Monday, April 28, 2014

Embracing the Imperfect

My family has had a rough few weeks, and every time I think things are back to normal, we've been hit with something new.  The last time I posted, I mentioned my son's fractured wrist.  Well, right before Easter he came down with a severe lower respiratory infection.  Thankfully we caught it before it turned into pneumonia, but we had some scary days (and nights - the nights were so much worse).  He is doing much better (though still on a nebulizer a couple times a day), so I'm finally returning back to the blog.  

During those long nights, I started to watch Lain Ehmann's past Scrapbook Improvs, and her focus on telling the story and letting go of creating the perfect page really resonated with me.  So, I've decided to stop stressing and start creating!  I even made a video that goes through my why a bit more, and also goes through the kits I'll be using to start things off.  (Advance warning: sometimes my mouth and my brain have communication breakdowns.  There's a perfect example at the 10-minute mark.)




Extra credit if you watched the whole video.  :)

After filming the video, I brought the kits into my craft room, pulled out an Amy Tangerine embroidery template, and set the timer on my phone for 45 minutes.  I ended up finishing in 48 (it was the hand-stitching that did me in...I'm really slow).  Since it normally takes me well over an hour to finish a layout, I called it a win.  Actually, just finishing a layout is a win!

Here's the final product:



True story: I meant to create an 8.5 x 11 page on the orange cardstock, but totally forgot to measure it before starting the layout.  Once I noticed that my page was a bit larger than it should be (it measured 9.5 x 12), I decided to cut it down a bit and mount it on a 12x12 sheet.  Lesson learned: measure first gals!

Here's a close-up of the stitching that took me so darn long:



And here's my favorite part of the layout:


We're the crazy folks who look for hidden Mickeys throughout the park (my son had us buy the book)...I guess the next logical step is to start putting hidden (or not-so-hidden) Mickeys on my pages.  :)

I'm so proud of my page.  Honestly, it's been a couple months since I've created a traditional scrapbook page.  I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy the process.  As soon as I get some homeschooling and chores finished, I'm heading back to my craft room.  I'll be sure to share my next project with you.

How about you, Nesters?  Anyone else struggle with perfectionism? 

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Painting Easter Eggs

Hello Nesters!  Dawn here, with a fun Easter project that is also kid-friendly (a must in my house!).  I've mentioned before that we homeschool, and I'm often on the look-out for craft projects for my boys to complete for "art class".  Here is the result of this past week's class:


A few weeks back, I spotted a bag of paper-mache eggs at Hobby Lobby.  When I saw that they were on sale, I grabbed them for an Easter craft.  

For this project, we used Claudine Hellmuth's acrylic paint (which I think is no longer being produced, but any acrylic paint will work).  I also pulled out my paint brushes, disposable plates, and baby wipes (because my boys are nothing if not messy!).


I divvied up the eggs, and let the boys get to work.  My eldest is currently in a cast (he fractured his wrist), but he still got in on the action.  We put two coats of paint on each egg.


And here are the eggs after the paint:


Can you guess which eggs they left for Momma to paint?  For some reason, those boys didn't want to touch the pink paint.  :)  If you look closely at the above picture, you can see that the eggs aren't perfect.  There is a part of me that really wanted to go back and clean them up, but I also wanted the kids' work to show, so I left them as is.  (Someone please tell me I'm not the only mom who feels this way sometimes.)

Once the paint dried (we actually left it overnight), we went back and decorated the eggs.  Again, you can probably figure out which ones were mine.  My husband actually got in on the action and painted a couple of these (and he doesn't like to craft, so that's a big deal in our family!).  Overall, the project took less than 2 hours (including clean-up) spread over both days. If you're looking for an Easter project, this is a quick one that you could definitely complete before the weekend - and if I know Hobby Lobby, those eggs are still on sale!  




Our eggs are currently sitting on a table in our foyer.  I'll be honest, they make me smile every time I walk past.  


I feel like I need to apologize for my lack of posting lately.  The past couple months have been very rough on my little family, as my two eldest boys have been dealing with some unexpected health issues.  We think things are a bit settled now, and I'm really hoping to get back into my craft room.  

Well, that's all from me.  I hope you have a very wonderful Easter!

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