Creating Christmas - Memento Ornaments

I knew I wanted to do something for the baby's first Christmas, and I still had the hospital cap and bracelet that he came home with. I didn't know what else I planned to do with them, and this was so simple. Of course I got the larger ornament to be able to get the cap inside, and used a pen to move things around until I liked it.

This is our 3rd Christmas in this house, but really the first one in which we have time to decorate. The first one, we moved in about 3 days before Christmas, The second one we were visiting family in Australia and arrived home on Christmas Eve. Again, I found this idea on Pinterest and loved the simplicity - and bonus, I already had the materials!

Creating Christmas - Glass Globes & Sprinkles

Okay, we have all seen glass globe ornaments decorated in a bazillion ways - years ago I did a nativity scene on a glass globe by filling with paint for the background and painting details on the outside. When I found this on Pinterest though, I loved the idea to use sprinkles.

But I was skeptical of the outcome. My initial fears:

- clumping glue and thus clumping sprinkles

- dissolving sugar resulting in bleeding, runny colors

I am happy to say neither of these fears was realized. I think what really made it work was using acrylic varnish as the glue. I wasn't sure I had any so Modge Podge was going to be my back-up. I didnt have to use it though, so I am not sure how well it would work. The varnish is much thinner than white glue or Modge Podge, so it created only the thinest layer inside the globe. It also begins to dry quickly, so less chance of bleeding colors.

Since I was already doing peppermints, I stuck with the red and white idea. I tried plain red sugar crystals and a mix of red and clear. 

The plain red crystals were finer so they created a more complete coat of color on the inside of the globe, creating a textured but uniform look - almost like velvet. I love how the mixed crystals turned out. The crystals were larger, so the missed some spaces, but you can really see the texture and when light shines through they almost look like stained glass. 

Using the little bar or ball sprinkles would give you even more variety!

Creating Christmas - Peppermint Ornaments

Last year I told my hubby that our small apartment tree was not going to cut it in the new house, so this year I am going from a 6 foot tree to a 9 foot tree. Of course that means I need more decorations and ornaments, but instead of spending a lot on decor that is only up part of the year, I scoured Pinterest for ideas on ornaments I can make.

I fell in love with these peppermint candy ornaments from HelloHomebody and thought how hard can it be?

I had 6 cookie cutters in 3 sizes. In the largest I used 9 peppermints, in the medium I used 3 peppermints, and in the smallest I used 1 peppermint.



It wasn't that hard, but here is what the simple four-step procedure gorgeously depicted on Pinterest doesn't show you:

- Spraying cooking spray on the inside of a cookie cutter is messy and hard to do without a lot of over spray. I sprayed in short bursts and then used a paper towel to help get the spray into the corners of my stars.

- Cookie cutters are not flat against the cookie sheet. I noticed this when I first put them on the cookie sheet, but took a chance to see what would happen. Yes, some of the peppermint candy oozed out underneath the cookie cutter, but I found that I could score it with a toothpick while it was still warm and it would easily break off later. And even the scoring is not always necessary.

- If the candy cooks a bit too long, it will start to bubble up, but as long as it isn't burnt, it still makes a cool ornament. On a couple of batches, the candy was in the oven for a minute or so too long and created a more swirled design.

Out of my 3 batches, I lost about 3 stars which broke completely (too thin?) and I have a couple of stars that points broke off, but I am going to try to repair with glue or modge podge. Since I don't plan to eat mine, I am going to coat them with modge podge or acrylic medium so they aren't so sticky to touch.

The debris pile - mostly from candy that oozed under the cookie cutters and had to be broken off.
I plan to try to reuse it to create some more ornaments.

Creating Time For Myself

I finished the canvases and nursery projects just in time for the little one's arrival.

So now that he is here, where do I find time to create? At first I didn't. I was doing all I could just to eat, sleep and feed the baby. But then my wonderful friend (and "sister") Shannon sent me a birthday present. She gifted me a class at Craftsy. I had never heard of this site before, but it is pretty good. You can take online classes for a collection of different "crafts" from woodworking and gardening to drawing and painting. I chose a couple of classes in drawing / mixed media. Once I bought them, they still just sat in my account for a while, but slowly I have been able to start working through the lessons. Each class is about 7 lessons and each lesson is about 20 minutes, which works right now because I can watch in segments. Then there are "assignments" or projects designed for you to practice your new skills.

Another site where I have found great online classes for creatives is Creative Live. Creative Live has many classes ranging from photography and video skills to lifestyle and business improvement all designed for the creative minded. They have a calendar of classes that stream live for free, and you can buy classes from their collection to watch anytime at your leisure.

What about you? Do you know of other creative online classes? Where do you turn for classes online?

Mobile - A Sky Full of Stars

As I was browsing Pinterest back in the Spring for nursery ideas, I came across a pin of a mobile made from a bicycle wheel and paper airplanes. I loved the idea. But where to get a bicycle wheel? I finally found one I liked through eBay - and the 20" size was perfect for a mobile.

Then I put my engineer husband to the task of figuring out the best way to hang it. This is where the power of the Weatherwaxes come into play - "Weatherwaxes create!" (Makes me think of "Thundercats roar!" - hopefully some of you know what I am talking about.) My darling hubby, his mad CAD skills, and his CNC milling machine created a beautiful connector / bracket that pinned into the wheel and then into the wire cable. He even made sure that he could fit a wrench into the connector to tighten down the nuts. (Not sure I would have thought about that in the design process. I would have been more concerned about the aesthetics. We have lots more creative projects brainstormed, and I can't wait to share them - but they are Christmas presents so.... Turns out we make a pretty good creative production team.)


I thought the paper airplanes looked cool, but I wasn't sure if that's what I wanted to hang from the mobile. So with more browsing, I came across all kinds of origami and folded paper ideas. Then Coldplay came out with their new album Ghost Stories, and I saw the Target commercial with "A Sky Full of Stars," and decided I wanted to use stars, but I wanted them three dimensional and all of the origami versions I found were flat. That's when I turned to using papier-mâché forms and decoupage. 


My original idea was to use sheet music, and after much back and forth and consideration of other papers (leftovers form the Alphabet series, book pages, etc.) I stuck with the sheet music. I found a cheap-ish book of Jazz sheet music at the local Half Price Books and started tearing it up. I used the same PVA glue from the Alphabet series to collage the pieces of sheet music onto the stars and the sphere. The final decision was whether or not to add any color to the stars and moon, but they look so great just the way they are that I decided to leave them black and white.

Alphabet Series: D - Dublin, Ireland

And the last letter painting of the series - Dublin, Ireland. It wasn't last because I was putting it off. It was last because really I just couldn't decide what I wanted to use to represent Dublin and Ireland. So here it is - finally. At Trinity College in Dublin you can view folios from the Book of Kells, written and illuminated by monks in 800 CE and kept safe from invading vikings. Just outside Dublin you can view round towers, each with a single door about 3 meters above ground, thought to be used as bell towers, places of refuge, or both. And at the Hill of Tara, you can climb the hill and touch the "Stone of Destiny" were Irish high kings were thought to be crowned.

*Note: The Claddagh design comes from Claddagh (now a part of Galway City) in Western Ireland. The design we know today was created in the 17th century and represents love, friendship and loyalty.

Alphabet Series: E - Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)

Atop Castle Rock in Edinburgh, Scotland sits Edinburgh Castle. Castle Rock is a volcanic plug that rose 350 million years ago and has been occupied by humans since the Iron Age. And what about the Scottish thistle? According to legend, sleeping Scots warriors were warned of Norse invaders when one stepped on a thistle and cried out - and the thistle became a national emblem.

Alphabet Series: W - Warsaw, Poland

Who knew that Warsaw had a mermaid on their coat of arms? In Warsaw you can see a statue of the mermaid holding a sword and shield. She is Melusina from the River Vistula who is part of the legend of the founding of the city.

Alphabet Series: Z - Zurich, Switzerland

From Zurich, you can catch an alphorn performance - originally used by shepherds to communicate in the mountain meadows now played by over 4,000 Swiss musicians; travel to The Matterhorn - popular with tourists and climbers in the summer; and ski the Swiss Alps.

Alphabet Series: V - Venice, Italy

View great architecture on a gondola ride through the canals of Venice, a city of 118 islands connected by bridges.

Alphabet Series: U - Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, has become a modern manufacturing city, but before 1778 it was a nomadic monastic center and changed location 28 times - each location chosen ceremonially. The yurt is a traditional nomadic Mongolian dwelling, and 30%-40% of Mongolians continue to live in yurts.

Alphabet Series: T - Tokyo, Japan

In Tokyo take time to view Mount Fuji. Japan's tallest mountain has been the "star" of artwork for centuries, including Hokusai's 36 Views of Mount Fuji. (And in the Spring, enjoy the cherry blossoms.)

Alphabet Series: M - Mexico City, Mexico

When visiting Mexico City, take a trip to the ancient city of Teotihuacan and stroll down the Avenue of the Dead where you can see immense structures dating from 300 - 600 CE including the Pyramid of the Sun.

Alphabet Series: L - London, England (UK)

When in London, hop on a red double decker bus and take a ride to Big Ben.

Alphabet Series: K - Kathmandu, Nepal

In Kathmandu stop at the Boudhanath Stupa to see one of the largest domed stupas in the world.

Alphabet Series: I - Istanbul, Turkey

In Istanbul, visit the Hagia Sophia. It has been an Eastern Orthodox cathedral, a Roman Catholic Cathedral, an imperial mosque and now a museum. Originally constructed in 537 CE under orders of Emperor Justinian in the Byzantine Empire, it remained the largest cathedral in the world until 1520 CE and is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture.

Alphabet Series: J - Jerusalem, Israel

View the gold dome and mosaics of Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Israel.

Alphabet Series: S - Sydney, Australia

When in the "Land Down Under" stop in Sydney to view the Opera House in the harbor and see kangaroos hopping across fields and sitting on hilltops.

Alphabet Series: R - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

See Christ the Redeemer and celebrate Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.

Alphabet Series: H - Haarlem, Netherlands

The Netherlands are home to windmills and fields of tulips (among other things).

Alphabet Series: G - Giza, Egypt

Some colossal ancient architecture in Egypt.

Alphabet Series: F - Florence, Italy

The Florence Cathedral (officially The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, unofficially Il Duomo) was begun in 1246 CE according to the designs of Arnolfo de Cambio and completed in 1436 with Filippo Brunelleschi's dome. You can read more about the drama of engineering the dome in Ross King's Brunelleschi's Dome. (I had to read it in college.)

Alphabet Series: Q - Quebec City, Canada

Quebec City is one of the oldest cities in North America and the only city with remaining walls (ramparts).

Alphabet Series: P - Paris, France

How could I do a travel series and not include Paris?

Alphabet Series: O - Oslo, Norway

Home of the Vikings and fjords. Scott has been to Oslo and visited the Viking ship museum where you can see three ships built between 820 - 900 CE.

Alphabet Series: N - Nairobi, Kenya

Just outside Nairobi, you can find African savannah animals roaming. (And sometimes you can find them stopping traffic in the city, too.)

Alphabet Series: C - Cuzco, Peru

Down to South America to go up into the mountains to Cuzco, Peru and the Inca city of Machu Picchu.

Alphabet Series: B - Bangkok, Thailand

In Bangkok, you can view a collection of wats, or temples. You can also take an elephant ride through the jungle. Elephants have been revered animals in Thailand, used in war and as beasts of burden. Unfortunately the tourist trade has wrecked havoc on the wild population of Asian elephants.

Alphabet Series: A - Agra, India

In Agra, India, you can find the Taj Mahal, a beautiful combination of Islamic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles. And the beautiful peacock is the national bird of India.

Alphabet Series: Y - Yaounde, Cameroon

In the forest close to Yaounde, Apes Action Africa works to rescue and rehabilitate Great apes. Cameroon is also one of the only places in the world where the goliath frog, which can grow up to 12.5 inches in length and 7.2 pounds, lives.

Alphabet Series: X - Xian, China

Xian, China - home of giant pandas and the Terracotta Warriors.

I was going to start with the letter "A" and go through the alphabet in order,  decided to start painting with the letter "X." I thought it would be easier and less intimidating to jump to painting details with a black and white panda rather than the Taj Mahal and a peacock.

Alphabet Series: The next steps - painting

Back to the alphabet series...I now have about 10 weeks until Baby Weatherwax arrives, so it is time to get things going if I want the paintings to already be hanging on the wall.

I was on a roll at the end of May - I had just gotten back from a beach vacation and hubby was out of town on work, so I could spread my papers, paints, etc. out on the dining room table and not worry about cleaning things up. At that time, I was able to get the majority of the canvases painted with white paint. I wanted to white out the "positive space" of the image to give myself a blank canvas to work on and to create a layered look in the final paintings. This step went pretty quickly, but because of the paint I bought, I had to do multiple coats of white to get the coverage I wanted - on some of the papers I applied four coats.

Then my sister and her boyfriend came over for dinner -
so the dining room table got cleaned off and all of the materials were returned to my "studio" area (umm, really it is more of a room to hold my art supplies - it does have a table to "work" on but really is currently horizontal storage) and the canvases were stacked up. (Not to mention I still needed to buy papers for about five of the canvases.)

Agra, India: Taj Mahal and peacock

Rio de Janiero: Christ the Redeemer and Carnaval dancer

Xian, China: Terracotta Warriors and panda

A month later...
The canvases are still sitting stacked on my art table. Granted, I went on vacation and have had other projects to work on, but yesterday, I reclaimed the dining room table as a work space and started painting the details. After a full eight hours of painting, I finished four letters. As the paintings are completed, I will post them each in their own posts. I am still deciding the best way to include the alphabet letter / the name of the city / the name of the experience, site, etc. so if you have any ideas, let me know. Right now I am thinking about printing the city, country and applying it as a collage element.

Less than PERFECT is OK!

Wow, it has been more than a month since I last posted something! In that month, I have worked on getting the alphabet series to the next stage (more on that in my next post), but I have also done some traveling - a girls' trip to Cancun and a relaxing vacay to the mountains in Red River, New Mexico.

Other than that, time just seems to be slipping away... so here's what I have been working on:
- Staining a bookshelf white
- Choosing fabric and sewing curtains

Both of these are projects for the nursery, and they are self-imposed by my "need" to control the aesthetics of my environment. (I mean, let's be honest, the baby is not going to care what the bookshelf or the curtains in the room look like.) Both projects also turned out to be lessons in letting go of perfection.

Now I don't claim to be perfect, in fact, most of the time I feel FAR from perfect, but that doesn't seem to stop the constant striving - which can be good (in school) and stressful (in real life). So, I did what I usually do - I researched the options, researched the methods and processes and decided I could go the DIY route to achieve what I want at a price (my husband) approved. The problem is, I am not okay with things LOOKING "bad."

So with no prior experience in staining furniture, I decided, after reading tips from pros, that I could do it - turns out I can, as long as I am willing to overlook small imperfections in corners (which no one else will notice). So after multiple hot, humid mornings of painting on and wiping off white stain and a couple of incidents of stain drying too fast and needing to be sanded off, we have a white bookcase that looks great in the room and will eventually be filled with books and toys, hiding and bits that I find lacking.


Sewing curtains is nothing new for our family. We sewed half curtains for the majority of our windows when we moved into the house. (Turns out my engineer husband was much better at sewing consistent straight lines than I was.) So I went into this project somewhat dreading the need to sew multiple two-yard straight lines.

In this case, sewing is not a process I enjoy, and I was not doing it to experience something new - I was doing it because I wanted curtains that looked good in the room. The pressure was on! I have to say, I took my time, made careful measurements, spent an afternoon folding, pinning and ironing before I started any sewing. On the sewing day, I had to tap into my meditative breathing so as not to give myself a heart attack from the stress of "the straight line," but in the end, everything worked out just fine. I could point out all the flaws I saw while I was sewing and looking at the curtains from about 10 inches away, but now that they are hanging in the window, no one will see those flaws.

That is the thing - the baby won't notice and anyone else looking at the room will only see the big picture - the colors, the toys, the patterns and the fun. The imperfections are not from a lack of effort or trying, but from a lack of practice and experience. If I had not let go of the perfection, I wouldn't have a finished bookcase or a new set of curtains. I would be stalled by the FEAR of what might go wrong and never move forward with what could go right - the 85% that is GREAT would never have happened because of the 15% that could use more practice.