More Beads - aka Gasparilla Again

Tampa has a huge celebration every year called Gasparilla.  It's a Pirate Invasion of grand proportion.  It's been an annual event since 1904.  Part of the joy of Gasparilla is attending the parades, and in all my parades I have yet to leave with less than 100-200 bead necklaces.

Being in Miami now, I didn't expect to be going back to Gasparilla any time soon.  But we had an offer we couldn't refuse.  We were to attend the main parade (over 100 floats) on the Bayshore as the guest of a major corporate sponsor, after which we were invited to their home for a post parade party.  I thought, this was pretty awesome, but I promised myself I wouldn't bring home any more beads.  After all, I had just finished two chandeliers and a mosaic, and my supply was nicely cleaned out, and I really don't have room for more in my much smaller craft closet.

We arrived at the corporate tent, and were promptly given a few necklaces, such a pretty one with the Jose Gaspar ship on it, I can't say no.  Every table was covered in beads, and there were even a few large cooler size treasure chests filled.  No - keep walking, I don't need any.  But they were pink, and the necklaces are long, and the big beads, I don't have any of those.

Before you know it, the parade was starting.  I had front row, up close and personal with the Pirates.  It was awesome.  Honest, I wasn't trying.  I wasn't shouting or waving or fighting for them, well, as much as the people beside me.  But then the age old frenzy started, and cries of BEADS, BEADS, BEADS could be heard throughout the land. 

An amazing thing happened, magically one landed around my neck - that pirate had good aim as it was thrown from on top of a passing float.  Then more landed at my feet, and some  without effort were caught in my hand.  Then there were the strolling pirates, who couldn't pass by without handing out a trinket or two.

In all, I ended up with about 75 necklaces, 10 "gold" doubloons  a stuffed manatee, and a squishy light bulb   And I brought them home.

A neat thing about the necklaces, yes I am now rationalizing my hoard, is that this year's were more fabulous than the plain beads from yesteryear.  This year I got Pirate skulls and cross bones, butterflies, footballs, iridescent  hearts, and Budweiser beer caps. And crawfish, and shrimp, and footprints, and faces, and palm trees, and pyramids...  

When I got home, my daughter and her college roomie got busy decorating my lampposts in the backyard.   Mardi Gras is coming up soon.  With the remaining beads, including probably a good bit of the older stash, we had plans for a fabulous glittery tray for the party hosts (and former neighbors of my inlaws).  

It ended up being a group effort.  My mom-in-law had purchased the tray 15x23, and a wooden letter "B".  We picked up some glue and some frame molding on clearance, so that we could rest some glass above the beads.  My father-in-law got busy with an old saw and miter to cut them down to size.  Then the fun began with my mom-in-law, daughter & I cutting up about 70 necklaces bead by bead.  Then we got out the serious glue.  Fortunately it was about 80 degrees today and perfect weather to work outside.  Yes I am rubbing it in, it's the begining of February.  I love living in Florida.

A few hours later and we had the finished product, and the beginning of a business plan to make many more of these.  Maybe it's time to start selling some crafts.  Hmm.

My Dollhouse

I had a good friend 7^th-9^th grade when I lived in Hamilton Ontario. Her name was Stephanie W.  She is probably my earliest crafting friend.  It started with joining the model train club in 8^th grade.  OK, she & I joined and were the only 2 girls in the club.  We weren’t stupid.  All the cute guys were in the club.  I had so much fun climbing over the structure, learning how to solder, and making things in miniature, flirting with the cute guys and going on field trips to visit really big model train tracks. One day while we were at Stephanie’s house she showed me her notepaper collection.  Maybe that where I got hooked on paper too.  I know it wasn’t long before I had my own collection.  But the real draw was her dollhouse that she and her dad had built.  I don’t remember what it looks like, but I remember after seeing it I knew that I wanted my own.

It wasn’t long after that we moved to Ft Lauderdale.  There was a store near my house that had dollhouse kits.  I always had to check them out. Finally in the summer before my junior year of high school Country House Model #1002 was mine.  It took 2 ½ years to finally put it all together.  At one point, I had to painstakingly wet it down, dissolve the glue, and rebuild the walls because everything had warped in the summer humidity.  After the build came the electricity.  I was so proud of myself, 18 years old and wiring a dollhouse for electricity, and it worked!  That is until that same humidity shorted everything out a few years later.  I built a few walls to add a bathroom, after all what home doesn’t have a bathroom.  I wallpapered with fabric, reupholstered a chair, stitched a rug and made Christmas decorations.

My kitty loved to sleep in the house, and the second floor is forever warped because of that. The house moved when I moved.  It almost didn’t make the last move.  But after my Father-in-law gave me a stern talking to about how this house was such a part of me, and therefore it was important to him, I found it a place in our new home.  After all, it’s not often my Father-in-law comments on decorating or stuff, so when he has an opinion, I usually act on it.  The house has collected dust over the years, I’ve added some lighted Christmas & Halloween decorations (battery powered, as I never put the electricity back in).  It was never a play toy. 

A few years ago my daughter & I decided it was time to redecorate.  Out came all the wallpaper and flooring.  And was replaced with fresh wallpaper& parquet flooring in some rooms.   I added a pretty lattice to the bottom.  We decided the bathroom would be moved to the other side of the house (as in the rooms that are on the other side of the hall, so it’s invisible now.  Harry Potter movie posters were hung in the boy’s room, and Monet water lilies in the girl’s room. 

It’s been gathering dust again.  Which brings me to the craft closet.  Up on the shelf in the closet is a green plastic bin.  Today’s craft project was to check out the green bin.  I tossed the old electric stuff. The quilling paper and instructions to make flowers, they are going in the give-away bag.  The hooked rug kit, not started, and the ¾ finished cross stitch rug, I will keep for awhile and maybe one day finish them. The photo album was falling apart so I took out the photos and kit instructions and scanned them.  That left three items.  My official project for the weekend has been determined.

I had two kits for furniture Chippendale style, a desk and a chest of drawers, and a kit for a staircase.  I pulled out the furniture kits.  Amazingly I had all the pieces.  After reading the instructions I discovered I was missing 8 itty bitty screws.  I was also supposed to use tinted glue and stain the furniture when I was done.  Quick decision was made, I didn’t want the fold down writing surface, and mahogany stain was boring anyway.  Problems solved. I have everything I need to complete the furniture.

I’ve spent a few hours gluing and assembling and painting.  And to top it off.  Glittering.  I had some glitter left over from a prior project that was shades of green, copper & brown.  Much more sparkly than boring stain. 

It’s always bothered me that the dollhouse didn’t have any way to get to the third floor.  It’s something little kids pick up on instantly.  I had bought a staircase kit when I started with the earlier renovations.  I’m pretty sure it will fit.  Gluing the spindles is crazy hard – the instructions say to be sure they are 1/8 inch from the edge, centered on the step, and dry straight.  Really?  Do they know how skinny these spindles are?  And I don’t want big globs of glue on the bottom.  Every time they fall over, there’s another glob at the base.  I’ve scraped away so much, it’s a wonder there is any glue holding it up.   I managed to got it done and painted. Now staircase fits in the dollhouse and the doll family can make it up to the third floor. 

All that’s left for this weekend to is to dust and straighten out the rooms.  

The Plan

I am fortunate to have a very large room including walk in closet and vanity to house and work on all my craft supplies.  My craft room also doubles as my home office, so the desk can get extremely cluttered.  I also have a very bad habit of not finishing what I start, and combine that with being a visual person, my room is a mess.  

I am interested in so many different crafting mediums, and I have to have all the tools.    The kids are in college, and we are thinking that we may downsize our home in the not to distant future.  I don't want to give up my craft stuff without a fight.  So I need to have a plan.

It's the day before my 49th birthday.  And I've decided to write about my journey to clean out my craft room.  Not by just putting it away, or getting rid of stuff, but by using my stash.

The starting point - incriminating photos.  This represents most of the supplies - I'll save you from the under and on top of the desk and the floor stash.

The Plan

•  Figure out if there is a craft style that I truly love and would be able to take with me to a smaller home
•  Complete craft projects – or dispose
• Use up my stash
• Make stuff for me & our house. I have so many artsy craftsy things that others have made for me, but very little that I have done.
• Make stuff for family and friends
•  Make stuff just to use up the product and then try to sell it
• Give away supplies for things I don’t like doing
• Rule #1 Put away everything at the end of the day – that means I probably need to clear off a shelf right away so I have some place to put unfinished project
• Rule #2 Purchase only what is needed to complete a project like adhesive – OK I have an exception.  If while on my travels, I find something that I gotta have
• The craft has to either be a complete kit
• Must be something for me
• Must fit in with my themes for my house
• Rule #3  Always bring a project when I travel, these are where all my kits come in handy