in the carpet...holiday decor left up year round...unfinished projects taking up garage space...bloggers who only post once a week...excessive use of the dot-dot-dot so-called-punctuation...

I also have a few home project pet peeves, and one of them is peeling wallpaper. Last weekend we decided to finally start our master bathroom remodel. To keep our bathroomlessness to a minimum, I planned on the following schedule:

Friday - pull up carpet, pull out toilet and lay tile
Saturday - grout
Monday - seal grout and replace toilet

Unfortunately, here's how it worked out:

Friday - pulled up carpet, pulled out toilet, broke tile saw, bought new (awesome) tile saw, laid tile at midnight
Saturday - went to drive-in movie because mortar wasn't try enough to grout
Monday - came home ready to grout but found wallpaper everywhere. Cleaned up wallpaper. Grouted.
Tuesday - came home ready to seal grout but found wallpaper everywhere. Became lazy.
Wednesday - came home ready to seal grout but found more wallpaper everywhere. Stayed lazy.
Thursday - came home ready to seal grout but found even more wallpaper even more everywhere.

As for Friday, I'll definitely seal the grout one way or another. I have no evening plans and I think I've dropped enough hints that perhaps the wallpaper strips will be picked up. Or maybe I'll get the hint and pick up the wallpaper strips myself, because it's easier to pick up wallpaper strips than it is to peel them off the wall.

Maybe the title of this post should have been "Ode to the Wallpaper-Peeling Mandy".

P.S. the floor steam mop doesn't really help steam off wallpaper, but it was a worthy attempt.

Pony Beads

2013-06-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time I read a post written by a blogger's husband who stated that he dreamed he went to hell and had to walk barefoot in the dark across a room full of LEGOS. Or something like that. For the life of me, I can't find that post. Not even Google could help me (though I did find out there is a "barefoot" blog genre. Not quite as big as the craft blog genre, but getting there). Send me the link if you have it. Or if it's your husband.

To compensate for my bad memory, Mandy decided to buy thousands of small beads and let four kids ten and under make bracelets and lizards from them. The assumption, perhaps flawed, was that all of the beads would remain accounted for either in their original storage containers or as part of a hand-crafted item, and that none of the beads would escape. My barefooted self walking across a hardwood floor the day after the beads showed up quickly disproved this assumption. I'm guessing it will take about six days for every one of these beads to be randomly scattered throughout our house.

Sold!

2013-06-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Apparently, posting about unwanted stuff aids in getting rid of it. Note the absence of the previously mentioned table in the image below. Thanks, Ashley. Sorry, Preston. Maybe tomorrow I'll post about an insane amount of fabric and see if it magically disappears.

While we're playing "I spy", can you find in the above picture the objects mentioned in the links below?

Garage sale motorcycle
Garage sale aquarium
Pallet bike rack
Not a bench made out if a crib
A missing motorcycle from one of my earliest posts (tear in my eye)

Three months later...

2013-06-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

On March 6, I commented on how some Mandy-acquired junk was darkening my garage man-space.

Three month's later, it's still there. Un-repurposed. Taking up valuable motorcycle space.

Mandy blames my lack of interest in making a bench that will be fraught with recall notices.

I still blame Pinterest.

On an unrelated note, I have a used coffee table that has been marginally crafted. Free to a good home.

Your husband will love it.

More signs that I might be brainwashed...

2013-05-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I mentioned that I might be brainwashed. Internet evidence suggests this might be true. This picture, found on Mandy's Instagram feed, leads to a few disturbing questions:

Is he wearing a pink shirt?
A pink V-neck shirt?
And mardi gras beads?
And is he in a thrift store buying vintage clothes because it's a half-price luau?
On his day off?

I plead the fifth.

At least I'm not sporting a ponytail and ball cap. Yet.

For those of you who are unladed swallow ignorant, click here.