Ar-teest

We carved pumpkins this year and we though it would be fun for Abigail to paint her little pumpkin. On Halloween I got out all the stuff. Smock, check. Paper drop cloth, check. Paint & brush, check. It got a little messy after that. Mostly she wanted me to squirt more paint out. And walk around. In the paint. After 5 minutes I came to my senses and cleaned up myself, my baby, and my floor. Then I found some Jolly Roger stickers which Abigail thoroughly enjoyed sticking to her pumpkin. Also, twenty minutes before nap time was probably a little ambitious for this adventure. I think with better timing, a high chair, and maybe another parent we could really accomplish some great artwork, or at least have some more great laughs.

if, then.

If you need a holiday treat then make sugar cookies. If you find you don't have an egg then substitute a mixture of ground flax seeds and water like someone on the interweb said to do. If you decide the cookies taste a little weird then make some icing.  If you discover there's no powdered sugar at home then you can try making your own in the blender. If the flavor of the homemade powdered sugar icing only adds to the cookie weirdness, then go to the store to get ingredients and make gingerbread cookies instead.

Here's to a happy and safe changing of the calendar... Best wishes to all of you for the coming year ♥

one ring

Whenever we're at my In-Law's house Scott finds his way into the workshop.  Over the holidays I followed him in there, and I'm finally showing off my project to you. I knew what I wanted to make...something I'd tried and failed at once before. I applied a little bit of Moorea

+ a little bit of Something's Hiding in Here

to a slice of dowel and a chunk of rock,

added a little bit of sticky stuff...

and fashioned myself a lovely piece of jewelry.

I had tried this task once before, but got over-zealous with a vice and cracked my ring right in half.  This time I had more of a plan and I refined my process to be more fun and efficient (tiny wood chisels...yay!) and was delighted with my success. 

Oh, but I also cracked this ring, just not until I was out of the house wearing it for the first time.

Several things led to this tragedy 1) my fingers change sizes all day [temperature+hydration?] and they're kind of strong from rock climbing every week 2) I don't work with wood often, and I'm sure I worked with the grain going the wrong way or something 3) I stupidly wore the ring to work...might have squished it on a door handle or knocked it on something.  

Oh well...I'm quite proud. The ring is still awesome, and still totally wearable...but I'm saving it for special dress-up occasions.

impatient

Today I wanted to share a example of my impatience...my need for instant gratification. I had a great idea for a bracelet yesterday...

It's hemp twine with a faux pearl bead.  The bead is strung on what I call a fish braid (these look really pretty in long hair too...), surrounded by some loose strands of hemp.  Looks cool, right? 

Hemp is kinda bulky and I struggled for a while with how to finish off the bracelet. I considered different knots, beads, wraps, elastic...I thought it would be best to go to the bead store and see what clasps they had that might work.  BUT I couldn't wait that long...

I wanted my bracelet NOW. I knew I wouldn't get to the bead shop for days, weeks even.  So what you see here is a tangled mess of knots, loops, and extra strands wrapped around, covered in a gluey mess.  The glue is the white goo you see...it actually dries clear, but this was after I got out of the shower. Yeah. So this will stay on for a while, then on to something new...or maybe an improved version of the mess I made here.

I'll show you a cool piece of jewelry later this week that is distinctly NOT a mess. It's beautiful, even.  

Happy ♥ Day