Saturday, October 8, 2011

One Day, When I Was a Feelin' Crafty....

Well, today I was fer sure feelin' crafty. A few weeks ago I discovered Pinterest, and my crafty gear kicked in and hasn't down-shifted yet.

Another trait I inherited from Kathern (Neno) is the pack-rat syndrome. I save stuff, much to the chagrin of my husband who says, "You're never gonna use that junk." I always reply, "Oh, I will someday." Well, today was someday.

When we cleaned out Kathern's storehouse after she left this world, we found stacks and stacks of plastic cottage cheese containers, egg cartons, coffee cans, and Mrs. Butterworth's bottles (among a stash of other goodies). She lived through the Great Depression, when Americans didn't have a disposable-take-every-thing-for-granted lifestyle. They used it. They cleaned it. They kept it. And, they used it again. This thrifty lifestyle followed Kathern up to the ripe old age of 91.

Today, it caught up with me. Neno would have been 109 years old now, and would have been proud of me for holdin' on to stuff. For today, I unleashed my inner pack-rat and began unpacking, organizing, and making. And, what I hadn't packed, I picked, at yard sales and thrift stores.

So...Here's what I did today.

I organized my supplies. They were getting out of control, stacked all over kitchen counters and the dining room table. I hauled up an old cabinet I'd been keeping, and filled it with baskets and other containers I've accumulated over the years. I drug in the old Coke crate out of the garage, thinking, "what a good way to store pencils, markers, glue, scissors, and other necessities." Then I added an old magazine rack I bought at a flea market a year or so ago, (not having a clue then what I would use it for; I just knew I would need it). It holds all the cards I've received, that I recycle, reuse, then re-card. I also added a Velveeta box to one section of it where I collect odd little things that I'll use, I just don't know what for yet (i.e., half of a small bouncy ball; it will surely make a good nose for something). I kept the drawers from Kathern's cabinets, and that is what you see above the Coke crate. The slots that used to hold silverware, now hold stickers, Modge-Podge, a Mason jar full of buttons, and an old milk bottle with rose petals...the first flowers my husband sent me (before he was my husband; about 22 years ago). I have an enamel pot hanging to the left; I plan to put magnets there as needed.

Then, I moved to the opposite wall. I had to come up with something to hold the stuff I am working on. You know...those ideas you get when you're at a garage sale, you buy something, bring it home, and in a year, maybe more-maybe less, you'll do something with it? I don't have a saw, so building a shelf today (and it had to be done today!) was out of the question. So what was the next best thing that didn't require construction, particularly sawing? A PEACH CRATE! Yes, I hung a peach crate on the wall.
And on this peach crate is a lamp base I got at a thrift store. I'm not quite finished with it. It also holds some other "ideas" that I'm a workin' on (spoken in true-Kathern-Ozarks hill talk).

Well, this is it for now. I've got lotsa "thangs I'm a workin' on." More later!