she's crafty, and she's just my type

...

boxes 5, 6, and 7 of 8

I'm cracking up at the box labeled current projects, as I believe these projects were current in 2002. Evidence? This sweatshirt that I had planned to make into a Spark shirt for Eli Abrego. Who is now, like, in college. Der.

aw, 3T

Underneath that, we've got:

• More gift bags and boxes
• A giant pair of cotton underpants, which I can only imagine was meant for a piggy days-of-the-week underpants project
• Colored tissue paper
• Foam stamps of moons and planets
• A huge bag of wire and beads which appears to be a "snowflake" project in the works:

snowflake?

• And sixty (yes, Amy, sixty) hot glue sticks

You may not be aware, but we have developed something of a plague of hot glue around here the past year or two. I've unearthed two hot glue guns so far, and the sister has unearthed her share as well. We can't figure out how we ended up with so many guns and sticks, but if we ever need to arm a brigade of crafters, well, the artillery is here.

The box marked paper is, of course, just paper, but with a few extra surprises:

• More foam paper
• Transparency sheets
• Plain white matte board!
• Probably 100 pages of photocopied pictures of me, from covers for the Live on KZSU EP, plus all the blank cover sheets
• Packages of paper with dopey sports- or Christmas-themed borders and a package of pre-cut business cards, which I will almost certainly never use
• A rejected print of an etching I made, like, a million years ago

etching

• This amazing notepad find:

ha!

And in the laminator box, would you believe I found the laminator? Also, a box of zip-top sandwich bags, some letter beads, hooks and buckets for a pegboard display, and the old Gypsy Sisters business cards:

number no longer in service

And finally:

box 8 of 8

I know there are silkscreen supplies within, most of which are too old to keep. At least, I assume 15-year-old printer ink and emulsion is not worth keeping. There are other questionable items, too: a measuring spoon and cup for mixing chemicals, a boar-bristle hairbrush for cleaning screens, a spatula for applying emulsion. These can all go in one of the rainbow drawers, but where do I put the flood light?

I am really excited about the stash of masking tape I found:

yay! tape!

So now that we've completed the craft box series, I'm looking around and I see some fabric and sewing things that don't yet have a home, and a collection of pre-fab projects that I don't know about keeping, and the "um, i don't know about this stuff" box which is a lot more full than it was a few days ago.

The miscellaneous things can go in a rainbow drawer, and the sewing things will have to wait until I can consult the sister and the pre-fab projects can go to the RUMMAGE SALE on Saturday.

And now I can go to happy hour.
 

she's crafty, she's got a gripe

...
Stepping up my game today:

boxes 2, 3, and 4 of 8

In the misc art things box, I found:

• Empty gift bags
• Empty gift boxes
• 100-watt light bulbs
• Tiny wooden clothespins
• Embroidery floss
• Ribbon
• Balsa wood shadow boxes
• And two sets of Aunt Martha's Hot Iron Transfers:

personality pigs

chicken delight

These transfers are a relic from the days when the sister and I roamed the streets of Carson City and frequented the Walmart after dark, purchasing random craft supplies, and, um, chewing bubble gum. What I remember from that summer is frosty blue eyeshadow and cherry red lip gloss. I did not remember these transfers.

But they are really cute and I hope I can come up with an idea for how to use them...

The box labeled scraps contained mostly that, of the paper variety. I planned to ruthlessly toss anything smaller than, say, a bookmark, and put away all the finished items (e.g., notepads, cards, envelopes). Easy peasy.

Then, halfway through the box, I decided to toss everything that wasn't a full sheet. Including even a half-dozen paper sample books I once loved dearly. ~sniff~

I think I was rewarded, though, because I found a stash of blank notecards, some cool foam paper, and this notepad:

things to do TODAY

And, finally, in the crafts box, I found only cartridges for the laminator, an embroidery hoop, and an empty Lisa Frank tin. Weird.

Four boxes down, four boxes to go.
 

she's crafty, she's always down

...

One of eight "craft" boxes, this one is full of beading supplies. Will it be quick? (SPOILER ALERT: no.)

one of eight

Ever since I got the rainbow drawers (times two), it's been easier to sort things like the things in this box.

really not beads at all

I followed the sister's lead and made a drawer for "glue and tape things" and that lead to a drawer for "sharp things" and one for "crayon things" and so on. That system is perfect for what I am doing right now. This means I can sort first and then decide what I want to keep. The only thing these drawers can't help me do is figure out where to put these four sculpting tools, as they cannot help me become a sculptress, nor can they help me find a place for 300 red-and-pink acrylic letters, as they cannot help me curb impulse purchases at the craft store.

Which is why I made an "um, i don't know about this stuff" box.

i am nothing if not an excellent procrastinator

But the beads. So many beads.

And because I am a klutz, some sorting is in order...

...twelve hours* later...

i went from boxes like this

to organization like this

Yes! Now I'm going to have to double-time the next batch of boxes, lest I languish in craftiness forever.

*(I stopped somewhere in there to make enchiladas and fall asleep watching a movie.)

 

she's crafty, she gets around

...
(Yes, I know it's trite to quote Beastie Boys in this context, but the song gets stuck in my head every time I look at these boxes, so what are you going to do about it?)

Craft supply boxes. If the idea for this project didn't come from the need to organize and cull decades of arts-and-crafts supplies, well... it should have. Let's see how many of these craft boxes I can tackle today.

a stack

and a pile

First, let it be known that all four silkscreens are now in the same place. This has been the subject of some debate over the years, and it is now settled.

all in one place, now

I can tell from the get-go that some division is in order here. Sub-categories of craftiness, from sewing and string to pre-packaged projects to really useful tools with whereabouts previously unknown.

The pile becomes smaller piles:

old paint

paint brushes

"rubber stamp goodness"

And here I am again, asking myself the same questions I ask every time I get knee-deep into some subset of boxness: Do I need this stuff? Is it worth saving? Will I ever use it? Could someone else put it to better use?

I don't have the answers; perhaps I will once I investigate the contents of these eight (eight?!?) boxes.
 

spring clean-up begins

...
It looks worse than it is. Really.

really

The blue room is still mostly organized.

mostly

The stuff all over the dining room table is mostly beads from making necklaces for the will this knife release.

mostly

The sister did something in the den or went looking for something or something and now all my craft supplies are sort of spread throughout the house, but at least they are mostly still in boxes.

mostly

Mostly I'm looking at piles of crap that need to become stacks of crap in the blue room.

Damn it.

(drags crap down the hall. stacks crap in the blue room.)

The sister brought home a new bookshelf for me a few months ago, and it's just been hanging out on the front walk all this time. It deserves to come inside.

yes, that's the door panel to my 1997 Saturn SC2 on the left.
what's your point?

(drags bookshelf down the hall.)

(well, the sister shows up after I drag it into the house alone but not before I get it down the hall. so she comes home to "you wanna get in the house? help me with this.")

The other night, during her den-cleaning project, she also accidentally gave me two rolling drawer units, which need a home and a purpose.

(drives drawers around in circles through the house in an attempt to express love of and appreciation for them.)

now what?

Somewhere during this annoying dragging-and-driving escapade, I find something useful.

three-hole punch!

The next installment of this series will involve actual opening and cataloging of box contents, so help me god.

However, speaking of junk and spring cleaning and such: there's a RUMMAGE SALE on Saturday, June 5, 2010 at Carson City Republican HQ. The proceeds from the sale are going to help PKD and I attend the Leadership Institute's Public Relations School this fall. If you have things to donate, let me know and I will arrange to pick them up!
 

a box of busy

...
Although I have been aware of just how busy I've been, I'm a little surprised (chagrined, really) to discover that it's been more than two months since my last post. However, I have things to show for my absence; namely, this:

a box of blunderbusst

Yes, the BLUNDERBUSST album will this knife is finally finished, released, and ready for your enjoyment. 

You can listen or download for free and also order yourself one of the physical copies so lovingly reproduced by our friend J3SS at CherryBear Records.

In the process of creating and releasing this tiny masterpiece (ahem), I made several box-related messes throughout my house. Next on this list is to clean some of that up. I suspect there will be a massive giveaway of old craft supplies when that is complete...

 

grown-up reality and teenage fantasy

...
Between looking for work, attending to my many projects, and my suddenly jam-packed social schedule, I have had to admit that I can no longer work on this project daily. I had hoped to have more accomplished here before I had to reduce the frequency of the unpacking and the writing about the unpacking, but the reality of real life prevents that from happening, so I have accepted it and am moving on.

If you really need to interact with me daily, try Twitter or Facebook (or even that old dinosaur MySpace).

To reinforce my commitment to the project, however often it shall be realized, I bring you today's box:

nkotb? omg!

Yep, this is a box full of 13-year-old Jen's hopes, dreams, and possibly notes passed among classmates at Joan McQueen Middle School circa 1989. Awesome.

diving right in

Ok, right on top, there's a scrapbook:

too many projects, even as a kid

And these pictures from the only time I ever saw New Kids live:

Q-Jam '89!

the best part is the haircut of the grown man on the right

Q-Jam '89 was my first concert experience. Our seats were in row ZZ, and the openers were Seduction, Sweet Sensation, The Jets, and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. At the time, I was still terrified of the song Nightmare on My Street, with its reference to Freddie Kreuger, but I rocked the heck out to Parents Just Don't Understand. Good show.

Not everyone agreed with my assessment, though; four of the five acts (not you, Fresh Prince!) were outed for lip-syncing and bad use of taped accompaniment:

click to enlarge

Now would be a good time to mention that I'm glad I eventually found punk rock.

Before that happened, though, I also loved Corey Haim. There are posters and magazine clippings of him in this box, too. Is it possible he inspired my future punk rock self?

corey haim (circa 1989)

jen scaffidi (circa 2006)

Now here we have a letter written by The Sister on Travelodge San Antonio stationary. That means it was written during our cross-country trip to Florida, while we were stopped in San Antonio where we drove around the Alamo 50 times but never found a way to park or go inside.

(Don't worry; a few years later while living in San Antonio, I will be forced to go to the Alamo every time a band comes to town.)

During this trip, though, I think I was supposed to mail the following letter for my baby sister and I never did. Think she'll be pissed?

but only some of the songs

i thought you would like it

There's something really sweet and sad about that letter. Not as sad as Joey's middle name, though.

Moving on, in the same envelope, written in my handwriting, we find all the lyrics to my favorite NKOTB songs. And on the back of one of these pages, a to-do list:

• Write down words to songs
• Buy postcards
• Buy school clothes
• Buy school supplies

At least I had my priorities straight.

Ugh. I just reached some lower stratum of this box filled with perfume and dust. Sneezing and tuberculosis, anyone?

Among the weird stuff I've found in here:

• A Teen magazine "prom primer," full of hair and makeup tips. There's even a section on "fragrance." Oh, and don't drink and drive.
• Several copies of a survey on drug abuse, written by me. Was this a science project or something?
• A Teen Beat's 7th Annual Teen Star Awards ballot, on which I have listed "Dan Quayle" as my "fave child star." I guess even back then I was a smart-ass Republican.
• A program from Frank Zappa's 1988 Broadway the Hard Way tour, featuring my uncle Mike Keneally.
• A pin that reads I <3 Dancing.
• And an official Batman: the movie peechee-style folder, full of clippings of Corey and Corey, Neil Patrick Harris, and the (new) Mickey Mouse Club. I'm so glad I'm not 13 anymore.

Strangely, no notes from classmates. I have a memory of a box of such, and I thought that was this box. I wonder if I threw them out or if I'll find them at some point.

Among the staggering number of clippings from Bop and Wow magazines, there are some bonafide pieces of memorabilia here:

ebay, here we come!

In this collection, we have (clockwise from the top left):

Official fan club letters:

we think of you as our friend

so please buy stuff

And:

• A bumper sticker
• A sheet of stickers
• A program from the tour they were on when I saw them
• Two unauthorized biographies
• A giant button
• A BOP sticker
• Some trading cards
• And a small pile of mint-condition fan club newsletters and magazines

I had always thought this entire box would be worth something someday, but as you can see, even the Official Fan Club Newsletters are only worth something if I make a purse out of them (which I am not doing, but you can go right ahead). So it's all going in the trash, unless you speak up now.

Crap. Now I have I'll Be Loving You, Forever stuck in my head.