1st Craft Show of 2013...

I've been attending some selective craft shows lately - local ones that don't involve a lot of traveling.  Several are sponsored by the Peoria Park District; the others are in towns right next to ours.  Yesterday was the first one in Chillicothe, IL.  The local high school has been doing an October craft sale for several years, this was their first attempt at one in March.  It wasn't well attended, there was a much bigger crowd at last year's October sale, but it was a pleasant day anyway.  You start to see the same people and become 'craft show friends'.  We watch one another's booths when we take potty breaks and you actually develop customers who look for you at sales.

I find that the people that send the most cards are in my age bracket or older.  We were raised sending cards.  The younger the person, the more apt they are to send e-mails or texts than a card.  The people that do send cards, however, send lots of them.  So my customers tend to spend more time at my booth looking at cards and conversating (Judge Judy says no matter how sad it is, conversating is now a part of the English language).  I hear about their elderly relatives that like cards, how their two year old granddaughter took the dragon off of a card I had created and slept with it (the image was Magnolia's Lily dragon) and her father could not convince her she could sleep with the whole card, how a six year old daughter just started dance class and got her first tutu and I just had the perfect card for her. 

1st Craft Show of 2013

I've been attending some selective craft shows lately - local ones that don't involve a lot of traveling.  Several are sponsored by the Peoria Park District; the others are in towns right next to ours.  Yesterday was the first one in Chillicothe, IL.  The local high school has been doing an October craft sale for several years, this was their first attempt at one in March.  It wasn't well attended, there was a much bigger crowd at last year's October sale, but it was a pleasant day anyway.  You start to see the same people and become 'craft show friends'.  We watch one another's booths when we take potty breaks and you actually develop customers who look for you at sales.

I find that the people that send the most cards are in my age bracket or older.  We were raised sending cards.  The younger the person, the more apt they are to send e-mails or texts than a card.  The people that do send cards, however, send lots of them.  So my customers tend to spend more time at my booth looking at cards and conversating (Judge Judy says no matter how sad it is, conversating is now a part of the English language).  I hear about their elderly relatives that like cards, how their two year old granddaughter took the dragon off of a card I had created and slept with it (the image was Magnolia's Lily dragon) and her father could not convince her she could sleep with the whole card, how a six year old daughter just started dance class and got her first tutu.  Which leads me to this card.  I sold this card to that mother yesterday.  She said it would be perfect for her daughter's first recital; I was happy to be able to provide that for her.
 

Of course, this is Mo Manning.  Her images are so distinctive, I can always pick them out.  I colored her with my pastel pencils and sprayed a Krylon matte fixative when I was finished.  I hope Mo lives another hundred years and I get a chance to color every image she creates.  Go, Mo!

Creating a new craft room....

Since we're remodeling all three bathrooms in our home, and since we're removing three vanities that are exactly the same except for width, and since those vanities have storage capabilities and can be topped with counter tops and are a great height, we are going to paint them, add new knobs and shelves inside, have tops cut to fit them and put them in my craft room.  My husband is going to lay out the room on graph paper, cut the vanities and other furniture to scale out of graph paper and let me arrange my room.  As soon as it gets a little warmer, we will sand and paint the vanities (or perhaps sand, put them in place and then paint them).  The drawers are nice and deep so I can put supplies in cases and store them.  The medicine cabinets are five inches deep.  Carl removed the doors and we're left with shelves which will line up on the counter tops against the wall.  They will be perfect for ink pads, Stickles, glue, tape, alcohol inks, you know, the small stuff.  Right now I have very little counter space but lots of shelves.  I plan to give at least two of the shelves to my daughter and just keep one for paper, thus turning my room into lots of counter space with fewer shelves.  While we rebuild my room, I will be divesting myself of craft supplies that are seldom used, pitching some and donating some.  I will post before and after pictures.

Creating a new craft room....

First, another postcard on its way to Sao Paulo, Brazil.  When I told my friend Vivi I had been creating postcards with pastel pencils, she asked for one, so.....Vivi.....this is for you.  When I called the Post Office to find out the amount of postage for a postcard to Brazil, I was told it was the same as a first class letter:  $1.10.  That's the same price as a Forever International Stamp.  In the U.S., a post card is .33 cents.  A first class letter is .46 cents, a savings of .13 cents.  No breaks for a postcard going international, though.  Which led me to wonder how countries determine postage prices.  Does the U.S. charge for a letter/postcard that goes to its border and then the next country charge for delivery?  The whole Post Office pricing schedule defeats me.  I think they're in cahoots with the IRS.

Now to my new craft room.  Since we're remodeling all three bathrooms in our home, and since we're removing three vanities that are exactly the same except for width, and since those vanities have storage capabilities and can be topped with counter tops and are a great height, we are going to paint them, add new knobs and shelves inside, have tops cut to fit them and put them in my craft room.  My husband is going to lay out the room on graph paper, cut the vanities and other furniture to scale out of graph paper and let me arrange my room.  As soon as it gets a little warmer, we will sand and paint the vanities (or perhaps sand, put them in place and then paint them).  The drawers are nice and deep so I can put supplies in cases and store them.  The medicine cabinets are five inches deep.  Carl removed the doors and we're left with shelves which will line up on the counter tops against the wall.  They will be perfect for ink pads, Stickles, glue, tape, alcohol inks, you know, the small stuff.  Right now I have very little counter space but lots of shelves.  I plan to give at least two of the shelves to my daughter and just keep one for paper, thus turning my room into lots of counter space with fewer shelves.  While we rebuild my room, I will be divesting myself of craft supplies that are seldom used, pitching some and donating some.  I will post before and after pictures.

Oy, vey, what a day!

Day before yesterday while the guys were working on the master bathroom, someone hit a water pipe which broke and poured water into the newly finished laundry room/bath.  Some of the ceiling tiles got wet and the floor was flooded.  OK, so we cleaned up that mess.  That evening I got tired of living with the dust so I spent several hours dusting and vacuuming everything in the family room so we would have one clean room to sit in.

Yesterday, the day started with one disaster and they just kept coming.  First my husband was cleaning our fireplace in preparation for a repairman to install new fake logs and cinders and repair the pilot light.  He vacuumed out the old cinders with a wet dry vac and unknowingly threw all the dust from the fireplace all over the family room level of our house.  Everything was covered in black soot - and I mean everything.  We spent another several hours vacuuming the furniture and wiping down everything - pictures, knick knacks, furniture, the tv and blue ray, the dvds, the big wreath on the wall and the drapes in the family room, laundry room, spare bedroom and hallway.  What a HUGE mess and we still haven't cleaned the dining room which is one level up through an open railing.  I don't even want to think about that.

While I was washing all the dirty rags from the clean up, the washing machine started leaking and flooded the laundry room AGAIN.  Will this day ever end?

Pat was loading one of the old shower doors into the trailer to take to the dump when it exploded in his hands.  There was tempered glass everywhere - in the garage, under the cars, all over the driveway.

In the middle of watching Mirror Mirror, Ruthann and I heard a funny noise and discovered that AGAIN a pipe had been dislodged in the master bathroom and AGAIN flooded the laundry room, this time down the walls, through the ceiling tiles, into the litter box and all over the washer and dryer.  While Pat tried to clean up the water, Mike checked the breaker box and managed to turn off the TV and blueray.  We were at the last ten minutes of the movie and had to fast forward to watch it after turning on everything again.  Our TV turns off the TV speakers if the power is interrupted while the blueray is on so it took a few minutes to figure out how to turn them back on again.

While we were at the door saying goodbye to Ruthann, our cat, Sassy, peed on some papers in the living room.  When I went downstairs I saw that her litter box was blocked off with a ladder, tarps and rags.  And she had been so good the last week.  If she does it again, we'll have to lock her up until she remembers where her litter box is.  Lord, I've never been so glad to see a day end.

The dust's a flyin'

On another note, the guys have been ripping and snorting in the master bath which is just down the hall.  They've put a big tarp on our bed which pleases me but the dust will be an inch thick in there by the end of the day and I will have to clean every night before I can sleep in there.

Laid back...

I still get a newsletter from the company I used to work for and read that a good friend recently retired so I created this card for him.  It's an LOTV image and this little guy looks pretty relaxed, right?  Colored with my pastel pencils and sprayed with Krylon fixative.

A most excellent cat

I know I'm probably shooting myself in the foot, but since March 9th, we've had absolutely no problems with Sassy.  She's been playful, affectionate and calm.  On the 18th we left home for Memphis, TN, planning to spend three days with friends.  The contractors came in the 18th through the 21st to work on the downstairs bathroom and were considerate enough not to move the litter box while they worked.  We have a cat sitter that came in twice a day to feed her.  When Pat and Mike were here, she had the run of the house.  When they left at night, they enclosed her in her two rooms and hallway.  In the evening, Tiffany would feed her and make sure she was locked up until Pat and Mike came at 9:00 the next day.  The 22nd was the only day she spent locked up and we were home by 2:00 pm.  The night we came home we took down her gate and left her out at night.  So, she's been free since the 22nd and I couldn't be happier with her.  If we can get her through our June vacation with no problems, we will add another cat to our household.

2nd Bathroom finished...

Before:

After:

The laundry room/bath is next to our family room and is heavily used by guests as well as family.  It was updated with a new toilet, vanity, medicine cabinet, towel bars and light, and was painted a gold-yellow.  It's brighter and fresher than it was and will be hubs new bathroom until the master is finished and that work starts today.  We will purchase a rectangular mirror to place over the washer/dryer and we'll re-frame and rehang some of hubs best photos in here.  Although you can't see it, there is a shower behind the door and it was in good shape so no work there.

We're ready for another month of dust and contractor's tools filling the house.  And I'm trying to get ready for a craft show on Saturday, I'm woefully behind in card-making due to our Memphis trip and trying to keep the mess at a minimum.  I haven't even made any Easter cards this year.  It seems as if we've been living in chaos all of our lives.

Sunshine and roses...

No accidents since April 16th, knock wood.  Sassy is back to calling me so I can come and play with her.  We really need to get her a playmate, I'm way too old to be chasing her.  She has such fun running and hiding, waiting for me to find her and then running again.  We've blocked off the living room since the 16th and washed the tarp she peed on.  As soon as the last bathroom is finished, we'll have the carpet professionally cleaned.  She's being as good as gold as long as she can't get to that particular tarp.  There are tarps on the floor in our bedroom but she doesn't seem to care about those.  She's back to jumping into my tub in the morning and playing with the ping pong ball.  I think as soon as the flood subsides, we'll head across the river and pick her up a pal. 

A little Elvis goes a long way.....

Hubs and I just got back from a quick trip to Memphis, TN to visit with some friends from Sao Paulo. We did all the touristy things including a day at Graceland.  I was very surprised at how small Graceland was.  I think our house is bigger, square footage-wise.  He had more property, though.  And every store and restaurant in town has an Elvis "slept, walked, bought, ate, kissed, swam, and breathed" here sign.  We ate some fabulous BBQ, walked Beale street, visited Sun Records and the Civil Rights Museum.  All in all, a terrific trip even if it was fast.  And to top it all, I stayed in the Heartbreak Hotel at the end of Lonely Street

A little Elvis goes a long way.....

Hubs and I just got back from a quick trip to Memphis, TN to visit with some friends from Sao Paulo. We did all the touristy things including a day at Graceland.  I was very surprised at how small Graceland was.  I think our house is bigger, square footage-wise.  He had more property, though.  And every store and restaurant in town has an Elvis "slept, walked, bought, ate, kissed, swam, and breathed" here sign.  We ate some fabulous BBQ, walked Beale street, visited Sun Records and the Civil Rights Museum.  All in all, a terrific trip even if it was fast.  And to top it all, I stayed in the Heartbreak Hotel at the end of Lonely Street.

Since I've been playing around with my pastel pencils, I thought I'd create some postcards.  This one is 4 x 6 and costs 33 cents to mail.  I have this lovely Penny Black postcard stamp for the back and I can either use stamps or digis on the front.  Copics always bleed through but the pastel chalks don't and with practice, I'm getting better at using them.  I have a Krylon Matte Fixative that I spray to keep the chalk from rubbing off.  This postcard is off to Montana with my love.  I used a Sugar Nellie Honey Pip stamp and an unknown sentiment stamp.  A little yellow Stickles on the flowers and Bob's your uncle.

I hope spring is somewhere close to you, it sure hasn't made an appearance in Central Illinois yet.

Things I wonder:...

Things I wonder: Yesterday I was watching a wildlife show with a team trying to rescue an injured female lion that had a protective male with her. The team tried to nudge the male away using a jeep but he wasn't budging. One of the team decided to try to force him away on foot. The narrator speaking in a very quiet voice was saying, "this is a really risky move, especially since Sam hasn't noticed he doesn't have his gun with him". And I'm all like, well, can't you just tell him he forgot his gun? Or do you think it would be better for ratings if the male lion ate him? Drama! It seems on TV today if someone isn't hurt, crying or going to rehab, we don't want to watch it. We're proud of the fact we don't watch reality shows at our house (well, I watch The Cake Boss once in a while though I often want to slap that blonde sister of his), we have enough drama day to day in our lives, we don't need to import it. We must be in the minority because they keep making new ones.

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March 13, Day Done...

 February 11th, 2013 - Before:

 

March 13, 2013 - After:

Do I need to tell you what a joy it was to shower in this room this morning?  It's elegant, clean, fresh and makes me feel pampered.  I still have to add a picture that's being framed to the wall over the towel rack on the left and all of my bathroom stuff is in boxes all over the house.  I have some vinyl cut with my Cameo that I plan to place in the room, perhaps I will share those both when they're finished.  I will be going through those boxes in the coming days and soon everything will have a place.  This has been a really long and often frustrating process but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  The guys have taken a couple of days off and will start on the laundry room/bathroom on Friday.  I will, however, not be so much in their faces on this project.  They are going to patch, paint, install a new light fixture, medicine cabinet, vanity, toilet and space saver behind the toilet.  It should go much faster than the complete redo from my bath.  I will post before and after pictures for you.  Next is the master bathroom, a walk-in shower, lots of tile, a new light fixture, toilet and vanity.  Mike says it won't take as long as my bathroom but you know how that goes.....  Thanks for taking this journey with me, it's been fun to share.  Now, I'll get back to what I love best - making cards and boxes.  Hugs....

Tuesday, March 12

On Friday, March 8th before Carl went to bed, he found another mess on the contractor's tarp.  He promptly picked up the cat and locked her back in the bathroom while he cleaned up the mess.  Then, he moved her food and water and a blanket into the bathroom.  On Saturday when I got up, I heard her yowling and went to see what was wrong.  Carl told me what she'd done and what he'd done.  So, she's been in lock up at night since Friday night.

On Saturday, I ordered a pet gate for the sitter.  Sassy will be confined to the downstairs bathroom, the hallway and the spare bedroom.  The sitter will check on her twice a day, clean her litter box and give her food and fresh water and the contractor will be here for company during the day.

The funny thing is, starting Saturday she's been like a different cat.  Instead of peeing a huge quantity once a day or every other day, she's been peeing several times a day and much smaller quantities.  She's also been pooping at least once a day, sometimes twice.  She isn't turning around anymore like a whirling dervish in the litter box before she finds a spot - she just hops in and squats.  She's OK with Carl brushing her.  She's OK with me holding her.  And the very biggest change is covering up her messes.  She hardly ever did that preferring to squat and run.  Now she's spending minutes scratching and covering and actually looks like she enjoys it.  I was wondering for a while what this new cat did with Sassy.  Carl thinks the banishment to the bathroom again was a wake up call for her.  We've had four great days with her.  We're leaving on Monday for a couple of days, we're hoping this attitude is permanent, I love this new cat.

Bathroom remodel - Day 19 (oops)...

Now, about the remodel.  I was expecting the bathroom to be finished yesterday but apparently the hardware for the shower and tub was more complicated than expected.  I haven't used it yet but it looks wonderful.

Don't you love that 10 inch rain head?  I can't wait to get under it with actual water.  Towel bars, the mirror, and my shelves all went in yesterday.  Unfortunately, the dry wall screws holding up the mirror really damaged the paint around the anchors.  When Mike went to look at it (after removing one bracket), the mirror fell sideways out of the remaining three brackets, nearly killing Mike (did I say it was very heavy?), scraping up the wall, knocking a picture down and breaking its glass and busting a corner off of the mirror.  On a good note, Carl was on his way to Menards when it happened, so he could pick up another one.  Mike and Pat are repairing the wall right now and the room should be finished today (fingers crossed).  I will share pictures with you tomorrow.

Baker Marci...

I've found a few minutes to create a card for a good friend that I don't see nearly enough of.  This is LaLa Land's Baker Marci, one of my all time favorite digitals which I colored with pastel pencils.  I actually created the background using Magnolia's Lovely Balloons and a PTI birthday greeting.  I'm very much in love with Adirondack Cloudy Blue ink which matches the PTI cardstock perfectly.  All in all, I'm very pleased with this card. 

Bathroom remodel - Day 18...

I've had to make some design changes since some of the fixtures have gone in.  My lovely words, created in MTC to be cut out of black matte vinyl will be totally hidden on the soffit behind the chandelier.  They will now be located over the door to the hallway, or, failing that, over the linen closet sliding doors.

We will be adding a brushed nickel wall unit with two shelves and a towel rack to the wall behind the toilet.  Except for the towel rack, it will be strictly for decorations.  I have some lovely starfish I purchased in Key West that I want to display as well as some 'dustables' that I still have packed away from the move almost ten years ago - in particular - a glass hermit crab that I'll be glad to unwrap.

I have enough room to the left of the heat register to add a small vanity stool to sit on when I put on my socks.  

You can see I've given up a lot of counter space.  Less clutter will make the room look bigger and I have a ginormous linen closet to store things in.

We went shopping yesterday morning for the last accessories.  I purchased a beveled mirror for over the vanity - it's 24" x 30" and should make the room feel bigger - it's  just a flat mirror with no frame.  I also found a brushed nickel waste basket that I liked and found "Sugar Cookie" refills for my Air Wick fragrance dispensers (yum!).  I purchased two beautiful soft fluffy white towels, two hand towels and two wash cloths.  I was delighted to discover a toilet brush inside a tall white ceramic cat.  Since we have a cat, and she loves the tub, it's a perfect fit.  We also found a white space saver cabinet for the downstairs bathroom on sale (on sale is always good).  That will increase the storage and I can put towels in it.  I found an absolutely gorgeous behind the toilet shelf system I would love to have in my bathroom but, alas, it was shiny chrome instead of brushed nickel (it didn't come in brushed nickel, I checked).  Same with the vanity stool - I found one that matched my chandelier, but, it too was chrome.  I ended up with a white cape cod-ish vanity stool with an antique white padded seat.  On line, I found a teak tray for the tub that will hold my wine glass and my kindle.  Only thirty six hours before my first bath......

Bathroom remodel - Day 17...

The floor tile grout was finished yesterday and will be sealed today.  Wall tile grout will be finished today and sealed Monday.  While the wall tile grout is drying, all the furniture and accessories that don't go on the shower walls will be installed.  We will be shopping this weekend for the mirror for over the vanity (we needed to measure the wall between the vanity and the light after they are installed), a trash can, and another luxury item - a tray that fits over the sides of the tub so I can set my wine glass on it.   More pictures in the morning.

Envelope Punch Board review...

I recently was lucky enough to get my hands on the new We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board which debuted at CHA this winter.  While I love the concept and it's easy to use, I was seriously disappointed that the A2 envelope is square which requires more postage.  Since I believe that is the most common size card makers create, this is a much more expensive envelope than the ones I purchase in bulk at Office Max - postage wise.  The Memory Keepers A2 envelope won't fit in the clear jackets I package my A2 cards in either.  So, while this is a nice toy, I'll put it on the high shelf where I will promptly forget I have it and continue to use the carton of rectangular A2 envelopes, my Scor-Pal or Martha Stewart scoreboard.  Nice try, Memory Keepers, but no cigar.

Edited to add:  A2 cards can be created using an 8" x 8" piece of paper and aligning left edge to 3 1/2".  If anyone has an other Punch Board tips, please share.

Thursday, March 7, Day 1 (again)

Sassy peed on the floor in the living room on top of the contractor's tarp sometime Tuesday night.  In all fairness to her, there had been a spot of poop that we called 'drop off' on the tarp and I said to myself 'we really need to clean that up', but STUPID STUPID me - just didn't do it.  I would have had to move all the contractor's buckets and paint cans and tools, pick up the tarp, wash it and repeat the process putting it back.  So.....the cat after walking past it several days, decided it was the place to pee and so she did.  Of course, we cleaned that up thoroughly, sprayed it and covered it with buckets.  So, she moved a foot down the tarp and pooped and peed last night.  Carl cleaned it up and moved her food, water, and bed into the bathroom and there she spent the night.

This morning she pooped twice in the box and had breakfast.  I let her out of the bathroom, got another litter pan, washed it thoroughly, added new litter and placed it in the laundry room.  About twenty minutes later, I heard her howling so I called her into the bathroom and she jumped right into the box and peed.  Then she ran around the family room so I could chase her.  I loved on her a bit and went back to my craft room.  I then ordered a very tall pet gate and we're going to place it in the hallway outside the laundry room/bathroom so we can confine her to a small area.  She will have to stay in the bathroom/hallway/spare bedroom area while we are gone.  More than enough room for her to roam and two windows for her to watch out of.  We can cover the spare bed with a tarp before we leave but she's never made a mess in there.  Yet.  She only has two places she goes regularly outside the box, the living room floor and my chair or footstool.  We are getting weary of the ups and downs - she's good for a long time and then back slides, then good, then back slides.  I get so depressed and just wish I could break through to her. 

Bathroom remodel - Day 16...

Tiling around the tub will be finished today.  Mike has decided to finish the wall and then grout the floor.  Tomorrow, he will grout the walls, seal the floor (wait an hour) and then start moving furniture in.  Monday, he will seal the walls and work on everything else will continue.  Perhaps we will be done by Tuesday (fingers crossed). 

We have a small kink going on to the downstairs bathroom.  Our cat has potty issues and we need to confine her in the downstairs bath at night.  We may have to move her to another room while they work - luckily this room will take the least amount of time which is good, because disruption in her schedule or potty place could set us back to square one.  At least, when we're finished, she'll have a bright new room to spend time in.

Bathroom remodel - Day 15...

Tile work started in earnest yesterday.  Even though it was movie day, I couldn't help but run upstairs every twenty minutes to see the progress - which is slow.  If you double click the first photo and look in the corner, you will see the tiny cuts that had to be made in order to fill the wall.  Mike tried all combinations to avoid those cuts but unless we tore out the master bathroom which is to the left of this bathroom and increased my wall size, there was no helping the small pieces.  Just the nature of tile work.  You can see from the second photo how meticulous the cutting has been.  Pat said he figured he went up and down the stairs to the top level over 100 times while cutting the tile for the floor (the tile saw is in the garage).  He may well top that total with this tile and they still have the master to do which has waaaaaaay more tile than mine does.  The master will have tile on the floor, half way up the walls and the entire shower five foot shower both walls and floor.

A funny thing about the trim tile - the glass rows three quarters of the way up - I matched the wall paint to the dark glass tile but it seems the light grey tile is the exact match for the paint on the walls that has now dried for over a week.  It seems that paint is funny - it changes color as it dries and sometimes you can't tell the true color for many days - this paint started out looking like a beigy peachy color, now it looks grey, at least to me.  Everyone has a different idea of what color it is, however, I am still thrilled with the color and the trim tile.  You can't imagine how bright the bathroom has become with that big expanse of white tile.  Can't wait to see all the rest of the white furniture come in.  I saw the door with its coat of primer and trim color.  I would imagine it has at least one more coat to add, perhaps more on the door.  That's possibly the last thing they will install - and about ten minutes before I climb into that tub of hot water.

Bathroom remodel - Day 14...

Everybody's in  my bathtub but me....  I'm having a love/hate relationship with my contractors.  I LOVE the fact that they are meticulous and I HATE the fact they are meticulous.  There are so many things happening that aren't evident in the pictures I've been taking.  Smoothing, plastering, painting.  The area between the cement board and the painted walls has been plastered several times and painted.  Drying time takes a while and then it starts all over again.  I joked with Mike yesterday - into our fourth week and we're still painting.

Tile around the tub is finally going up.  It took several hours to lay the tile out so the cut pieces would be equal and not on top of the edges of the shelf or the tub where they might not stick well.  The lovely glass tiles will be placed three in a row at the third shelf from the bottom and run all around the tub.  Just a small break in all that white.  Decisions had to be made about the bullnose from the floor and wall.   Does the bullnose from the floor run to the tub and the bullnose from the wall run down to it?  Or does the bullnose from the wall run to the floor and the bullnose from the floor tile butt up against it?  Decisions, decisions.  It's possible the white tile will be finished today and the next step would be grouting - a day to dry and sealing the grout.  THEN and only THEN will we start building on this beautiful foundation they've meticulously created.  My vanity, two lovely cabinets, the chandelier and beautiful satin nickel shower accessories, towel bars and that great shower curtain will be positioned.  We took a poster I purchased twenty five years ago to be re-framed.  The poster is of a stylized woman with a big hat and fur around her neck.  Lovely mauves and greys and white.  The frame I chose is pearlized white with silver accents, a black velvet mat, and inner sparkly mat and then the photo.  It will cover the entire wall between the tub and the closet doors so when you sit on the throne, you will see her.  I still need art work for behind the throne, I have to purchase a mirror and a waste paper can.  Also, we've decided to trade toilets.  Carl has a lovely toilet in his bathroom and it's white.  I had a fairly new beige toilet in mine and we'd purchased a new white toilet for my bathroom.  We have decided to move Carl's into my bathroom, the new white one in the downstairs bathroom (it's beige now and we've purchased a white vanity and medicine cabinet) and the one in the downstairs bathroom will go to Habitat for Humanity.  Did you follow that?  Mike wants us to label them so he gets it right.  It snowed last night and is supposed to snow again today so the guys might be late but they've said they're sure everything will be done by Friday - then off to the downstairs bathroom.  We found the paint for the downstairs bathroom, it's kind of a goldy beige.  I pulled one of the colors from the new wave sink and since everything else is white, we're using it as a wall color.  Hurray - my third room in the house with color on the walls.

Bathroom remodel - Day 13...

The bathroom remodel has finished for the week.  The guys cleaned up and left Friday about five-ish.  We went to see Lewis Black in Peoria (liked him a lot more than I thought I would) and left them to lock up the house.  The bullnose has been mostly installed but the grout work will wait until the tile around the tub has been put up - all the grout will be added in one day.  The double slider doors to the linen closet should go up on Monday, the outside designer door has been fitted and is being painted - this door might be the best decision I made on design.

The cardboard has been placed on the floor to protect it while the rest of the work goes on.  And even though the bullnose looks like it's a different color than the floor tile, I assure you they are identical.  Funny how light plays tricks on you.

This is the area between the painted wall and the cement board around the tub.  There is a disparity between the wall thicknesses, the cement board is thinner than the rest of the walls so a cement compound has been used to breach the gap.  This room should be done by the end of next week and then they'll start on the downstairs bathroom because we have everything for it and we're still waiting for parts for the master bathroom.

Tutu cute...

I have loved every image that Mo Manning has placed on her website.  Recently some of her images have been manufactured in clear stamps by Penny Black - this is one from the TuTu Sweet set.  I've been dabbling in a new coloring medium, well, new to me.  I have a small set of pastel chalk pencils that I'm enjoying coloring with.  So much so, in fact, that I purchased a larger set with more colors.  I find blending so much easier with chalks - and there is no bleed-through when I want a CAS card.  I use some Brushstixs to blend; they're easy to clean and I have one for each color group.  When I'm finished with coloring, I use Krylon spray fixative to keep the chalk from rubbing off.

I'm in the middle of a huge project, cataloging and stamping every stamp I have while sorting stamps I want to keep and those I want to donate.  I have three long 3x5 file boxes, each over 12" long and a gazillion dividers so I'm stamping some stamps several times.  I fill up a 3x5 card for each category and then add a new card.  I have an alphabetical index for stamps I don't have a bunch of like the word "Hope".  So far, I only have one stamp that just says "Hope" so I placed it behind the "H" tab.  I have a whole category for "Happy Birthday" because I have a lot of those.  Eventually, I will add techniques and ideas for cards to the boxes.  I love seeing the sentiments stamped out so I can compare size and font.  Some of the sets I have contain so many sentiments besides the images that I don't think to grab them when I'm looking for something in particular.  This way, I will be able to see those, also.  I created a small database with three fields - an identifying number, the manufacturer and where that set (or single stamp) is stored - each set gets a small address label with its own unique number on it.  Most of my sentiment-only stamp sets are located at my desk because I use them so often.  But sets with images like PaperTrey are in boxes not readily accessible.  My Flourishes stamps also contain wonderful sentiments I never use unless I happen to be using one of the sets for the images.    This project is going to take me ages to do but I think the results will be worth it.

Saturday, March 2, Day 1

Hubs and I went to see Louis Black last night in Peoria.  We left about five p.m. and returned home around eleven.  Sassy had had another really watery bowel movement on my footstool (which was covered with a water proof pad and an old blanket which made clean up a breeze).  There was a little mess on the floor between the footstool and the litter box (running for the box, perhaps?) and more in the litter box.

We cleaned up the mess and dipped her butt under the faucet to clean her up (the hazards of a long-haired cat) and we had no repeat this morning although there was more in the litter box.  She didn't seem too peppy this morning even though she ate a good breakfast.  We're not at the stage where we want to lock her back up again, I truly think this couldn't be helped.   We'll keep an eye on her today and see if she feels better later.