Another Insignificant yet Tremendous Crafting Achievement

     One of my very favorite feelings is that of (even arbitrary) achievement.  Luckily, crafting provides a perfect opportunity for this, as each time I finish a project I not only get to experience the joy of a (hopefully) beautiful aesthetic creation, but also the rush of pride that accompanies putting a thing out in to the world.  To heighten this even more, I often love to set arbitrary challenges for myself.  Challenges often help me jump-start my creativity when I get in a bit of a rut artistically, beyond their simple benefit of the completion-rush.

     All this brings me to my recent predicament, and sudden triumph in the way of crafting challenges.  Due to my previously mentioned Tuesday Morning obsession, I have managed to amass a fair amount of Christmas paper (yes, by fair amount I mean an ungodly sum).  I am the typical crafter in that I love to horde my supplies, especially when it comes to the gorgeous papers that are put out in Christmas lines.  In addition to this collectors mentality, I also am way to eager to dive in to new supplies, frequently jumping from collection to collection as I acquire new things.  This results in crises of scraps that, though I endeavor to organize them, often sit for months at a time.  Additionally, despite my seeming constant crafting, I am embarrassed to admit that I have never finished an entire paper pack. 

     Due to my current excess of Christmas paper, my desire to buy more, my plethora of scraps, and my seeming inability to use all the paper from a pack, I decided to set myself upon working my way through an entire paper pack.  I started my task on a softball: Crate Paper’s Bundled Up collection.  

The paper pack from the http://crate.typepad.com/cratepaper/2013/07/my-entry.html blog

     It’s not hard to imagine working through all of this paper.  Though the fact that I have the 6x6 version from this collection is a definite help, it is also absolutely adorable and thus not hard to utilize.  After a mini album, 10 tags, and a very useful hexagonal punch card design, I knocked out all of the paper.

     Now that I’ve finished, I love looking at all the different incarnations of the collection in different styles of paper craft.  This among many motivations fueled me to continue on with this paper collection-finishing business.  I have now set my eyes firmly upon the Heidi Swapp Believe collection.  I picked this paper up years ago at Michaels, and it was one of my first when learning to make cards.  I’ve whittled my way down to the last few basics papers, which I think can be easily mixed with many other collections.  I can’t wait to continue on this path of completion, as I have felt quite stalled in my creative life as of late.  (My extended) Christmas season is coming right around the corner, so it’s about time I kick my crafting operation in to high gear!

A Troubling Obsession…My Addiction to Tuesday Morning

The unassuming exterior hides treasures within

     My love affair with Tuesday Morning actually started by complete happenstance.  I’d seen the storefront for years, yet never ventured inside (though this could be due the absolutely magical Mexican Food restaurant that sucks all my focus and resides in the exact same strip mall).  Honestly, I should probably be thanking my lucky stars: the amount of money I spend on a taco-enchilada combo is far less than my every trip to the crafting promise land, but no matter.  

     I discovered this beautiful craft haven through one of my neighbors, who casually mentioned to me that she had seen some punches the last time she had visited Tuesday Morning.  I sat on this tip for a few months, not fully trusting the offhand mention of goodies.  Maybe subconsciously I was avoiding the disappointment that would come from amazingly cheap craft supplies being less quality than envisioned, or maybe I had some prediction of how much money could start to flow freely from my hands the second I entered the store, but eventually I bucked up and made the short trip over.  It is at this moment that my crafting life changed irrevocably.  

     Paper pads, brads, and chipboard Oh My!  Tuesday Morning exposed me not only to new products (believe it or not I didn’t own a single 6x6 paper pack before my new love affair), but it also gave me access to brands I had only seen on the beautiful world of the internet.  The prices are unbeatable and often irresistible, and the lure of the hunt is something that draws me in each time.  The troubling amount of satisfaction I feel from unearthing a Pink Paislee christmas ephemera pack or and American Crafts travel paper pack is only comparable to Indiana Jones first laying eyes upon the Arc of the Covenant.  The magnificent deals offered feel even more rewarding as I convinced myself that I’ve discovered them on the sweat of my own brow.

     The somewhat bittersweet fact of my geography is that I am in veritably surrounded by Tuesday Morning locations.  Not only do I visit the one closest to me, I also hold the longer trips to other locations as treats of sorts.  The staff at the closest store is now unsurprised when they see me day after day, we have formed an informal relationship of sorts.  I have unintentionally learned their shifts. Now, I look forward to hearing the familiar trill of the Scottish Woman and the comforting sight of the girl with the Rebel Alliance tattoo (I’m still working up the courage to tell her how awesome it is, but I am slightly concerned that it means something else other than an homage to Star Wars and thus would breed quite an awkward encounter).

     The feeling I might need to cut back on my Tuesday Morning adventures has begun to creep in to my life, but somehow I have a sneaking suspicion that despite the worrisome looks from friends and family, this love affair will continue to rage as fiery as the forge of Mount Doom (-a Lord of the Rings and a Star Wars reference in the same post!  I hope the venn diagram between craft lovers and fantasy fanatics holds quite a large crossover).  

     As every Tuesday Morning is slightly different, I would love to hear about your guys’ purchases and experiences at your local stores! I’m a sucker for a great crafting haul...