Skip to main content

Crafting Fail

So you know how there are those websites that do Pinterest projects that failed miserably...well this is one of my craft fails...not from Pinterest but the concept is the same.  Something that seemed simple...that did not go well, that I hope you can learn from. 

 I "rescued" a bird bath from the curb that had a hole in it.  I thought "no problem, I'll mosaic over it and the  hole will be covered and it will be prettier." 
Seems small enough to cover

Lesson 1:  in mosaic-ing-or any other any craft project. Have the right materials. 


You should not try breaking pieces with a rolling pin...you'll just dent your rolling pin
Quick-drying is not what you want for a mosaic-art takes time!
As you can see from some of the above pictures I did not have the appropriate materials.  I had purchased some plates from the thrift store to break for my mosaic, but I couldn't find a hammer so I proceeded to smash them with a rolling pin.  This will not work, this will result in tiny shards breaking off instead of one large piece becoming several workable pieces.  You should not use a quick-drying medium.  I was using Plaster of Paris, which would have been fine, except it was literally drying before I could get more than a few pieces stuck into it.  Read the directions, get a medium that's meant for what you're doing.  

Lesson 2: Have a plan. 


Mosaics are not usually abstract and if you want it to have some sort of design you need to know and have the pieces ready for that design because your medium is drying while you're thinking, it doesn't stop working just because you do. 

Have the pieces you need ready 
Since I hadn't planned out my design in advance I quickly realized I didn't have enough gold pieces to go around the outside of my flower once I was finished with it.  This is a problem because by the time I go get more pieces of china and break them my medium was dry.  

Lesson 3: Sometimes you have to let go. 


From memespp.com


This was my second (yes second) attempt at doing a mosaic to rescue this bird bath (yes I know my second attempt looks like my nieces did it thank you for your moral support).  That's two times that I failed and I have discovered that I was not enjoying it, and it wasn't worth it.  I literally was spending more money and time into something than I spent on it (it was free remember!).  So this project, we're going to accept defeat...and let it go.  

So the moral of this story is yes, even my amazing self fails sometimes (its actually my specialty). So now go forth and FAIL!


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoes

Shoes Shania Twain Tell me about it... Ooh! Men. Have you ever tried to figure them out? Huh, me too, but I ain't got no clue How 'bout you? Men are like shoes Made to confuse Yeah, there's so many of 'em I don't know which ones to choose (yeah, yeah, yeah) Ah, sing it to me If you agree There's the kind made for runnin' The sneakers and the low down heels The kind that will keep you on your toes And every girl knows how that feels (yeah, yeah, yeah) Ouch, ah, sing it with me Chorus: You've got your kickers and your ropers Your everyday loafers, some that you can never find You've got your slippers and your zippers Your grabbers and your grippers Man, don't ya hate that kind? Some you wear in, some you wear out Some you wanna leave behind Sometimes you hate 'em And sometimes you love 'em I guess it all depends on which way you rub 'em But a girl can never have too many of 'em It's amazing what a little polish will do... Men ar...
4 comments
Read more

DIY Wood Stencil Sign

I purchased these cute blank signs from Target--here's what the original item looked like.  The original item Then I created a stencil using 631-this is removable vinyl.  I chose removable vinyl mostly because I had ordered a large number of a color I didn't intend to use again and had extra, also it works great for things like ceramics where you're worried 651 permanent vinyl won't remove easily.  The key for me was USE TRANSFER TAPE.  In the past a majority of my bleeding has been from the centers of the letters because I was individually placing them by hand and they weren't sealing properly.  Transfer tape not only removes me individually placing letter centers, but it also gives you a better seal.  Just take an old credit card and burnish your transfer tape FOREVER.   I had to use two layers of transfer tape cause my roll isn't wide enough.  I mean, burnish until you think there can't possibly be any bubbles under that piece of viny...
2 comments
Read more

Husked Tomato

My Husked Tomato plant I first became acquainted with Husked Tomatoes last year at Wilmington's Tomadah Paradah event.  The plants are more low growing and shrub-like than your ordinary tomato and the fruits are surrounded by husks such as those you would find on a tomatillo.   According to Trade Wind Fruits they are,  "Small orange fruit similar in size and shape to a cherry tomato. The fruit is covered in papery husk. Flavor is a pleasant, unique tomato /pineapple like blend. The ground cherry is very similar to the cape gooseberry, both having similar, but unique flavors." I would definitely agree that they have a unique flavor I wouldn't have said pineapple but reading it that's not a completely inaccurate description.   The fruit In the above picture you can see the husks that form around the fruit.   The fruit are quite a bit smaller than a normal cherry tomato would be (even smaller than most grape tomatoes I think) and are m...
1 comment
Read more