Cali Explains Painting...Or: If You're Wearing Honest-to-Goodness Carhart Painting Overalls, You Must Be an Expert.

So, no more than a month ago, I had a brilliant idea: turn the little-used guest room into my very own craft room.  I have been poring over the IKEA catalog, drawing plans, and dreaming about it since then. I know what I want in the way of furniture and what I am going to put in each drawer and on each shelf.

As OCD as that might sound, I think I have a good reason: I am currently crammed into a little space in our home office, having commandeered several shelves of the bookcases.  I know what I use to scrapbook and where/how I would like to store it.  By drawing the furniture and assigning my scrapbooking supplies to each space, I was able to determine how much (or how little, if you prefer) furniture I would need.

Somewhere along the way, in the last week or so, I decided that I HAD to paint the room.  And why not?  It’s completely empty right now, as the thrift store people hauled off all the furniture a week ago…  Perhaps it’s because the room looks dirty and disheveled without furniture.  Or, perhaps, the furniture was hiding a litany of sins…

Several years ago, I painstakingly scraped all the wallpaper off the walls in my soon-to-be craft room.  Then I painted the walls in a faux denim finish that I liked for a couple of years…. No more.  Time for a change….

And so, after countless hours of prep (which I HATE to do), I was able to put some “Cotton Grey” paint on the walls.  As I started, it looked beige, not gray, but after the blue was all covered, it was the color I had hoped for….

This room was my brothers’ room when they were growing up.  Boys are hard on furniture and walls.  Thanks to years of putty repairs and millions of coats of paint, the walls are uneven and difficult to paint.  The roller rolls right over some of the deeper recesses, and going back over the wall with a brush is a necessity….

Okay, okay, you know how to paint, enough of the details.  But do you know all of the little nuances of painting?  I know I didn’t…..until now.

For instance, did you know that no matter how many times you paint gray over blue, you will still see blue wherever you look?  Some of it I really did see, and I hit it with a brush-full of gray paint….

Did you know that, after sanding the baseboard a hundred times, you STILL won’t see all the remaining carpet fur until you have given it a coat of paint?  So you sand it again.  And again.  No, the carpet is long gone, but not the fur, apparently….

Did you know that you can go from excited to get started to ready to be done with it in a matter of moments?  And boy, have I had my moments…..you should see the floor…

No longer my entree into "High Society", my Crocs are now
relegated to my "paintin' shoes"...

I also think, but I could be wrong, that the doorway has shrunk due to the 15+ coats of paint that it has had in the past 62 years.   I know that I have given it three coats this week myself, and I’m wondering if the new furniture will fit through the door…

I’m down to the last chore: the touch-up detail.   It’s really quite simple: you have a small paint brush with the wall color on it and another one with the trim color on it.  You touch up the trim where you got the wall paint on it and then you touch up the wall where you just got trim paint on it.  It can go on for hours.  And hours…

And then it suddenly hits you:  “it looks great” you tell yourself.  Does it really?  Doesn’t really matter, in your mind, you’re DONE!

And, if you are unfortunate enough to be asked by the painter:  “how does it look?”  do NOT blurt out that it looks perfect!  We both know it isn’t perfect and painters don’t appreciate being patronized.

To a point…. 

When asked that loaded question, take your time answering it.  Look up curiously at the freshly-painted walls and trim.  Squint one or both eyes to denote that you are really working at this, then sigh softly and prepare your answer. 

The answer HAS to be positive.  I have worked much too hard to have someone, anyone, point out what is wrong with the work that I did.  So be charitable.  Use a word that doesn’t tell me that you’re lying through your teeth.  If you’re a gusher, tell me it looks “fabulous!”  If you’re not, just say it looks “great” and pat me on the back…..but not too hard because I’m sore all over…

I may not be the best painter, but I DO make the best messes!

Cali

Telling Stories....

When I started blogging five years ago, I frequently wrote about my experiences at work.  Or family life. Or something I saw and wanted to comment about.  I used a photo to illustrate the blog and that was it. Ever since I started, I have always hoped that my words would make my readers think and relate what I have said to things in their own lives…

A little more than a year ago, I started scrapbooking again.  Things have changed in the scrapbooking world: it’s not just about photos cut into cute shapes and lots of stickers to decorate the page.  Somewhere along the line, people figured out that pasting photos on a page wasn’t enough.  And cutesy stickers didn’t add much to the story of when, why, and where the photo was taken.

And so, scrapbooking (in whatever form you choose) has become a method of telling our stories about our lives, our families, and our adventures.  Photos are accompanied by “journaling cards” that recount what happened, or was going on, in each photo.  Sure, there are still stickers and other ephemera but they are an adjunct to the story, and a small one at that.

Currently, I am doing Project Life for the second year in a row.  It’s a system of telling our stories in an easy-to-do format, with pockets for photos and other souvenirs of everyday life. Becky Higgins

What I like about Project Life is that it makes me focus on today.  Sure, yesterday and tomorrow were, or will be; important in their own time, but today is what I have right now.  In other words, I live in the moment, recording life’s ups and downs as they happen.  The only thing better than living in the moment is being able to go back and look at those moments later…

My just-completed first page from last week.

And my second page from last week.

I bought in to the project, literally, and purchased a “core kit” from Becky Higgins.  This year, I have been making some of my own journaling cards to add to the core kit.  I want to personalize my story, after all, as I am the only me around…

A few of the journaling cards I have made...

Whether the photos show snow-capped mountains or mountains of laundry in front of the washer, there is a story there.   Not a what-I-did-last-summer story but the story of everyday….. And that is what matters: telling our stories.

 

So, though the format and content of my blog may seem different, it really isn’t.  I am still focused on telling my own story but I am using several modalities and not just writing.  The important thing is that, someday, someone who knew me and loved me will have a better glimpse of who I was and what I did.

That’s telling my story…

Cali

The Keeper of Memories...

So, where have I been all summer?  The short answer is: here, at home.  The long answer is that I haven’t been blogging.  Why?  The Social Networking Site where I got my start as a blogger suddenly disappeared at the end of May.

Frantically, I tried to locate my friends on other sites.  I joined two SNS sites, decorated my profile, and found a lot of my friends.  One of the sites was not a good fit for me from the beginning: they have blogs there but nobody reads them, and few people write them.

The second site I found was more promising: there are blogs and people actually do write over there.  Again, nobody reads them, either.  Is that the only reason to write a blog?  So someone will read it?  Yes and no.  I have to write for myself: my feelings, my observations, my thoughts.  Yet, it is nice to know that someone has read what I wrote and felt a synergy or connection with it.

It’s not that I haven’t been creative.  I just haven’t been writing as much.  What I am writing now is in the form of “journaling” on scrapbook pages.  Because of my writing background, my journaling is more substantial and interrelated with the photos’ subject matter.

After taking a weekend class in May, I was hooked on scrapbooking.  I actually got back into scrapbooking last fall at the encouragement of my daughter.  She is an accomplished scrapper and artistic genius, IMHO.

But taking classes made it all official.  Each day of class, there is an assignment to complete.  Each day, I happily think about the subject at hand and gather photos and papers and embellishments to complete the project.

And every day, the completed project goes into the Student Gallery for others to see and comment on.  And every day, I get up to a dozen or so encouraging comments on my scrapbooking efforts.  It’s fun to have that feedback and to see my work through others’ eyes.

For me, scrapbooking is about telling a story.  The photos are a big part of telling that story.  The photo part got much easier for me late this spring: my daughter graciously spent a couple of hours with me, helping me conquer Photoshop.  No, I’m not completely victorious yet, but I know—and can do—a heck of a lot more than I could before she helped me.

For today’s class assignment, I used paper scraps to “weave” a background for my photos.  And those photos were a mere 1.5 inch square!  Photoshop to the rescue, again.  I cropped and custom printed the photos I wanted just like a pro…..sorta.

The woven scrap papers were then sewn on with my sewing machine, making them look like a quilt.  I then added the photos, some embellishments, and my journaling.  What I have now is a scrapbook page that shows what was important to me today.  Hopefully, someday, my children and grandchildren will view my scrapbooks the way I want them to: as a family history.

Scrapped with love by Mom/Grandma: the Keeper of Memories….

Cali

And here is today's scrapbooking project:

Collaboration....

Is it Tuesday already?  Good intentions.  I have lots of them….

Last week was rainy.  Every day, it seems, was dark and cold and wet.  Bad weather for working in the garden, great weather for being creative….  I have always had a creative bent, making what I could out of what I had.  It served me well when I was a young mommy with children who grew out of their clothes as fast as I could sew them.

Since retiring last year, I have found new creative outlets.   My daughter and I have been scrapbooking together since last fall.  We both enjoy being the keeper of our family’s memories and doing it in an artful form…

With the rain last week, and derailed plans of working in the garden, I turned to creative endeavors.  And I had an epiphany: I enjoy creating scrapbooks as much as I enjoy filling them with memories.  That explains why the shelves in my crafts’ room are overflowing with things I have made.  And it causes me some sense of guilt.  What’s the use of creating something that will just sit on a shelf?

So, when my daughter came to visit last Thursday, I offered a suggestion: since she is so busy with her full time job and her family, I could make some things for her to sell in her online shop.  I was tentative about making the suggestion as I didn’t want to step on her toes….

No need for trepidation as she was thrilled with the idea.  She was lamenting the fact that she has so little time to make things to sell, and my contributions would be greatly appreciated.  And no, I am not advertising here.  I will not share the what or the where of our collaboration as that’s not relevant.

What was meant to be a quick get-together last Thursday, for my daughter and me, turned into a day of planning.  We talked and laughed and thought of all kinds of things we would like to do and make.  It was fun.  It IS fun, to collaborate with my daughter.

The days since that first “business meeting” have been quite busy.  I have made half a dozen products for her to put in her shop.  I have ideas for another dozen or so things.  And, come this Christmas season, when my daughter designs things to sell, I will be busy in my workshop, producing them for her.

Last evening, I read the blog she wrote yesterday.  If I had any doubts that she was as enthusiastic as I am about what we are doing, her blog erased them.  It was delightful to read her rememberances of the things I created when she was a child.  And I was reassured by her kind and thoughtful words about our joint efforts….

While it’s not all that important in the overall scheme of things, this collaboration is something to celebrate, to me.  We have had our times apart, my daughter and me, while we fought our own battles and didn’t impose on each other.  We have never been estranged, or anywhere near estranged, but we have not been as actively involved in each other’s lives as we are now.  We are mother and daughter, dear friends, and now, collaborators…

In a creative way, that is….

Cali

December Daily...

That’s what they call it in the scrapbooking world, The December Daily.  It’s a scrapbook, or “album” devoted to journaling the Christmas season….

Since I retired almost six months ago, I have been able to devote more time to creative endeavors, like scrapbooking.  In fact, I have made more than a dozen basic scrapbooks, covering chipboard with pretty papers and then compiling them in binder rings…

The Christmas scrapbook, “December Daily”, is done.  That is, the basic scrapbook is made and ready for December.  Each day, I will journal the day’s events and add photos or other ephemera to the page.  The pages are numbered and go through Christmas Day.  I also have a couple of extra pages at the end, for any postscripts that might occur.

I suppose that, technically, I am saving memories for future generations.  But in reality, I am savoring memories as they happen.  Each day I will write my thoughts about the day, share any photos from the day’s events, and relive the day once again.

I view it as a way to fully appreciate each and every day that I’m given.  The holiday season is so special and so meaningful to me that it will be nice to have a recorded account of all the events.  Names, dates, lists, thoughts, reactions, surprises, happiness, content, laughter, tears of joy, and memories of holidays past…..they’ll all be there. 

It will be an abbreviated form of each day, since the scrapbook is really a “mini” album.  A few words or notes on each page, to refresh my memory, will bring the day back to me whenever I want.  Perhaps, next year, I will review it and try to recreate some of its most memorable times.  Or expand on what I planned this year.  Or make it happen next year if it doesn’t this year.

Ah, my lists are long and distinguished.  Cookies to bake, fudge to make.  Cloth napkins to sew (by hand), decorations to create from “found things” and the whole house to decorate.  Perhaps, by recording them in my December Daily, I will be more likely to get them done….

If not, they’ll remind me next year of the ideas that I had this year….

Cali