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Celebrating crafts, kids and the everyday through photographs.
  • Or the good news? Well I’ll give you the good news. I went to a few garage sales this weekend and had a really great find. Something I actually need (!) and have been looking for (!!)
    Dishes
    I’m using a thrifted letter tray as a temporary dish dryer, do you love how they spelled coming wrong?  Because I do. Anyway happy fun times continued through the evening and into Sunday. Matt’s mom was driving into Salem so he got dropped off at my place. He, Bj and I went to my storage unit where I couldn’t wait to find all my hidden treasures. Things have been in there for a freaking year. Things like this desk. Of course I couldn’t find the bolts to put the thing together (and I have absolutely no idea where they are). But that’s not the really bad news, read on…

    So today we got to work. The big job was diamond grinding the cracks in my basement floor to make them bigger. Yes you have to open them up in order to fill them. Here’s Bj hard at work:
    Grinder
    Bj opened up this crack by the furnace and OH MY GOD water started coming up. We are talking about a summer day where it hasn’t rained in weeks, and it’s over 90 degrees outside. So ya, if water is coming up this time of the year, it’s not looking good for winter. Commence freaking out.

    Let me tell you what my neighbor Tracy had to do when water wouldn’t stop coming out of her basement. She had to have a trench dug on the INSIDE around the whole perimeter of the basement. Then after they dug three feet down to the dirt they layered gravel and perforated pipe then more gravel then they re-poured the concrete and installed an industrial strength sump pump. Besides the huge inconvenience there is also the $5,000 fee. Oh, and who doesn’t have $5,000 to spare, that would be me.

    Shit.

    10 comments on Do you want the bad news first?
  • Designer
    Not too much to report from thrifting today, a bunch of duds, I don’t think mom and I were that into it really. And a couple of the houses just had so much stuff that it makes you feel like maybe you don’t need to be a hoarder. Seriously this one was just too much, and a ton of craft stuff, but held on to for so long and in bad storage that it was all smelly and… Of course I still came home with a big tin tub (Mom: "What are you going to use it for?" Me: "Um… Drinks at my house warming party?" Mom: "Well as long as it has a purpose."), a few jars, and a metal basket. The estate sale I got this toy from was at this awesome huge old house less than a mile from my new place. Cool to go into just to look around at all the little rooms and nooks and crannies. This is all I took from there, and I love the directions. Some excerpts:

    "Even thought the Magic Designer must be classified as a ‘toy,’ it has captured the interest of many ‘grownups’ and has provided pleasant hours not to mention novel results!"

    "The results will many times surprise you and be most pleasing."

    "Envelope of 100 paper discs 60c, plus 6c postage."

    I wish! I might go back and get the other one that didn’t have a box for the one dollar just to get some more discs. They are specially notched, and I don’t think it would be easy work to make more. And if anyone knows of any really thin pens that would fit in here, let me know, because this bic pencil was the only thing I could get to fit in here, and not very well. Not even regular wooden pencils fit. And as the directions say:

    "A good ball-point pen should be used for professional work."

    1 comment on It’s Magic!
  • Swap_goodies
    My lovely swap buddy was Emily. She sent me all these goodies, and two other things that I snatched up right away to take to my new place: funky napkins and a pretty bar of soap. I think my favorite thing of all is that vintage hip frame, I’ve never seen those before, so cool. In fact all the frames are cool I can’t wait to get into my new studio so I can play, play, play! I know that most of you have gotten your packages, and all have been sent but one (unfortunately a death close to the family, so very understandably she hasn’t gotten to it). I would love to hear if the rest of you got your packages so that I can draw for the super cool swap Ribbon Jar!!! People I still need to hear whether or not they got their package:
    Kim M.
    Heidi P.
    Kay T.
    Dawn T.
    Sarah M.

    8 comments on Swap Wrap Up

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