Or, another overpriced item to add to my future Etsy shop.
$58 monkey’s fist knots. If you went to summer camp or are a sailor, you may have made these yourself. But, you know, these ones have a bit of paint on them. (This things-that-are-half-painted trend has to be nearly over, don’t you think?) So that clearly makes a knot (a knot!) worth nearly 60 bucks.
I think my future knot line will include a $27 bowline and a $5 reef knot 😉
First, it was these. A bag of “story stones”—aka 12 rocks each painted with a different simple image to use as storytelling prompts. Price? $42. Shipping unknown.
Then, it was this. A crocheted “pan mat”—aka six (6!) rounds of single crocheted hemp. Price? $59 + $9 shipping.
Apparently neither of these is a joke. The first one was mentioned at Apartment Therapy; the second at Remodelista.
I’m not protesting the concept of either of these items. I am gasping at the fact that people are apparently willing to pay outrageous amounts for items that can be DIYed in minutes with inexpensive and/or free materials.
This is the kind of thing that makes me kick myself for not pursuing crafting-as-a-career. If only Etsy had come along 5 years sooner, I could have skipped all this back-to-school business and made a fortune selling crafts. Although, I suppose it’s never too late. Forget writing! I need to open an Etsy shop.
My apartment has these terrible light “fixtures” in the hallways. By “fixture” I mean there isn’t actually a fixture. They’re meant to have a large globe light bulb in them. Except a) they don’t and b) I’ve never a seen a globe light bulb of that size in a store (little ones, sure, but not giant ones) to replace the regular-size bulbs they do have.
So anyway, one day I’m procrastinating, staring at the ceiling, and instead of coming up with the plot of the Great Canadian Novel, I come up with an idea for dealing with those oh-so-classy bare light bulbs.
At the next opportunity, I head to Ikea where I serendipitously find exactly what I’m looking for (the Renate shade, $5). Still, I don’t know if it will actually work until I try it.
Home again, where I do try it… and it does work! Perfectly. Behold, the upside-down lampshade solution:
While it’s kind of embarrassing this didn’t occur to me sooner, I thought I’d post it for anyone else who might have a bare light bulb dilemma.
p.s. Sorry about the hideous popcorn ceiling. I know all you HGTV stainless steel/granite people are probably scarred for life 😉
The Remainder Table 