I had posted several months ago about downsizing my craft stuff and did get some good responses, but was leaving for 2-3 months so put it off. I do apoligize for that, but when I got back, I did some checking locally and found out that the Dakota Boys and Girls ranch would take the items for their after school programs. These are kids for various reasons do not/can not function in the system. Most of the kids live on campus etc. They were really glad to receive the supplies. The art teacher took all my paints etc. They even took the books/magazines. Do you have any schools etc, libraries, etc that would accept some donations? Since I don't know what town you live in, I can't help too much more. Maybe if you are near a large town, or active FHA groups, that would help. If you told me about where you live, maybe I could come up with somemore ideas. I am keeping some of my counted cross stitch stuff, and some of my crafting magazines, and some of my craft stuff, hoping to get back into it again. Right now I am working on my stamp collection--again. Good luck to you. OH yes, I learned paper tole art and have some of that. Marie

Both of you have written such entertaining things! Had me laughing out loud at your descriptions--which I know were much exaggerated! LOL I grew up in small towns too, in fact I graduated from a class of 13 in a rural Missouri school! The whole high school hung out together and there was no competition to be on any of the teams--in fact they begged you to play! Like where Anj grew up, we couldn't get away with anything because everyone knew everyone else. We lived on a farm outside of town and rode a yellow school bus. Had chores to do before and after school no matter what the weather was like. Could hardly wait to graduate and get a job in the big city--now sometimes I think I'd like to be back there to enjoy the long walks across the pastures, the baby animals, and fishing in the pond. I met my DH during the summer of my junior year while working in the city to earn extra money. He joined the navy and we got married shortly after graduation. We have one grown son who is married and lives close by with his wife and our 3 yr. old GD. We lived in Rhode Island, Texas, Kansas and Missouri. Finally DH got stationed in So. Calif. and we have lived here ever since. I worked in banks, so it was easy to find work each time we moved. I finally got tired of buyouts and mergers and retired a few years ago. DH is a railroad engineer, he gets to retire next year. We hope to do some traveling in our motor home, want to see more of this interesting country--each area is so different, and we've only seen a fraction of it. But we can't be gone too long at a time, since we have that little GD that we love to spend time with. I have always wanted to see England and Ireland. My ancestor's and my DH's ancestors came here from Ireland waaay back when, and I have always loved reading stories about England's Kings, Queens, and the Knights. So romantic in the books, and who wouldn't want to see a castle? LOL So hard for us to imagine that those countries are as small as some of our states! My DS and DIL went to both places on their honeymoon and loved it. Said people were very friendly to them, and the scenery away from the cities was so pretty. Such a sense of history too. DH says that we can go after he retires, but now I don't feel too secure about traveling overseas. We'll see. I think every country has great places to visit and nice people to meet--unfortunately, of course, we all have places and people that we are not so proud of too! I started on Gardenweb on the Garden junk forum too, then starting looking to see what other forums there were and came here. I was so thrilled when Anj responded to one of my posts! Then she gave me directions on how to post pics on here and we've had a great time sharing all our projects with each other and any one else who stopped in. We always enjoy chatting with new people, and love seeing pics of their painting. Each person seems to have their own special style, so that makes it really interesting. Glad you found us, Steve. We have enjoyed seeing all your creations and hearing about where you live. You have a nice sense of humor too. Best of luck with selling your painted items, and with "picking up the pieces" again. ;o) Luvs

This is a very rough and quick attempt to illustrate what I think both the previous comments are aiming that -- not the perfect solution, but the point is that the stuff on the dresser is badly arranged. You need two centres of interest, one clustering around the lamp (which shouldn't be so close to the edge) and one on the other side of the dresser. Hang the art between them. In this example, below, we are missing the taller item you need on the right to balance the lamp.

This OP has posted several dilemmas lately. I started reading this one from the onset and yes, there are several of the more critical posts missing. She clearly was happy about the selections and appeared to want validation from the people that had helped her with her other dilemmas. One of the first comments on my first dilemma on here was devastating to me and left me very upset. Fortunately, I have a thick skin and just flagged it and then along came some wonderful people to help me. Sometimes certain contributors just go too far. I’ve seen many OPs run off from this forum, but this is the first I’ve seen someone completely delete their account. THINK before you comment people! You could make or break someone’s day with your words