PIECE DE RESISTANCE

Sometimes I forget how much fun it is to create. I may have mentioned before that I have an issue with wanting to get to the end result of things and forget to pay attention or enjoy the process of getting there. Whether it be baking bread, drilling holes for cabinet hardware, sewing, my spiritual journey, a road trip....

Sometimes this desire to just see the finished product deters me from even starting. I think it's going to take too long, or be too hard, or I don't quite even know how I'm going to do it. But it always happens, that once I get going on a project I love the process, even when I mess it up. And seeing the end result, even when it's not what I imagined, is so much more rewarding for having been through the process.

Being crafty is one area where I'm learning to just jump on it, and enjoy the process. Plus, I figured out that I can satisfy my obsession with patterns and colors with seasonal crafts instead of painting my walls a different color or recovering chairs every few months. And crafting is my favorite way to feather my nest. It feels good to be surrounded by things made by Aaron or me or someone we know.

Earlier this month I crafted up these little bat-mobiles out of scrap-booking paper. Once I discovered how quick and easy it was to cut out each bat and string them up, there was a flurry of tracing-scissors-paper-fishingline-scissors-tracing-paper-fishingline and I ended up with several mobiles to give to friends!

Today, I finally started (and finished!) these framed dog silhouettes, which I've been wanting to do for a few months. I've had all the supplies for several weeks, but it was finding suitable pictures of the dogs from which to make silhouettes that was hanging me up. As it turns out, Scoop was easy. I easily found a picture of a German Shorthair Pointer online, print, cut-out, trace, and voilà.

Sadie was a bit more tricky since her breed is Brown Dog. So I sifted through all the pictures I have of her looking for one that would work. After two failed attempts using photos of her lying down ('cause she's our relaxed doggie) (but lying down didn't work because the silhouette always ended up looking like a cat or a big bat-lion) I found the perfect photo of her standing that shows off her curly-cue tail. She's standing elbow-deep in the ocean in the picture, so I had to fake the bottom part of her legs. I think they look kind of funky, but oh well. It doesn't have to be perfect.

You might also notice that Sadie's silhouette is kind of huge compared to Scoopie's. Oh well, it doesn't have to be perfect.

Oh, and did you see that the silhouettes are framed on top of the mat instead of fitting nicely in the 4x6 area? Oops. Oh well... it doesn't have to be perfect.

If you look really really close, you'll see that I even detailed Sadie's fluffy tail. Maybe no one else will ever see it, but I know it's there.

Anyway, I really love the way they turned out. Mostly because I think they are kind of funny and make me giggle a little bit.

I have a Thanksgiving mobile planned that I'm about to get started on. I don't have all the details worked out yet, but I'm excited to see where the process takes me!

I'm really liking this way of crafting. Just figuring it out as I go. And knowing that it doesn't have to be perfect to love it.