dangerously daiso

*

each week i am forced to spend two hours at a bowling alley, so thehobbit can participate in a homeschool bowling league, or, as i call it evil league of evil. no, there is nothing wrong with bowling, nor with bowlers, for that matter. i just do not like bowling. at all. not even a smidge.

happily, there is a daiso within walking distance of the alley, & that i do like. i try not to go often, but today i had a reason - i needed padded mailing envelopes. a perfectly valid reason, wouldn't you say?

well, they had none this time, but! i managed to find a giant bag's worth few things. like the lego-shaped earphone cable holder thingamabobs for my lego fiend. i have no idea what one does with such thingamabobs, but thehobbit was thrilled to now have a pair of his very own.

elfling chose this adorable notebook to go in his bowling bag. i keep bags for various occasions, filled with toys & activities not to be touched during other times. this boy is not easily entertained, so novelty is helpful. (wonkly translations in german this time!)

a new session of evil league of evil calls for a new notebook & pens. sort of like the beginning of a new school year. or something.

he did not need new pens, but a new pencil box seemed reasonable enough. is this not the most adorable pencil box ever?! there were four from which to choose, & as he was looking them over i kept thinking theorangeone theorangeone theorangeone. hoorah!

this needs no explanation. 

oh daiso, you wonderful japanese $1.50 store, you are one dangerous place to visit.

~peace.

of teens & magical cameras

*

thehobbit has been hard at work on his photo-blog over the past ten days, & i must say that i am quite proud of him. for the most part, it has been a positive experience working together. that said ...

this is the first time in eleven years of homeschooling him that he has struggled with remembering the difference between doing what mama says & listening to what your teacher is telling you. i am not surprised at the struggle, just that it took so long in coming. 

still, in the end he does listen, & finds that he is pleased with the results. i, being the most amazing mama-teacher that ever there was, have refrained from saying i told you so. mostly.

the above image was a collaborative effort. he took the photograph, & i played with it in an online editing program. isn't it fabulous?! i am going to tell people that he took it during the summer break, at hogwarts ;)

that is all, just felt like gushing over my hobbity teen & his magical camera.

~peace.

pinter-test

*

my friends & i have been using pinterest to share things that we think one another will like. knowing my love of letters & numbers, my dear paper sent me this crafting pin.

using an oven, & sharpie pens (i do not yet know if other brands of permanent marker work), one can customize their dishes. fabulous, is it not? well, there is a big trend in pinterest fails right now, so there were many pins showing that this craft did not work as promised.

having many permanent markers, & a mug that i had planned on decorating with ceramic paint, i thought i would do a quick test on the bottom. a pinter-test!

into a 350 (f) degree oven, for 30 minutes, turn off the oven, & let the object cool within. once cooled, i scrubbed it with water, dish soap, & an abrasive sponge. i mean scrubbed - as if i had been trying to remove the pen marks.

as you can see, there was some fading, with the red coming off the most. still, i would not call this a pinterest fail in the least. who scrubs that hard on their dishes? i'll not ditch my original plan for my mugs, but only because i already own the ceramic pens. most definitely thehobbit will want to give the sharpie version a try; a tardis, or something sherlockian.

what about you? what would you draw or write?

~peace.

a cubby, poorly photographed

*

 

do you recall the giant cubby unit from a few years ago? it did its job well over the past two years, keeping the fabric for my bizzie tidy & accessible. i never did get around to painting it, but i have long since mostly stopped seeing the stains & ugly paint.

the last of the fabric was packed away this weekend past, & yesterday i began filling the cubbies with homeschool books & supplies. this does not take the place of the large bookcase of books that is back there (did i chat with you about that yet? brain in full swiss cheese mode), rather it holds the large books, notebooks, & so on.

there are 12 cubbies in this unit; more than enough to allow elfling to have two for his own use. the bottom of his two cubbies holds his scissor kit, & his sorting basket.

please pretend that these photos are not so poorly lit. it is a gorgeously overcast day - wonderful for being kat, not so wonderful for taking photos. i have no excuse for the fuzzy focus. oops.

my files outgrew this planter, so now it holds teensy notebooks, moleskines, etc. this works out much better than my old system of stacking them, & seeing how long until they topple.

because this unit is so large & sturdy, i am able to set heavy items atop it. out of the shot is thehobbit's old borrowers' house. a few of the rooms still hold the furnishings, but the largest space now houses my hogwarts homeschool notebooks. i have been slowly gathering hh papers from around thebelfry, but that is a chat for another day.

what is in the shot is an ugly little bookcase that used to be in the garage. it holds the office supply bins, some craft bins, vacuum bags & extra brushes, a large basket of twine & string, & the like.

for those who worry :: the cubby is truly a behemoth. it is deeper than the bookcase & borrowers' house, & insanely sturdy. once they were placed atop it, i repeatedly slammed into the cubby, & the items did not quiver one bit. & this was when the cubby held only fabric, not heavy books. elfling is not in danger of being crushed by falling shelves. also, this is not a toddler-proofed room, so he is not back there alone. 

four cubbies that were too shy to be photographed: manlyman's pga folders, garden shoes & boots, home office binders, & crappity crap that needs to find a home elsewhere. i did not lie when i said this was a behemoth!

that is all for today. as i continue ripping the studio apart (yes, i know it seems as if i have been doing this project forever & a day. be quiet.), i'll take photos to share. you know you are just dying to see how i manage to squeeze a studio, a home office, & a homeschool library into one tiny room.

if you have a favorite organization tip, please share!

~peace.