Parting with treasures...

Once in a while, you have to part with things that mean a lot to you emotionally.  With the Little Bayou House nearing the packing point of clutter, I felt that I needed to start sorting things and getting rid of some items.  I have been working at this for over a month now and here in the past week, I am finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Most of the discarded stuff has been donated to a senior citizen's group for an upcoming rummage sale and the remaining is destined for the Humane Society to help with their funding.   However, discarding a few of the items just tore at the old heart strings.

One thing that was hard part with was a homemade artist cart.  Mark made me this cart years ago when I was first really starting to craft.  At the time, it was roomy enough to hold all of my paints, brushes, scissors, glue and even a roll of paper towels for cleaning up after a project.  I loved my little artist cart!  Then..my crafting exploits blew up into a full-fledged hobby and my supplies burgeoned as well.  My creativity outgrew the little cart. Even though the cart is made from scrap lumber, I hated to let go of it just because Mark was so sweet to make it for me.  In a quandary, I pondered what to do.  Do I keep the little paint cart just for sentimental reasons or do I let go of feelings and discard the cart?  Ponder..ponder.   Then the solution came to me in a sudden burst of brilliance!  I will ask Darling Daughter if she would like something that her daddy made!  She is an avid crafter just like me and since she is just beginning to amass supplies, the cart would hold most of her stuff!  She might just be overjoyed to accept my offer!  An overwhelming sense of relief wafted over me with this idea!  I could just pass the cart on to Elizabeth with no feelings of guilt!  The cart would be well used and I could have the extra space!

When I asked Mark to build the cart for me, he had no clue as to what I wanted.  He told me to make a model so he could see exactly what I needed.   Using cardboard and glue, I created a tiny model and he followed my lead.  His full-scale cart was perfect!  He even put a tiny drawer in it to hold any small items that   would fall through the shelves.  On top, he drilled numerous multi-sized holes in a (removable) panel to hold paint brushes.  With the bristles pointed up in the air, I never had to worry about smooshed brushes!  A handle on the side and wheels under the bottom allowed me to pull the cart around with me or push it back in the corner for storage.  The cart served me well for as long as I needed and now could serve Elizabeth for years to come.