My Creative Commitments

What is your job status?

     O  Employed full time 

     O  Employed part time

     O  Unemployed 

     O  Homemaker

     O  Student

It seems like a simple enough question, right?  Yet I always struggle with what to answer. (I'm on a number of consumer survey panels and just about every survey starts this way.)  I do not work full-time.  I am not unemployed.  I am not a student.  That leaves two choices.

First and foremost, I consider myself a stay-at-home mom.  My main job is taking care of Trevor, which currently includes volunteering in his classroom, serving on School Site Council, taking a leadership role with Cub Scouts, and managing homework and extra-curricular activities.  I do the cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, and bill-paying for the household.  

But checking 'homemaker' means not acknowledging the other work that takes a significant part of my time.  Let me share my creative commitments in a typical month:


Scrapjazz Contributer
I write 1-3 articles per month for Scrapjazz.com.  The topics are assigned to me and I typically have to make at least one project (often more) to feature in my article.  (Here's more about my job and a link to my first published article.)

Contributing Artist at Ideas for Scrapbookers

I write 2-3 blog posts a month for Ideas for Scrapbookers.  I submit projects to most of the weekly Designer Showcase posts. 

Flamingo Scraps Design Team
I make projects using products from the Flamingo Scraps store, then write several posts a month for their blog.

The Scrapping Stamper Sketch Design Team
I complete one project a month using a sketch from The Scrapping Stamper.

Macaroni Kid Contributor
I design one kids craft a month, which is featured in our local Macaroni Kid newsletter.

Scrap for Hire

I have one Scrap-for-Hire client.  I'm waiting for her to send me more photos to scrap.  When I do get pictures from her, I aim to have the pages completed within two weeks.

......

So what do you think?  Do I work part-time or am I a 'homemaker'?  How many hours a week does one have to work for something to be considered part-time work?  Is it part-time work if a person only spends a few hours a month on each of five different jobs?  What about the fact that some of these jobs pay in product rather than cash- does that make a difference?  What about the money I make doing the very surveys that ask me whether or not I work?  It's all so confusing!

I should add- blogging five days a week is a part-time job in itself.  Except for that I don't get paid to do it.  Blogging is absolutely a labor of love.  Maybe I should start checking the box that I'm employed part-time...  I'm certainly busy enough!  

Disney Name Wall Hanging

Anyone remember the Disney name art I made?  I used Picasa to create collages from photos I took at Disneyland and California Adventure, printed them out, mounted them on cardstock, added grommets, and gave everyone in my family.  (You can see the completed projects here.)  Everyone brought their name art to Disneyland and had a great time trying to find the letters in their names.  I was happy to see that the name art held up really well.  Since then, I've made Disney name art for aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends.  It's such a fun and unique gift for any Disney fan.  

Recently, I used my name art for another purpose.  This is now hanging in our dining room:

 

What do you think?!

TIme For Some Halloween Planning...

I am a planner.  The earlier, the better.  I hate waiting until the last minute for anything, therefore I tell Trevor that he has to be 100% committed to a Halloween costume in August.  (Frankly, my sewing skills are so poor that I should give myself even more than 2 months....)  Fortunately, Trevor is a planner too.  He comes up with his costume design early and sticks with it, thank goodness.

Last year, Trevor dressed up as a knight.  It took me a ridiculously long time to make his costume (here's a close-up of his chainmail), but he was absolutely THRILLED with how it turned out.  

Before that, he has been a bee (age 4), blue crayon (age 3), tiger (age 2), Mickey Mouse (age 1) and Santa (4 months).  You can see pictures here.

This year, Trevor has decided he wants to be a zookeeper.  I was thrilled, as I realized I could get away with assembling a khaki pants/shirt outfit rather than having to sew something.  Trevor has one of those stuffed monkeys with the long arms that wrap around your body.  A friend gave us the zookeeper hat from her dress-up box.  I'll need to find/make a belt and some ZOO patches and he should be set.

So the next decision is how Steve and I should dress.  Over the years, we've dressed to compliment Trevor's theme.  Last year, Steve was a king and I was a princess:  

Steve is a great sport and will wear whatever I tell him to wear, so it's just a matter of deciding what direction I want to go with this.  Should we be zoo animals or should I take the easy route and have us dress as tourists at the zoo?  Is there another option I'm not thinking of?  I'll have to dig out the costume box and see what goodies are in there.  Steve and I have both dressed as cats before (when Trevor was a tiger), so maybe I can reuse those outfits...  Any thoughts or suggestions?

Ask Cindy: Scraproom Tour, Part Two

Yesterday I shared some pictures of my scraproom. I am generally very happy with the organization and layout of my scraproom. The closet in my scraproom ... not so much.  

Here's the view looking in:

I know that I don't use the space in the closet as effectively as I could. The upper shelves aren't bad - I store fabric, flower arranging stuff, and other materials that I hardly ever use on the upper shelf that I can't reach. The second shelf holds my markers, Mod Podge and other specialty adhesives, brayers, and other items I use occasionally.

The lower shelves hold a hodge-podge of items: completed cards are in a tub, ribbons have their own tubs, there are rolls and sheets of contact paper, a bunch of paints, a travel iron (that I use for embossing), and a wide assortment of other craft stuff.    

As you look to the right, it's more of the same. The items are fairly well-organized, but not grouped or stacked as effectively as they could be. It's very tempting to take everything out of the closet and put it back in a more organized manner, but I'm not going to tackle that until I'm caught up with deadlines and have a large block of uninterrupted time.

I hang stuff behind the closet door. I have a clipboards, craft mats, tissue paper, an extension cord, and several of the pocket charts I used to use in my classroom.

So that's the tour! Hope you enjoyed it.  

Ask Cindy: Scraproom Tour

As someone who crafts every single day, I hear the same two questions over and over. First: "How do find time to do so much crafting?" (Here's how I 'find' time.) The second question: "What do you use as your scrap space?"  

I have a dedicated scraproom. We have a 4 bedroom house: Steve and I share the master bedroom, Trevor has a bedroom, Steve has an office, and I have a scraproom. My computer/office area is on a desk in the hallway. It is far more important to me to have a private scrap area than a private office area. I know for a fact that I would not do as much crafting as I do if I didn't have dedicated space. I'm able to leave a work-in-progress where no one will disturb it. (Neither Steve nor Trevor enter my scraproom without permission... which makes it a handy place to store presents for them as well!)  

The last time I did a thorough scraproom cleaning, I took some pictures. Here's the view of my paper storage, one of two work surfaces, and one of two pegboards.

The dresser was my old childhood dresser, which I reinforced, stripped and painted white. I added the silver hardware. The drawers hold: punches, ink pads, acrylic stamps, cross-stitch supplies (which I haven't used in eons), extra adhesives, gift bags, gift wrap, tissue paper, ribbons, and bows.  

Across the top of the dresser, I have stackable paper trays (five high, four stacks across). The two stacks on the left hold cardstock, divided by color. The two stacks on the right hold loose sheets of patterned paper. Some are organized by color and others by manufacturer. The rest of my patterned paper is stored in 12x12 plastic envelopes, which I stack on a shelf.  

You can see my childhood desk under the pegboard. It is usually piled high with pages that need scanning, or supplies that need to be put away. I tuck gifts that need wrapping under the desk.   

Directly across from the dresser is my main work table and my main pegboard. Steve framed and installed my two pegboards. I love them! I can fit so many supplies on the pegboard, and it is great how easy it is to move things around as I get new stuff.  

I tape Design Team assignments to the bottom of the pegboard. (You can see three sketch assignments in this picture.)  

Perhaps the best part of my scraproom is the shelving that Steve built to fit behind the door. The shelves are 2.5 inches deep, which is perfect for storing rubber stamps, mists, embossing powders, inks, and border punches. The entire structure is 5 ft. tall by 25 inches wide. The heights of the shelves vary from 2.25 inches to 6 inches. I absolutely love it. What was once wasted space now is now a wonderful storage solution.

Stay tuned for Part Two tomorrow!