And.... she's back!

Well, hello! Yes, it's been a lonnngggg time. As my son says, don't judge.

I wanted to share my latest little project, which uses a beat up frame to make a lovely door kind-of-wreath. I tried to think of a clever name for this, but it isn't happening. A frame that becomes a wreath... maybe a Freath? That felt sort of creepy, as I could also use it to describe a freak on meth. Not really the image I'm going for to welcome people to my home.

Here's how I made it:
I wanted to make the frame-wreath something I could change up with the seasons, so I decided on neutral paints. First I painted a couple of layers of a sea foam shade of acrylic paint on an empty frame. I then painted 3 coats of white acrylic paint over that. I didn't bother with taking too much care with neatness since I knew I would be distressing the paint after it dried.

Note: I am not a great painter. Distressing is such a fabulous thing for those of us not gifted in this area.

After the paint dried, I distressed the paint with a sanding block and a heavy duty nail file. I find that a nail file gives me greater control in creating small pockets of distress. Great band name: Small Pockets of Distress.

I glued down thick pieces of felt on the corners of the frame. This keeps the back of the frame from scratching up or chipping the glass on the door.

Now, what to put in the middle? Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, hearts seemed the best way to go. I took a medium-sized heart-shaped foam wreath and wrapped it in red and white chevron ribbon, gluing it down along the way with E6000. I had a wooden heart with a chalk board center from Hobby Lobby, so I pinned that into the foam wreath to allow it to dangle. On the chalk board, I wrote Love Lives Here. I'm kind of afraid to see what the guys in the house might change this to say.

I had my frame ready and the middle ready, but how to put them together? I didn't want to permanently affix them together, since I want to be able to change out the middle. It was time for my favorite solution for hanging things: tiny 3M Command strips. I put one on the back of the frame, added a ribbon loop to the heart, then hooked the ribbon on the tiny Command strip.

As a final step, I added museum putty to the back of the frame in strategic spots to anchor the bottom of the frame to the glass. This should help keep it from banging around against the glass.

Let's hope my next entry isn't How to Repair Your Glass in Your Front Door.

Peace & Love But No Resolutions

Hope you are all having a great new year! I'm having a bit of post-vacation traumatic stress disorder, where returning from a lovely trip to visit the in-laws back into the real world of work and schedules is somewhat traumatizing and stressful. Not only did I get to visit with a lot of family I don't often see, I also got to visit with two old, dear friends and take in a Virginia winery, Potomac Point. Family, friends, wine, and gifts-- you can see where settling back into the old 9 - 5 (yeah, don't we wish?) would be, let's just call it "not as fun."

Coming back to the real world at the start of the new year has led to a few conversations about resolutions. I am not a fan of new year's resolutions. I feel like if you want to change something, you shouldn't have to wait for a special day to do it. Except for diets. Everybody knows you have to start diets on Mondays.

So, no resolutions for me, but I am trying to remind myself during this period of increased stress to be peaceful and loving. That's not always easy to do. To help me remember and focus on it, I've hung up some tags that I made for my words blocks, along with a matching wreath.

Hopefully my crafty reminders will help me find peace. If not, I brought back some wine from Virginia.

Shanti Om,
Jenny