Move Over, Martha!

Pin It Now!

I finally completed a craft I can bear to show you pictures of. Last week I wandered into JoAnn Fabric to try to find a third fabric that would rectify my last attempt at crafting. Let me tell you something. The only JoAnn I had ever been in was the Fort Smith, Arkansas version behind the Sweet Bay Coffee Co. on Rogers. Wait, was that a JoAnn? Google maps is saying no. So perhaps I've never been to a JoAnn. Either way the Colorado Springs store is essentially a warehouse of all things crafty. Bigger than Hobby Lobby, even! Quick aside: If you are going to sell large things in your craft warehouse, you should have a check out counter larger than one square millimeter. Why, craft giants, why? Also, Hobby Lobby: Bar codes. I'm just sayin'...

Anyway, back to my foray into the Whole New Crafting World of JoAnn Fabric.

I was thrilled by the enormous size of the store and all of their offerings because even though I can't "sew" or "paint" or "make pretty things," I like to pretend I can. There's a weird energy I get when I see things that can be made and believe that I, myself, am the one who can make them. Possibilities! Blind optimism! No matter that I obviously lack the talent and skill needed to complete this project!

Pinterest has done nothing to cure this delusional behavior.

I strolled around that store for hours salivating at all of the wonderful prospects it held. I could make curtains with all of these beautiful fabrics. I could construct a coffee table made from these milk crates. I could cover ALL of our walls with this chalkboard paint; we could WRITE ON THEM!

Things were getting out of hand. I had to take a step back and make a cost-benefit analysis of having chalkboard walls. My pragmatic nature took over and talked me down from the ledge. Perhaps I could just choose something small, the crafting equivalent of a baby step.

Oh, look. Here are some natural wood letters, I thought. I could spell our last name. I could paint them to match our living room. That might be nice.

So that's what I did. I present to you the natural wood letters of my last name* painted to match our living room:

Natural wood letters: Jo Ann Fabrics 

Paints: Martha Stewart Crafts 

Stencil: Martha Stewart Adhesive Stencils 2 Sheets/Pk-Fair Isle Dots

I used TWO paint colors. Two! I painted AND stenciled these letters! I hung them on the wall in semi-straight fashion! Who knows where I'll go from here. I might try to make a wreath! Or a bulletin board! Or maybe I will just paint our walls that chalkboard color...the possibilities are endless.

*To any Internet Creepers lurking out there: That's not really my last name. It's just a random assortment of letters. Don't try to find me.