This last week has been full of boxes. And learning to let go of paper. Not just with a ruthless charity-shop-run, but by letting go of the idea that it’s Too Pretty to use, or must have the Perfect Project (which, by the way, I don’t yet have the skills for, so…For the Future).

Instead, I’ve been playing. Practising. Using up paper. Well, cardstock. I’m not cutting into the pretty papers for this sort of practising…I’m not a complete fool.

I’ve been making boxes for my beeswax candles, for one. And then we went to a garden centre for a morning, to wander through the Christmas trees mainly, and I was Inspired. Inspired, I tell you!

They have those little wooden Advent calendars, where you have two dice with numbers on and you have to count down by changing the number each day. Named, of course, except probably only M’s name is actually common enough to be ready-personalised (I didn’t look). An off-the-shelf sort of name, if you will. I think I’ve only ever found my name on one thing, a bookmark in Cheddar Gorge, which I naturally promptly bought (or persuaded my dad to buy for me, but same thing. Right?). And I doubt the two Tinies will ever find their names, but such is the cross they will bear.

ANYWAY. The point is that I was Inspired. So I’ve been attempting a paper recreation. And, really, it was very easy. I just need to make a few adjustments so the numbers would be centred.

And I finally bought myself a proper scoring board, instead of relying on the scoring tool on my paper trimmer. I spent an inordinate amount of time deciding between Mint (to match my trolley) or Pink (to match my peg boards), but I went with pink imperial. Perhaps I’ll get a mint metric one. And now seeing that written down, I’m cross that I missed a trick for a Mint Imperial one. Drat. Never mind.

I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to have colourful tools and surroundings for my craft space. So much nicer than boring old white all around.