Juggling, Family Reunions, and more...

I'm a master at juggling...trying to get everything done in a timely manner, staying on top of deadlines, and always missing a few. Sort of like a juggler who keeps all those balls up in the air and then one drops to the ground. That's me. I'm asked to do so many things and every once in a while, one slips past me. Can't be helped. I do what I can.

Just now my top priority is to finish my kits for Stampfest which is next weekend. I'm not there yet, but I continue to plod along.

Last night I went to bed about 10:30pm and slept great til 1:40am. Once awake I kept thinking of all the things still to be done and within minutes I knew I'd never go back to sleep. Picture me creeping along in the dark, past the puppies in the living room, up the stairs and into the studio. Nearly killed myself coming back down in the dark of night. Thought by the feel of the bottom step that surely I'd reach the floor. Wrong. Seriously, I very nearly broke my neck. Now wouldn't that have been something!?

So by the time I made it back to the bedroom I was very nearly wide awake. But you know me, sleep is never far off when I'm exhausted. I spent 2 hours sorting through clip art, old photos & postcards, looking for more ephemera to pack into my kits. I should have my head examined, but I just can't help myself. If a little is good and a lot is great, then surely too much is gonna be fabulous!!

This weekend we went to a family reunion for my mother's side of the family. The crowd is far smaller than in years past, but still, so many Crockers under one roof...remarkable. And the really remarkable part was that I recognized lots of faces even if I didn't remember all their names.

Mother was the only one who fried chicken, though someone stopped by a barbecue place and picked some up, along with barbecue, slaw & boiled potatoes. Not the same as homemade, let me tell you. She also baked a strawberry cake, a coconut cake, a banana pudding, a chocolate pie, a lemon pie, several vegetables, deviled eggs and made 2 gallons of lemonade.

So we're eating lunch and I see that she's got someone else's coconut cake on her dessert plate. What in the world? She says she can eat her own cooking any time. True enough, but why stray from the best?

The main thing I noticed were that all the small toddlers and little kids were girls. How about that? And twins everywhere, from each generation. Little old ladies in their 80's, still dressing alike, and 5 year olds in matching outfits as well. Too cute.

And thinking of twins makes me think about the twinchies we're swapping at stamp club on Thursday night. So yes, last night I began work on mine. (Technically it was today since it was around 2:30am, but you know what I mean.)

I began with an 11" x 17" sheet of white cardstock and proceeded to play with inks and paints, stamps & stencils, dabbers and more, making one of my trademark "motherboards". But no saving it to make copies this time. Instead I cut half of it into 2"x 2" squares. And then I started opening drawers, trying different stamp images with black ink. The big butterfly stamp from JudiKins didn't give me the look I wanted. The lace from Old Town Crafts was much better. But my favorite was a botanical stamp and in the bright light of day I can't remember whose it is, so don't ask til Thursday night. I also stamped a few with Oriental images that I liked a lot and can't wait to begin the embellishing.

The backgrounds were so pretty I hated to cover them up with stamped images, but I did it anyway. And now I'm adding clip art and postage stamps, buttons, wire & seed beads. I have no real plan for the finished pieces; instead I'm going where the art takes me.

And isn't that always the best? Letting creativity lead you in new directions, pulling from my various stashes of ephemera to make some truly one-of-a-kind art...that's my favorite play time.

I'm having a sinking spell now, wishing I'd slept through the night, but I can't say that I regret my play time. No sirree. In fact, I wish I'd had more! Maybe the next time I can't sleep I'll try counting all the desserts at the reunion instead of ticking off tasks yet to do. Of course that will probably make me hungry rather than sleepy.

Wish me luck with that.