A New Year

Whew! 

Another year has passed, and a new one greets us. Although, 2014 seemed to go by a lot faster than 2013... I think a few months were skipped there. At least it feels that way. I don't know about you, but I'm torn between the sense that a lot was accomplished this past year (for us, it included buying a house, buying a new car, and me starting a new job that brings me more professional satisfaction than anything I've done up to this point in my life), and the nagging feeling that I could have done more (eat better, exercise more, start some updates on the house, blog with some level of consistency, read more books). Part of me blames my inner perfectionist, but I think it really just comes down to the idea that I want to get as much out of this life as I can. Time seems to be moving at the speed of light these days, and it doesn't make sense to waste a moment of it.

So, with that in mind, I would like to make some changes this year. I won't call them resolutions, because that word always seems to set up my best intentions for utter failure. But, I would like some things to be different this time around... less idle time that doesn't seem to ever accomplish anything, and more time spent on meaningful endeavors. 

Here's my approach (which I'm surprised was so shocking to me once I realize it's the same advice I give my Early Intervention families at work): fit my aspirations into my already existing routines. It doesn't sound that radical when I write it down, but I'm hoping it works better than my customary attempts to overhaul everything I'm doing to make lasting lifestyle changes - which never last beyond a few weeks at best. 

For example: I love Pinterest. LOVE IT. I am so addicted to scrolling through all those fabulous ideas and repinning them with the conviction that I will obviously try it later when I have more time. Honestly, I've pinned thousands of different things, and have accomplished maybe 20 of them - and that's likely an overestimated number. Pinterest is a HUGE time suck for me, but I keep doing it because it is so entertaining! I like to collect and categorize and sort all those wonderful ideas, but it's rare that I actually do something with the information I've assembled. 

So, in this Year of Action and Purpose for me, I'm turning my Pinterest addiction into a game - I'm calling it The Pinterest Alphabet, and I'm inviting you all to play with me. Since my usual routine typically involves me hanging out at home most week nights, I figured I could be working on some projects while I'm watching TV, instead of just mindlessly sitting there. And since I've already got a list of projects to choose from on Pinterest, my first hurdle is deciding which one gets to be the inaugural project! Hence, The Pinterest Alphabet comes to my rescue. 

Since this week is the first full week of the new year, it gets the first letter in the English alphabet: A. Which means I have to pick a pin from Pinterest (that I've already pinned - I don't really need to go searching for more at this time, since the whole idea is to use what I've already got) that starts with the letter "A". In this case, I found two options already on my Crafts board: arm knitting a scarf, or assembling an "admit one" shadow box for all of my old ticket stubs from concerts and games that are currently sitting in a pile on the floor of our guest room. 

Here's the beautiful thing, though: whichever option I don't pick this week, I can do later this year during the 27th week. Since the alphabet has 26 letters, and each year has 52 weeks, each letter gets two opportunities for projects. 

Which one will I pick for this week? I'll let you know Sunday, when I share a photo of the finished product. 

But, what I really want to know is which project will YOU pick this week? Which new craft, or skill, or hobby will represent your "A" week this week? You have until Sunday to complete it, because Monday is the beginning of "B" week!

Ready... set... GO!

A.

My Turn: DIY Monogram Burlap Wreath

Good morning, and Happy First Day of July!

I don't know about you, but I can't believe how quickly June went by... although I am looking forward to some more consistent sunny weather here in the beautiful Northwest (June is always a toss-up... will you wake up to heavy rain and 60 degrees, or sunny and 80 degrees? You just never know!). 

Our biggest to-do for our new home is our backyard, but it's such a big, intimidating task that my husband and I keep finding other, smaller projects to tackle instead. One of my personal goals is to use up our leftover wedding decor as much as possible when decorating our home.

So, I present to you (drumroll, please)... burlap wreaths!

But, something was missing... it still seemed incomplete to me.

As popular as chevron prints have been, I haven't done ANYTHING with chevron - so I decided that I'd spruce up the W with some paint. I figure, if I didn't end up liking the chevron pattern, I could just paint in the rest and have a solid colored W.

I apologize that I didn't take any pictures of assembling the burlap onto the wire wreath - I promise I'll do it for my next one, for those of you who are interested in how I arranged the fabric.

I initially didn't have any glue to attach my "hooks" (paperclips) to the back of the W, so I used duct tape. (Disclaimer: the tape holds up well in cooler weather, but when the direct sunlight hits the wreath hanging on the door on a hot day, the W ends up falling off. I'll try some hot glue and let you know if that holds up better.)

Next, I cut down the stems of some fake flowers and stuck them into the burlap (I find that if I weave the stems through a few of the burlap loops, and bend the stem a bit so it's not stick-straight, it stays in place pretty well).

Finally, it was chevron time. I didn't have any blue painter's tape handy, so I used some regular masking tape and created 90 degree angles when attaching the roughly 3 inch long pieces together. I tried my best to really push down along the edges of the tape to try to prevent paint from leaking underneath it.

Next, I applied some white acrylic paint with a sponge brush all over the W. After waiting about 10 minutes for the first coat to try, I then applied a second coat.

My favorite part was next - the big reveal! I carefully removed the tape and was pretty happy with what I saw, with the exception of a couple blurred areas where the paint got under the tape.

The last step: bending the paperclips to create little hooks, then placing the W onto the wreath. Voila!

For me, the most time-consuming part of this project is getting the burlap onto the wire wreath, but even then, that only takes about 30 minutes (again, sorry I didn't take any pictures of that process - next time!). I chose not to glue down any of the decor on the wreath so that I can easily remove the items and change it out with new stuff whenever I want.

I love this way this turned out, even with it's imperfections. 

What crafts are on your to-do list this month?

A.