God Save the Queen!

That would be me, the Queen of the Nation of Procrasti. I have "doing it later" down to an art. True, there are many Ladies-in-Waiting, but I reign over them all!

Whatever.

You know that place where you just put stuff when you're not sure where it should go? Like mail, toilet paper that hasn't quite made it to the bathroom, those great finds in the clearance aisle... Well, in my world "that place" has been my art work table.

Over the summer I've participated in a few swaps, so everything that I pulled out for possible use has been in a pile under a notebook. (Next to the toilet paper in photo #1). 

There were road trips to visit family and friends: no time for putting things away!

There were lazy days of doing absolutely nothing. I call them "mental health days".

And finally what I'd been dreading all summer: I had to do SOMETHING with these dozens of boxes in my living room, in the corner by the TV, behind the sofa, and any other empty spot I could find. When my sister and nephew moved in with me last Thanksgiving, we cleared out my then art room and sewing room so they would have rooms to sleep in. (A lightbulb moment: people sleep in those rooms, hence the name "bedroom". Aha!)

Tax records, bank account statements and cancelled checks, receipts - all going back to 1982! Now shredded and hauled away. In addition to all of that, my dad took 11 - that's eleven - banker's boxes full of  trash to the dump. There's one very large plastic tub full of items for Goodwill.

Now I'm down to a mere 8 boxes of "things to keep". But it's all good because they all fit behind the sofa, out of sight, out of mind. (I thought about taking photos, but that could be incriminating.)

Clearly I have not had opportunity to deal with my art room. However, I have committed to two other swaps, with deadlines rapidly approaching, and the procrastination is just too too tempting when my work space is a disaster. So this morning I dug in.

There were rub-ons and collage images to file away, little bits of ribbon and other trim, buttons and various trinkets. And we mustn't forget the goodies I've purchased here and there that I simply tossed onto the pile. Okay, onto the floor, too. (See photo #2, above)

And true to my bipolar nature, while I'm sorting/filing/tidying up, might as well reorganize all my trinkets, charms, jewelry bits, tiny this and tiny that. 

 Over the last several years I've amassed a collection of cheap cheap cheap jewelry, purchased with the thought that, "Hey, I could take this apart and use the individual pieces in my collages!" Except, of course, I never got around to actually doing it. They've been shoved into a storage tray, mostly untouched, because when I'm in the throes of creating I can't take time to dismantle these things!

No longer a problem, my friends - all are now deconstructed and sorted and ready for service.

Ta-Da! Here's my workspace, all tidied up and ready for my next creating adventure. Note the empty spots where you can actually see the table. And I've set out my basic supplies for my next swap - Gypsy Fortune Tellers, hosted by Alpha Stamps. Love me some gypsies!

I suppose I will have to relinquish my throne, at least temporarily. No procrastinating now, there's art to be made! But it's late. I'll get started tomorrow.

Until next time,

  

Beverly