Another One of "Those" Days

Seems like I am having a lot of these days of late. The dogs are still here with me so I am trying to find things I can do that will keep me busy but also that I can do while they are here and kind of like VelCro. It is impossible to do any project that requires any kind of movement on my part as they want to be right there with me and then think I'm playing with them so I really can't accomplish anything. What I CAN do is be on my computer or doing a craft or sitting and reading or thumbing through magazines, etc....anything that they can lie close to me and never have me out of their sight. Lol I guess it's a good thing to be loved so much!?!

And so, that is what I have been doing...and I seem to end up re-thinking things. It's actually kind of fun to zhuzh things up. Let's start with the "corn meal" Christmas container that I made. I found the "ribbon candy" label somewhere out there and printed it up while I was experimenting with my new editing program to see if I could do all that I wanted...and I could.

I tried to find a tin can just the right size but I couldn't so I resorted to the corn meal container. It is a hard cardboard-usually not my favorite craft material-but, for the way I am going to be using this-at least in the way I think I am going to be using it, it should be fine.

I painted the container using green chalk paint and then "rusted the top and bottom edges with antique wax and cinnamon put on with ModPodge. After all of that was dry, I swiped some distressing ink in walnut over the whole piece and glued on the label.

I loved the way this looked except that the label was a bit too "dull" (as in shiny versus non-shiny) for me. I knew that my spray sealer probably wouldn't help so I tested a small area and realized I could give the whole can a good coat of ModPodge and I could get the sheen I wanted without smearing the image as I had feared.

 Once this dried, it was exactly what I wanted it to be. I wish I could show you the finished product, but this is exactly as it sits right now. I am thinking that it might look cute with a small pine bough arrangement or even a small tree with some Christmas picks and maybe even some small pieces of ribbon candy here and there. I actually made ribbon candy ornaments years ago so I know I can grab them when the time comes.

Almost all of my Christmas greenery is on the top-most shelf in my garage-I think. I just know that in this heat the last thing I want to be doing is climbing up and down the ladder in the garage to find what I might want. I know HL is beginning to put out their Christmas...I think I'll just wait a week or so and then go buy what I need. I'll let you know when I finish it but I think it might be cute either in the kitchen or the family room which has more of the "kid" centered theme.

And then, I found this.

And, of course, I had to print it out. I'm not sure how I will use it just yet but I love the contrast of the purple against the sunflower in this picture and, while looking back on my sunflower decor from last year, I realized that I had actually started to introduce more purple into my design. I think I need to get the HL and see what I can come up with but you will definitely see this again soon.

And then I went back to my latest 4th of July image. I thought I had distressed it enough but when I saw the photo, I decided it was reading as a bit "too white" still so I gave it more overall distress and then hit up the edges with a bit of red and blue ink.

And here is where it has landed.

And now for something that is really a "reach". As I was looking at last year's sunflower decor, I once again focused on the paper bag sunflowers I had made using a brown crushed velvet for the center. Truth be told, I was sorry I used the velvet pretty soon after I had finished but decided to leave well enough alone...until today. Here's what they looked like last year. And, by the way, look at me being able to download a photo from "the cloud" onto my blog!!! Yay...and thank you Morgs!!

Somehow all I could see was that velvet and so, I decided to see what a little cinnamon and ModPodge would do. I wasn't going for the rusty effect-just anything NOT brown velvet. Lol

And here's where we are after it has dried...and I'm a happy camper. I've got a bit of cleaning up around the edges to do but, in person, it truly doesn't look like velvet any more.

 I know I am grasping at straws...but, I also know I will be happy in less than two weeks when these cuties once again make their appearance and I don't have time to address the "velvet" issue. Now if I could just find a Christmas ornament I would like to do this year, I could get started on that to stay busy. Unfortunately, I have looked through so many "pins" my eyes are bleary and I still can't find anything I want to try. It seems as if I have already done about every idea floating around out there. But, I'm not giving up. Hopefully my next trip to HL will give me some kind of inspiration.

I'm looking forward to a visit from my brother and sister-in-law tomorrow but I will be back soon. Until then, stay safe and stay tuned.