DIY Driftwood Picture Frame

 

Hello friends.  Today I am unveiling my first-ever DIY!  I like to keep things fun and simple so I thought I would share this with you. It doesn't require much effort.  

SUPPLIES:

- Four sticks that are roughly the same lengths (painted for more fun!)

- Clothespin
- Two eye screws (I use these )
- Baker's Twine or string
- Glue gun

First things first - figure out how you want your sticks to look; the sticks you choose for the top and bottom of the frame must lie flush with the wall. Glue the stick ends together after you've decided on your layout. Like so.

   

 

Once the glue has dried (shouldn't be too long) glue the clothespin in the center of the top stick.

After the clothespin is dry, screw in your eye hooks on each side of the top stick.  Depending on the size of the stick, this may be an inch or so from the ends.  Use your best judgement here. Then string your twine through the eye hooks and tie to desired length, trim the ends and then you're done!

Voila! And in case you're interested in sticks like mine, you can purchase my hand painted DIY Driftwood frame kit right here in my shop !

ETSY GRAND OPENING!!!

I'm pleased to announce the Grand Opening of my Etsy shop!

Shop: ThisFictitious

 

So I have been creating like crazy the past few days/weeks/months and I've finally been able to work out all the kinks and open shop!  I'm so excited to get all my projects up and out in the open.  Each one is special to me and I've taken care to ensure quality in each one.

Some of you may know what I've been up to but for those of you who don't I've been spending most of my days creating unique driftwood pieces.  I love the beautiful driftwood that I've found here in Hawaii and creating inexpensive household decor out of it has sort of become a requisite for those living in campus housing (i.e. temporary home + lack of funds = creating decor out of local finds).  So I thought I would share that novelty of my life with the rest of the world.  And there is definitely more good stuff to come! So please take a look around my shop (maybe "like" my Facebook page while you're at it! ) and let me know what you think!

Embrace the Camera

 This week I've somehow managed to maintain my peace and patience.  Something about my perspective has changed and suddenly it's become easier for me to live in the moment.  When I figure out how this came about I'll let you know.  But for now, I'm enjoying each second with my family.  Instead of worrying about tomorrow, or next year, or careers, or money, etc. I've become aware of how important it is to stop and think about what's going on in the world directly around me.  Instead of wishing I did things a certain way or longing to be "that kind of mom/wife/woman" I decided to just do it.  And it is SO much more fulfilling than all those aspirations and expectations I know I'm not capable of achieving.... for the time being.  I think this is the first time in my life I've been so happy with who I am in my own skin.  It feels good.

bloglovin

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Monday's Musings (belated): This is Halloween?

 So Halloween is fast approaching and it's time to start thinking about costumes.  Most of you with kids are probably way more on top of this than I am but I lack resources (i.e. a car, a working sewing machine, decent craft/fabric stores)  to do anything fancy. I also have a very fickle three-year old who changes his mind on an hourly basis as to what he wants to be.  Hence, last year I decided for him.  You might not be able to tell from the picture above but Bannock went as Draco Malfoy and Brecken was his little Owl.  That's as homemade as I get out here in Hawaii (but I was pretty proud of my "creations" none-the-less).  So this year I was perusing the Target website for some last minute ideas/deals because up until yesterday afternoon Bannock wanted to be a race car driver ("Just the clothes, but no car" - his words).

This is where my rant begins.  What is the deal with kids' Halloween costumes these days?!?! Seriously.  I selected the age-range box that specified ages 3-9, little boys, and the results varied from typical (Iron Man, Thomas, Dragons) to completely appalling.  Call me old fashioned but I believe in preserving our children's innocence as long as possible. So yeah this is coming from a girl who wanted to be a dead cheerleader in high school (bloody Pom Poms protruding from my head and chest, classy.  I didn't go through with it though). I might be bordering on old-lady sentiment here but there are some things that children under the age of twelve should not see nor personify, even if Halloween is about creepy ghouls and goblins.  So I compiled a "can-you-believe-this?" list of the ones I found most offensive. Take my word for it or follow the links below...
- this heartless zombie is probably the worst.  I might have words with the child's mother if I saw this wandering the streets. OK, probably not, but someone tell me they agree that this is too disturbing.
- So maybe it's just the zombie thing (my brothers are totally into this fad) that bugs me the most.  I remember seeing Night of The Living Dead when I was about ten and it scarred me. I think walking corpses are disturbing and disgusting.  So what if you watch the Walking Dead? Your kid doesn't need to.These two are dumb and gross: zombie sock monkey and this zombie costume
- Don't get me wrong, I actually liked The Dark Knight Rises (Joseph Gordon Levitt as Robin? Genius.) but again, it's not appropriate for kids.  Bane was super creepy, well done by Tom Hardy, but creepy none-the-less.  So this Bane costume goes on the list.
- and the others I won't link but these were their names Zombie Chimp, Evil Jester, Evil Dead, Wicked Troll, Bleeding Scream, Soul Taker, Corpse Costume, Last Laugh Clown Costume, I mean come on, really?  Whatever happened to throwing a sheet over a kid and cutting out eye-holes? Anyway, let me know what your kids/nephews/nieces are being for Halloween.  And if you don't agree with me about these disturbing Halloween costumes please feel free to tell me!

Oh and as of yesterday evening my son now wants to be a cockroach - great.