Gettin' My Craft On!

I have to admit something.  When I can't sleep -- which is often, thanks to middle age -- I stalk really talented and crafty blogs that are published by people who have more creativity in their pinky finger than I will acquire in a lifetime.  I desperately want to be a talented and crafty person, but God has other plans for me, I guess.  However, when I do get an inspiration and I have the materials on hand, I'll give it the good ol' college try and sometimes I am pleased with the result. This week was one of the best streaks of craftiness that I've had in a very long time.  The best part is that my daughter got her craft on with me and we had a really fun time just hanging out and creating something special together.  Now that's a blessing!

My goal was to do something with three photos I've had for quite a long time, but wasn't sure how I wanted to display them.  One is of our sweet sponsored child, Service.  Over the years we have received only a few photos of him, and he has changed so much since he was a wide-eyed, chubby cheeked 6 year old boy.  He is now a long and lanky 10 year old young man, and I wanted to have his most recent picture in a place where the whole family can see it daily.  Sooo, enter my icky, plastic, faux gold leaf Dollar Store 3x5 frame.  I painted it, distressed it, made a pretty flower out of a few pieces of fabric, glued some magnets to the back, and voila!  Service's photo is in a nice frame on our refrigerator -- definitely a location that sees high traffic on a daily basis!

The second photo was an 8x10 of our extended family from Thanksgiving 2009.  I love the photo because we all look normal and everyone is actually smiling a genuine smile.  For those of you who know our extended family, it is a feat to get us all together in one place at the same time -- and everyone managing to actually look like they're enjoying being together!  This is a photo that I want out on a permanent basis, but I wanted to spruce it up a bit for each season.  So, I got out my trusty black spray paint again and managed to refurbish an old white frame I had stored away.  After the paint dried, I cut a 1/2" piece of tin flashing (used for gutters) and Gorilla Glued it to the top middle of the newly painted frame.  I then made several bow -- some to match our Christmas decor, some to match our Valentine's decor, summer, fall, etc.  Then I glued a strong magnet to the back of each ribbon.  This way, I can change out the ribbon to coordinate with whatever decor I'm using during a particular season.  Pretty nifty idea, if I do say so myself.  And I do.  Say so, that is.

Our last and final photo was actually taken from a Real Simple magazine about four years ago.  I loved the simple photograph depicting a pair of hands holding a tiny killdeer.  The quote underneath was from Henry James:  "There are three important things in life.  The first is to be kind.  The second is to be kind.  And the third is to be kind."  Words to live by, don't cha think?  Anyway, I finally got around to doing something with it.  The photos don't really do it justice.  I'll just say that Doug really likes it, so I guess the project turned out to be a success.

So many ideas, so little talent.  Still, I'll take these quiet days of inspired craftiness and time with my precious girl...whatever the outcome of the project, it will be worth the time spent together.


Be blessed!