Sunday, June 16, 2013

The Secret Life of a Crafting Hoarder

Good day fellow Crafty People. Welcome to my little blog.  I am so glad that you are here. Let's just jump right in there. Okay?


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Hi. My name is Darlene and I am a crafting/DIY hoarder.

I just gave myself an anxiety attack. 

Okay, so let's just rethink this. I am a crafter and DIYer. In order to make anything, I need supplies and inspiration. It just so happens that my supplies are inspiring. 

For instance, last week, down the street from my home, there was a vintage hutch with drawers and glass doors. I thought it looked gorgeous but my neighbor was throwing it away. I really wanted to take it home and put it in my garage so I could paint it. I already imagined the finished product and it was stunning.

Well it was raining that day. And the hutch was solid wood so it was heavy. I was alone. I thought about asking my Mom to come up with her van so she could help me transport it to my house but I decided not to. 

I could hear her saying, "what do you want that for?" 

Me. "I want to paint it and sell it."

Mom. "It looks like it's in pretty bad shape."

Me. "No. Not really. It just needs a good paint job."

Mom. "You don't have any room for it. Your garage is already full."

Me. "There's enough room near the front of the garage on the right hand side."

Mom. " You already have that vanity in there. And the table. And the chairs."

Me. "I know. But I really like this hutch. It's a shame that it is going to the dump."

Then she will give me that look. I will end up feeling guilty for even thinking about taking it home.

And she's not the only one. My daughters and husband react the same way.

It just breaks my heart to have to walk away from all that beautiful furniture that someone is throwing out.

They make me so mad. How dare they make me feel guilty for being such an imaginative creator of beauty. 

Nope. I won't have it. I refuse to feel guilty. I have no choice. They have forced me to be sneaky. 

That's okay. I can sneak a pillow case in here or there, maybe table cloth. I can mix it up with some clothes for my granddaughters and no one will be the wiser. Tee hee hee. Then when I get home, I can just slide it into my closet. It will be our little secret.

As for the hutch? I grabbed two of the drawers.


Why? Because I had to. I didn't want to feel complete remorse for not acting on my urge to make that hutch my own. Do you know what I mean?

Hey look! Wouldn't you know it, DVD's fit nicely in them. Perfecto.

Furniture isn't my only obsession. I love yarn. All those beautiful colours and textures. So many projects spinning in my head. 

Oh, and I absolutely adore fabric. I have pillow cases, sheets, curtains, table clothes. I like to sort them and look at them, admire them. More projects to do so little time.


Just look at all that beautiful fabric. 


Just give me a minute. I want to play. 
This looks nice with this, and this. . . .
I can't forget my paints and brushes, canvas boards and frames.

Not to mention my vintage glassware that I sell on Etsy.



Let's take a closer look.  It's just too pretty.

Last but not least, I have to include all the other items I need to put these projects together - like glue, thread, crochet hooks and knitting needles, scissors, buttons, elastic, magnets, thread, sewing needles, all kinds of paper ... You get the picture.

Right now it is kinda spread out. I don't dare put it all in one place. That would be like admitting that I am a hoarder - which I am not.

I may be more of a shop-o-holic. I can spend hours in the craft store looking at all the fabric, yarn, crafting tools and notions. 

Even more time at the thrift store because the possibilities are endless. Furniture. Oh the furniture. Lamps. Vintage items. Clothes. Sewing patterns. Crafting books. Ah. It is a beautiful day.

To think of it, I am more like a collector. An admirer of beautiful things. I can see the beauty and potential in just about anything. Why it was just today that I finished the last bit of coffee in the jar and thought, what can I make from this. I better save it for something. Maybe a piggy bank for Faith?  Nah. I better just put it in the recycle bin quick - because I am not a hoarder!

What about you? Are you a hoarder? Shopper? Collector?






Look! I have been featured on Inspire Us Thursday.

Thanks so much Susan. Check out her super blog! 
Susan@Organized31




Well, thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed today's post.

If your interested, stop by my Etsy Shop, Little Shop of Treasures.

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Have a fantastic day.

22 comments:

  1. I am glad I am not the only one who has a ton of "stuff" purely for inspiration! LOL (to say nothing of my endless supply of white pens!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rhonda,
      Thanks for stopping by today. I'm glad too. What are the white pens all about? You have peaked my interest?

      Delete
  2. Darlene,

    My work does not require hoarding. I am a writer. I have a computer (no pen or paper now.) I do have a lot of books because as a writer I love to read. That has even scaled back now because I have a kindle. Only problem, I don't use my kindle for books unless I get them for free. I still go to the library and hae a stack of books to read now. Loved your post. I also love the pictures. They remind me of my mother's work area. She sews and crochets. :)

    I followed you from the June Climb.

    http://mary-anderingcreatively.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary,
      You know what? It actually reminds me of my mothers work area. She use to sew. I think her favorite projects were Barbie clothes for our dolls. She has all kinds of scrap fabric, ribbons, elastic etc.

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I appreciate it.

      Delete
  3. Those fabrics all have such beautiful patterns. You can do so much with all this. I am not much of a hoarder of anything in particular. I used to be a big shopper but not anymore. I am blessed with being able to be a stay at home mom. Now I use what little spare time I have to create out of things I would normally throw out. So I guess I have become somewhat of a collector with recycling. Although I don't keep everything unless I know that I will use it for sure.
    Following you now :)
    Bismah@
    http://simplemamaathome.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bismah,
      Nice to have you here. You are blessed to be able to stay at home with your girls. Right now, I am a stay at home Grandma, raising my little Honey Bunny. She turned five last week. She is growing too fast.
      About twenty-five years ago, I was a stay at home Mom. I miss those days when my girls were young. My daughters grew and so did my crafting supplies.
      Bye for now, Darlene

      Delete
  4. I love crafting and I'm pretty sure I could learn a lot from you, looking forward to future posts! New follower via Bloglovin :)

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  5. Hey there! Just wanted to say thank you for stoppin' by my bloggy site and leaving a comment on My Bucket List post! Hope you had a wonderful Tuesday and have a great night :o)

    - croppedstories@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome. And thanks for stopping by here. Have a fantastic week.

      Delete
  6. I am a hoarder too Darlene :) I would like to thank you for joining the Pin It Monday Hop Pinterest Party. Please come by sometime(if your time permits) and check what other bloggers are sharing. See you. 

    Judy
    Pursuit Of Functional Home

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yeah I have the same problem with craft supplies! Half the time I can do a project and not even have to go shopping. I call it my way of recycling! =)

    Thank you for spreading JOY and sharing at the Oh What a HAPPY Day party.

    Holly at Not Done Growing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are too funny. I know where to go next time I am missing something for a craft.

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  8. I love to crochet so I'm a total yarn hoarder.. :)

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  9. i have a lot of this in my room that i know i can recycle to make something else. i just don't know what yet! thanks for sharing this on my blog hop!

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  10. Since I lack the crafty gene, I can't really relate to this specifically, but I love to collect cool art and pictures. This includes cute pictures I see in calendars or magazines along with greeting cards and basically anything with a funny saying. My husband keeps asking what I'm going to do with all of them.

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  11. I came over to visit from Blitzed on Pinterest! Di@Cottage-Wishes

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  12. I'm with you that I hate to see people throwing away items that are still useful. I usually pick them up and take them to donate because I don't have any room. But sometimes I sneak something home. Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday.

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  13. Hey there! Here from the Blog Hop! Just wanted to let you know I'm following you via Pinterest & Twitter! Hope you'll get a chance to check me out!

    Blog url
    http://www.croppedstories.blogspot.com

    Twitter
    https://twitter.com/croppedstories

    Pinterest
    http://pinterest.com/croppedstories/

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm glad to meet you....and yes I can relate...I too deal with this addiction! There is something wonderful though about walking in and seeing your craft supplies, or fabrics stacked....furniture waiting for paint.....neglected tools turning their heads toward you wondering...when are you coming to visit me. Oh I know all too well. Hahahaha.
    Great post!
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete