Years ago, when a large part of my job involved literally making invites ( or melting hot wax in a spoon at midnight in the corporate cafeteria to seal those invites- true story) we would scour NYC for the best of everything. We knew the really good paper houses. We knew which store had the perfect envelopes. We knew where to get great flowers and even prettier vases. We spent hours on font styles and spacing. Hours. But that’s what happy insane planners in their twenties do. Right? I’m sure the Millennials are confused. Oh you of Etsy luxury. You have no idea what it means to be really grass roots. Or maybe you do. I dunno. I’m just a middle-aged Gen Xer trying to get by.
Wait, what was I talking about?
It was so nice in the city today that I walked to a further train station than usual and passed a small, stationary shop. It reminded me of the shops we would haunt and hunt in. My favorite of these oldies was a ribbon store on 28th Street or 29th street. That’s right people. A ribbon shop. Imagine a world without Michaels or AC Moore. Before The Knot or even Martha Stewart Magazine. There was/is a little shop devoted to ribbons. You can look for hours for ribbons for weddings, for gifts, for your hair – whatever you want. What you can’t do is “ask too many questions”. All along the walls are small, but clear signs,” no ask too many questions”.
To this day if one of my kids is badgering me, or if my husband is interrogating my trip to the store – this is what I think in my head. NO ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS!
No ask too many questions!
20 Aug 2014 Leave a comment
in Yes, I'm an event planner Tags: Art, Crafts, etsy, event. planners, Events, Flowers, Parties, weddings, work
Arty Farty Party
14 Aug 2012 14 Comments
in I need to tell you about this right now Tags: Art, Crafts, home, humor, Life, Photography, Projects
Because most of Pennsylvania has turned Caribbean – it rained this morning, hard. Now it’s sunny, hot and sticky. I had warned the kids that I’d be on work calls for a good 6 to 10 hours and they’d need to fend for themselves – just another Tuesday around here. So they came to me with a unified plan of attack to occupy the morning, and because I was still half asleep, distracted and we had most of the supplies – I agreed.
They found an art project on YouTube. See – the internet isn’t evil.
If you’re a mom (or me) you know that moment when your kid comes to you with an art project….sheer dread. The mess, the fights, the….the glitter. The horror.
But this was different. Only a few steps needed – and it was something they could really do on their own. Here’s what the finished product looks like:
Here’s what you need: a plain white canvas, a glue gun (or two if you don’t want fights) and a box of crayons (or two…you know why). You’ll also need a hair dryer.
Cover your work area with newspapers or garbage bags. I tried to cover the kids with garbage bags too but they wouldn’t let me.
Line up all the crayons on the canvas in whatever pattern you like – we went with rainbow order. Hot glue gun them into place. This is the point where my boy decided he’d had enough and left all the heavy lifting to his sister.
Once all the crayons are glued on – stand the canvas up, zap with the hair dryer and watch the Jackson Pollackesque magic.
Look at that beauty. I always knew my kids were special.
Once you have the hang of it – you can crazy – look at the possibilities! I see a Christmas card in here somewhere.
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