Thursday, February 25, 2021

BFF Open House

 


Wasn't it just January 1? Normally I'd complain at how fast time is going by but not this year with vaccine rollout ramping up and putting us closer to being able to get back to some of our "normal" lives. So very thankful that my mom has gotten her first dose! Glad to see that things are thawing out in parts of the country that have been frozen and hopefully we won't have any more bad Winter storms. 

Lots of creativity at last week's party so here are a few projects that caught my eye! 


With St. Patrick's Day approaching, here's an easy, fun and inexpensive way to add some festive decor to your home. This is a fun sign from Dollar Tree ( I just bought one myself, coincidentally) decorated with an Irish Jig from Condo Blues!


I also loved this fun Leprechaun Jar idea shared by Creatively Beth. What a fun treat for everyone! 


If your green leans towards the variety of having a green thumb, here's a beautiful vignette from The House on Silverado that's a perfect way to bring some festive St. Patrick's charm to your decor. 




Finally, what's more perfect for St. Patrick's Day dessert than a Chocolate Pistachio Cake? Perfect for Easter and all Spring celebrations as well! From Master Pieces of My Life

Alright creative friends, let's see what you've all  been up to this week! 












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Monday, February 22, 2021

Vinyl on Enamel Sign : Forever Incomplete


This will be less of a tutorial post and more of a confessional one I guess the best way to describe it. If you want to skip to the creative part, it's at the bottom!

We were going through CDs, DVDs etc. deciding what to keep and get rid of and one of my favorite ones I kept was Alanis Morisette's "Flavors of Entanglement" which I hadn't listened to recently. It's fun to re-discover why you bought something and as I listened to it, purchased at a different time in my life, I realized why it spoke to me then, but I also realize how much I've grown and why it speaks to me still. 

In particular, one song stands out and it was the inspiration for this project: "Forever Incomplete". I'm now a "woman of a certain age". Young at heart but approaching 60. Seems so weird to write that since I'm fortunate that I get second looks when I give my birth date at the doctor or pharmacy. But facts as they say "is facts". I'm not a person who looks back with regrets but that doesn't mean I don't look back. 

Thirteen years ago when this album came out, I was at a different stage in my life. My son was just starting high school and I was then about 20 years into my career. Because of how life goes, my focuses and priorities were different then than they are now. I was still balancing work and family life. I was also still grappling with the self doubt and insecurities that had plagued me my whole life. 

I grew up, like many of us, with high expectations that I internalized A LOT. I put immense pressure on myself. To achieve academically. To be the best daughter, then wife and mother. To do well in my career and keep rising. To do and have it all and not realize what I was doing to myself in the process. 

It was around that time that I removed myself from my then company's "Top Talent" list. Something I'd been on virtually since I'd joined. I stopped being concerned with awards and recognition. OK a little...I'll always be competitive. That didn't mean I checked out workwise. Oh no. I was still putting in the hours, still hardest on myself, still afraid, as I have been my entire life, of failure. Pressure. Constant pressure. Put there mostly, but not entirely, by me. 

At that time, some of the songs on this CD spoke to me as someone struggling to figure out my life. If I wasn't going to push to become an Executive (the path I was on) then what? My child was getting older, my marriage was stable. I told myself my creative outlets were my therapy. But still...some confusion. some resentment, some sense of loss but of what, I didn't know. And I pushed those things out of my mind because who had time for that kind of self indulgence? So years went by. I continued to try to be the best of all my roles. 

When I turned 50 I said I would focus on me. Fits and starts and feelings of guilt and selfishness but slowly I kept at it. I'd get there right? There was an end point. Until there wasn't.  About 7 years ago, work, which had always been intense, went off the charts. Nothing was consistent except the constant change of leaders, teams, etc.  But hey, our family had its health, we were comfortable, son excelled in college and got accepted to five top tier PhD programs. Three years ago a major move to be closer to my mom. I just kept going. 

Last year  COVID came and really forced most if not all of us to really take a hard look at our priorities. Then my company moved almost all of the remaining jobs in my organization offshore and I found myself in retirement a couple of years earlier than planned during a global pandemic. Where am I going with all of this? 

That regardless of the plans we make or the direction we think we're headed life is never an orderly, bulleted list with a finite end point (OK yes, death!). And that is where I come back to this verse of the song "Forever Incomplete" that hit me and made me shout "YES!" in the car. 


I have been running so sweaty my whole life

Urgent for a finish line

And I have been missing the rapture this whole time of being forever

incomplete


 


I realized that for as long as I can remember I've been chasing things. Running. HARD. Being a good student. Getting a good job. Getting married, having a family, doing well, etc. And life, at least mine, doesn't work like that. I've been on a journey  that may never be complete. I may or may not ever do all the things I want or am supposed to do. And it's OK. I realized that focusing on the next thing, I've at times along the way missed the joy aka the rapture of knowing that it may never be and just live. I say none of that to suggest that I haven't had a joyous life, but it lifted some inexplicable weight. Maybe pressure on myself that was always self inflicted. I've given myself the permission and freedom to just "be" and be incomplete. And it feels great!  

OK now to the project! 

Supplies:
  • Blank Enamel Sign ( Artist's Loft)
  • Silver Foil (JoAnn)
  • Oval Frame (Designbundles.net)
  • Electronic Cutting Machine (Cricut Explore Air 2)

 


I actually bought this blank sign a couple of years ago at Michaels so it's not a current item but there are similar ones online. It ended up becoming the lid of my trash can to keep my then very nosy puppy out because she was obsessed with anything inside! 


I purchased a collection of frames from Designbundles.net which included this one. I flipped the image in Cricut Design Space and then chose a font, wrote out the lyrics I wanted to use, and cut using silver foil from my stash. 


Weeded and then applied the transfer tape and eyeballed the positioning on the sign and then that moment of pause before you adhere it, deep breath, hoping you got it centered! 


Peeled off the transfer tape and done!




Thursday, February 18, 2021

BFF Open House

 


Happy Friday Eve and sending my heart out to Texas and other parts of the country who are being hit hard by winter storms. There are no words. We went seven days w/out power after a bad winter storm in Seattle and it is an unbelievable challenge. 

Lots of great ideas as always from last week's party so here are some that caught my eye! 



Wildfire Stitches has a wonderful post if you are new to embroidery. Really great hints and tips in this post and a wonderful Embroidery Blog! With all of our digital and machine tools, sometimes it's really nice to do something that is truly 100% handmade! 


If you're looking for a St. Patrick's idea, look no further than Artsy VaVa's GORGEOUS Clover Door Hanger! Just stunning! 



After checking out the Embroidery Basics post y Wildfire Stitches, check out this wonderful project from Satsuma Designs: Embroidered Lavender Sachet Bags


Finally, since many of us are cooking more as we stay home more, one of my favorite dishes: Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce from The House on Silverado. I wanted to lick the screen! 

Thanks as always to all who linked up and let's see what everyone's been up to this week. 



















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Monday, February 15, 2021

Paint Pouring: Dollar Tree LOVE Sign

 


Oops! I forgot to post this before Valentine's Day but actually, I think I'm going to just leave this up all year anyway because why should we limit love to just one day?  I'd picked up an unfinished LOVE sign at Dollar Tree and decided to use it as my surface for a paint pouring project. 


Supplies: 

  • Unfinished Sign
  • Acrylic Paints, Choice of Colors
  • Paint Pouring Medium ( I used Artist's Loft, Michaels)



This is the sign I found at Dollar Tree. It came with twine on the back so it could be hung up but I removed it both to avoid getting paint on it and because I knew I was going to stand it up. 



Choose the colors of paint you want to use. I went with white, silver and gold. The Artist's Loft Pouring Medium is easy to use with the paint to medium ratios stated on the bottle. I've done paint pouring using this as well as other additives and I like both ways but would recommend this for your first projects. 


Mix your colors. I just eyeballed the amount I needed for a smaller project. Since the medium makes the paint more fluid, you don't need much and I hate wasting leftovers.  As you can see, I re-use my stir sticks! 



I started with white and someday maybe I'll try making a video but for now it's pics! Then randomly added the silver and gold and tilted the sign to let the paints "move" around. They'll drip down the sides so you want to ensure you elevate your piece. 


I love paint pouring because no two pieces will ever look alike and as the paints dry, they just kind of "do their thing". 


It went perfectly on my entryway table with a canvas and some rhinestone covered letters I did a few yeas ago. 



And since the colors I went with aren't overtly Valentine's themed, I think I can leave it up year round! 


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Thursday, February 11, 2021

BFF Open House


Happy Friday Eve all! Hope those of you who have been dealing with frigid to sub-zero weather are keeping warm. Valentine's weekend is here and 2021 is moving quickly. Hard to believe it's been a year that we've been dealing with COVID isn't it? But Creatives that we are, we've been able to fill that time haven't we? Let's take a look at some of the ideas from last week's party! 




The Little Yellow Corner Store shared this Warm and Cozy Valentine's Tablescape that truly lives up to its name! 



Howling Liz is showing some love for our feathered friends with this pretty and practical Birdseed Heart. We have tons of quail around us who aren't exactly airborne but I love to watch them as they have their morning and evening conclaves. 



 Another beautiful tablescape, this time with Chocolate Truffles and Peonies, was shared by My Thrift Store Addiction. I love pulling together different pieces we have on hand and using them in creative ways. 



Finally, Valentine's Day doesn't have to only be about chocolate ( Gasp! Can you believe I just said that?... Me?!) I am intrigued by this Garlic Lovers Jelly from Homemade on a Weeknight. I started using a Honey and Fig jam I picked up on burgers, grilled cheese, etc. and it was a game changer. I think this Garlic Lover's Jelly is one as well! 

 
Thanks to all who linked up and let's see what you've all been up to this week! 








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Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Valentine's Day: MacKenzie Childs Inspired Folk Art Heart

 


I've spoken before of my love of MacKenzie Childs but my "not love" of MacKenzie Childs prices. So buy some, make some! 

Supplies
  • 8x8 Canvas Boards ( Blick Art)
  • 8x8 Shadowbox Frame (Michaels)
  • Acrylic Paints (Craftsmart, Apple Barrel)
  • Paint Marker (Craftsmart)





I had these 8x8 Canvas Panels in my supplies along with a shadow box frame from a 2 pack from another project. Like most of my projects, the idea just popped into my head. 


I painted the canvas with a coat of white paint, then taped off stripes to start my  signature MacKenzie Childs checkerboard background. Using a brayer helps make sure your tape is laid down well. 

I wanted to keep the space for the heart clear so I hand cut a heart ( here's the folk art part...it's not perfect which is the whole ethos of folk art) from contact paper ( Dollar Tree is your friend) and put this down before I taped off my stripes but you can't see it clearly here. You can below.

You can see the edges of the contact paper heart here. 


Had to recharge my camera battery so missed pics of a couple of steps. I taped off the panel horizontally and here's where I goofed, but we'll fix it later. I outlined the heart with the black paint marker, painted it pink then went over with some white paint. I wanted it to be "splotchy" and again, not perfect.  See? Even laying down the tape with the brayer, my paint bled (UGH!) but no matter, again...we're not going for perfect. I edged each of the stipes with gold paint, added gold dots aroudn the heart,  and here's where I fixed my checkerboard.


Using a straight edged brush, I filled in the "missing" white squares with a couple of coats of white paint. Since MacKenzie childs goodies are all hand painted, I hand painted! 

Popped my finished canvas into the shadowbox frame and done and done!


Other MC inspired projects: 




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