When Good Crafts Go Bad or Operator Error

I'm putting this out there for you folks that say, "I can't craft."  Whether you say it because you don't think you have the talent/patience/ideas....this post is for you.   This is my story of a project gone wrong!

The kids have been at Grandma's for a couple nights!  Yeehaw!  Usually I would miss them, but I'm feeling really behind on my Books Enchanted stock that will be going into a couple of stores so I really wanted to be in the studio making books and potions.  I also had bags full of Grandma Rozen's doilies that I wanted to get started with (see previous post for that story).  I found this great project about a diy doily lampshade online.  I was really excited because I thought they were cool and shabby just hanging around, even without a light fixture in them.  Here's a pic of what the finished project was supposed to look like:

 

See, isn't that so pretty?  Love it.  I was imagining putting ribbon on the top to hold it up and fairy lights around it.  Fancy and shabby. 

So I had all my doilies.  I was going to try to match them up and overlap them over the balloons using wallpaper paste, as described in the instructions.  (try to ignore my 5000 apple juices in my cupboard. 

 I'm an extreme couponer too!) 



Easier said than done!  I used high quality wallpaper paste that had good "tackiness" but whoa, it was crazy trying to get these babies to stay where I wanted them.  Colorful language anyone?  I was so mad and frustrated by the time I was done, my design w the doilies was a nightmare.  I should have just stopped and walked away, but I had glue on everthing!  I had to finish!  Plus I was obsessed.  See how that doily just wants to fall off the yellow balloon (below)?  Plus I ended up cutting some of the doilies to get them to fit and not overlap too much.  My Grandma Rozen was cursing me from the grave  (and I mean cursing, that woman had language that would make sailors blush!)  

 I left them to dry overnight and went on to one other project. 

Online I'd also found an idea for making "doily bowls" using fabric hardener and a bowl as a "form".  You were supposed to embellish the doilies first w/ "interesting paper scraps and buttons".  I have plenty of those!  The cool thing about this project is that they were sewing the paper onto the doily which made for a neat look. 

I just bought this cute green stamp catalog from the 40s at the flea so I decided to cut out this little deer guy for an embellishment.  I also found a paper scrap from my aged paper and a few antique buttons.  For the green one I found some funny ladies from a 60s needlepoint mag.  I was able to "sew" the deer scrap on with my machine but the magazine pages were just too thin, so I glued them. 

Then I placed the doily over a bowl w/ wax paper around it so it wouldn't stick and left it to dry. 

Looks like a little hat.

So here's how my doily lampshades turned out (see below).  EWWWW, Right??  The shape reminds me of the eggs on Alien.  The whole thing went rather unexpectedly.  I popped the balloon and WHOA, it was a violent process.  The balloon shriveled and wrenched itself away from the doily.  It grabbed in places and the shape did not stay intact at all.  The entire thing was shriveling and collapsing in on itself!  The cat came running at the sound and sat below the hanging balloon-things, waiting to pounce in case he needed to defend me!  I swear this happend.  And yes, this time I did walk away.....

Then I came back after I had some coffee to see if anything could be salvaged.   And that's the point I want to make to all you would be crafters.  The cool thing about my books and my collage art is if I don't like the way it's turning out, I can always just put something over it to change it. Sometimes projects come along without that luxury, but who knows, maybe they'll be useful later for some project or idea I have no inkling of now.  So I kept my doily eggs and hung them up with ribbon in my studio, and assumed that someday, I may have a grand idea for them (maybe not). Can't wait to see what the hubby says when he sees them.  "What the hell is that?" 

The doily bowls turned out okay, even though I used wallpaper paste to harden them instead of fabric hardner.  The blue one is dry, the green one isn't yet.   This is the finished product.  I think it needs more embellishments.  It's def. not at the stage where I'd want to sell it or even put it on a little table in my house, but it's a step in the right direction.  I may give it to dad, since his mom made it.  I think he'll like it. 

See it's kinda pretty.