I waited until the last possible moment to start cleaning the kitchen (for the shower party), and while I was cleaning the side of the knife holder I sliced open the knuckle of my middle finger. Clearly I have no depth perception. I will spare my readers any gruesome pics of that. It probably could use a couple of stitches, but I dosed it with rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide and bandaged it tightly so it would stop bleeding.
And it did. I got the kitchen clean. And because I could only use one hand, it took a very long time. It was after 9 pm before I got around to beginning cleaning up my studio.
Before I expose the shocking state of my workspace, let me show off what it looked like a few months ago, pristine, organized, clean ....
I think not.
In no time at all, it looked like this: (scroll down) Excuse me while I blush a bit. It's quite messy, but from what I gather many artists studios are in much the same condition. Most of us are not Martha Stewards, we only aspire that level of wonderful.
For the record, I do prefer it clean rather than messy. And even though at the moment my finger is covered with a bandaid, I can't bear to leave it in this current state. I am going to get in there and clean because who knows who might want to peek their head into my studio and see my workspace tomorrow at the baby shower?
By the way, the new baby's name is going to be Caleb, and of course he is going to be adorable, even if he's red, wrinkly, and has a squished nose, he will be the most beautiful baby ever, except for his big sister of course, who is tops in my estimation.
I suppose I'm having a clumsy sort of evening. This is why all things worth doing ought to be done after the morning coffee and before the afternoon weariness sets in, but actually I am not tired tonight. I have lots of energy (for once).
The baby shower in the morning is going to be quite small, less than 10. Since this is the second baby, she is only lacking in baby boy clothes.
Rather than have the party games, I decided to serve beautiful food and let the conversation flow. We have some Greek pasta salad, and I found a lovely wedge of blueberry cheddar cheese at the fancy grocery store. Can you imagine? Putting blueberries in cheese? I bought some gourmet crackers for that, oh, and some hummus too. I will also be serving fresh fruit. I had a really neat idea about cutting the fruit into flowers and had watched a video on you tube about that. It was fun to watch and after we got home from the grocery store, I tried to make a strawberry look like a flower. Instead it was a mangled mess and I tossed it into a Ziplock bag for the hens to eat tomorrow. Here's the video though. Looks easy, huh? Well, it's not!
So at about 10:20 pm I went back into my studio and decided to give it to the top of the hour.
It only took about 10-15 minutes to whip it into shape. I haven't addressed the shelves, that's for another day. I have my unfinished/to be finished projects on the extra table in front of the bench. But I now have plenty of room to stretch out and for that I shout out a happy THANK YOU to our hostess, Sharyl!
Oh, one last thing .... have some calorie free Shower cake .... YUM!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Participant List:
Host: Sharyl McMillian-Nelson
… http://sharylsjewelry.blogspot.com
Donna Millard http://fyrebeadz.blogspot.com/
Beda Hendrix ... https://www.facebook.com/SasijuhlsThings
Ann Schroeder… http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com
Pamela Rachelle… http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com
Kristin L Oppold… http://www.yayjewelry.blogspot.com
Heidi Kingman ... http://heidikingman.blogspot.com
Andi ... http://strungoutjewelry.blogspot.com/
Patricia Buchanan Click “Blog” on the menu bar at
http://www.braceletstoo.artfire.com
Helen Simon… http://helensharvest.com/
Kashmira … http://sadafulee.blogspot.com/
somethingunique ... http://somethinguniquebylana.blogspot.ca/
Renetha ... http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com
Kathy Lindemer ... http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com
Swapna Dinesh … http://www.swardaa.com
Linda Landig ... http://lindalandig.wordpress.com/
Ann Schroeder ... http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com/
Beti Horvath ... http://stringingfool.blogspot.com/
Sam S ... http://samsbeadshopandjewelry.blogspot.com/
Christina Miles ... http://wingsnscales.blogspot.com/
Islandgirl ... http://islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.ca/
macmillanmarie ... http://www.macmillanmarie.blogspot.com
Emma Todd … http://www.apolymerpenchant.com
Neena Shilvock …
http://www.capriliciousjewellery.com/3/post/2014/02/neither-ship-shape-nor-bristol-fashion.html
Dee Clark… http://biz-e-bead.blogspot.com/
motidana ... http://kalaabhushan.blogspot.com/
Here Bead Dragons ... http://beaddragons.blogspot.com/
Carol D. ... http://dillmansdallies.blogspot.com/
Pam Sears ... http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Nan Smith ... http://wirednan.blogspot.ca
AliMc ... http://northwoodscreativestudio.blogspot.com
Kari Asbury ... http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com
Shirley Moore ... http://www.beadsandbread.blogspot.com
PyxeeStyx ... http://travelingsideshow.blogspot.com/
Jayne Capps … https://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com
Louann Elwell
... https://plus.google.com/117746558861718110652/posts
Rain ... http://honeyandollie.com/
Lori Bergmann ... http://www.LoriBergmann.blogspot.com
Helen Simon… http://helensharvest.blogspot.com/
Arlene Dean ... http://aglassbash.blogspot.com
Sandra... http://city-of-brass-stories.blogspot.de/
Alicia ... http://www.allprettythings.ca
Natalie Pappas ... http://blog.nkpdesigns.com/
Oh my goodness! If there was a prize for "adventures in cleaning," you would surely win it! Hope all your wounds heal quickly and you are feeling refreshed and well in time for the shower! Sorry for the stress and accidents incurred during this event. (I think I will write a disclaimer with any future blog hops I host! "Not responsible for...") I appreciate your enthusiasm and comedic blog post! And the treats look mighty yummy too! Thanks so much, Natalie! Have a fun Saturday! --Sharyl
ReplyDeleteLol! The toe is better. It's bruised as all get all, but it doesn't actually hurt. It looks worse than it feels. I am very lucky! Here's the thing about knife holders ... the knife MUST be wedged all the way down so the sharp edge is not hanging out. This is the second time I've injured myself. I am ditching it and getting a better one.
DeleteWow, you made a lot of progress though it was late and you were injured. What a beautiful wooden work bench. Love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I got the bench on sale from Harbor Freight. The bottom of the drawers all need to be glued in or something because they keep moving, or maybe I need to move my hammers to some other location.
DeleteOk, had to watch the video...and I'm gonna say, 'It's all about the tools baby!' I think she had a green strawberry, which would be very firm, and a specialty knife. And most Oriental folks I've seen have stunning abilities with tiny crafts...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I love your studio, and what comes out of it. And I think it's totally sneaky of you to have all those etsy listings on the side where they kept distracting me! Hope you didn't break the toe, I would so have been crying over that.
Have a great time at the shower, and let us know how that blueberry cheese tastes.
So true, Shirley. My knife was definitely too big and the strawberry too ripe. The blueberry cheese tasted like blueberry yogurt, if the yogurt was solidified. It was super good! Thanks!
DeleteThanks for the entertaining blog post. Sounds like my hubby who can not complete any project without a little blood shed. Love the wooden workbench and no, you can not have too much workspace.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had four tables to work on! Well, I kinda do, there's the kitchen table AND the temporary table I will set up in front of the television. Mostly I try to keep it all in the studio, which is why the tables get so messy. When I clean off the kitchen table or the one I use in front of the tv, I dump it on the two studio tables. I'm going to try not to do that anymore. We'll see. lol ...
DeleteOh dear, you did have to suffer for the cleanliness didn't you. Oh well, I'm sure the fun of the shower and the enjoyment of such a tidy space with help sooth. Great work!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm looking forward to messing it up again. :)
DeleteOh, no! So sorry to hear about all your injuries and hope that all heal up quickly! I would feel sorry for you, except for the fact that you kept throwing pics of all those goodies in our faces—made me want to run to the pantry instead of finishing up my own work!? LOL Good luck on the rest of the clean up and if you have time, please send me a slice of that cake, k? *Ü*
ReplyDeleteI ate two pieces of that cake. It was yummy. But now it is going to stay with me for a few weeks on my hips and thighs, lol!
DeleteOuch! And ouch, again!! I loved your post and am in awe of all those goodies on the shelves. There is no way you could have smaller work spaces when you have all that stuff screaming to come out to play. And you should get an award for multi-tasking between kitchen/shower prep and studio clean-up!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the award nomination. I should have tackled it earlier in the week rather than waiting until the last minute. Wouldn't you know it, not one person asked to see my studio. I can hear all those fun tools taunting me right now, "Come use me Come use me" ... well, if I must, I must. :)
DeleteWhat a beautiful new workbench you have! That would sure give me inspiration to get out there and be busy. Sorry for the bumps and bruises. Hoping the shower went well, love the calorie free cake!
ReplyDeleteThank you! The shower was a lot of fun! I wish the cake was calorie free for me, though. :) I sent the leftover cake home with my daughter. Now I'm thinking about how nice a piece would be along with my morning coffee. It's a good thing I sent/banished that cake from my house. ha ha
DeleteNatalie your cleaned studio looks wonderful. Good job.
ReplyDeleteThank you! So far it is still clean. Yay!
Delete