Scrapbooking - Hobby Or Obsession? (And a giveaway!

Ok, so I'm trying something new here. Forgive me if my first attempt at a giveaway may seem a bit "prehistoric"...Ha! Ha! But I figure, I've got to try sometime - right?

What you will win -- the lucky winner, chosen by a panel of myself, my Marine, and one other crafty pal of mine, will win a box of scrapbooking supplies! That's right! Paper, accessories, and more! Why should I go through this hobby phase alone!

How do I enter, you say? Well, my rules are simple -- read my blog post below and leave a comment about one of your hobbies gone awry. Oh yeah -- and don't forget to share with your friends!

Contest ends next Friday on 7/10 -- so plenty of time to enter!

So come on and join in the fun! Don't make me feel like I'm the only one who has a hobby store to tell! Let's hear those stories!

*********************************************************************

I'll be the first to admit it....I tend to go overboard. With a lot of things. But mostly with hobbies. When I find a new hobby, I have to buy everything...right then and there. And then I stockpile. I still have a large plastic storage bin full of cross stitch patterns that I'm not sure will ever see completion. I have drawers full of yarn waiting to be made into afghans and scarfs. I have storage boxes full of felt and foam sheets and a box full of bottles of paint waiting for craft projects with Nani & Nudge. But nothing has made me go overboard as much as the concept of scrapbooking.

I have good intentions....I truly do. I envision the pages in my mind and run out and buy all the supplies needed and reprint pictures. I get everything together....and then it sits in a box. And it sits. And it sits. And it sits. For a long time. For so long that half the time I forget what I even have in there and what I was scrapping about. I have scrapbooks started that only have a few pages done. I have a box full of memorabilia, souveniers, and pictures just waiting to be creatively displayed.

I love scrapbooking supplies. I love the colorful sheets and stickers. I love all the tools and accessories. Rows upon rows of scrapbooking nirvana. This time, I told myself, this time I'm going to follow through with a hobby. I sat down and organized all my supplies. When it was all done, I felt invigorated and inspired. I took the next step and went to a free class at a local scrapbooking store.

Let's just say, I don't think I'll go back any time soon. Don't get me wrong....there are some extremely creative women out there. And dedicated. Dedicated to the point of obsession, I believe. I walked into the room and knew that I was way beyond my league. Whereas I carried my scrapbook paper and supplies in a little totebag decorated with puppies & kittens that I got free from the ASPCA, these women were lugging roller bags that I would use to pack for a three-day weekend.

I found an open spot at the end of the table and tried to be very inconspicuous. But those scrapbooking ladies could smell virgin blood. They spied me and knew immediately that I was fresh meat and an easy target. In a matter of 15 minutes, I got the life story of each lady at that table. (Again, names have been changed to protect the innocent, but I hardly doubt these ladies follow blogs....they're much too busy getting high from the fumes of scrapbooking glue!)

M - the wife of a retired postal worker who started scrapping to save her sanity since her husband was home ALL THE TIME now. She looked like one of those ladies you'd see at bingo -- bifocals on the edge of her nose, cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth, surrounded by her lucky troll dolls.

R - the wife of an airline pilot who scraps to document her husband's travels (and the free trips she gets to take with him)

M2 - the divorced wife of a business man who started scrapping to document her husband's affair. She presented "The Infidelity Book" to her husband on their 10th wedding anniversary - complete with photos of him & his mistress and receipts that she would find. (I seriously couldn't make this up if I tried!)

T - the stay home mom who started scrapping to get a break from her kids & husband.

Still a little unsure of myself and a bit intimidated, I started to unpack my stuff. My only goal was to accomplish 4 pages of Christmas photos. The ladies "oohed" and "ahhed" over the pictures of the girls that I brought and asked me what my game plan was. Ummm...my game plan? I didn't realize scrapbooking had a game plan. I thought it was simply gluing pictures to fancy paper and using a couple stickers.

But oh no.....you've got to decide what your base paper is going to be....if you're going to layer your paper.....are you using stamps or stickers....grommets or brads....chipboard or diecut. My head was spinning and I hadn't even gotten started yet!

So, I pull out my pictures of the girls on Christmas morning and select two sheets of paper. M looked at me over her bifocals, like my old sixth grade math teacher when I got an answer wrong -- "Are you sure you want to accent that photo with THAT paper?" I could feel myself turning red and start to sweat. I seriously had a flashback to my 6th grade math class when I didn't know the answer. I took a deep breath, kept my head down and just said - yes. I could feel M's eyes boring into my forehead as she tsk'd, tsk'd my choice. T, bless her heart, stuck up for me and gave me a few very helpful suggestions. M2 and R were in their own little scrapbooking world, comparing accents and embellishments. At one point, M actually pulled out a blow dryer and started waving it over her pages. "Makes the glue dry faster....."

My goal was 4 pages...I got 1 done before I just couldn't take any more tsk-tsk'ing from M. I packed up my puppy & kitten tote bag...thanked the ladies for their scrapbooking wisdom and rushed home where I could make all the scrapbooking mistakes I wanted to in the comfort of my own home.

I didn't finish the Christmas pages, but I did manage a couple pages from Nani's first day of preschool.

I may never reach M's level of having to blow dry my pages dry, but I think that my pages aren't bad for a beginner, don't you think?

Read more...

Wordless Wednesday

Read more...

Wire Hangers or Ballet Shoes?

So, as I mentioned in my previous blog, I wasn't feeling inspired. I wasn't feeling very witty. I didn't feel the urge to write. That is, until I started to research dance schools for Nani.

My Marine and I talked about this and decided that Nani was old enough to start with some basic dance lessons. The girl loves to dance! My only thing was that if I was going to put her into dance classes, I wanted to put her into a dance school that was going to grow with her and teach her proper technique.....something I never had. Oh yeah, I took dance lessons all right, but once I got older and wanted to pursue dance even more, I was told that I had to be retaught basically everything I knew because my technique was so bad. So, I hung up the ballet slippers and put on the opanke. (For those of you not familiar - opanke is a type of dance shoe used in Eastern European folk dancing....but that my friends, is a story for another day.....)

Anyway, I wanted to start researching dance academies. Finding a good dance school is almost as competitive as putting your kid into the right preschool (grade school, high school, college, etc.) I did what any mom would do....I asked around and I got two pretty good recommendations. But tonight, just for the heck of it, I decided to do some more research on my own.

My first search came up with a well-known dance studio that I hadn't looked at before. They have three studios and have been around for close to 30 years. They have an extensive team of instructors and a strict dress code. Hmmmm.....I may have to check this one out.

But it was the next dance academy that had me really wondering......it was the "Mommie Dearest School of Dance and Charm". I seriously kid you not people....that was the actual name of the dance school. I was momentarily left speechless.

I just had visions of the dance academy's founder being an aging ballerina wandering around the dance studio wearing a white robe, cold cream on her face, hair pulled back with a 70s-style headband with a wild-eyed look on her face. She'd be holding a gin and tonic in one hand and a wire hanger in the other, smacking ballerinas on their ankles.

I can hear it now....

(My apologies to the writers and directors of the actual movie, Mommie Dearest, for changing the dialogue a bit)

"Joan" (Dance Instructor): [My Nani is practicing her plies while "Joan" urges her on] Well that's good, but you've got to push off more with your weight. Come on, let's see another one.

(Assistant Dance Instructor): She's had enough, "Joan"

Nani : But I'm tired

"Joan" (Dance Instructor): QUITTER?

The curiosity got the better of me and I read more of the academy's website. Turns out that the academy's founder did indeed at one time play Joan Crawford in some off, off, off, off broadway production. It seems that Joan Crawford was her inspiration for starting her own studio and naming it Mommie Dearest. (Out of all the dancers and actresses in the world, this one chooses Joan Crawford as her idol?) But wait -- it gets better! What follows is the actual bio of the academy's founder and leading lady. The name has been changed to protect the innocent....(snicker....)

"Joan" is the owner/operator of the Mommie Dearest School of Dance & Charm and has danced, taught, choreographed, and performed for over 30 years. As a performer, she has probably played every hooker/stripper part in Musical Theater. As a choreographer, she has choreographed a wide array of shows, from well-known musicals such as "The Music Man", "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", "Oliver", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "Guys & Dolls", and "Closer Than Ever", to more quirky performances such as The Mystery of Edwin Drood to the ever popular Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. She is proud to be presently choreographing and working with the Demented Divas at Lannie Clocktower Cabaret.

Are you kidding me??? Do I seriously want to entrust my precious, impressionable child to this school??? And did I mention that there was no mention of any "charm" classes whatsoever? I really think that's a good thing, don't you?

Now, before I get hate mail from Joan Crawford fans out there, I do recognize her as a wonderful actress in her day. Heck, she did win an Oscar - remember?

[Joan addresses the fans camped out in front of her house on Oscar night] I would rather be here with you than anywhere else in the world. You, all of you here and everywhere, gave me this award tonight. And I accept it from you and only you. I love all of you. Now please forgive me, good night.

I guess I'm back to square one..... (scratching the Mommie Dearest School of Dance & Charm off my list.....)

Read more...

Slow Going....

I have to admit - I think I have writer's block. I really haven't had the desire to write much since I got back from my trip back home. I honestly think that the momentum has temporarily left me. I just don't feel inspired or witty. I know that will change here shortly, but it's frustrating.....

So, for today, I'm going to share with you some of my favorite pictures of my beautiful hometown......

A little known fact about Pittsburgh. We're knows as the "City of Bridges" (also known as the "City of Champions" once again thanks to a Superbowl victory & Stanley Cup victory in one sports season!) Pittsburgh is only second - behind Venice, Italy - for the number of bridges it has!

View of Pittsburgh through one of the many bridges.....

The following pictures are what's left of the old steel mills not too far from my childhood home (my parent's still live there). My daddy was a steel worker - and I'm proud to say that I'm a steelworker's daughter. These pictures show all that's left of those majestic and powerful mills -- mills that produced steel to build America. Now, apartments, shopping centers, and restaurants stand on that ground. It makes me a little sad to see that part of history now resorted to a picnic/tourist spot along the river.

The pictures are of the actual mill that my daddy worked at.

Stay tuned for more pictures and stories about our trip!

Read more...