Paper Airplane Mobile

Our internet has been down, and frankly it's not so much fun. I didn't realize how addicted I was. Thank goodness for phones! I literally check Pinterest every morning before I even get out of bed** just to see if any of my insomniac friends pinned something during the middle of the night that I just can't live without seeing yet. It's a sickness.

On our way out of the house this morning I ran into a neighbor and was reminded that I promised to babysit her girls today, a fact that had completely slipped my mind. So with no internet and being "stuck" at home for several hours I finally got on this ridiculously easy airplane mobile I've been wanting to make for The Boy's room.

Did I say it was easy? This was one of those embarrassingly simple projects.

Step 1: find a stick.
Step 2: fold paper airplanes.
Step 3: hang airplanes from stick.
Step 4: hang stick from ceiling.
Step 5: try really hard to think of a step 5 so it feels like there was some actual effort involved.

After searching the web, I came up with six airplanes that were possibilities and folded each out of computer paper trimmed to 5x7 so they would be petite when finished. I wrote the name of each plane in the center fold so I'd be able to remember which was which. Then I eliminated the one I liked least so there were 5 usable designs. I like to stick with odd numbers since I think they typically balance better visually. 

I have had this 5.5x8.5 striped vellum literally since the summer of 1999 when I planned a bridal shower for a friend. This seemed like a good use for the rest of it with some metallic gold paper thrown in for contrast and spunk. I promise it's got a sheen to it, you just can't tell here.

I kid you not, that's about all there is to show.

The hardest part of this project turned out to be figuring how to hang it without falling face first off my step stool (short people problems). I ended up using 3M command hooks, as I have done with nearly everything in our apartment. It is very light and two hooks would have handled the weight just fine, but then my crazy imagination pictured one coming loose for some reason and the branch falling on my sleeping baby - so I added the third for extra precaution. 

I really love it! It's simple, and airy, and just adds a little something to make the room feel more baby centered than just a crib stuck in the storage room, which let's face it, it pretty much is. Coupled with the map from my teaching supplies and a world travel theme started to emerge. One day he'll have a room that is all his own, after all, they tell me grad school doesn't last forever...

**In full disclosure, this post was mostly written in November, before I was awake periodically through the night with a newborn. Now I check Pinterest in the middle of the night while feeding a little human.

I found the paper airplane templates here:
http://www.funpaperairplanes.com/
http://www.10paperairplanes.com/

Embracing Chalk

Flashback: It's Algebra class, sophomore year. At the start of class my cute little nerdy Grandpa teacher would have several members of the class write math problems from the homework on the board. For most, there was anxiety over being given a problem that they'd actually finished, let alone done correctly. For me, there was anxiety over having to hold a piece of chalk. The gritty, rough, powdery surface left my OCD self feeling like I needed to take a shower. I did not like it, not one little bit.

Fast forward to today and the years-long trend now of chalkboard everything and I have had an internal battle. I don't like chalk, but those projects are all so cute!!! I don't want to have to hold chalk in my hand, but I want a cute memo board like that!! I don't want loose powder in the air or grungy erasers or the smell or anything else that goes with chalk, but I want to be able to make cute chalkboard messages that can change on a whim!! When it all comes together, 1 + 1 = I made a chalkboard. 

It's sort of my equivalent of selling out, just on a crafting level. Should I feel bad about that? 

I used this frame, that I have used many times before for my front door. I had to peel off some hot glue from a Valentines "wreath" and replace some scraped off paint from floral wire, but this little can of paint + primer spray paint by Krylon was just the ticket to take care of that.

Since a frame clearly needs something to go in it, I decided to use the glass for the base of the chalkboard. The chalkboard paint can said it should go on a smooth surface, but I was worried the glass was tooo smooth. I sprayed a super light coat of the white as a primer so the chalkboard paint would adhere better.

No need to worry getting perfectly even coverage, it's primer! We're going to cover that baby up.

I already owned a can of the brush on chalkboard paint, so that is the route I went. I think the spray paint would give a better final surface, but if you haven't figured it out yet, I tend to work with what I've got. Using a nice Zibra brush helped get thin, even coats. I love those brushes.

I let it dry, then added two more coats.

I absolutely do not love washing paint brushes, especially when I want to use them again soon, so I slapped that puppy into a sandwich bag between coats so the board would dry but the bristles wouldn't. It works famously. You probably knew that already, but I seriously do this all the time.

Long story short, or short project long, that's it! Then it's just a matter of making sure the paint is fully dry, slipping the glass back into the frame, and replacing the back. It's almost embarrassing how easy this is and how long I've debated making one.

Man, I wish I could paint these doors.

It's only taken two whole months to find chalk, and I finally found it for $0.47/box at Walmart (despite the fact that I've looked there at least a dozen times already). It's kind of frustrating to look for something for so long and then have it be so very cheap. Not that I'm complaining.

Squirt had a great time writing on it and I can't bring myself to erase her note.

 You can see progess is being made!! It's sure not done, but it's so much better.

It's going to live {for now} on Baby Boy's door. I figure it can hold messages like "Baby's Sleeping" or "Last ate at 3:42 a.m." so I actually remember in the morning when the boy had his midnight snacks. Most likely I will slave over making some sort of cute typographic saying, and then freak out when it gets smudged, but that is a topic for another OCD counseling session.

Now that I've sold out to chalkboard-dom, I think I'm rapidly getting addicted. I have more projects in mind with no end in sight. Now if only I could talk myself into not minding the feel of chalk...

Easy DIY Gypsy Coin Necklace

Squirt doesn't have school today, which means we've got a friend over to play. I cannot say enough how thankful I am that she has good friends. Yesterday one of my mom friends commented that Squirt gives her hope that her kids can grow up and still be sweet and innocent. That made my mother heart swell just a little bit and today I realize that I owe a lot of her sweet temperament to the kids she's chosen as her friends. It really is enlightening to see how many good, honest kids there are in the world. Even though I secretly know they give their own moms moments of sheer insanity just as my girls do for me...

As Squirt was gallivanting around playing Monster High with her BFF of the moment, I sat down to do a little creating. The other day I found these coin beads at Walmart for somewhere around $2. I love coin beads. Like, a lot. I was especially intrigued because the copper color is perfect to go with the brown leather boots I saved spit in test tubes in order to buy. {Long story, but lets just say there are interesting research projects to participate in while living in a University town}

Fortunately I already had a package of mixed copper colored findings from some earrings I made years ago. Honestly, the amount of stuff I have kept forever and moved multiple times is insane. In the bag was a length of chain, so I was good to go.

All I did was measure out the length I wanted the necklace to be and slap some of the coins on there. Well, it wasn't quite that haphazard. I think my head would explode if I didn't do at least a little planning.

I held the chain up to decide how long of a section I wanted the coins to fill, then measured from each end to be sure that section was centered. Then I attached the coins to every other link in the chain until that section was full. I was really surprised how hard it was to open these copper (fake) findings. Most base metals are more pliable than these.

I am pretty non-committal when it comes to necklace lengths since I have a wide variety of necklines and moods so I added one jump ring at 16.5 inches long with a little chain extender and another jump ring at 18 inches long.

The finished product! I find that the coins don't all lay flat on the table because of the way the chain gently rotates, but once it's on I love how it all lays.

(Ignore the crazy storage room that I've claimed for a project space since it's the only room in our apartment that gets natural light)

Even more than that I love how it gently jingles when I walk. I feel a touch sassy like I'm wearing a bejeweled scarf for belly dancing.

The goal was to coordinate with my boots, and it does. It also exposed exactly how lame I am in front of the camera and how desperately I need to get new layering tanks. 

What I love about this project: 

• cheap! affordable
• the color can be layered with gold or silver, real or costume jewelry (here I've layered it with a 30" 14k yellow gold snake chain from my "real jewelry" phase of life that fits around my neck twice)
• it was relatively fast to make
• the jingles
• it coordinates with my favorite boots

What I would do differently: 

• file my nails afterward since jewelry tends to beat them up
• do my hair before taking any pictures

If I get ambitious I may add a second strand but I hesitate since I think it would limit the layering options. I love it, but I already can't wait to see how much better it looks when my hair is straightened and I have some earrings on.