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?

The Smallest One~ who hates me

This is Jynx. She hates me. Since we were blessed with her, she has urinated on my clothing, mated with my bathmat, knocked over plants, eaten out of my cereal bowls, and ripped holes in all my favorite blankets. But this small kitten sized menace is too cute to hate! She's tiny and snuggles all night long, visits me in the scrap room, and plays with the laser pointer until she falls down. Despite all the awful things she does, she's darling and a part of the family.

Except the bathmat thing... I have to replace the bathmat now.

Domino: The Cat

Domino is my tom. This creature is regularly well dressed, though he is too shy to meet new people. He is also 14 pounds.

Domino often tries to find somewhere interesting to sleep. Mostly likes small places he can't really fit into, being that he is a larger animal. One day I tried to find him after hours of not seeing the dapper dude and found him in my scrap room, having sneaked into the little red drawers. Another time he had, and I don't know how, pulled his kitty bed from my scrap room into the guest bath and was snoozing away.

In is spare time, Domino likes to watch tv, chase and sneak after Tulip or Jynx, and sleep. Napping is important to both of us, but he is seriously training for the olympic team.

Why am I blogging this animal? One, because I am a crazy cat lady. And two, because he is darling, handsome and needs this kind of exposure.

I love him lots and lots, and I've lost my mind.

The Brain Child for All Scappers- THE BINDER

As my time and energy is wasted away in the scrap room, some evenings full of crafting and others just sitting and looking at the stuff to make things, the need to have a binder full of ideas arose. I had this black 1" that was covered in glue, had a few cut marks on the front and was falling apart. But now... TA DA! I invested in a green one, 2" and with the nifty D-ring that allows interesting movement with your pages. This purchase has now spawned a greater need to have ideas, cards, techniques and other information and pictures cataloged.
This afternoon was filled with gluing, making notes, writing out directions for certain techniques, and other things. I've also used paper clips to attatch some of my own hand made cards and tomorrow I will be making color copies of the cards.
Justin thinks I'm crazy... and I really am! But I can't help it... it's like an organization bug has settled in and more needs to be done.
If only I could apply this same kind of manic energy and attention to the rest of my house.....

The Scrap Room- Updated!

As time has gone by, married life only gets better and better. Today, Justin helped me hang the anti-sneaking-Justin device. Here is the situation.
I have this large, beautiful, red cabinet that I love in my scrap room. It was in a spot that wouldn't allow a small rolling drawer between it and the wall. I needed the cabinet to move an inch- AN INCH! So I removed all the things inside, including the glass shelves, and squashed myself between the wall and the cabinet. Pushing with all my strenght, and boobs, I was able to move the red piece the inch I wanted... while successfully gouging huge holes in my wall. There was a moment of confusion in which I had forgotten that said cabinet had been anchored into the wall!!! The doors flew open as it all tipped foreward and the backing ripped off from some freak something. And me, poor Caitlin was trapped!!!
It took some convincing but I was able to un-squash myself from the wall and get everything under control. The problem was that I had these huge holes. They bothered me but I figured I would get over them.
A few nights later, about two in the morning, I was sitting in the scrap room thinking about life and how happy I was and how much I wanted more space in the room so that Justin could sit and talk with me. It was then, that fateful hour, that I moved all the stuff (ALL OF IT!) out of the room and packed things away so that I could tape the room off. This was a Saturday night (technically a Sunday morning). Sunday afternoon I had collected supplies from my mom and dad, bought my paint, and taped off the room. The following morning I rose early and painted the room the happiest and cheeriest yellow!!! And by two o'clock that afternoon, the room was painted, I was clean and my hair was curled.
It was a wonderful Tuesday afternoon moving back in. And NOW> the lovliest and best scrap room is all moved in and perfectly perfect! Not only do I have the best supplies in darling coordinated storage, I have my mini fridge, my TV and DVD player, an easy chair, and the new electric tea kettle. Truely I am spoiled and most fortunate.

So the original problem has been fixed, the stacker has been placed where I had wanted it. My walls are happy and yellow, the embellishment centers have been mounting and are straight, and I have a wonderful, comfy place to stay.
And yes, the beaded curtain helps... Justin no longer sneaks up on me, but occasionally the cats play with the handing strands and it's annoying:P

Twelve Months, 24 Books

This is a list, month by month, of my favorite and least favorite book from that month. For the most part these books are YP (Young People) or YA (Young Adult) with a few adult fiction titles mixed in.
January- Favorite: Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis Least: Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton
February- Favorite: Fight Club by Chuck Palanhniuk Least: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
March- Favorite: Vidalia in Paris by Sasha Watson Least: Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
April- Favorite: Hippie Chick by Joseph Monninger Least: Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
May- Favorite: Wake by Lisa McMann Least: Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
June- Favorite: Star of the Morning by Lynn Kurland Least: Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
July- Favorite: Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz Least: Eyes like the Stars by Lisa Mantchev
August- Favorite: Fade by Lisa McMann Least: Death Angel by Linda Howard
September- Favorite: Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn Least: Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
October- Favorite: Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolartz Least: Tragic Magic by Laura Childs
November- Favorite: Venomous by Christopher Krovatin Least: Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton
December- Favorite: Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler Least: Holly by Jude Deveraux

I will update this every month so you can watch as some of my favorite authors rise and fall... I think it all really depends on how much of what kind of chocolate I am eating when reading these novels.

Craft Project: Coffee Dying

For this dandy project I used fresh coffee grounds, hot water, paper towels and the shawl in question.
Step 1: Make little dying pouches with the paper towels and coffee grounds. I doubled up the paper towels so that the grounds didn't get loose. You can also use the actual coffee grounds still in the filters but the filters break easy and make a mess on the project.
Step 2: Boiled water works best. The color is darker and is quicker to stain than cooler water. Pour boiled water into a bowl with your dying pouches and let them steep for a few moments, just enough to saturate the grounds.
Step 3: Do this in a large area that can get dirty. For me, I facilitated the second bathtub. I used the pouches in a "stamping" motion and covered my area. It's easy to tell when you need to swap pouches and let the old one soak again. Don't be too gruff though, splitting the pouches makes the grounds tumble out and they make a terrible black mess on the project. If this happens, simply wash them out with cold water and start over. Try not to let this happen! In no time you will understand what a pain it is to rinse and start over, not to mention the incredible mess it makes.
Step 4: Let your piece dry. Outside is best because the sun helps the color fade to the antique look I wanted. It also airs out the garment. Try to give it plenty of time so it's completely dry and the smell isn't so strong. If not, your room will smell like Starbucks for a week or so. If you're into that, then by all means, place that baby inside.
Washing the dyed piece is not recommended. Certain fabrics don't completely stain the whole way through and washing can actually undo all the work. Trust me. I know this to be true.

Craft Project: Easter Box

I wanted to start posting some of my craft projects that seem out of the blue. So the first one I used the cardboard drink boxes that you get when you purchase beer or other glass bottled beverages.

Step 1: Cover all the sides of the box with your selected paper. I made sure to overlap the edges on the small sides so that I didn't have corners exposed. For the handle just measure and cut out a little larger than the shape and fold edges over for the same purpose.

Step 2: Cover a single piece of heavy cardstock or photo mat with coordinating paper. I buy this stuff at my local DI. Old pictures used by the LDS church often are sold there and are the perfect thickness for reinforcing my projects.

Step 3: Embellish! Add tags and ribbon to at least one side of the piece to give it some pizazz and glam. If you use really interesting paper though, try not to overdo your embellishing.

And ta da! You have a cute and functional Easter Carry box for whatever you want it for.

Our Boycott of Kelloggs

After listening to the news and eavesdropping on conversations the past couple weeks, Justin and I have come to the conclusion to boycott Kelloggs for pulling funding from Michael Phelps.
True the many, many weeks of seeing his face on magazines, books, and plastered on the news did grow old. There is no doubt in my mind that as soon as America had the chance to see the golden boy doing something not-so-golden, we pounced like a pack of starved jackals.
Despite my "clean" lifestyle, I still feel the need to supoport our Star athlete in his quest for peace.
Ever wonder, "Wow. If I swam that fast and had to train all the time, I probably would crack under the pressure too." or "Well, can't see that I blame him. Poor fool is constantly water logged."
Nope! Just like the people we are, we pointed our dirty fingers at him and called him out on his indiscretion.
I for one think, "What the hell? He is simply blowing off some steam. Or he is bored." Good enough reasons. So from this day forward, it is General Mills for me.
Good thing Lucky Charms are NOT Kelloggs, lest my resolve be taken under by fun shaped marshmallows!

The author ruined the book for me

I recently was given the opportunity to meet a local author. Though I had not yet read the book, I was excited to meet the author and have him sign my book. However, now that I have met the man, I doubt I would read the book.

He was nothing short of a total ..... (no word appropriate). After telling him that I had sent him an email some time back and was happy to see that even though I received no answer, I was still pleased to meet him.

"I don't usually respond to emails unless they have some constructive critisism," he relied.

Had I been in a terrible mood, trust me, he would have recieved some constructive critisism. As it is, I will read the book but with a skeptic opinion.

Authors are some of my greatest heroes, and I am much more excited to meet authors than any person from Hollywood. But stuck-on-themselves newbies like this man tend to make me less than excited to read their stuff.

Domino and I looked at the book all weekend. It got put on the shelf this morning, with very little possibility of it coming back off.

I suppose this could be defined as a December rant but there are better things most of you readers have to do than read a woman's complaint against society. So I will save you the pain. Instead, I would like to comment on the lack of joy this holiday season.
True, the economy has been declared as a recession.. or however the proper status is. And yes, this past year or so has been hard on the good working citizens of our society. I will agree that all in all this is going to be the hardest Christmas some families will have to face compared to other years.
But DO NOT rain down on my Holiday Parade or the parades of children who believe in the Harrisville Wal-Mart!
Bah Humbug to you, sir!
Honestly, I felt that since I have started working with the public I have grown up to a point. I keep things to myself when I know I should and I fail to make remarks, even though I sometime feel the unspoken words burning my tongue, that would later be regrets.
However, this afternoon while out and about doing some shopping I was slightly perturbed.
While standing in the Christmas candy isle along with my fellow shoppers, I spotted a holiday Scrooge. He was grumbling about one thing or another while dragging the helpless (but somewhat annoying) toddler that graced his presence. Normally I let this event pass with nothing more than a roll of my eyes or a small head shake. One this particular day, in this selective weather, something about the way that little boy complained caught my attention.
He was trying to buy a tea set for his mom. He had a zip-lock bag with some dollars and coins inside and really wanted to buy a tea pot and two cups for the matronly figure in his little world.
But NOO!!!
Father told him that buying presents is a stupid idea and while he was at it, "No, Santa Claus ain't real neither!"
Not only did this man dash the hopes of his little boy, but all the other believing children that were in hearing distance of his outburst. Oh my heart cried out for the little faces that looked devastated around the next isle or two.
So yes, holidays can be stressful for all groups in this world but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, don't let me catch any other unsuspecting stranger denying the Santa Claus dreams in public or so help me, there will be eggs thrown at his person.
Which I won't buy.

Mountain, Jeep and Upset Wife

Justin and I were able to make it all the way to the top of Willard Peak this week! It was pretty bumpy going up, which made me all to happy to get out when we finally made it to peak. Once we arrived, my ears got really cold so I had to wrap my face into a hoodie- I was miserable! As we wandered around the place I kept my face down. This allowed me to start collecting interesting rocks on my adventure... I have quite a few hiding in my plants all around the apartment.
The views were spectacular and even though it started out cold, wet and rainy, we enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. I could see Pineview Reservoir on my right and Mantua on my left... really cool.
The only downer on the trip was having to use the outdoors as a restroom. Last time I had to "be one with nature" I was seven months pregnant and fell over, got stuck and had to do some creative bending to get back in a standing position. Since then, I haven't been too keen on reliving the experience. I started to giggle and the pressure of attempting what had always been the impossible was almost too much. Needless to say, after some time alone, I was able to endure the rough ride home comfortably.
A wonderful day can only be topped with a wonderful nap, which I gladly took on the way home. Yay outdoors!!!

My greatest alarm clock...

So there is this problem that comes from having a 7 o'clock class... it's at seven o'clock in the morning. All those who knows me know very well that I do not like mornings and that mornings do not agree with me. So I have found two solutions- the first is my husband and the second are the cute little creatures that I love, my cats. And this morning when the two cute creatures found themselves into my room they snuggled me back to sleep. And off went the morning.

Later when I woke up and found the cute things sleeping in my jammies with me I discovered that I slept through class.

Good thing that when my husband called he was able to wake all of us up. And now I've made another discovery, that although marriage is often referred to as teamwork, it's not only about helping with finances, getting each other motivated for a hard day or doing nice things for each other, it's about being an alarm clock for the weaker waker.

Ahh... Wedded Bliss

It's been about three months now and life is lovely. There wasn't much to get used to, we knew each other really well. Other than being second to a manatee when it comes to snuggling, there is little to complain about. We struggle getting laundry done in a timely manner and dishes are never finished, but in this busy lifestyle we all live I find no reason to apologize.
We have two darling kittens that are monsters when the moon rises and when the sun rises, and at noon, seven o'clock at night and any time they wake up for more than twenty minutes. Just recently they learned to jump onto counters and the refrigerator. So yes, I own and love cats.
School is great but it's even better when I have a husband to wake me up and push me out of bed. Alarm clocks should come with arms, at least mine does. We help each other by reminding one another of homework and deadlines. We even use planners and a palm pilot, to see if we can get any more organized.
There is very little about being married that I don't like. If I had to name something, it's not being able to play my music loud, watch movies until three in the morning and I can't read in bed... he complains that my lamp is too bright:)