I MUTILATED A CLOCK

I know… it was a crime of passion and I feel no remorse. Mainly because I have diabolical plans for its remains. You are probably thinking “What steam-punk rococo funk monstrosity is this woman attempting?” But I can see it, and it’s going to be marvelous…. Or it’s going to be a disaster, either way the clock ran painfully slow so no harm, no foul. I’m actually going to use its hollow remains as a shadow box/display case. I can’t really take credit for the idea as it is something I saw in the Tim Holtz idea-ology section at Michael’s today. Michael’s actually sells brass alarm clock shells, but… screw that I have one at home that would be so much more fun to tear apart. With bonus steam punk gears inside! Side note: if anyone knows how to remove pins from sprockets that would be helpful information. This is just a “side” project with no deadline or motivation other than “oh my god I’m going to tear apart a clock older than I am”. Not that everything else I do is a primary imperative in any way. I’ll get there eventually or I’ll just have a torn apart clock laying in a box for a long time and I hate useless things laying around; I guess that’s the motivation.

So what else will be coming up in the next few weeks, possibly months, maybe by the end of the year? I’m not good at deadlines when it comes to personal projects.

As previously stated in Old Junk New Funk (one day it will have a better title) I do really have an overabundance of jewelry boxes so another makeover is coming along with one of them. This time it will be my first foray into Milk Paint. If you have any tips or tricks you would like to share with me regarding that please let me know. I figured I better start small when it comes to that because I have a couple of future projects that I know I want to use either Milk or Chalk paint on.

Speaking of those (far off) future projects one is a new (and by new I mean antique or thrift store) desk, seeing as though my marvelous computer that has allowed me to start this blog is currently sitting on a fold up table. That will have to wait until funds allow, which shouldn’t be too long off. Another major project to be tackled is liable to be my boyfriend’s new (and by new I mean thanks to our dear friend who moved to the sunshine state) table. We will be reupholstering the seats at the very least and likely painting the chairs and table base, though maybe not all of those things all at once. We have yet to decide if we will paint or just refinish the top. It’s something that I would like to do in chalk or milk paint so I’m doing this dry run on the jewelry box to see how things go. And once again any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated. This is another something that is going to have to wait until funds allow (upholstery fabric is surprisingly expensive) but the greater obstacle is waiting until the weather cools down a good bit. 95 degrees plus 95% humidity is not ideal for painting.

It is never a good idea for me to go into a craft store or any HBA section as I spend too much money and time there. Clearance at Michael’s was amazing. I have a $10 gallery wall in the making. This is a project that will take longer to arrange than it will to actually make. Just slap some paint on it, find a good wall space, and figure out how to arrange them. And I have exactly the wall. Because they are so light weight I’m guessing if you placed strip magnets on the back of the smaller ones they would make wonderful refrigerator frames for kid’s artwork. Something I don’t have to deal with, but it’s a quickie tutorial I might do for those who do have little ones around. I can also probably attach them to the wall without putting holes in the wall thanks to their weight, so they would be great for apartment use as well. My mind is just going crazy with the possibilities of these cheap and wonderful little do-dads.

I don’t have any health and beauty blogs lined up. Mainly because I don’t feel confident in myself (despite it being my job?) but also I think beauty tutorials come across much better in video form and I don’t have the equipment for that. But I will continue doing write-ups on anything that I find particularly interesting. If I happen to try out any new products I’ll do reviews (Clinique smart serum review may be incoming). I have just started using prescription retinol (tretinoin) and will be chronicling my experiences with it but I would like to give it at least four weeks (more likely 6 or 8) to see how it does.

Anyway these are the things I have lined up. There are lots of little crafty things I have done over the years that (unfortunately?) haven’t been documented. I’ll put a couple pictures of finished projects below. I’m also working on a follow up blog post that is nothing but projects I’ve completed in the last year. Let me know if there is a project you would like to see me do a tutorial on, whether it’s a project I’ve finished once already or a new endeavor entirely.