Domino and the Midnight Bath

Justin and I were painting the hallway last night. To do so we took off the return vent so that we could properly paint. Taking precaution, we placed paper over the hole so that the cats would not be interested in exploring the underbelly of the house. While we were watching some TV last night I could hear some odd noises above our seats but I thought nothing of it. Once the TV was off we then noticed that these were not really normal noises and investigated. Domino had sneaked into the hole and had indeed ventured under the floor and above the ceiling... the dirtiest place in my house.
Justin was able to extract his sorry self and I gave him kitty treats for being so easy to catch. It wasn't until later, when Justin and I were reading in bed, that we noticed how completely filthy he was! I couldn't even recognize him!
So yes... we bathed our poor pathetic cat at 11:30 last night. Not only that, we had to blow dry him because otherwise he would have been sopping wet until morning. It was awful! And even today, being dry and very clean, he is still not happy with me and avoids the bathroom at all costs.
Tomorrow.... Tulip!

The Scrap Room 2.0

Okay, so I have to design and plan for an entirely new scrapbook room. This gives me an interesting and rare opportunity to coordinate all the little things that go with it, including my furniture, magnet boards, and accessories. Being the thinker that I am, I thought about colors for a long time, took in what the shape of the room is and what kind of architectural details I have to work with. After a lot of sketches and even more rough drafts, I finally ended up with the picture you see above. With some interesting painted stripes, crown molding under the extended shelves that sit on the existing half walls, and the addition of my wonderful embellishment centers, the plan I've created is perfect. Flawless. Without a doubt, every single element of this room will be dripping with Caitlin creativity. (Yes, I drew that. And didn't ruin another kitchen table. I've learned my lesson. Sorry, Mom)
In the planning, I've started painting magnet boards, hanging items and a slough of other items getting ready for the color scheme. We haven't signed the papers yet, and after we do, it will be a hurricane of work. I won't have my craft room until June. In the meantime, I will do all that I can to be prepared.

Lovely rubber stamps... properly mounted

Unity Stamp Co is one of my favorite stamp companies (second to Stampin Up!). Though I love their products, their stamps are NOT mounted on wood blocks. There is nothing I love more than having a wall full of mounted stamps, happy and darling, winking their little designs. Not only that, but having to mount the stamp on an acrylic block, then stamping, cleaning the stamp and storing all the supplies afterword is a little too much work for me. And to add to the dislike, when stamps are not mounted and not out in the open, how on earth am I going to know what I have?!
I've joined in Unity's Kit of the Month. This is a great program to obtain their product at a great price and it's a fun surprise to see what the kit looks like at the beginning of the month. But again, I don't like that the stamps are not mounted on wood. For a purist like myself, I want the look of the mounted stamp but the designs from Unity. Being the smart woman that I am, I did some research and found a great company that will send you a box of wood blocks on which you can mount unmounted rubber stamps. I bought my first box and within a few days the heavy (10 lbs of little wood blocks!) box was waiting for me. I've spent a few evenings, matching, stamping, gluing and then covering the stamped image with contact paper to create a great looking stamp collection that was not originally intended to be mounted.
The overall project is a time consuming adventure but I enjoy the finished product... rows upon rows of wood mounted stamps, all pristine and divine, smiling down on me from my embellishment center. Now only if I had more room for all of them.....

Etsy- the ebay for handmade!

Etsy is a website that I had heard about a few times from people but I had never tried it out until this week. I was looking to purchase a new set of stamps and a seller on Etsy was the only one that was selling this particular set. I signed up, bought the product and then started browsing. There are so many cute things available from sellers all around the world, and most are handmade goods! I've been special ordering items, talking with sellers about custom pieces that they make and really enjoying the ride! If you haven't looked there, I would!

Caitlin's New Storage Find!

Over the last few weeks Justin and I have been to Lowe's and Home Depot almost everyday, if not more than once a day for each location. During our visits and the waiting in line I noticed something that looked interesting. Lowe's has these small tins with clear windows that you can put gift cards in. I see them and think... ooh! something to store scrap stuff in! And yes indeed... they hold all sorts of things!! They measure about 4 1/4 X 3". The little window is about the size of a visa or gift card so you can see what is in there without having to open it.

I've been using them for alphabet storage (die cut alphas, chipboard alphas, mini metal alphas)

All in all, great find at the most unexpected place!

Shopping slows down, death of a customer, and books to look at

Tulip sleeps on while I write...

For all the books that I own, I would daresay 80% of them were purchased from Amazon.com. Now, as my reading as slowed a little because of my busy life, the need to buy books is less than before. Occasionally I find books for my childrens collection while at work and buy them for very little but they are picture books and not novels. For example the titles that I have bought recently have been... "Swim, Little Wombat, Swim!" by Charles Fuge, "Down in the Woods at Sleepytime" by Carole Schaefer, and "Little by Little" by Amber Stewart. These are darling little stories that include helpful platypus friends, singing toadlets and a sea otter being nice to tiny frogs.
My UPS guy stopped by today. He dropped off some scrapbook supplies and asked how I was doing. Mind you, I had recently passed out at the gym a few hours before. Something about aligning my posture had liquified my innerds had caused a slight blackout. I looked chalky and pale and sickly... So my UPS guy asked how I was doing.
"You look sick. Have you been okay?"
"Eh. I'm okay," thinking, Yeah, I've been better. Busy morning.
"Haven't been here as much. Hope you get better."
It took me a few minutes to think about what he was talking about. Now instead of being the lady at the apartment who wears only blankets or towels, I'm the one who is dying. Honestly, UPS probably has a sheet with what is happening to their most frequent recipiants, and I'm on there... first as chick who owns no clothing to woman who is dying.
To top it off- We're moving. So yes, I'm pretty sure that UPS man will think that I've died in the next month or so.

The Scrap room... again?

After a few weeks of enjoying the new and improved scrap space, there is a sudden change in plans that soon takes it all away from me. Justin and I bought a house. And while this is exciting and the changes are welcome, the absence of such a peaceful place will be felt. Not only that, but now, after so much work and effort into making that room a haven, I have to leave it, repaint it and turn it back into any other room in any other apartment. This leaves me with a dilemma.
Do I keep the sunny yellow and the happy warmth? OR do I move onto bolder color choices, mixing the red furniture with something daring like blue and chocolate brown?
And through all of this... I desperately want a new desk. How can I ruin this one while still retaining an air of innocence?