Just wondering.

This probably isn't worth an entire post but it is bugging me.  I got my House Beautiful and Elle Decor magazines in the mail recently.

Usually, House Beautiful kills it.  I love almost everything I see.  Then this month....it's dark and uninteresting (to me) and disappointing.  I am so bummed.

On the front of Elle Decor: The Return of Color!  Really?  Elle Decor, until very recently, has been white.  It has been picking up steam...over the past few months...and then this month kills it!  I am so surprised to see them go in such different directions.  Isn't that just a little strange?

My process.

Working on some jewelry. Finally.

DIY gifts for men....?

SEAN DO NOT READ THIS POST!

As I wrote Tuesday, Sean and I participate in advent conspiracy.  We (try to) make gifts for each other rather than buy and donate the money that would have gone towards bought gifts. Brainstorming started early this year.  As I said, my gift last year was half made, half bought.  I made him a book and each page was a gift.  The made portion contained gifts like "a weekend without diaper changes" and "a romantic dinner of your choice" Fun things. Things I can't mention on my blog. And some helpful things.  The bought portion of the book was gift cards, a book he had been wanting and some music.  He definitely enjoyed the bought things.  He has reassured me that he really appreciates the made portion....but even I can admit the cheese factor of it all.  I can do better.

Coming up with any idea to make is so challenging.  I end up choosing the least terrible idea and the gift ends up feeling like a waste of time because it isn't really something Sean wants/needs/appreciates.  This is definitely not his fault.  There is just a disconnect between the kinds of made gifts women and men value and I tend to always think in terms of gifts I value.  I think after much brainstorming I am on to something good....let me share.

Brainstorming commence...

First, I googled "DIY gifts for men".  I found maybe 3 that I think are actually great gifts Sean might enjoy.  The rest are uninteresting and thoughtless.  Maybe your man would appreciate baked goods in a decorative tin....but most men probably won't feel that loved from this gift.  You might LOVE that decorated tin but...he probably didn't even notice it.  I mean...if you are going to make your husband one gift at Christmas shouldn't it express love and thoughtfulness in ways that he feels them?  So....how do I do that?

{Here are the few googled ideas that I'd like to make anyway:}

via

Turn his tie into a skinny tie!

via

 Themed gift box.  Obviously I will not give him ribbon...

via

A bag to carry his stuff when he bikes to work.  It would be something more manly than polka dots.

Brainstorming continues...

Last fall my community group read The Husband Project.  In it the author Kathi Lipp discusses the role of women in marriage.  The project part was a 21 day plan for actively loving our husbands.  Loving them intentionally. I love Sean so it should have been a piece of cake, right?....It was hard and tiring!  Especially on days we weren't agreeing or I was tired.  Good thing we (the women in the group) had each other for encouragement.  This book popped into my head as I was brainstorming.

One thing I learned from doing this project was different ways to love Sean through actions and prayer.   Some things I didn't really expect to "work" (make Sean feel loved and appreciated as a husband) did magic.  A few examples of things in my plan:

- Change up the routine when Sean got home so he could feel more relaxed

- Do a few of "his chores"...like...taking the garbage out.  

- Send him loving notes

- A day of prayer where I prayed for him every hour

- Giving him a man night
- An at home, thoughtful date night

My gift ideas for Christmas are not fully formed but have been greatly inspired by The Husband Project.  I am going to take things that Sean has said throughout the year like...

- Where is the screwdriver??
- Where is the hammer?
- Where is my tape measure??
- I NEED A BOOKMARK!!!! (all. the. time.)
- I have no time to relax.

...and make gifts that address these repeated questions and statements.  There will be a few small thoughtfully made things on Christmas day for him to open but the "big" gift is going to be a project that takes time for me to complete and won't be unwrap-able.  I hope that it will make him feel loved and appreciated.  I'll keep you posted!  

Have you made gifts for your husband/dad/man in your life?  If so, what have you done? Any suggestions from successful DIY gifts??

Craft Night: Advent Conspiracy

I just sent out the evite for the next Craft Night!  If you are local and want to come, let me know.  We are going to be working on gifts for Christmas.  Have you heard of Advent Conspiracy?  No?

www.adventconspiracy.org

My church...and Sean and I...have been taking part for the past few years.  It is pretty incredible.  Now that B is more aware of Christmas and gifts it is interesting how my feelings change.  I do not want to spoil him with massive amounts of gifts.  I want to emphasize the other aspects of Christmas that are easily passed over when you are excited by how many presents are under the tree.  But I also remember the excitement of opening all those presents and oh man I want to see his eyes light up.  But then I remember how quickly that excitement was replaced with something else...it wasn't a feeling that lingered much past the 25th.  

The past two years we have given grandparents photo books narrated by B.  I have made jewelry for our Moms.  I knitted some stuff.  Made a shirt.  Last year Sean, my bro and I stuck a pin in every airport my Dad has been to on a world map (a lot of pins!).  Sounds weird to you I am sure...but he loved it.  It was fun to see his reaction and it was fun to spend the time making it together and realizing how little I remember from Geography class.  

Brainstorming for this year has been so much fun.  This year I want every person to get at least one made gift.  We have some good ideas for things to make B for Christmas that will be fun to work on together which is great considering how little time we spend talking once the kids go to bed.  I. just. want. silence. It's so difficult to figure out what to make my husband.  I tried last year.  It was half made, half bought.  I think he liked it......

Here are some of the things that we'll be making at Craft Night:  Craft Night

Do you make gifts for Christmas?

He's got a point of view.

Check it out here.

Did it. Stripes.

They are done.   Mostly.  I have to touch up some spots.  I don't like when I finish a project and the biggest inspiration for writing is to share lessons learned while doing said project.  Oy.

Morning Glory

I love the color.  It is Morning Glory by Sherwin-Williams.  Goes on purple dries a bright dark blue.  Just what I wanted.  I love how playful and fresh the hallway feels now.  I chose the color because I wanted something that would pop against the dining room color....and help the dining room color pop.  I love the dining room color.  Rainforest by Martha Stewart.

I REALLY loved it until I went into an elderly person's home and everything was painted this color but it was peeling and with low lights.  Sad.  Since then I have been looking for ways to keep me from getting that visual every time I go into the dining room.

Below you can see that when you walk into the house (door on the right) you enter the hallway and can see directly into the green dining room. (Room painted green on the left.......)

{The Before}

When we moved in the hallways were....dark blue.  Sean pointed out the irony of now painting somewhat dark blue stripes.  "Too bad we didn't wait so we could just paint white stripes."  Har har.  I hated that blue.  It was so dark and sad.  So this is technically the {After the first blue but before the second}...or something.  Check out that mess!  Couldn't there be more beautiful baby gates??  Also, that chair is always floating around so B can get into ev-er-y-thing.  Keys. yep. My purse. yep.  The "hidden" chocolate. yep.  The MICROWAVE. yep.

{The During}

Lesson #1.  DO paint the wall color first and then the stripe color to avoid bleeding.  I know this.  I know this.  I KNOW this.  I forgot this.  So the lines are not sharp.  They have a tiny fuzziness to them at the edges.  I can live with it visually.  I will touch up as much as I can but I will probably do more harm than good if I try to get it too perfect.  Painter I am not.  I have almost no patience for paint which is terrible considering I have a dresser waiting to be finished in my garage....this dresser isn't a simple one color job.  Overly ambitious.

{Ta-Da - patience is not my thing...night pictures with stuff everywhere.}

 Lesson #2.  Don't get ahead of yourself and think you will only need two coats of paint.  By you I, of course, mean me.  I was so concerned with getting the tape off while the paint was wet that I didn't make sure that I wouldn't need a third coat.  All I needed was a little patience to do a test spot.  Instead, I had to go back with a brush and paint over almost every stripe...trying to get to the edge without messing up.  I didn't get paint on the white but I did leave the semi-gloss stripes with a textured surface (rather than a smooth surface).  Bad.  It kind of looks dirty when the sun shines on it.  At this point....I don't freaking care.  I will put up a black out shade so the sun never hits the stripes.  I am DONE trying to fix the stripes...except for a few touch-ups.  AH.

{The other wall}

I guess I should be thankful there were only two lessons that needed learning.  Anymore and this project wouldn't have been worth it.

So.  There are my stripes.  I really do like them.  Yeah!

Doing it. Stripes.

It's only a preview.

So.  I did my research.  Got some inspiration.  Mulled it over.  Ended up with plain old stripes.  I decided I didn't trust my skill with a brush or my taste level to try anything too tricky.  Good thing b/c my edging is terrrrible.  Who knows how butchered anything more challenging would have been. Yikes.  I had to hand the edging over over to Sean.  I did get semi-gloss paint.  At least that will bring some interest to my plain old stripes.

They're not done....so why am I writing about them?  I need some crossed fingers.  First, the first coat is extremely purple....the fact that it turns very blue in the pictures eases my mind...but it is purrrrple right now.  I picked this color because it is a purple-navy.  Most definitely blue, though.  I am sure that a second coat and drying will darken it but....ahh.

So...how common is it for the paint to bleed through the tape line?  I really don't want to have to touch up dark blue on white paint.  So. Tedious. Again..cross fingers?

I can't wait to pull the tape offfff.  It already makes the hallway feel longer.  Excited.