Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Horror Monster - My Beloved Craft Stash


 I affectionately call my craft stash Horror Monster.  He creeps and crawls to every nook and cranny in the house.  He sneaks under beds, into the closets, and behind the doors.  He is quite literally everywhere.  He thinks he is too tough to tame, but I am arming myself to do battle with him.  He will be reduced, recycled and reused!







 Remember back in the fall when bloggers were triple-dog swearing they would create amazing craft rooms and reduce the clutter of craft supplies?  Well, I swore I would do it.

This is the evidence.  I did organize a portion of the stash into neatly labeled see-through bins.

The dining room, living room, and den were clutter-free for the Christmas season.  

They have for the most part remained that way.  Though I would shiver in my boots if someone wanted a photo of the dining table this minute.





I found cute shelves and chippy white cabinets.  I added wire baskets and hat boxes.  

But all the bins, boxes, cabinets, shelves, and dressers could not contain Horror Monster.










 He seemed to need almost daily feedings.  I had to travel to Hobby Lobby, Habitat, Goodwill, and other thrift shops.

Horror Monster demanded my presence at flea markets and estate sales.

He grew by leaps and bounds.

Like Seymour, he kept yelling, "FEED ME!"



(No, that closet door will not shut.  Not because it is too full, but because I cannot get to it!)


I am so ashamed.  I am red from embarrassment.  I am exhausted from feeding this monster.

And yet, I went to another estate sale just today.

Help me. Help me.




 This is Little Imp - once my granny's bathroom cabinet.  

It all started here.  

At one time all my craft supplies and various other sundries fit into this one cabinet.

Period.

She is appalled at the piles that surround her.

She keeps her drawers and doors tightly shut against invasive craft projects.

 Christmas wrapping supplies that I forgot to put away until I saw this photo.

Fall baskets and gourds just stacked on the floor.

I haven't a clue what is in the bottom bin.





Bags of vintage linens needing laundering and ironing.

Needing someone to love and care for them.



Is there any reason for keeping a box full of German newspapers?

My Frozen Charlottes come from Germany in these boxes.  I kept the stamps and the packing.




My house was built in 1950 and has five inches of empty space behind the doors.  Well, actually, there is not five inches of empty space behind my doors because I use it for storing boards, cardboard and frames.


This is the pantry - also the hallway from the skinny L-shaped kitchen to the rest of the house.

The stack of toolboxes are neatly organized with tags detailing their contents.

The paint is just stacked there.  Behind the pantry doors?

More paint, tools, and hardware. 













Since this is officially a junk in the trunk link party, I did take photos of the back of my 1996 S-10 Blazer who I love dearly.  She carries her loads gracefully.

I usually do not come back from shopping with this much space left, but I have spent my budget for March way back on March 2.

Most of this stuff has been cleaned and taken to the booth.
The green blanket is my blankie from when I was two years old.  I have never been without it.  It does not have a name - never has.  It went to college with me, to my first apartment, to my first house, and then to live with my husband Chucks.  He refused to have it on the bed so it was relegated to be a packing blanket.  It has been in every car I have owned.  It has been on every beach vacation.

The blue crate stays in the car with tools to take something apart (or put it back together) and supplies for the booth.

I hope Horror Monster has not given anyone the heebie-jeebies.  Please do not have nightmares about him.  He is quite docile until he wants to be fed.  I hope he is not looking over my shoulder because I have been looking at Rachel Ashwell's Prairie Style.  I have decided maybe I will head off in that decorating direction.  If I do, Horror Monster will have to live in one room.  Yes, that is correct.  I will only allow him in ONE room.

This post has turned out not to be tongue-in-cheek, but a shove-in-the-back!

Begone, Horror Monster!  Go West, Distressed Donna!

See y'all!



I will be joining the fun at the Tongue-In-Cheek link party on Tuesday. See the details over at Silo Hill with Danni. Link Here!





Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage

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craftionaryIt's Overflowing

30 comments:

  1. Whew! You are so creative even when talking about what I call embarrassing stuff. I'm bookmarking this to show to my husband who sometimes asks me about where I'm gonna put the stuff I collect and make!

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  2. You know what? You remind me of me! Thanks for linking up!!

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  3. Holy Craft Cave Batgirl! Seeing all your stuff makes me think I am severely under stocked in supplies, but you know once you have that organized you can find everything. At least that's what I hear tell.

    Bliss

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  4. You are one awesome woman! Battling that Horror Monster head on! (Maybe you need Mel's hot pink boots!!) Daily feedings..crack me up! Don't you dare send that Horror Monster west!! You are so funny! I remember when all of my craft stuff fit in one armoir too! *sigh*. Thank for linking up girl!

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  5. What a delightful space! Just BURSTING at the seams with creative opportunities!!! Only the truly enlightened can see all the possibilities in there......drugs help too.

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  6. Daily Feedings LMAO.!!!!!!!!!! It's all supply and demand right Donna ( well you actually have the supply part down pat lol )
    Thanks so much for linking up!
    Big hugs,
    Suzan

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  7. To me, it looks like a big collection of cool stuff. Little Imp is an awesome cupboard.

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  8. lol poor monster...feed him, Donna! How do you know what is what, how do you find what you want? I love your chippy chair holding the box of newspaper, and that cupboard...gorgeous!
    Debbie :)

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  9. So you are taking the monster to obedience school? He's a character, even if he is growing out of control. I love his many forms and I can only imagine how much creative possibility there is in every nook and cranny of your home. Thanks for your fun story and for baring your monster. I love it!
    Liz

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  10. Lol little shop of horrors reference love that movie.

    You just don't see rooms like this on Pinterest and let's be honest that what all our craft areas look like! Love this post thanks for sharing xo

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  11. Isn't it crazy how quickly craft rooms get out of control? My husband just helped me organize mine this past weekend...it is still far from being share-worthy, but better than it was. Good luck!

    ~Trisha

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  12. My craft room has spilled out into the hallway and looked pretty close to what your's does. I just started working my way through it and it's amazing the stuff I forgot I had!

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  13. LOL I think we all have a sewing room that looks like that.

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  14. Ooops, meant to add, thanks for stopping by my blog. :) Take care.

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  15. That was a very brave and honest post. It made me feel better about my own garage which is in the same state!

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  16. Oh. You have made my day. I love looking at all of the blogs with the perfect rooms in the perfect house. Actually I waste too much time doing that and not doing anything to cross something off my lists. Anyway, they also make me feel like a hoarder/sloth. I appreciate seeing a real lived in house and someone with a room like my crap room (and garage, and basement, and shed. Thanks for showing your dirty little secret. That's what I feel like my junk areas are. I appreciate your sharing!!!

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  17. Oh Donna, you're my hero. What a brave woman you are to take on such a hungry Monster! I know you can beat it back!!! One day future generations of bloggers will be telling the tale far and wide of Donna and the Monster, a modern day David and Goliath. You might need more than a sling shot though. Maybe Mels's pink boots would be to the Monster what daylight is to a vampire. It's worth a try!

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  18. Morning Donna, wow, I am impressed. All the possibilities that reside in your room and hallway. I feel the main key here is: you search, you find, you create, you pass it on. I also agree with a lot of the above comments, you are showing us what some 'real women' have behind their creativity. Stashes, stashes and stashes! Thanks Brave Donna for sharing with us. Blessings and smiles, Emilou :-)

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  19. So funny! I have a few closets that look like that! Sometimes it's so hard to throw things away!
    -Shelley

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  20. I feel your pain. I moved the sewing/craft stuff to a bigger room with beautiful cube storage and a big closet only to find that less than two years later, I've managed to crowd that one, too. I have a goal of using up at least half the fabric, though, before I buy anymore. Wish me luck!

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  21. I think I have your monster's long lost twin! seriously. To make matters worse, my hubby also has a monster that requires pole buildings and garages as feeding dishes. I keep trying to put mine on a junk free diet by putting the junk in hiding places, but he tricks me into stopping by his favorite junk food shops and he knows I'm weak & can't say no every time. So in comes more junk. He's even tricked my dad into feeding his cravings with wood furniture! I keep hoping for a purge soon from all his binge eating.

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  22. I feel your pain. My 'horror monster' is in all the rooms as well. In some, he is more hidden than others. It is hard to tame it, for sure. I applaud you for acknowledging it and pursuing to get him in one room. I need to do the same thing. Thanks for sharing!
    Blessings,
    Nici

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  23. Hey that monsters evil twin lives at my house too LOL. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  24. Hi Donna ... Yes, collecting can become a "Monster" and hard to get under control, especially if you have a place to sell. We all know that an interesting inventory is necessary to keep customers coming back. You do such a great job of making things interesting. I am sorting, downsizing and cleaning and I think the twin to your Monster has been visiting me. I'm finding stuff I forgot I had and that is just in the garage. Good luck in controlling your Monster. Thanks for sharing.
    Blessings,
    Audrey Z.@ Timeless Treasures

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  25. Hi Donna, do you know if these monsters breed fast? Because I though I had one, now I think I have six! One in each room of my townhouse. It's like I go to straighten up a room and by the end of the day one of these monsters has come and filled it up again. Dang those monsters!!! but they're so cute and really fun to keep around:)

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  26. Loved reading your post! I feel so much better knowing I'm not the only one battling the stash monsters. Hey, you never know when you might need that one stray button or leftover cardboard.

    Doreen
    Altered-artworks.blogspot.com

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  27. I have a few of those...hoping to jump in to spring cleaning mode soon to beat those ole' monsters down! Bet you have lots of treasures in there... :)
    Thanks so much for visiting!!!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  28. Isn't it funny that so many of us house a monster like this? I must say that mine is not allowed in the house, although it does try to break down the garage door. I've tried putting it on a diet, but that hasn't been working. Cute post and I love those tackle boxes:-)

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  29. Hey just wondering what plans you have for the vintage linens. I, too am glad I'm not alone. I quilt, scrapbook, crochet, make pin-beaded christmas ornaments,love books and magazines, etc....I have overflow too, lol.
    Nancy
    skysnaina5@gmail.com

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  30. That was a very brave post; honestly don't real ppl call it HOARDING!

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I enjoy reading all of your comments and will always answer with email. I will try to track you down if you show up as a "no reply" commenter to let you know. Friends are like that!