Trying to settle down... and a plot twist
I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last wrote here. And what a month it has been! Life has been a trainwreck this past weeks. I'm back in University, which keeps me busy during weekdays, since I've picked some hard classes. Then, during the first weekends, we kept ourselves busy finishing unpacking, going back to the old house to pick things that were still there, buying stuff that we needed and also doing the regular house chores, such as laundry. Sounds fun, huh?
It took us 3 weeks to find time to fix the Billy bookcases to the walls, so until then, I couldn't arrange my books from college and my dolls. I started by putting my boxed dolls inside one of the bookcases and trying to arrange them as well as I could. In the old doll room, I had them all inside a box laying on the floor, but I want to keep this room as tidy as possible.
The 4th week the whole virus thing exploded, and we haven't been able to leave the house. I wasn't going to address this, but since things have taken a bad turn, I will. The situation in Spain is tough, but so far we're doing OK. I work from home, and Mr. Monster's company has put most of the workers in quarantine, so we're not at a high risk. The biggest focus so far is located in Madrid, which is quite far from where I live. Unfortunately, some people from that area decided to travel to the coast and other touristy areas, putting everyone there at risk. Seeing that, we decided we wouldn't be leaving the house unless it was necessary. We've been practically locked home since the 13th, even thought the official lockdown didn't start until the 16th. It got us a bit by surprise, since the situation shifted from "no need to panic" to "lockdown" pretty quickly. It's hard, but we're hanging there.
Looking at the bright side of it (because I really need to do so), I've taken time during de quarantine to put some of my Monster High dolls back in place. It's still a bit messy, but I'll eventually look good. Skelita is lying down because I don't know where the rest of my stands are.
I've also found some time to take a few pics on my new kitchen backsplash (I cleaned it before, don't worry). It looks more subtle than I thought it would look, but it looks nice. In this pic of Bonita I didn't use my ring light or anything, just the ceiling lights and the LED light under the cupboards.
Since both the counter and the backsplash are the same material, it looks quite nice in full body pics. The only downsides are that you have to make sure everything is squeaky clean and ventilate well the kitchen if you don't want your dolls to smell. But until the lockdown is over, this is the only background I have, since my cardstock papers are still in the old house.
Here's a little behind the scenes:
I do have a few ideas for new posts and some of them are things I wanted to make last year, but I didn't have time. I have a couple of ideas in mind for photography backgrounds that are versatile but easy to storage at the same time. I want to make more photography related content, specially trying to use my TV screen as a background. I'd love to learn to sew aswell and share my progress here. To me, this blog isn't much about teaching, but more about learning together and inspiring each other. As usual, you're free to let me know what would you like to see here in 2020.
Hope you're all doing well and you're safe from that nasty virus. Please, stay home if you can and follow the instructions the authories from your country have provided. Cough on your elbow, wash your hands often for 20 seconds and keep a safe distance from others. Stay calm, don't panic, but be cautious.
Take care more than ever.
Monster Crafts
P.S. Hope nobody thinks I'm frivolizing in such a delicate situation as the one we're living, that's not my intention by any means. This blog often serves as a distraction from the real world problems, and I really need to get distracted right now. Hope you all understand.
Let's keep in touch:
Instagram Facebook Twitter Tumblr
Some post you may want to check during quarantine:
Upcycling: transforming a tea box into doll furniture
Making a "blurry lines" background for doll photography
It took us 3 weeks to find time to fix the Billy bookcases to the walls, so until then, I couldn't arrange my books from college and my dolls. I started by putting my boxed dolls inside one of the bookcases and trying to arrange them as well as I could. In the old doll room, I had them all inside a box laying on the floor, but I want to keep this room as tidy as possible.
The 4th week the whole virus thing exploded, and we haven't been able to leave the house. I wasn't going to address this, but since things have taken a bad turn, I will. The situation in Spain is tough, but so far we're doing OK. I work from home, and Mr. Monster's company has put most of the workers in quarantine, so we're not at a high risk. The biggest focus so far is located in Madrid, which is quite far from where I live. Unfortunately, some people from that area decided to travel to the coast and other touristy areas, putting everyone there at risk. Seeing that, we decided we wouldn't be leaving the house unless it was necessary. We've been practically locked home since the 13th, even thought the official lockdown didn't start until the 16th. It got us a bit by surprise, since the situation shifted from "no need to panic" to "lockdown" pretty quickly. It's hard, but we're hanging there.
Looking at the bright side of it (because I really need to do so), I've taken time during de quarantine to put some of my Monster High dolls back in place. It's still a bit messy, but I'll eventually look good. Skelita is lying down because I don't know where the rest of my stands are.
I've also found some time to take a few pics on my new kitchen backsplash (I cleaned it before, don't worry). It looks more subtle than I thought it would look, but it looks nice. In this pic of Bonita I didn't use my ring light or anything, just the ceiling lights and the LED light under the cupboards.
Since both the counter and the backsplash are the same material, it looks quite nice in full body pics. The only downsides are that you have to make sure everything is squeaky clean and ventilate well the kitchen if you don't want your dolls to smell. But until the lockdown is over, this is the only background I have, since my cardstock papers are still in the old house.
 |
| Honey Swamp (Monster High) |
Here's a little behind the scenes:
I do have a few ideas for new posts and some of them are things I wanted to make last year, but I didn't have time. I have a couple of ideas in mind for photography backgrounds that are versatile but easy to storage at the same time. I want to make more photography related content, specially trying to use my TV screen as a background. I'd love to learn to sew aswell and share my progress here. To me, this blog isn't much about teaching, but more about learning together and inspiring each other. As usual, you're free to let me know what would you like to see here in 2020.
Hope you're all doing well and you're safe from that nasty virus. Please, stay home if you can and follow the instructions the authories from your country have provided. Cough on your elbow, wash your hands often for 20 seconds and keep a safe distance from others. Stay calm, don't panic, but be cautious.
Take care more than ever.
Monster Crafts
P.S. Hope nobody thinks I'm frivolizing in such a delicate situation as the one we're living, that's not my intention by any means. This blog often serves as a distraction from the real world problems, and I really need to get distracted right now. Hope you all understand.
Let's keep in touch:
Instagram Facebook Twitter Tumblr
Some post you may want to check during quarantine:
Upcycling: transforming a tea box into doll furniture
Making a "blurry lines" background for doll photography
I don't think anyone will take your post the wrong way. We are all trying to cope and what better way than with something we love. Take care.
ReplyDeleteHi Chris. Thanks for understanding and for stopping by. Take care you too.
DeleteI'm pleased to read you are settling into your new home MC. Don't you just love those Billy bookcases? I would be lost without mine, along with other wonderful IKEA pieces that I have in my doll room.
ReplyDeleteThere's always a bright side to every negative thing that happens, and for us it means more dolly time!! I mean if you are no longer wasting time travelling to & from work, or in your case school, you have more time to have fun with your dolls.
Stay positive, happy and most of all healthy!
Big hugs,
X
Hi Xanadu! I do have a lot of work from college this days, so I'm not getting bored. But yeah, I'm saving some time by not having to run errands, which so far I'm investing in studying. Not as much dolly time as I hoped :(
DeleteThanks for your kind words and well wishes. Hope you stay healthy too.
It's great that you are able to start getting your dolls unpacked. That would be one of the first things that I would want to do after a move.
ReplyDeleteMr. BTEG is working from home, and my youngest is temporarily off work, since she works at a restaurant. So far we're doing okay spending the majority of our time all at home together. It helps that we each have our own interests we can go off and work on.
Hi Barb. It was definitely one of the first things I wanted to do, but unfortunately I couldn't. I'm still not done though.
DeleteFor some families this situation can be a great opportunity to spend more time together. And it's great to have an occupation or a hobby to focus on if you want to spend some time alone. I've been mostly focusin on school while Mr. Monster has been finishing unpacking and playing videogames.
Take care!
Time goes by fast, what can one say. It is already heading in a fast speed to the end of March! Hope that you are enjoying your studies, even if the classes are hard. Sometimes I miss the time at the University. Have applied for a short summer course and hope to be one of the students then. It can be a break from all daily chores too.
ReplyDeleteSad to hear about the situation with Covid-19. Somethings have changed here in Sweden too. One of them had an effect on us - schools are closed and it is homeschooling now. So my daughters are at home, use the schools platform and the teachers (who are home too) send out the tasks. It is a new feeling, but so far it works just fine. The streets are empty and it is very silent during the hole day and night. It is a bit spooky. No one is allowed to travel in the country or out of the country, borders are closed and so are vacation places. We are doing well and have nothing to complain about.
During this time I have been reading books, sewing clothes for my dollies and have watched some series. Have been taking walks with the dog, doing my physiotherapy and being cautious. So far, so good.
Bonita looks just amazing! Her eyes are so mesmerizing. And your Monster High collection is great. I think Skelita is resting! :D Grood idea to use the kitchen backsplash like that! The photos look pure and bright.
I am glad your are settling down. And no worries, I understand - we all do the best we can in a situation like this. The best way to stay sane and calm, is to do the things one loves and at the same time being cautious. Take care, stay safe and happy weekend!
I sometimes wonder where does the time go. This first week of quarantine has gone by so quickly. I do like some things of university, but at this point I really want to get my degree and be done. That summer course sounds interesting, hope you have a lot of fun. I'm also considering doing something this summer, to keep me busy.
DeleteThe situation seems to be similar there in Sweden than in Spain, we're not allowed to leave the town or even leave the house if it's not to go to work or buy food. I'm in distance unversity, because when I started my degree I had a full time job and couldn't attend classes, so I'm used to work from home. To me it helps to follow the same routine you would do if you were attending regular classes. I agree, it's so weird to see the streets so empty and silent, specially because I live in a busy area of town.
Glad you're keeping yourself busy and finding time for your hobbies. That way time goes by quicker.
Bonita is one of my favourite dolls, and I agree, she has such cool eyes. I think Skelita is waiting until "Dia de los muertos" to rise. I'm glad you like the backsplash, so far it's the only background I've figured out.
Thanks for understanding. I had already started the post before the things took a bad turn, so I had to adjust it, but I still wanted to keep the moving update part.
Take care you and your family.
Hi MC, thank you for a nice blog post and no-one will think you're frivolizing at all, I'm sure of it. We have to try and carry on regardless. As you know I'm also in Spain so like you we're in the full lockdown and I think it's for the best. I have loads I could be doing but I can't seem to motivate myself to do them! I just want to keep looking on the internet at the news and social media, which is not really great. Maybe tomorrow I will pull my finger out and get something done.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're ok though, long may that continue.
Big hugs xxx
Hey Sharon. I see that people seem to understand where I'm coming from. I also do think lockdown is for the best, and I can't really complain much because I have a nice balcony and all the basics I need.
DeleteI do understand that feeling. The first weekend I felt a bit unmotivated, but Mr. Monster encouraged me to put the dolls in place. If I didn't have a deadline for a project coming soon, I would probably be procrastinating a lot more. I'm trying to stick to a routine and get things done, even though sometimes I just want to Netflix and chill, LOL.
Hope you are and your family are OK. It must be hard for you being so far away from your loved ones.
Hugs to you too.
Hi Linda, I'm glad to see people are feeling the same way and I also agree, it's a global issue and we're all in this together.
ReplyDeleteThe backsplash is a very clean background, and the lightning is pretty good, even though it can be a bit tricky. I must try it using my ring light. I'm also trying to think what else around the house can I use as a background, because until mid April I won't be able to go back to the old house.
Since I have to study, I don't feel a big difference from a regular situation. Is the afternoons, when I can't go for a little walk that I notice it more. I sometimes wish I had more time to watch TV or read books that aren't college related. I haven't watched or read Locke and Key, but people seem to love it.
I've wanted to learn to sew for the longest time. I'm planning to start with simple things like pillows, and then move to more complicated things. Hope I can make time for that this year and, yeah, I'm looking forward to learn from others.
Thanks for your lovely message. Hope you stay positive too.