Cleaning My Craft House

All week I have been wanting to get out in my garage and cut glass. I have mosaics to make, and I can't wait to make them. But things have kept getting in the way, and I haven't had a chance to plan and cut and create. So today I got up determined to make time for crafting, and what happened? My eyes fell upon a box in my bedroom. It's full of mosaic frames that have been waiting to be grouted for a couple of years now. These are frames that my daughters made in hopes of selling and making some extra money. There are also a couple that were made by some friends who never got a chance to finish them. Every time I look at this box I think about pulling them out, mixing up some grout and finishing these frames. But there is always something that distracts me or something that sounds more appealing, and I walk on by and forget about the box. But this morning I looked at the box and decided that the box's time had come.

So with determination I got out of bed, and got dressed--putting on one of my favorite t-shirts:

I love Rosie. She is strong, she is powerful, and she helps me know I can do it!

Rosie was given to me by one of my most favorite people in the world--Elena. Elena is my sister by choice and my muse. I made my first stepping stone for Elena. And also my first mosaic frame. Like Rosie, Elena is strong, she is powerful and she helps me know I can do it!

So I put on Rosie and was ready to conquer THE BOX. Out it came from under the table. I carried it into the kitchen and was prepared to clean out my unfinished past.

And then something distracted me...

To be honest, she more then distracted me--she pleaded with me. Can you see it in her eyes? WALK? WALK? WALK? Well , it was effective. I put on my walking shoes, and grabbed her leash.

We headed outside. Once again, the frames had to wait.

We were on our way. It was a beautiful spring day, and a great walk. And when we got home, Dakota looked very, very pleased.

After Dakota's pleas were satisfied, it was time to get to work. So I went to THE BOX...

And took off the lid...

So many frames. Frames made by my two youngest girls...

...and by friends who no longer live in Houston. Frames that would finally be finished...

So I mixed up some grout, grabbed a frame, and went to work.

My girls couldn't believe we were FINALLY going to finish the frames. Rachel grabbed one she had made and started grouting too. Look how excited she is!

We soon discovered that we had to conquer the "it's been too long" learning curve again--one of the consequences of letting things go undone. But we kept working, completing several frames.

And in the process I discovered the real reason I think THE BOX sat under my table for so long. Turns out it's really not that fun finishing other people's projects. It's just not the same when you miss out on the creation. But this was work that had to be done. The fun will come later when I can start new project. So I pushed on to the bottom of my grout bucket. After the frames had set for a few minutes, a sponge and some water finished up the prep work. And took a break to allow the grout to really harden.
Then the sponge and water came back out--wiping off the last remnants of the grout of the glass. And now, those far away friends just have to wait for me to get to the post office...

And my girls have a few of their frames done--at be sold or gifted. Who knows? But we have made a dent in my craft to do list. Hopefully the rest won't stay in THE BOX much longer.