LMac's Catered Crops

Another Ikea Makeover

And now for the big reveal of the new Crop Crib. But first, a little explanation.

We purchased this humongous Ikea Pax/Komplement wardrobe for daughter Caitlin for her loft apartment in Dallas.

It worked perfectly for her in her loft, but when she moved to a more traditional apartment, she could only get one of the three big components to fit. These suckers are over 7-1/2 feet tall and 24 inches deep. So, I graciously volunteered (commandeered) her cabinets for my craft supplies. Check it out.

At first I thought the pants hangers would have to come down, but turns out they work great for ribbon storage.

Those deep drawers are great for storing punches, embellishments, tools, and paper:

I wouldn't have purchased the wardrobes for the Crop Crib, but now that I have them I love 'em. Since I have a rule that I can't buy more than I can store, you know what these big cabinets mean . . . More Stamps!

 

She's Published

You know what's even more fun than being published? Seeing your daughter in print!

Check it out! Caitlin turned this old Ikea coffee table:

 Into this:

 And her new table got published on this site: Design Sponge, which, by the way, looks like a freaky cool site. Caitlin has absolutely no inhibitions when it comes to creative endeavors - she's my inspiration!

Albert Einstein Life Lessons

If A is a success in life,
then A equals x plus y plus z.
Work is x; y is play;
and z is keeping your mouth shut.
                     - Albert Einstein

What a genius that Mr. Einstein was!

I've been working a little too much, playing a little too little, but, at least where the Catered Crop blog is concerned, I've definitely been quiet. I don't think that's what Mr. Einstein had in mind, though.

I've been busy gallivanting around Central Texas inspecting nursing homes. May and June were just brutal. But, I brought my trusty lap top with me and I've been working on my new blog site. It still needs a little behind-the-scenes work, but I'm finally ready to share it with you. Please go check it out and let me know what you think. It's at http://cateredcrop.com.

I'll still be posting to this site and the new site for a while, but if you subscribe through a reader or e-mail, please be sure to subscribe to the new site.

Ooo, and I've been remodeling my craft room during the few days I've been home, so I'm anxious to show that to you. Hang with me . . . it's coming.

Extreme Makeover - Catered Crop Edition

After playing with this blog for 2-1/2 years I think I finally found some graphics that represent the spirit of Catered Crop. So - even without the help of Ty Pennington and his crew - Bus Driver - MOVE THAT BUS. 

I know, no tears - it's not all that dramatic. 

Now, really, in my mind's eye, this is just the beginning. Hang on tight with me, because my goal is to migrate this blog into a WordPress.org website/blog so I can customize it even more to grow with my Stampin' Up! organization. Well, it's a goal anyway. I have to find a place to host my site and I'm just learning WordPress. I even bought a book, "WordPress for Dummies." If any of you have created a WordPress.org site, boy, I'd sure like to hear from you. 

Sneak Peak - Pool Side

Shew - In the past two weeks I've hopped from hotel to hotel, partly for work and partly for our family reunion/vacation. Like my Dad used to say, we're like cows heading for the barn. One more night in Dallas visiting our daughter, Caitlin, and then I get to sleep in my own comfy bed. 

This is a card I made a couple of weeks ago, but just haven't been able to get it posted. After all our travels these past weeks, it seemed appropriate to shoot it in front of the pool.

This is a revival of this card, and a CASE of this card at Crafty Girl Designs. I'm freakin' loving this new Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series paper and the new colors. Since all these colors are new, I don't have buttons to match them, yet. No problem - I made my own button. 

1. Cut out a 1" x 1" square of the designer paper.
2. Dab some Crystal Effects on the square paper.  
3. Lay one of our Clear Buttons on top of the paper. 
4. After the Crystal Effects dries a little, use a large needle or paper piercing tool to make the button holes. 
5. Thread our linen thread through the button holes to tie the button to the ribbon. 

Oooo, and if you haven't heard, I have VERY exciting news for you. Our new catalog will have a package of markers in the new in-colors. So, to stamp the sentiment, I was able to use the markers to color right onto the stamp. 

Here's the rest of the recipe.

Stamp Sets: Scene in a Garden (113246) and Smarty Pants (115070)
Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry cardstock available July 1; Whisper White (100730) cardstock
Ink: Soft Suede and Melon Mambo Stampin' Write Markers
Etc.: Clear Buttons (115447), Linen Tread (104199), Soft Suede Polka Dot 1/2" Grosgrain Ribbon (111372), Stamp-a-ma-jig (101149), and Crystal Effects (101055).

Our clear buttons come in a package of 3 each of 3 sizes: 3/4" circle, 1" circle, and 1" square. You can dress them up by applying Rub-On images, stamping on them with craft ink or, like I did, by attaching a cut-out shape to the button.

Don't Look Ethel! - Sneak Peak

Once again, your action news reporter in the booth at the gym,
covering the disturbance at the basketball playoff.
Pardon me, sir, did you see what happened?

(Witness): Yeah, I did. Half time,

I's just goin' down thar to get Ethel a snow cone.

And here he come, right out of the cheap seats,

dribbling, right down the middle of the court.

Didn't have on nothing but his PF's.

Made a hook shot and got out through the concessions stand.

I hollered up at Ethel, I said, "Don't look, Ethel!"

But it was too late. She'd already got a free shot.

Grandstandin', right there in front of the home team.

Hee Hee, for those of you old enough to remember, that's Ray Steven's, The Streak. My Dad loved that song. If someone was walking around with too much skin showing, he'd yell - Don't Look Ethel! Still makes me giggle.

If you don't want to see some of the newest products in the Stampin' Up! catalog, you may want to shield your eyes. Don't look! For everyone else, I caution you . . . this card uses a paper and the new in-colors you can't buy until July 1 if you're not a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. This may be more of a tease than that streaker!

When I saw the first sneak peek of this new designer paper, Raspberry Lemonade, I wasn't sure I'd like these color combinations. But, oh dear, I'm loving these jewel tones and that distressed Basic Grey style.

My new sneak-peak stamps are still being shipped, so I combined this paper with my still-favorite mini catalog set, Scene in a Garden. Unfortunately, this set didn't make it into the new catalog, so it will go away at the end of this month. The rest of the recipe includes two of the newest colors, Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo - as yummy as the names sound!

Stamp Set: Scene from a Garden (113246) and Sanded (109294)
Paper: Raspberry Lemonade, Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo cardstock, available 7/1/09.

Ink: Staz-on, Chocolate Chip marker (using aqua painters to apply)
Etc.: Basic Jumbo Grommets (114348), Build a Brad, non-Stampin-up Flower Soft.

Pillow Does Her Part

I never thought I'd use the words fun and Alzheimers in the same sentence, but I'm having so much fun taking part in the challenges and free downloads at the Stamp Out Alzheimers site (more info here). Jen Tapler and Suzanna Boyd have done such an amazing job creating "pay to play" virtual papercrafting event to benefit the Alzheimer's Association. So far they've raised over $5,400.

Of course, Pillow wanted to do her part to stamp out this horrific disease. So, here's a digital scrapbooking page I made to participate in one of the challenges. It uses a free download provided for the event from designer Libby Weifenbach called Flip Flop Tan. 

Pillow's happy now - she gets to be the center of attention for a good cause.

Honoring our Heroes

There's an amazing event going on this Memorial Day weekend for stampers and Heroes. Over at CardsforHeroes.org there's a Blog Hop of 135 paper crafters showcasing cards they've created to send to our troops. If you've never been to the CFH site, you'll definitely want to check it out. The mission of the site is to "support our nation’s armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." To date, they've sent 147,875 cards.

I didn't get in on the hop in time to participate, so I thought I'd just pass along another card I made - actually a rerun from this time last year.

This card uses the spotlight technique with the stamp set, The Free and the Brave. The artifacts in the background are a tribute to my favorite hero, my Dad. 

This scrapbook page is one I helped my Mom make ages ago. She said she fell in love with Dad just after he finished his tour of duty. He was nicknamed The Captain on their college campus because, he was, in deed, a Captain when he left active duty. It's a simple page - we just stamped Captain with acrylic paint and stamped Mom's sentiment on twill ribbon. We let Dad's handsome picture and the paper do the rest.

I hope you all enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and have a chance to pay tribute to our men and women in the armed services in your own way. To those of you in active duty here and abroad - and to your families - I can't thank you enough for the sacrifice you make to keep us safe.

All Work and No Play

Ooh, my craft space has been calling me all week and I'm getting stamping withdrawal pains. But, my work as a nursing home surveyor called me out of town unexpectedly and I didn't get to play. Shoot, I barely got to sleep at all. I tell you what, though, my job is never boring. I mean, really, I bet last week's soap operas didn't have as much drama. I'll just say this . . . I wish some folks had read these articles: from Newsweek, Sex, Love and Nursing Homes, and from Slate, Naughty Nursing Homes.

Here's just something to think about. Sex among minors is called "under age sex." So, is sex among seniors called "over age sex?" And what in the world is going to happen when we Baby Boomers are "over age" and wanna play head-banger rock instead of Rock of Ages.

Okay, enough of that.

I thought I'd get to chill this weekend, but, another job is calling me out of town - moving my daughter into her new home. I'm so proud of Caitlin. Not quite even finished with her degree, she just landed her first real, big, grown-up-person job managing a design studio. with only her internship left to finish (which this job will fulfill), her Dad helped her celebrate with a cookie cake honoring her school, University North Texas. That's almost worth giving up a free weekend to go fill up boxes and move furniture.

Meahwhile, here's some of the latest news out of Stampin' Up!. They've started a Stampin' Up! YouTube channel. Very cool! This sure beats Summer reruns. Here's one of my favs.

Okay, now, really, where else but at Catered Crop could you read about sex in nursing homes and Stampin' Up! in one post. Is this crazy or what?

Stampin' Out Alzheimers

I love this picture of Mom and my baby girl. Mom was always so vibrant before that retched dementia took its toll. When my normally very intelligent and proud Mom suffered from the indignities of dementia, we considered ourselves fortunate that she never became so confused that she didn't recognize us. I was with her every day, but you'd thought I brought in the sunshine every time she saw me.

Alzheimer is sometimes called the long goodbye - I know it can be much harder on some families than it was on ours. Here's the good news. Jen Tapler, from Jen Tapler Designs, and Suzanna Boyd Card of the Week.com are hosting a 7 day stamping and scrapbooking event to help raise money and awareness for Alzheimer's Disease. The site, Stampin Out Alzheimers.ning.com, will feature challenges, contests, classes and more - with prizes donated from over 30 generous sponsors. They've worked it as a "Pay to Play" community. For a small donation (any amount will do), you'll get permission to join their online community which will be up from May 25 to June 1st. The site isn't "live" yet - it will open soon and the events will begin on Monday.

You can click on the button below to join us or visit Suzanna Boyd's blog (link above) for more information.