August 26, 2013

  • Seeing a Craft Disease

    I went to a garage sale and purchased a small wooden cigar box covered in patterned tissue paper and printed cotton fabric. It was cute and only cost 50 cents. I didn't purchase it for the box - I wanted the contents. Inside were 2 clay tools, a gold ring, an assortment of embroidery needles, a pair of scissors, two key ring fobs, and three vials of glitter. You have to take the good with the bad. Glitter is bad. Three vile vials is very bad. No matter that the glitter is red, green and gold, it gives son#1 the creeps. He has had an aversion to glitter ever since kindergarten when he got some in his eye. His dislike of glitter has resulted in the "last straw" in a girlfriend relationship. She was in flag corps for marching band and had a thing with glitter - glitter nail polish, hair glitter, clothes with sparkles and glitter... Son#1 encouraged her to go away when she presented him with a card that was filled with, yes she did, glitter. In home room he sat at a desk only to discover it was covered in glitter. The teacher was very understanding when an expletive escaped his lips and he dragged the contaminated desk to the back of the room and selected a replacement. The talk turned to crafts during a recent conversation. I mentioned that I was in possession of some dangerous materials. When I stated that I had glitter one of the people gasped and told me that glitter is also called "craft herpes" because it never goes away! You think it is gone but it shows up again and again! I lost it, laughing until I cried. It is so true. I tried to clean out the little cigar box but there is no getting rid of the spilled glitter inside. I tried shaking it, wiping it, vacuuming it, and finally I almost ruined it when I used the spray attachment on the sink to hose it out. It was clean or so I thought. By the time it dried I was able to see the glint of glitter in the corners and along the side seams. And I had glitter in my sink! It spreads. It is everywhere!

Comments (14)

  • It's true! I used to do lots of the craft activities with kids at church--and I hated using glitter, even though it was a perennial favorite with the kids. It's too difficult to clean up afterward. Glitter should be reserved only for the worst-case scenario when there is absolutely nothing that you can do to salvage your product. "Craft herpes" is an apt description.

  • Hahaha! Our home was built in the 70's. There was a trend then to spray the ceiling and then use a light spray of glitter on the ceiling. When we bought the house in the 90's the glitter was still there. We totally updated the house after we moved in, including new paint on the ceilings. Of course we thought we covered all of the glitter, but to this day, every few months, we spy a bit of glitter on the ceiling. The rule is, whoever sees it first must remove it or cover it with a dab of paint. 

  • I have some experience with that, too. A woman ahead of me in line at the grocery store was buying leftover Christmas decorations and one of them was way over glittered and a bunch of the shiny stuff was left on the conveyor belt. Needless to say, I ended up with sparkly groceries through no fault of my own! And it took forever for it to disappear from my cache of reusable bags!

  • Glitter is forever! Craft herpes - LOL. I always kind of enjoyed doing glitter crafts with kids, and I never really minded that it got everywhere. It makes the usual coating of dust look festive.

  • I don't care for glitter, but I have 3 Granddaughters that are glitter happy....The oldest one is almost 21, lol!!

  • so if your hubby went to a joint with glitter you would know about it. LOL

  • our kids spilled glitter on my husbands great grandmothers kitchen table twenty three years ago...yup .... it's still there...buried in the old wood like a tick on a dog :/  I don't mind it so much though, it reminds me of when the kiddos were little....and back in the day if you found glitter on your significant other it was a bad sign, now it probably means he's been hanging out in the hallmark section 

  • "Craft herpes"!!! That is so true! Glitter does multiply!

    And like Easter Grass and Christmas Tinsel...I find it decades later in weird places!!! (Not on weird places ON me, but in the house! )

    I can understand your son's feelings.

    I rarely used glitter with kids...as more of it made it on the floor, and on them, than on the glue.

    Some of us sparkle without glitter...we are just naturally sparkly!!!
    HUGS!!!
    PS...cool on the box and it's contents!

  • PSS...I'm sure it's a male who invented glitter, Easter grass, and Christmas tinsel!

  • @TutelageOfTheMundane - It is impossible to clean up! I've never willingly used it. I'd rather chase after sequins and every kind of bead made than deal with glitter!

    @Iamsurrounded - A sparkly thanks for recommending! Hehe! I've seen those ceilings! I think I'd have just left it or maybe sprayed it with a clear sealant...

    @whyzat - My condolences. It is a terrible thing to have an accidental glitter attack. I tried to wash it out and ended up with glitter in the sink. I think I got it all. Only time will tell!

    @saintvi - A glitter encrusted thanks for the recommendation! I can hear Erma Bombeck advocating for festive dust! hehe! 

    @ellie1945 - I'm thankful I only had sons! I can't imagine having to deal with all the glitter.

    @Texasjillcarmel - A glittery thank-you for the recommendation! There is no sneaking around where glitter is involved. If only Hansel and Gretel had left a trail of glitter, they surely would have found their way home!

    @mlbncsga - A hidden glitter speck of a thanks for recommending! It is the same as pine needles. We haven't had a real tree for 20 years and we still find pine needles every time we move the furniture! I can imagine you will be finding glitter in the table for as long as you own it!

    @adamswomanback - A huge and sparkly thanks for the recommendation! I'm sure it had to be invented by a man - someone that would NEVER have to clean it up! hehe! I used to dread the kindergarten art projects. I would have to hang them on the refrigerator and they would shed glitter constantly. I finally got smart and started displaying them in gallon Ziploc baggies - you know, to protect them from dirt and stuff in the kitchen... 

  • Your sister Steph's kindergarten ornament project...a thumbtack box top sprayed gold and adorned with green glitter.....still one of my favorite Christmas decorations. She'd always check the tree to see if I had it where it could be seen....even after 40 years! Glitter is pesky stuff.

  • My mother would get along with your son. When I was a kid, every holiday involved an art class project and the teacher would bring out the glitter. I quickly learned not to use any of it. Last Christmas someone gave my father a gift box that was glittery, and she couldn't wait to get rid of it, it gets everywhere!

  • @adamswomanback - I believe it.  I've had the same problems with Easter grass and tinsel.

    Oddly enough, I've only found two items in the entire world that are glittery-looking yet the glitter does not shed.  They are a notebook and pencil pouch set I received from a friend a few years ago.  They are apparently coated with clear plastic or some amazing substance that keeps the glitter from spreading.  I'm impressed.

  • @Celestial_Rose2002 -  It seems like those things multiply! And when you think  you have it all cleaned up...you find some a month or six months later!

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