I've found some really interesting things and some really not-so interesting things. I mean, who is actually going to furnish an entire house with re-purposed wooden pallets? ugh! Anyway, I have found inspiration many times and had some successes that I'm quite proud of. Here's a couple of my latest projects that I'm quite pleased with:
ART:
Pinterest inspiration:
My interpretation:
This is the first time I prepped and stretched my own canvas and while it's far from perfect, I'm quite happy with it. This piece goes great with our new paint colour that Robin painted and because I did this myself, it's the size we want for the huge wall in the living room. (5'x2.5')
CAKE STAND
Pinterest:
Mine:
The only downside of this project is melting plastic makes the house reek! And the stink sticks around for a really long time! (yes, before you get all up in arms about it, I know it is toxic too) Since I'm now obsessed with making them in all sorts of colours and sizes, Robin had the idea that maybe I should do this project on the BBQ. So, here comes EPIC FAIL #1...
June 10, 2013. I was feeling particularly proud of myself for multi-tasking all morning long before going to work. I cleaned, vacuumed, ran errands and was ready to cook some beads by about 11:30 am. Since I go to work at 1pm on Mondays, I thought "what great timing, I'll put the pan of beads on the Q and go get dressed for work. It has to cook in the oven for 30 minutes so it will take a while on the BBQ too, right?" Side note: I should mention that my sense of smell is quite non-existent in most cases. I can only smell a few things, melting plastic isn't one of them unless I'm right next to it.
Back to the story: So I'm upstairs getting ready for work, less then 10 minutes has elapsed, and the beads are melting nicely in the pan on the BBQ, or so I thought. Suddenly, my doorbell starts ringing frantically and I run to the door to find a neighbour, who lives quite a few houses away from me, concerned for my safety and about to call the fire department because apparently there's a fire in my backyard. (I should mention that I really can't smell smoke either unless I'm in it too) So I grab the fire extinguisher and head to the back yard. There are huge flames shooting out of the BBQ! I spray the extinguisher on it and then use some oven mitts to open the lid where the beads are on fire. Not just a little fire, but a raging burning mess of flame and black smoke that is now filling all the backyards downwind of mine. The fire extinguisher quickly took care of the fire, but the resulting smoke and stink, well that took a while to dissipate. There was a bit of a wind that day so after an hour or two it was probably ok, but hey, I can't smell so I don't really know. ;-)
The funniest part is that my friend who lives next door (downwind) to me had been out running errands and got home shortly after. Unfortunately, all her windows were open so her house was very stinky. (sorry!) After she checked to make sure it wasn't something in her house on fire, she realized that, oh right, it was me. Who else would burn plastic for fun? We've only been friends for a short time, but she's got me pegged. :-0
Follow-up: the BBQ is fine, I cleaned it and it has been cooking our meats to perfection ever since.
So now comes EPIC FAIL #2
Most of you know I scrapbook. I usually use a paper trimmer to cut my paper but when the blade is dull and I don't have a replacement at hand, I use a small utility knife. You can see where this is going already can't you? So this is June 11, the day after the burning bead inferno. Again it's morning before my shift starts at 1pm. I'm making progress on some pages and cutting away like crazy when all of sudden I rip the knife right across my index finger. Great, just great. After the ensued panic calms a little in my brain, I accept that there's a lot of blood gushing from my finger (but not one drop got spilled on my desk, I always keep tissues close at hand) and I get a hold of myself enough to go next door to see my friend (the one whose house I stunk out the previous day) who is an EMT. I don't remember what I said because I was still in a bit of shock but she sent me to the clinic to get stitches. Thankfully it's right at the end of my street so off I trudge with an umbrella and some gauze tightly held around my finger.
One tetanus shot later, the doc determines I don't need stitches - Yay! It gets bandaged but I can't get it wet and I can't bend it because it's cut across the knuckle. So, all I can think is "great, do you know how many times I was my hands at work because I've got ultrasound gel all over them?" I pop in next door at my office and tell everyone the story. Everyone agrees I need to stop crafting. Maybe, just for a bit. We all decided that a crafting moratorium was in place for one week. After all, bad things come in threes and my boss actually wants me to show up for work.
I have a nice scar to remind me of the incident.
Thankfully, it is actually hard to see but it goes diagonally from the cuticle down across the knuckle.
And now time for EPIC FAIL #3....
Now before you get all worried and think I dismembered a limb, this story caused no personal injury. Hmmm, maybe it did. Breathing lots of smoke can do damage right?
June 26, one more day of school (notice there were no crafting related injuries or fires during the moratorium period?): Robin and the kids are going to our friend's annual end of school sundae party tomorrow (I'll be at work). Robin is to bring peanut-free ice cream and brownies. In one of my perusing of Pinterest sessions, I find these really cute cookie bowls that are "so easy to make". All you do is place a muffin tin upside down and spread cookie dough on the raised muffin parts and bake. Sounds easy! I thought it would be so cool to make these and send them along to the party. Of course I was smart enough not to tell anyone they would be brought, after all, I have quite a reputation for not being able to bake. So, remember how I said in my intro post that I always set off the smoke detector when I bake. Yup, I did it again. turns out that I used too much cookie dough and it spilled out over the edge and BEEP BEEP BEEP, I managed to set off the smoke detector once again. So now my house is filled with smoke, and not just a bit of smoke in the kitchen, I mean a smoke visible and smellable - is that a word?- all over the place from burning cookie dough. And of course the cookie bowls are don't look like cookie bowls at all, they're more like "cookie mess".
Here's the pics from Pinterest:
Nice huh?And here's mine: LOL!!
Clearly, I should just give up. I've accepted that I'm not a baker, yet I keep trying. Why is that? I always think, maybe this time will be different. NOT! At least the cookie bits are edible, it was only the stuff that spilled over that burned. Anyway, my kids are now bringing cookie bits to the party tomorrow to have on their sundaes. Not as cool as the cookie bowls, but tasty nonetheless.
Yup, I love Pinterest. I'm sure there will be more fodder for you to laugh about soon. My craft moratorium has been over for a while now so it's only a matter of time before something else happens. I hope you have enjoyed laughing at me. :-) More to come... N.
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